Pine dresser...all grown up!

I have to begin by saying how excited I was to tackle this project, and how ecstatic I am with the results!

In case you forgot, here was the dresser before:

Here's how I breathed new life into it:

First things first, I got rid of the horrible hardware. The drawer pulls I bought ended up being wider than the original pulls, so I filled the holes in the drawer fronts with wood filler and let it dry over night. Bright and early the next morning, I started by roughing up the entire surface of the dresser and drawers with my trusty palm sander. After wiping down the dresser with a tack cloth to get rid of all the dust, I gave it a quick coat of primer and let it dry for 4 hours.

Now I was ready for my first coat of paint, Behr Beluga. I decided to paint just the areas that I would distress later, mostly because I'm lazy! This is the colour that will show through after I distress the piece. I let this coat dry overnight.

Next, I did my top coat, something I whipped up from 2 different colours, Benjamin Moore Palace White and Frostine. I let this coat dry for about 48 hours.

Now the fun (and nerve wracking) part. I took my sanding blocks and lightly scuffed the top coat off in areas that would naturally get more wear and tear. I started with a heavy grit block, and then cleaned it up with a lighter grit block. At first, I was freaking out when I got a little heavy handed and went through to the bare wood. Buuuut, when I took a good look at it, I really loved how it looked, a happy accident!

I considered finishing the dresser off with a coat of polyurethane, but, because it's not going to get a ton of use, I decided against it. Anyway, I hope that it gets some more dings and dents in it's new home. Finally, I drilled new holes in the drawer fronts and attached the new hardware.

Here's the finished product! (these photos are a bit dark, I'll try to snap some new ones soon)

Here is the breakdown of costs for this project:
$75 for the dresser
$0 for primer (leftovers from our condo renovations)
$0 for grey paint (leftovers from a project a few years ago)
$0 for cream paint (leftovers from our new home construction)
$3 for sponge roller refills
$2 for sponge brushes
$6 for sanding blocks
$38 for new drawer pulls
Total Cost = $124

That's better

I couldn't help myself. Mr. Mel and I just hated how cold and sterile our main floor bathroom looked. The room was painted Benjamin Moore Limesickle, a colour we love, but it was just too plain. I took a brush and roller to it this weekend, and painted the back wall Benjamin Moore Brown Sugar and we love how it turned out. It's so much warmer! Yay!

Side note: Scotch brand painter's tape is possibly the *worst* painter's tape I have ever used. Bleh, garbage!

Before:

After (with my Ceilume tiles hung on the wall):

You've got mail

There are few things I enjoy more than receiving a package in the mail. Admittedly, 99% of the time I know exactly what’s inside, but it still feels like Christmas.

A few weeks ago, after seeing what JannyPie was able to whip up with them, I ordered 3 ceiling tiles from Ceilume. They will provide up to 3 free ceiling tile samples to prospective customers (or greedy crafters, or broke ass home owners), they only ask that you don’t abuse their offer. To be honest, when I placed my sample order (did I mention they were *free*?!) I had no intention of considering a product purchase. Buuuut, now that they’ve arrived…holy wow…I love their product!

Mr. Mel and I quickly agreed that we can’t wait to install them in our basement. They are in keeping with our desire to be a little more 'green', in that they are recyclable, and use up to 75% less raw material than traditional ceiling tiles. For now, however, the 3 I have will be great wall decor for our main floor bathroom.

Safety first...must don the mask.

Here are the tiles before I Mel-ified them.

Here’s how these super cool tiles went from drab to fab:

I started by spray painting all 3 tiles with a gold spray paint. I let this coat dry for 4 hours.

Then I mixed some Behr Faux Glaze with some leftover brown paint, Benjamin Moore Brown Sugar. I used 3 parts glaze to one part paint. I painted the entire tile with the glaze mix using a foam brush, I made sure to get it in all of the little nooks and crannies. After 5 minutes, using a rag, I wiped off the glaze mix from all the raised areas and...voila!

Here is the breakdown of costs for this project:
$0 for the tiles...even shipping was FREE
$0 for gold spray paint (more leftovers from our condo reno)
$0 for brown paint (leftovers from our new home construction)
$13 for glaze - I've now got enough of this stuff to do 100 projects, Ha!
Total Cost = $13

what the heck is this thing called?

I needed some extra seating for my living room. I wanted something transitional, thinking that it couldn't be so "room specific" that I couldn't ever use it anywhere else. I also wanted a bench of some kind, something that could be used facing either the living room or kitchen dining area. Annnnnd, it couldn't cost more than $350! Hmmm, that was a tall order. 

After many Google searches, I realized that what I was looking for was an upholstered bench, or was it a backless chaise, maybe a backless sofa....no wait, it's a divan! No matter what you call it, I finally found it from a company called Avenue Six.

I got it for $223.00 (including shipping) from CSN Sofas. In typical cross-border shopping fashion, I will have to pay duty (ha ha, I said duty), but it's a small price to pay to get what I want. Yep, famous last words.

I can't wait for it to arrive...but I'm going to have to cause that's how these things work.

major score!

I have a little project on the go that requires copper metallic paint (details and 'before and afters' coming soon, I promise). I headed out to Home Depot, then Rona to pick some up. I only need about a cup of the stuff but the smallest amount I could buy was a quart for anywhere from $50-$75! Owch! I wasn't ready to commit yet, so I headed over to the local Benjamin Moore store and told them what I needed. They had a big selection, but all were way, way more than I wanted to spend...until the saleswoman remembered that she had one quart left of "old stock" that she could sell me really cheap. It ended up being the perfect colour for me, bonus.

Here's the paint...

Here's the regular price...

What did I pay, you ask?

$5.00!

Yep, that's it...just $5.00. Smooches and hugs to those wonderful ladies...you rock!

Someone else's trash...

I was marveling the other day about the treasures that can be found at second hand shops. I never thought that I would become so enamoured with the idea of buying someone else's unwanteds...but I have! It makes me think that, until recently, I was a furniture elitist! Ha!

Just a few weeks ago, Mr.Mel and I were scouring a local shop for vintage/antique plates for my plate collage, when I came across these beauties. I know, I know, they are a tad old lady-esque, but I can't stop thinking about them. Sure they're showing a bit of wear around the legs, and a cat has obviously sharpened many a claw on the seats and back, buuuuuuut, they are only $70 for the pair. How can I go wrong?

I know they will have to be recovered so, before I scooped them up, I have been doing alot of reading and research on how I would go about fixing them up. I have concluded that this is entirely doable. I am off to the shop tomorrow in hopes that they are still there. Wish me luck!

Plates, everywhere!

So, one of the most frustrating things about trying to inject a little personality into our home is that Mr. Mel wants no part of it! Mr. Mel lives in a world totally unfamiliar to me. Where he lives it's ok for every piece of furniture to be mass manufactured and come from a big box store, it's perfectly acceptable for every wall in the house to be beige, there's nothing wrong with having absolutely no artwork or decoration hanging on the walls, and the very thought of adding sparkle or pizzazz strikes fear into his heart!

This, people, is what I am up against.

I am tired (after only 3 months) of living in this big, bland box! I must start to Mel-ify it, for my own sanity.  Another great motivator? My sister is getting married next summer and - as I was planning on hosting a shower at my home when the day came - it has put me in a bit of a time crunch to get the house looking presentable for her big day.

The first room I am going to tackle is our formal dining room. It's painted a lovely shade of green, Benjamin Moore's Limesickle, and really only needs some very basic elements to make it really spiffy.

One of the things I’d love to incorporate into this room is a plate collage. I love the character of china, and also have a rather large collection of Royal Albert teacups and saucers, and I figured that a great way to showcase them would be to hang them on the wall! I found some amazing examples online and I am now convinced that this is the project for me.

Take a gander at some of the amazing inspirations I found as well as super helpful tutorials from Antique Plate World and Nest Obsessed!

Credits:

Remodelista

RecoverGirl

Gaita Interiors

Casa Sugar

Apartment Therapy

Design with Christine

Design Cracker...check out her blog here

Cara McBroom

Details...make your voices heard!

My new dresser is sitting in my make-shift paint booth, otherwise known as my dining room. I've narrowed down the new colour to some sort of rustic yellow or orange, and now it's time to select hardware. Let me know what you think of the options below and cast your vote in the poll on the right hand side of my blog.

Option 1

Option 2

Option 3

I Did a Dicker

I am usually not very good at negotiating on price. I tend to be really competitive, so when the bartering begins, I get so caught up in winning, that I forget all about getting the item and focus on submitting my opponent. This usually ends with me leaving the establishment empty handed, and embarassed.

This time, though, I dickered, and won! I scored this great pine dresser for my living room for a mere $75! It's just the size I was looking for (5 feet long and about 3 feet tall). The plan is to paint it, not sure what colour yet, we'll see what I've got laying around and go from there.

Woo! It's good to have friends in high places!

...And by high places, I mean up north.

I have had no luck tracking down the Pier 1 'Stockton' curtain panels I wrote about in my previous post. I have been making so many trips to the local Pier 1 store to peruse their selection that I am sure the staff believe that I suffer from some sort of mental disorder.

Anyhoodles, after venting to Mr. Mel today about my frustration at the lack of window treatments...and lack of cash available to me to indulge in some fancy shmancy silk drapes, he did the only thing he could do: he got on the phone to a store three hours north and had them put six panels on hold, and then called his friend who lives there to ask if he would go and pick them up for us!

I can't wait to hang them in my living room.  I will finally be able to get some darn privacy from the constant looky-loos!

Reduce, Reuse, Recycle...ain't cheap!

I have a hankering. I have a hankering for a good ol' fashioned farm table for my kitchen.

When I first started buying home furnishings, it was back when every piece had to be made from (or at least look like) cherry wood, all the hardware was brushed nickel, and everything had to be a shade of either taupe or beige: it was all so matchy-matchy. The coffee tables matched the bed, that matched the armoire, that matched the kitchen table, that matched the kitchen chairs...well, you get the idea.

I am happy to say that my tastes have evolved since then. I am anti-matchy-matchy, anti-brushed nickel, anti-faux wood, anti-looks-like-every-other-house-on-the-block. I want my home, and the furniture in it, to be comfortable. I also have a desire to re-purpose as many pieces and materials as I can. This saves me money, granted, but it also makes me feel like I'm doing a little bit to help reduce waste and give new life to something long forgotten, and that's a good thing!

Because we have a formal dining room, the table in the kitchen will likely not play host to any fancy shmancy dinner parties. It will, however, play host to some very important tea parties with the little girls I am blessed to have in my life, it will be a homework station, be a location for arts and crafts (including messy, messy, lord-help-me-it's-messy playdough), serve as the occasional food prep centre, sewing table, and buffet counter. Basically, it has to be durable. It HAS to be.

I was sure that what I wanted existed. And it does. It's made by a fantastic company called The Lorimer Workshop. At $1075 USD however it is yet another item that is far beyond my budget. A girl can dream though, right? This is my inspiration though, perhaps I might become brave enough to attempt to build my own...if I can find a pile of old wood no one's using, that is.

Wall Art Inspiration

One of the keys to being able to decorate the house on my frugal budget is to get creative about *everything*. I am scouring the internet for imaginative wall art projects and ideas for the living room. Anyone who knows us knows that Mr. Mel is very much an "in the box" kinda guy, and I am much more willing to try quirky and funky colours and projects. Here are a few of the awesome ideas that have made my short list:

How cute is this?! Mr. Mel would NEVER go for this, which gives me the sads.

This is a great use of those pricey scrapping leftovers!
I love this idea too, but I don't have that many cool dishes! ha!
I think this may be a winner...Mr. Mel approves! Who says ceiling medallions have to stay on the ceiling?

**Sometime between last night and this morning, this post lost all of it's links. I'll be sure to post links to the above asap**

It figures

I have always swooned over silk drapes. All you have to say is "Dupioni" and my heart skips. There's something so luxurious and dramatic about them. They remind me of ballgowns, and what better than to have ballgowns hanging in a room?! ha ha! I have always longed for floor length, buffalo check, dupioni silk drapes. Always.

Sadly, at $300/panel, my budget doesn't allow for such extravagance. Because our main floor is, essentially, one big open space, I wanted to do the same window treatment on each window and door - which meant that need a total of 8 panels. After many many days of searching, I finally found what I was looking for at Pier1 Imports for the bargain price of $31/panel:

Just my luck, they are sold out! They don't anticipate getting them restocked for another two months. Bummer. Damn this teeny weeny budget of mine!

DIY - Do it Your (own damn) Self!

Sooooo, I'm going to be honest with you. I went over budget on the house. Poor Mr. Mel, he had no clue what I had gotten myself into and was, understandably, shocked when the final bills rolled in.

I had big plans for furniture and decor but, with the moolah gone, I am left brokity broke and in need of some creative ideas to get it all done on a tight tight tight (did I mention tight?) budget.

Mr. Mel has agreed to pay for a new living room sofa...and the rest he has insisted must be on the cheap. That in mind, I have been scouring blogs, the internet, and magazines and have found alot of really inspiring ideas that I hope I can parlay into some awesome and totally unique decorating touches. I am hoping to share some of my ideas, and also share the results of my DIY projects!

I know it's small, but my first DIY for the house was jewelry storage for my closet. I love necklaces but have never had any way to store them that didn't end up in them becoming a tangled mess of chain and beads. Here's my solution:

I started off with a 24" shelf that I picked up from a discount store for $5, and cup hooks from WalMart for $4.
I measured for two rows of hooks, with each hook 2" apart. I staggered the top and bottom rows so that the necklaces on the top row would hang between the hooks on the bottom row. I drilled holes in the shelf with a small bit and had Mr. Mel screw in the hooks for me with his big, strong man-hands.Voila!

Lessons Learned

After all is said and done, I have certainly learned some valuable lessons through this process. I thought I would share some of them with you:

1. Contractor's lie. They are not your friend, they are not your advocate, they are business people in it to make money. They will take advantage of you if you allow them to.
2. Be sure to explore alternatives to traditional financing. We chose a line of credit, instead of a builder's mortgage or having the builder finance it. This allowed us to ensure that bills were paid, and that the contractor wasn't compensated for work not yet complete. It also allowed us to have a lawyer involved through every stage of the build, ensuring that all the builder complied with all requirements necessary to receive a payment. It also allowed us to keep the lot in our name, as opposed to signing it over to the builder for the duration of the build. This *may* however, cause problems with hooking up utilities so be sure that you have an agreement in place, in the event that those utilities must be in your name, that the builder is responsible for all charges during construction.
3. Solid-core interior doors are a great investment...however they are a pain in the butt for pocket doors because of their weight. Leave the pocket doors as hollow-core, your finger tips will thank you.
4. Sit on your toilets when you pick them out! This may seems silly but, let's face it, these puppies need to be comfortable.
5. Measure the garage! Measure, measure, measure! Even though we increased the size of the garage, we didn't account for the stairs . Once these were installed, our truck didn't fit.
6. Don't try to save a few hundred dollars here or there...pay someone to do it for you! We attempted to save money by buying and installing our own closet organizers. It ended up costing us much more than we anticipated, and they were a headache to assemble and install.
7. Have you electrician install as many plug ins and cable outlets as is legally allowed. They are easy peasy and only a few dollars to install at the time of rough-in, but it saves you the headache of worrying about where you'll be able to plug in your lamps and electronics down the road. Oh, and be sure to have them install floor outlets, you'd be surprised how handy they are!
8. If you have a vision for what you want in your home, DO NOT let anyone talk you out of it! I cannot tell you how many times I selected a finish or fixture and had people cringe or tell me how much they disliked it...but when it all came together it was exactly what I had pictured, and I was relieved that I had stuck to my guns!
9. GO GREEN! It's more expensive but, if you select your items carefully, you can get some really unique looks and great warranties...and you're helping Mother Earth at the same time!
10. Do your homework. Research products: how to care for them, warranties, etc. What you thought you wanted, might not be the best choice for you and your lifestyle in the long run.
11. Upgrade when you can. It really is true that you should budget between 15-20% more than your original quote for upgrades. Upgrading at the beginning saves you money down the road. Whenever you "cheap out" or "settle" with a mind to change it later. You are now paying twice: once for the initial item and install, and again for the replacement item and install. That in mind, make sure you are realistic about what you can afford.
12. Include as many upgrades as you can in your initial quote. We ended up spending only 7% over our initial quote in upgrades, because we included as many "wish list" items as we could in our initial quote from the builder.
13. Ensure that your builder is a member in good standing of any local builder's/construction associations, and is a member in good standing of the Canadian New Home Warranty Program. Insist that your builder provide you with similar information regarding their sub-trades as well.
14. Count on the following: your home will be behind schedule, it will cost more than you thought, you will shed tears and vent in anger throughout the process. It's best to keep you eyes on the prize, though, and know that in the end it will be worth it.

They don't want my garbage!

We put our new garbage can out on the "curb" (I use the term loosely as there is no sidewalk...or road) yesterday and they didn't pick up my garbage! I'm gonna try again next week. Maybe I'm missing something?????

Yay for Garbage Cans!

I know this may sound insignificant...but I have a garbage can! Woo-weeee! The contractor had the Loraas folks take away my humongous garbage bin and I wasn't quite sure how garbage pick up worked around these here parts. Soooooo, I sent the hubs to Town Hall to find out the scoopity doopity about the town's services. The idea backfired somewhat. He did arrange to have our garbage can delivered that afternoon, and found out all about the local community centre...but he also let slip that we didn't yet have a water meter on the house. So, guess who was at the house later that morning to ensure we no longer took advantage of the free water?! Ha ha. Tomorrow is our first garbage pick up day. Annnnnd, we have no garbage. Huh, oh well, maybe next week.

Pictures! Pictures! Pictures!

Sorry folks, I wanted to post these photos sooner. But my Nikon D80 camera, in a moment of what I can only assume was sheer despair and hopelessness, threw itself over the railing and landed on the stairs 10 feet below. I don't think the fact that I hadn't properly affixed it to the tripod had anything to do with it...and that's the story I'm sticking to! After digging through countless boxes, I managed to find an old Canon Powershot that served me pretty well.

We have officially been "in residence" (ha ha...doesn't that sound regal?) for 3 weeks. There are still some outstanding items (backsplashes, lights, some plumbing, tiling, and exterior locks and handles) but we are really really happy with the nearly finished product!

With more and more houses being built around us (we even have a basement already poured next door) it's becoming apparent that I *must* get blinds or curtains on my windows! I just can't bear the thought of drilling into the vinyl windows though...hmmm, that poses a bit of a problem.

Likely, the majority of the furniture you see will be replaced in the next year or so - once we've got an idea of exactly the purpose each room will serve for us. For nhow, we're just going to enjoy living here...and figure everything else out later :)

Foyer:

Living Room:

Kitchen:Half Bath:

Bonus Room - our favourite space:

Main Bath:Laundry Room - the *most* cheerful and happy room in the house:



Spare Room - thankfully, big enough for a double bed:


Ensuite: