Living Room Artwork

The wall above my living room sofa needed something. After trying several different arrangements here, and repainting the walls, it had remained empty for quite awhile. It was time to fill the emptiness.

I wanted something a little outside of the box (sorta like me). Colour-wise I wanted to bring in some of the warmth that my oak cabinets have on the other side of the main floor. I wanted one large piece, rather than several smaller pieces. And let's be real, people, I didn't want it to break the bank.

I looked online for oversized posters and artwork. I ordered the 42" x 54" giclee print from All Posters. I thought it was a pretty good deal at $131 with shipping.

When it arrived, I built a canvas to match it's size (I used to build and stretch my own canvas all the time when I was a student, it felt so good to be at it again). I Mod Podged the poster onto the canvas (I only recently stopped calling it modge podge...doh) and I liked that the process created a few ripples in the print, it made it look a little aged and gave it character - a happy accident! I painted the sides of the canvas to match the background of the poster so it's all blendy and stuff.

I cannot tell you just how much Mr. Mel and I love this in our living room! We really do! Everyone who visits our home comments on this proud man, and I just love that it's a conversation starter as well as a lovely piece of artwork.

It's a nice contrast to our more formal living room, and makes the room feel really welcoming.

Finally, Planting!

Okey dokey my blogger friends. Last year I let you in on my master landscape plan. Now it's time to update on what we were up to all summer. What better way to warm up on a cold day like today than to think about landscaping?! ha ha

I started with the trees and shrubs (although other projects seemed to keep popping up). I had the yard graded away from the house for proper drainage (at $85/hr this only cost me $170.00), and had the local utility companies mark any underground gas and power lines.

I placed my order with a local tree nursery so my order was ready for me to pick up. It's a small time saver but it was less hassle than walking through the nursery myself, picking each item. Cause I'm lazy like that.

I made myself a "planting map" complete with measurements from the property lines and the spacing between each plant. Of course, all of these trees and shrubs will grow to be quite large so, the spacing will look a bit odd at first. It's important, though, to make sure they all have room to grow based on their expected spread, or you may end up overcrowding your plants. It's not pretty, (or proportionate ha ha) but here's my map:

As we measured, I marked the location of each plant with marker paint (such a clever can, that can be held upside down).

I bought a couple of spades and Mr. Mel and my strapping nephew, AJ, got to work. It took us a few more weeks to get them all done but we ended up planting 55 trees and shrubs. FIFTY FIVE! That's alot of holes, people!

After the delay of a few weeks due to monsoon-like rain, we were able to get to work on the front yard.

We had the yard graded and had to bring in 20 yards of topsoil to bring up the grade (our yard had to be brought up about 5"). The topsoil was an investment we didn't think we'd have to make right away, but I'm glad we have it done. One less thing to do down the road! The patch of bare ground near the front of the yard is a ditch area where I didn't want to waste $ putting in topsoil for now. The top of the yard, nearest the house, was left bare for my patio block project.

I can't wait for spring to see how many of my plants survived our brutal winter. I also have landscaping updates a couple of projects on deck for the front yard once the snow melts, stay tuned for that!

What we planted: 

• Swedish Aspen
• French Lilac
• Greenspire Linden
• Tower Poplar
• Sugar Maple
• Colorado Blue Spruce
• Brandon Cedar
• Golden Ninebark
• Goldenrod Potentilla
• Little Kim Lilac
• Tinkerbelle Lilac
• Snowbelle Mock Orange
• Red Leaf Barberry
• Thunderchild Flowering Crab
• Autumn Blaze Maple
• Russian Almond
• White Cedar
• Alpine Currant
• Medora Juniper

Itchy...But Worth It

Our last home had heated underground parking (le sigh) which I miss terribly. In the new house we are not so fortunate. However, the builders were forgetful kind enough to leave behind nearly enough fibreglass batt insulation to completely insulate the garage. You may not think so, but three packs of R40 insulation take up a tremendous amount of space in one's garage...ha ha. For over a year this rather overwhelming project had been on my massive "To Do' list, but I kept putting it off. Last November, though, Mr. Mel and I finally installed insulation in the garage!

 

 

 

I've gotta say that, considering I am terrified of heights, the 14' high walls didn't pose a huge challenge. We did end up having to pick up a little extra insulation to finish the walls but, even with the poly and acoustical sealant, this entire project cost less than $150!

We were so lucky to have November weather nice enough to complete it to this stage but, before we knew it...BAM...winter hit and I didn't have warm enough temps to do the poly. Now that the warm weather has returned, it's definitely on my radar to finish this up!

I still plan to insulate the ceiling, but it'll have to wait until my dad can bring over scaffolding and lend me a hand. Hip hip hooray for a toasty warm garage!

Please indulge me while I toot my own horn for a minute: I did 90% of this project BY MYSELF! Ladies, don't be afraid to tackle these kinds of projects! Do your research, plan your project, and ask ask ask if you wanna know how to do something. I can't tell you how satisfying it was to see what I was able to accomplish! Yay me!

Slipcovers and Slip Ups - Part 3

Check out Part 1 and Part 2 of this nightmarish project.

I am embarassed that what was intended to be an easy peasy update of these chairs has become what it has. I appreciate you all bearing with me while I continue to try (and fail) to get this right.

Ok, so we're now going to reupholster these babies. I am not going to lie. I contacted several upholstry shops to see if it was in my budget to have this professionally done. At $1,000/chair (no, I am not kidding) that was not even an option. So, here we go again, Mel is gonna DIY!

I found these two helpful blogs that show, step by step how to go about reupholstering a wing back chair. Brooke, at All Things Thrifty, also tackled a wing back with amazing results! Definitely check out these how-tos before tackling this yourself.

These chairs have a very traditional shape, and I thought I would have some fun with them by using a more modern fabric. I bought my fabric for 50% at Fabricland. Mr. Mel picked it! Each chair will use about 5 yards of fabric. I decided to do away with the piping, and keep it simple. Yeh, famous last words.

I started by stripping the chairs of fabric. This was a tedious and time consuming process. I figured that I could strip both chairs in a morning. In fact, it took me just over three hours to remove all of the staples from just *one* chair!

Once I had the chair naked, I took the fabric pieces I had removed (and carefully labelled) and used them to cut out pieces from my fancy new fabric. It was at this point that I had a conversation about my project with my in-laws, and vented about how frustrating the process was. My ever helpful father in law suggested I call his sister, because her boyfriend used to own an upholstery shop! Turns out he redid all of the antique furniture during the restoration and renovation of a gorgeous, and historic hotel 5 star here in town.

I could have kissed him I was so excited! A call was made and, after a trip to a nearby city to drop them off and little negotiation, this project was officially someone else's problem! Ha ha. A week later the chairs were done, and the torturous project was at an end.

In the end, this project pretty much kicked my butt. I know that I could absolutley have recovered these myself but, honestly, my heart just wasn't in it anymore. I was relieved to pass it on to someone else. But, even after all of  my mistakes and the cost of materials and labour, I still got myself two awesome wingbacks for less than the cost of one new chair! I call that a WIN!

A couple of tips if you are going to tackle a project like this (our upholsterer added a few I hadn't even thought of):

• Buy an extra yard or two of fabric for each chair, you will likely need it and, if you don't, you can always use it for cushions later.
• Beg, borrow, or steal an electric staple gun. You will not regret it.
• Have a glue gun at the ready, it will come in handy dandy.
• use a fabric steamer to santize and re-puff the existing foam. Not having to replace this will save you loads of cash.
• Be prepared to improvise. You are not a professional, you may have to use your imagination to figure out how to get things just right.

After all of the drama, here is the cost breakdown for this project (including cost for my screw-ups):

$100 for wing back chairs
$52 for canvas drop cloth (fabric)
$44 for supplies (cording, thread, buttons, staples, etc.)
$155 for fabric
$400 for labour
Total cost of this monstrous rehab = $751

Map Wall Art

Way back when, I posted about doing a plate collage in the dining room. I had been slowly collecting all the plates I'd need...and then Mr. Mel and I were out shopping one day and he spotted a 4' x 8' map on canvas that he, literally, couldn't keep his eyes off of. At $600, however, he figured he'd sleep on it. The next day he went back...and it was gone. Mr. Mel was very bummed.

I have decided, after spotting these really neat examples on Centsational Girl and Decor Pad, that I will give Mr. Mel the world map he craves. And what better place to put it than the big empty wall in my dining room.

Censational Girl

Decor Pad

Maps are quickly becoming a really popular design element. Nate Berkus (hello cutie) even did a segment on his show about this new trend.

I ordered a 48" x 73" antique style world map from National Geographic. Mr. Mel likes the idea of framing it in a series of four frames, rather than one large one, so I brought him along to buy the frames I'd need from Michaels. He picked these puppies:

You know that old carpentry saying, "Measure twice, cut once"? Well, this would be a good time to follow that rule of thumb. I laid the map right-side-down and made marks where I needed to cut it to fit my frames. Using a cutting mat and rotary cutter, I cut my pieces to size (you could also use scissors, or a straight edge and exacto knife).

I put the pieces in their frames and, after painstakingly measuring and marking the wall, hung them. Presto, chango! It makes a big impact in the dining room!

The best thing about this project is that you can totally do it on the cheap if you don't get picky about the frames you use. Mr. Mel had a very specific idea of what he wanted so we ended up paying *way* more for frames than I would have preferred. If you hang the entire map and trim it out in leftover casing, I bet you could save a bundle!

Cost Breakdown for this project:
Map $40
Frames $240 (what can I say? Mr. Mel can be a fussbucket!)
Total Cost $ 280

Dressing Room Vanity

As much as I loved doing my make-up each morning sitting on the floor in front of a small mirror propped up on a small stool (yeh, did my make-up the same way when  was in the 6th grade), what I really wanted was an actual vanity, you know, wth a chair and all. Mr.Mel gets creeped out by buying "other people's old stuff", but even he was impressed with my Kijji score a few weeks ago. I picked up this wooden desk for $10...yes, ten Canadian dollars!

Granted, it wasn't much to look at, and those handles are just awful, but  thought  could make it pretty.

The desk is really solid, and was in pretty good shape. But there were some dings and cracks that I fixed with some wood filler before I got started. Once all was fixed, I gave it a light sanding, primer, two coats of Behr's Black Raspberry (leftovers from our bedroom wall colour), and two coats of Varathane. I painted the existing handles with Rustoleum ChromeMetallic.

 

I am going to keep my eyes open for a pretty wall decal for the side. Til then, this is it!

Now it's the perfect place to get ready for my day! All of the drawers are great for my makeup and brushes so no more Caboodle! Ok, so I'll probably keep my Caboodle, who am I kidding?! Andplusalso I have a home for the lamp that I love and Mr. Mel hates doesn't love.

Cost breakdown for this project:
$10 for the vanity
$0 for paint
$7 for spray paint
$0 Varathane
Total Cost = $17

Slipcovers and Slip Ups - Part 2

Check out Part 1 of this project here.

Mission: Slipcovers Part Deux was underway. Pin-fitting these covers was so much easier than cutting pattern pieces. Pinning the piping in between the fabric was a bit tricky but it got easier once I worked with it for awhile. Check out this post at The Nesting Place on basic steps to pin-fitting slipcovers.

Once I had all of my pieces pinned together on the chair and basted, I took the entire piece to the machine. I would periodically refit the cover in the chair to make sure it fit properly. It's a bit tedious for sure, but it’s fun watching the piece come together! Jones, as usual, is all up in my bidniss, I have learned to just work around him.

After 9 hours, multiple mental breakdowns, achy and swollen fingers, and several hundred f-bombs, this is what I ended up with. Hmmm, I am not feeling it. I decided to stop here. This was not the look I was going for, so I started to debate my options. But what to do? Ah ha...reupholster! Yes, I would reupholster them!

Stay tuned for Part 3 of this marathon transformation…

I hate(ed) these chairs

Mr. Mel and I, in all of our youthful wisdom, bought this table and chair set twelve-ish years ago when we moved in together. At the time, it was quite the stylish set, let me tell you! Now...not so  much. The thing is, I pretty much regretted this purchase the first time we used it. The chairs are not the most comfortable, the table frame is designed in such a way that it touches the top of your legs when seated at the table, and don't *even* get me started on the impracticality of a glass-topped kitchen table!

Soon, the cats started using the chairs as a jungle gym. They would climb up the backs and soon there were awful scratches on them from their claws. The seats got dirty and stained from my darling nephews. And the glass got scratched from everyday use.

When we moved into the new house, we brought the set with us. I figured we could always use it in the basement, if not, we'd sell it.

I have decided to do neither. I have decided that these chairs are just what I needed to use in our bonus room at our game/activity table that currently has just one sad chair at it! I figured I have nothing to lose, since I already hated them, how much worse could it get?! Let me say for the record that Mr.Mel wanted no part of this project. He was sure it was going to go horribly horribly wrong.

I removed the seats and then sanded, primed, and painted the chairs with Rustoleum Painter's Touch in Apple Green (eeeek, I don't think I'd use this brand again...so much overspray and lots of wasted paint!).

Now for the seats. I found an awwwwwwe-some deal on fabric that was exactly what I was looking for (when does that ever happen?!). This stuff was regularily priced at $23/yd, on clearance for $3/yd...and with my discount card I got it for $1.50/yd!!! Can you imagine?!

I didn't bother pulling the old fabric off...too lazy. I measured the seats, and cut the fabric about 4 inches larger than that measurement. I used an elecric staple gun to attach it, then trimmed the excess.

 

 

 

Awww, now I love these chairs! And my little Butter loves them too! I can't wait to show you what else I have been busy with in the bonus room!

Cost breakdown for this project:
$13 for fabric (I still have a ton of this leftover)
$0 for the chairs
$6 for paint
$0 for primer
Total cost  = $18