At home in Ottawa

Choices, Choices - What to do about our motion-sensor?

2009-11-16T07:09:00.000-05:00

The state of our front door:

As you can see, we have a bright white screen door - and a faux oak front door. Decisions on those will have to wait until the spring but in the meantime, I really really REALLY want to change out the motion sensor that sits above our front door. The challenge? What finish??? Black, brass, bronze? There are too many choices and I have no idea where to go with this as I really feel that whatever I do outside needs to build upon what I am doing inside. What are your thoughts? After a bit of searching, I found this pretty light via Home Depot:

I like the colour and the price ($30?!) - it might be good for a temporary solution? That said, I'm always afraid to go temporary - it may just end up permanent.

The Battle that is our Kitchen Floor

2009-11-13T07:20:00.000-05:00

As I previous noted here, I love marmoleum. As part of our kitchen renovation, we've decided that we are going to have our kitchen floor redone in their serene gray, similar to the one in the photo linked to above. In order to have this installed, we have to remove all flooring down to the subfloor. We started on this, thinking it would be an easy project.

This beautiful floating floor in faux oak completely clashed with the three other wood finishes in the kitchen (as well as the real hardwoods everywhere else). It was easy to take out, leaving us with vinyl tiles.

Once this floor was reveiled, we actually ended up changing our original choice for colour on the flooring. Originally, we had picked a much darker gray but these light floors inspired us to lighten it all up. That said, they quickly became a huge source of frustration. Check out my hub literally trying to chisel them away, they were really fixed to the floor! Not only that but the adhesive had turned into this tar, it was so awful. After working on it a bit, we eventually discovered that under that level was yet ANOTHER level of vinyl tiles...

And at that point, we promptly gave up. It's obvious that we will have to replace the subfloor - thankfully, our flooring company (The Healthiest Home here in Ottawa) will be doing the replacement for us. We'll be trying to rip that our on our own (wish us luck!).

Our kitchen demo - the beginning!

2009-11-09T18:22:00.005-05:00

This is part 1 of our kitchen renovation...

We started our reno in a pretty disorganized way - we really had so much to take out, we just grabbed a corner and got started. This wall (west facing into the sunroom) was THE wall, complete with boarded up window and a weird built in. Both were slated to go so this is what I offer up first ;) So you can see in this photo that I had already climbed up and ripped down the plexi glass that had previously lined the top of the cupboards. We had yet to free the window...

In this picture, you can see that we had taken down our useless stove fan (note to other home shoppers, always figure out where the stove vents). We had no idea that ours vented absolutely nowhere...so with it gone, we also took out the upper cabinet to make it easier to demo the weird built-in. You can see that once upon a time, the kitchen was blue. I later found some coordinating wall paper - I think this wasn't the previous wall treatment but the pre-pre as the wallpaper is painted over (yay) and there are at least two other paint colours on top of it.

Now here it is, the WINDOW! I can't even tell you how excited we were to discover that not only was the window intact, it was actually in perfect shape. Yay!! Only problem? The stove vent had been wired up behind the molding on the left side so that ended up biting the dust. :(

Now you can see that the built-in is gone! The space already feels so much larger, we also managed to salvage the lower cabinets (yay!).

Tools that we discovered made it all easy:
- Reciprocating Saw
- Pry bars (one big, one small)
- Patience
- A cordless driver
- Step stool
- Decent ladder
- Rubber mallet (for places on the walls that you want to be kind of gentle with)
- A shop vac (so much dust, it was such a great investment!)
- Box cutters
- Sheet plastic and tape
- Face masks and safety goggles
- Good leather work gloves (that are fitted)

And of course: a sledge hammer.

Lessons learned:
- Seal other rooms really well. I used plastic drop sheets and tape, it was effective though it made it hard to get to essential places like the bathroom.
- Score the walls first, especially the ones you want to keep. It helps to use box cutters - this will keep your lines nice and clean.
- Clean up often, have a fan on hand and make sure you open your windows.
- Figure out where your load bearing walls are, it's better to be safe than sorry.
- Have beer on hand (or other powerful motivator).
- Seal your heat vents - I used cardboard after I discovered that my hub had ripped the cover off (to protect it) and then promptly filled the hole and vent with crap.
- Plan for your garbage - we had two garbage cans and quickly discovered that bags were a really crappy way of dealing with the plaster we ripped down.
- Having good friends help you out is the best way to aleviate stress and make it all fun.

Glass kitchen cabinets via Home Depot

2009-11-06T07:16:00.001-05:00

I saw this great picture via the inspiration gallery of Home Depot. The hub really wants glass cabinets in the kitchen and I thought this style was perfect...then I found the price. Pretty darling for over $2k, a bit out of the question for a kitchen makeover. I can dream - maybe one day, right?

Dealing with our kitchen cabinets

2009-11-02T07:46:00.001-05:00

After we knew that we had the house, we went on this awesome decision-making roller coaster. At first we thought, "Lets reno the whole damn kitchen! New cupboards, new counters, new floors, new EVERYTHING!!" It was exciting but not at all financially realistic. After a couple of dreaming days, we realized that to really be able to afford this house we would have to live with the kitchen for a few years and settle on some updates. Basically, we had to accept that we would have to work with the ugly cupboards. After making that decision, we decided that there was nothing a coat of paint couldn't remedy and immediately embraced the idea. After all, I'm an avid refinisher and extremely detail oriented...But after doing all the measurements and truely assessing the state of the kitchen, we realized that we were actually pretty short on cupboard space. I knew then that we would have to buy some new cupboards but that our budget couldn't get us all the way there.

Ah!

The solution? Well, we are going to buy similar cabinets from Ikea (not my first choice but good enough) and paint them all out to match each other.

(It's all the same, right?)

We're hoping, of course, that the difference wouldn't be that noticable. Has anyone ever tried this before?? Anyway. Here is what we chose - the Aukurm series by Ikea in Lilje dark brown. Why the brown? Because it is actually wood - we want it to paint nicely and I just haven't had good experiences with painting up melamine. Here's to hoping it all works out!!!

Hooks via Spazio of Montreal

2009-10-28T07:27:00.000-04:00

A while ago, I was in Montreal visiting family I decided to buy the latest copy of Montreal Home Magazine partly for inspiration, partly to figure out where people go home shopping in Montreal. As always, it confirmed that there are a lot of home stores on Saint-Laurent and the antiques are on Notre Dame. But then, in amongst all the adverts I noticed a beautiful ad by Spazio. It had a website listed (of which I was totally sceptical as most websites associated with home decor and the great Montreal are defunct or never updated) - imagine my surprise when I found it both active and updated. The best part? They sell architectural antiques! The next weekend, I dragged my hub back to Montreal and we checked it out. My favorite parts were their light fixtures (of course) and their massive collection of hardware (oh my god, it was amazing). Check out these hot hooks I got for $5 each! They are finding a home in my new kitchen, I love them.

Company Info:

Spazio: Architectural Antiques
8405 St-Laurent Blvd (sorry to say, the best way to get there is to take the 40. They have lots of parking though you better bring some change as it is metered)
Montreal, Québec

Lighting for the kitchen

2009-10-26T07:45:00.002-04:00

I found this great light via Home Depot (by Hampton Bay). For $34.99, it's hard to go wrong. I love the school house style, the finish - and especially the price. I'm thinking about buying two and putting one in each window. I've checked them out in store and they are small so I'm not firm on them.

Our Planned Kitchen Renovation

2009-10-24T07:41:00.005-04:00

So we get our house at the beginning of November - after that, it will be the mad dash to do a full kitchen makeover. I would call it a full renovation but we are planning on working with the existing cabinets. We're going with all stainless steel appliances (minus the dishwasher, we'll replace that in a couple of years) and a colour palate that matches the rest of the house better (white with various tones of gray). We're planning on doing the following:

From this shot you can see my cute hub and the full view of our ugly kitchen. We plan on painting the cabinets, ripping off the weird plastic slide stuff at the top, replacing the counter, freeing the window, putting in new hardware from my favorite store (leevalley!) AND putting in a marmoleum floor. For the cabinets, I was thinking white on the top, dark gray on the bottom but am totally open to suggestions. We are going to do all new light fixtures (mixture of potlights and pendant) and a tiled backsplash. And yes, we plan on doing most of this (minus the wiring) ourselves. I'll share my plans as I figure them out - as well as before, during and after photos.

This is the future home for our fridge - the wall here is actually the back of a closet from our office. We plan on ripping out the backs of the closets and restoring the original footprint of the room, this will gain us at least a foot in floor space. We also plan on replacing the sink cabinet and removing the cabinet above the fridge. With the new space, we'll add in floor to ceiling cabinets around our fridge from the ever-handy IKEA as we are actually in pretty short supply of decent cabinet space.

This is the wall that our kitchen shares with our office. The previous owners used the office as a bedroom - I think that it was originally a formal dining room. You can see the awesome closet (vintage wallpaper included) that we will be ripping out and the great wall panelling on the closets that were added by the previous owners (also slated to be ripped out). We will be adding an island/bar table here and a sliding door to separate the office from the kitchen. Hopefully, we will also remove all traces of the aqua wall colour.

And last, but not least, is the wall that separates our back entry from the kitchen (with ugly re-utilized shelving system). We are (hopefully) going to salvage the lower cabinet and are planning on ripping everything else out (including the wall!). Our back entry opens into a sunroom addition, which will hopefully become a three season or year-round space. With that, I want to integrate the space more with the overall house and am hoping that removing the wall will make the back entry more integrated with the kitchen. We'll also be moving some of the other cabinets around and plan on moving one to this side, adding more valuable storage space to the kitchen.

More kitchen design via Kvanum Living

2009-10-22T07:24:00.001-04:00

Originally posted here - all images from Kvanum Living. I love the details involved with each - especially the granite or marble surrounds on the sinks. Beautiful! The soft gray and the use of cutting board for counter is definately something that is going to be a part of our kitchen reno. The question now is what shade of gray...

Anthropologie in Canada

2009-10-21T07:25:00.000-04:00

Chronograph Knob

It seems to have quietly arrived - but Anthropologie is here! To be honest, I don't really understand the Edmonton/Toronto location choices (I would have predicted Vancouver, Calgary and Montreal ahead of those two). But then beggars can't be choosers - now officially within driving distance (only five hours away, I am such a Western Canadian). I'm excited! It was this post by decor8 announcing the new euro location that reminded me...

My favorites definately include their hardware and curtains...

Oeuf Glass Finials

Welsh Pear Curtain

Before: A Tour of Our Main Floor

2009-10-20T07:24:00.002-04:00

So here it is, the tour of the main floor of our new house. A lot of it is beautiful - we (my hub and I) both agree that what it really needs is a whole lot of elbow grease. I'm going to document the hell out of our renovation process, hopefully you can learn along with us and help me out whenever I hit a design stump! We will have some professional help along the way though for the most part, we plan on doing a lot of the work ourselves. This is just a general overview, with each room I will provide more detailed photos on the before and a more in depth description of the changes we will be making (as well as the during/after shots). Enjoy!

I'm a visual person - thought a floor plan would help.

This is the front entry way. Currently carpeted (on top of the original deep red lino) in blue with one wall tiled entirely in mirror.

The entry offers access to the upstairs, living room or office areas. This is a shot of our living room - a large space that will also include a dining area. The original hardwoods were covered since the 60s and are still in excellent shape - the fireplace leaves a lot to be desired as it doesn't really fit the style of the house.

This is the other end of the large room that will soon be our living/dining combination space.

This is the view from our dining area into the back entry (and through to the kitchen). I'd like to open this door up but that is the load-bearing wall so that plan might just wait a bit.

Ah, our ugly kitchen. This is the first room on our to-do list, I will be posting more pictures and descriptions of our plans.

This is a view of what was originally a formal dining room and will now become our office.

This is a view of the wall between the office and the kitchen.

Painting ideas for the new space

2009-10-18T07:14:00.001-04:00

Okay so I'll admit - even though I've moved too many times and lived in six (six!) provinces, I've never really had the chance to paint a space that I've lived in. In our current townhouse, we've painted a bit but have really kept it muted. That said, our new house needs to be completly painted from top to bottom. We've got to figure out what colours (probably a calm, warm colour selection) and answer the questin - how far do we want to go? I saw this post on apartmenttherapy that features painted ceilings - what do you think?

Kitchen reno ideas (including how to paint cabinets!) via This Old House

2009-10-15T07:36:00.003-04:00

What a load!! I found a ton of instructional material via This Old House and plan on using all of it in my forthcoming kitchen renovation. My hub and I plan on embracing our inner DIY spirit and will be going full steam ahead as of the first week of November!!!

How to Paint Kitchen Cabinets | Step-by-Step | Kitchen Cabinets | Kitchens

How to Paint Kitchen Cabinets | Video | Painting

Kitchen Counter Swap: Before | Kitchen-Counter Upgrade | Photos | Kitchen Countertops | Kitchens

How to Afford the Kitchen You Want | How to Afford the Kitchen You Want | Photos | Kitchens

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Table and chair combo via apartmenttherapy home tour

2009-10-13T07:12:00.002-04:00

When I saw this picture via an apartmenttherapy NY house tour(House Tour: Roy and Jen's Professional DIY), I noticed the table/stool combination and had to find them. After reading the comments, the homeowners let it be known that the stools were the Precision stools from Design Within Reach.

Conveniently on sale right now - they can be yours in Canada for $1250 (for two, sans backrest - delivery included!). To be honest with you, that price stalled me for a bit. I'm big into reduce/reuse/recycle, also big into buying quality items that will last a lifetime. I knew I wouldn't be able to find them used (damn!) and decided to take a closer look at the item description on DWR: Manufactured in the U.S. for use in hospitals where they often get knocked around, these well-machined heavy-gauge stainless steel stools are extremely sturdy and available with or without a backrest.

The whole Hospital thing got me thinking so I google image searched "Adjustable stainless steel stool" and on the second page I saw it - the precision stool but this time via a medical equipement supplier. I found out that the product number is: UMF-SS6700 and right now they are on sale at medexsupply for $389 US(with backrest!). The US sale price at DWR is $595, only a $200 difference. Medexsupply ships worldwide (yay!) but if it comes from the US, I might have to pay duty...so with that info in hand, I also took the time to find a Canadian supplier: Claflin Canada.

If you are curious to learn more about the stool, you can read up on it on the United Metal Fabricators website.

Happy Thanksgiving, Canada!

2009-10-11T20:35:00.002-04:00

In honor of Canadian Thanksgiving, I offer you a recipe that we have adopted and used in variation over and over again. I learned about Turkey Rolls from a chef - a popular "high-dining" alternative to a traditional meal, it is easily adapted to smaller groups (dining for two?) and the leftovers come in a perfect shape for sandwiches. There are so many great things about preping a turkey this way - it is faster, takes up less room in the stove (you can prep multiple dishes at the same time!) and offers a safe way to have stuffed turkey! You can really make this recipe your own - we have our own stuffing recipe and simply use these directions for butterflying/baking directions. Anyway - enjoy!

So here it is, via marthasterwart.com - How to Bone, Roll and Stuff a Butterflied Turkey...

Serve 8 to 10

1 turkey (12 to 14 pounds)
3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1 medium onion, coarsely chopped
3 medium cloves garlic, minced
3 tablespoons chopped fresh rosemary, plus 3 large sprigs
1 tablespoon chopped fresh sage
1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
1 pound ground turkey
1 pound ground pork (you can also substitute ground turkey or chicken)
1 cup dried breadcrumbs
3 large eggs
1 cup heavy cream
3 1/2 teaspoons salt
1 3/4 teaspoons freshly ground pepper
1/4 cup maple syrup
Cranberry Compote
Watercress, for garnish

Directions

Bone the turkey: Place it on a work surface, breast side down. Slice skin along backbone from neck to tail. Cut and pull flesh and skin away from carcass. Cut flesh from saber-shaped bone near wing, and remove bone. Sever ball-and-socket wing joints so that they are separated from carcass but still attached to skin. Continue cutting breast meat away from bone up to the ridge of the breastbone. Turn turkey around, and repeat on other side. Pull gently to separate breastbone and carcass flesh (save carcass for homemade turkey stock). Cut off wing tip and middle section, leaving largest wing bone; save for stock. Holding outside of wing bone, cut through tendons; scrape meat from bone. Pull out bone, using knife to free it. Holding inside end of leg bone, cut through tendons attaching the flesh to the bone. Use knife to scrape meat from bone, pushing it away from end of bone. Cut bone free of skin. Cut out any sinews still remaining on leg. Repeat on other side, then push leg and wing skin side out. Butterfly breast so that meat completely covers skin. Cover with plastic wrap. Lightly pound meat until even.

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Make the stuffing: Place a large skillet over medium heat; when it is hot, add 1 tablespoon olive oil. Add onion, garlic, 1 tablespoon chopped rosemary, sage, and mustard. Cook, stirring occasionally, until onion is soft and translucent but not brown, about 10 minutes. Transfer to a large bowl, and set aside to cool. Add the ground turkey and pork, breadcrumbs, eggs, cream, 1 1/2 teaspoons salt, and 1/4 teaspoon pepper to the bowl. Stir to combine.

Lay turkey breast on a work surface, skin side down, and season with 1 teaspoon salt, 1/2 teaspoon pepper, and remaining 2 tablespoons chopped rosemary. Place stuffing in the middle of the turkey. Roll turkey up to form a long tube; use toothpicks or wooden skewers to hold in place. Tie every 2 inches with kitchen twine. Drizzle with remaining 2 tablespoons olive oil. Season with remaining teaspoon salt and 1/2 teaspoon pepper. Tuck rosemary branches along the top of the roll under the twine. Place on roasting rack over a large pan.

Roast until an instant-read thermometer registers 150 degrees, 2 to 2 1/2 hours. Remove from oven. Brush with maple syrup. Return to oven, and roast until an instant-read thermometer registers 160 degrees to 165 degrees, about 20 minutes more.
Remove from oven, and let rest for 10 minutes. Transfer to a cutting board, remove twine, and cut crosswise into 1/2- to 1-inch-thick slices. Place slices on a platter, and garnish with watercress. Serve with cranberry compote.

Stainless steel kitchen counters found via Kvanum Living

2009-10-10T07:38:00.001-04:00

If you take a close look at the counters in all these photos - they all include stainless steel. Some are stainless through and through - some are mixed with granite, others with solid wood. I love it though the hub has already veto'd it from our home reno plans, maybe you can use it for your own?

Spotted via homebug - original site was a Kvanum Living in one of their three inspiration galleries (1,2,3).

How to Repair Squeaky Floors Through Carpeting | Video | Floors | This Old House

2009-10-09T07:26:00.001-04:00

The house that we bought has super squeaky hardwoods - I did some research and found this great video via This Old House on how to repair the problem under carpet: How to Repair Squeaky Floors Through Carpeting | Video | Floors and a great article: Fixing a Squeaky Floor | Wood Floors

The best - they even have advice on stairs!

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Kids room inspiration via Ikea in Montreal

2009-10-07T07:29:00.003-04:00

The last time we went to Ikea in Montreal, I snapped these pictures of the some kids rooms connected by a tunnel. I love the idea of having a tunnel between bedrooms, isn't it fantastic?? The Ikea in Montreal often has things only carried in the european stores, I like going there to check it out.

I <3 Marmoleum

2009-10-05T19:11:00.003-04:00

IMG_1014
Originally uploaded by Janellie

I love this kitchen - this shade is slightly darker than the sample that we are currently contemplating but I love it! With the white kitchen, the floor looks so dramatic...

Our new house

2009-10-05T16:42:00.001-04:00

Front view
Originally uploaded by mainlander_1978

I guess this means that my blog is going to go beyond collecting info on home things that I love and into keeping track on my reno trials and errors. Wish me luck! Here is a picture of our new house.

Kitchen inspiration, Part 1 - via Canadian House and Home

2009-09-27T07:17:00.001-04:00

Found via Canadian House and Home...

Kitchen makeover: Raised cabinets + white + gray

2009-09-26T07:45:00.001-04:00

Kitchen makeover: Raised cabinets + white + gray
Originally uploaded by xJavierx

My dream kitchen, now if I can just figure out how to introduce a lino floor into it all...

1950s Kitchen Design - Nairn Linoleum

2009-09-24T07:45:00.000-04:00

1950s Kitchen Design - Nairn Linoleum
Originally uploaded by American Vintage Home

I love the floor, what a cool design!

Modern porch swing

2009-09-18T07:51:00.000-04:00

Modern porch swing

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Kitchen Design: How to Avoid a Dozen Pitfalls

2009-09-16T07:28:00.003-04:00

Now that we are within days of becoming home owners for the first time (no pressure!), I've started researching the renovations we have to do (kitchen and bathroom, only the most expensive rooms in the house!!). One of my favorite sources of information on renovations and do it yourself stuff is This Old House. Recently, I found a good article on This Old House about kitchen remodels, titled Kitchen Design: How to Avoid a Dozen Pitfalls. It provides lessons learned and how to avoid problems - my favorite:

4. The Regret: I work harder than my appliances do
I wish we'd invested in a larger-capacity refrigerator and a second dishwasher when we designed our kitchen five years ago. With three children, our fridge is overflowing, and I am constantly unloading and reloading the dishwasher.

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