Moving the Outside In

With temps getting quite a bit cooler at night, I've had to start bringing all my ferns & tropical plants inside.   My garden didn't do that well this year as we had extreme heat for a long period of time. I totally forgot what green grass looked like! But at least the potted plants were very happy.   It's always quite a challenge trying to keep the ferns alive over winter, but I love the look of them inside a home. 

This little purple Aster was meant for outside but I loved it inside, so it stayed.  Also, in case you're wondering about the kitchen, (confession) I still haven't painted the lower cabinets or bought handles (gasp).  Finding the time (& energy) with 2 teens & a puppy... the thought of taking down the doors & painting is a little overwhelming...but it's on the list for this fall.

I'm sure this tropical plant won't last in the family room but it looks good.  This room has had some changes over the summer...you may notice the hanging light & rug from here.  Also, I did the quickest & cheapest slipcover ever...I used a dropcloth.  I'll do a little post on it later.   

It's All in the Details

Have you ever gone into a home and just had your jaw drop at every turn?  Well that happened to me a couple of months ago.  My friend bought this home in Toronto this winter and  invited us over for the evening.  The floors, ceilings, windows...absolutely everything in his home is quality and beautiful.  Unfortunately, the owner doesn't want the whole home shared so I can only focus on some of the details.  
Because as you know, design is in the details!  

First up is the eating section of the great room,  surrounded by beautiful windows which look out onto a terrace...and check out the coffered ceiling .

Below is a little nook just to the side of the eating area...again surrounded by windows.   The doors leading out to the terrace were mostly windows with an arch at the top and moulding on the lower portion.  I thought it was beautiful how they made the doors and windows with the same detailing in this house.  The pictures don't really do it much justice, but seeing a whole wall of windows as a focal point was quite breathtaking.

The floors were a dark hardwood with a diamond inlay... absolutely gorgeous! 

Last was this curved bookcase which was actually in a round room (hence the curve).  It's in a room that has doors again leading out onto a terrace.  I believe they're making it into an office so the lighting will change.  I just thought the detailing of this cabinet was so sweet with the glass cabinets on either side and the footing.  Also, this room had dark hardwood floors in a herringbone pattern.  Here's a wider shot below. You can see how they again panelled the lower portion of the doors.

(all photos taken by me with my iPhone)

Sorry that's all I can show right now.  I'm hoping to go back this summer and take some pics of the garden because it's pretty spectacular too.

If you want to do some custom windows, doors or cabinetry in your own home, you may want to check out Hoffmeyer's Mill.  They've been around for many years and do beautiful custom work.

Have a great week!

I've Been Painting Things Again

I've been doing a little painting & a big switcheroo lately around my house.  I'm beginning to think this is a pattern for me..seems to me I did this last winter.   (Like the sideboard above..it's moved).  We've lived in this very basic builder home now for 5 1/2 years, and it's taking a while - and some cash, to slowly transform it.  It's complete with light floors, stuccoed ceilings, and lots of "boob" lights...I'm not complaining, I'm just stating the facts.   I see it as a great challenge having only lived in century homes before, to transform this house.  I'm a firm believer that you don't have to have a lot of money to make a home look good, but it may take a little more time...and a lot of paint!  

 I seem to be painting everything dark gray or (as I call it) almost black. When I moved into this home I wanted everything very calm and serene so I painted a lot of the furniture a soft gray.  We had just come out of a very stressful time in our lives and I wanted a calm space... now for some reason, I'm going almost black.  I have a great love for French & English antiques (like Anton & K and that whole gray, black, taupe thing they have going on).  I first decided to change out my dining/kitchen light from a little drum light to a massive dark gray Hektar pendant light (below).   What a change that made... talk about lighting drama.  Also, things started to go a little industrial farmhouse so I painted this sideboard black (which actually is an island from Home Depot but I use it as a sideboard in this house). I've talked about this before...painting & changing the use of a piece of furniture.  (You can read about it here.)  I then got these massive baskets from Target, which is sadly leaving Canada, but that meant that I got them on sale so that was good.  

The "dining room" in my house is actually part of the kitchen, so I was going for a little more sophisticated look.   I usually like my spaces to have a more relaxed sophisticated look...hence the Hektar and gray velvet curtains.  (Just an aside here, when a house doesn't have a dining room, I think it's important to treat the eating area in the kitchen like a dining room).  This space has always been a work in progress, and I need to get an area rug and  slipcovers for the chairs... the list goes on.

  

Then I decided to paint the white shades on the lamps black. I just used some latex paint I had left over from another project and started painting.  I painted fabric before when I painted my pillows.

Then I went to the front hall and decided to paint my hutch black. I found this hutch at a garage sale about ten years ago. It houses all our stuff...you know, the stuff that everybody needs just inside the front door. Still need to get pulls for the drawers though.

Before

After

Are you still with me?  There have been a lot of changes, and I haven't even talked about my master bedroom yet ...it's changed too.   

So here's the lamp I painted in the master bedroom.  It's an antique light that I got at a thrift store years ago for $17.00  that I had stored in the basement.  Originally it was red and then with all the painting I thought..wait a minute...what if I paint that red light black and get a black shade? And what a change.  (Just an aside here,  "Unbroken" is an amazing book.  But definitely not a light read.) 

Oh ya, and I moved a couch into my master bedroom because I switched the family room all around.  But more on those two rooms later.

Here's a little sneak peek at the family room with the painted lamp shade. 

 I haven't painted these yet, but I still want to do it!  

Have a great weekend!!!