White Out: Entry and Hall Edition

Remember I mentioned I was planning on whiting out the new house....well we are on our way.  After testing 4 whites that I randomly chose from the CIL white pamphlet at Home Depot I settled on Artesian White a whole 20L pail of it.  To test,  I painted a square block in the main room, hallway, mudroom and entry for more than week to see how each white looked in every light situation.  Picking a white is frekin difficult, it could be too pink, yellow, blue and beige. I found Artesian white to be the purest white with a slight creaminess to it. We splurged on CIL Premium paint and I'm glad we did, it only took 2 coats to cover a medium beige and it went on super smooth.

Check out the afters, I am super pleased with the results!  So much more to do though! We need to change out the flooring in the entry, I am thinking a brick tile. I know that may sound crazy but I have seen some awesome pictures and it camouflages dirt so mopping is not required EVERY day. I also bought two IKEA Hemnes shoe cabinets to be installed against the longer wall. Notice anything else? The front door is now black! The plan is to also do the hall doors black but I am waiting to find five matching 5 panel doors from Habitat for Humanity Restore to replace the existing hollow core wood panel doors.

As for the rest....trim, art, rugs and a little bit of styling will complete the spaces.  Don't the pendants look great too?!

Surprise Wood

HA! Tricked you ladies, unfortunately this post is not about pop-up tents but about a discovery that only happens to people with blogs.  We found the original hardwood under the dirty old 70s' rug!! Whenever I read about some blogger or watched a DIY T.V. show about homeowners pulling back the carpets to find the original hardwood I thought WHO THE HELL does that really happen to?!?! Well this time it's me!!! Sorry to gloat but do you know how much money this saves us!? When we bought the house we knew there was the original school flooring in the main room but we didn't know it was hiding under the nasty carpet in the whole main floor!! Boo ya!

I'll tell you how the best day in my life happened...I was painting the ceiling in the spare room when I happened to look down and saw a little piece of brown peeking at me through the closet door floor hardware.  I immediately got down on my knees and started peeling up the carpet in the closet.  It was wood........a lot of enthusiastic screaming followed by Mr.Loonie asking WTF was going on. He couldn't believe it either! We then went to every bedroom closet to reveal more glorious wood!!

Now the wood is not in pristine condition so it will need to be refinished, I'm not sure yet how much this will cost us but I know it is a heck of a lot less than new hardwood! 

The carpet is now serving as a drop cloth when painting the walls and ceiling.  As painting is completed in each room we are removing the carpet and painstakingly removing the nails and staples and washing dripped stucco and years of dust. There are paint and other stains remaining but should be easily sanded out in the refinishing process.  Time to start calling specialists for quotes! 

Pictures below are taken in Penny's Room.

  

Hanging Lantern Update

My friend introduced me to the Habitat for Humanity Restores in the Edmonton area and now Mr.Loonie and I are obsessed.  The jist of how it works is people drop off their unwanted home decor items such as furniture and lighting and also home renovation material like doors, tile, toilets, you name it.  It was pretty amazing actually, we know it will be our first stop when thinking of replacing anything in our house.  They literally have hundreds of interior doors that are in awesome condition.  Anyways....the point of this post is the awesome lantern style pendants I found for $15 each for the two larger ones and $5 for the smaller.  A few days prior, I was browsing for a similar style light on the Home Depot website but they were all over $200! When I saw these lights hanging there in all their glory I was so excited, I had to have them.  

In between the time we moved out of our Fort McMurray house and into our new home, we were staying with my in-laws with not a lot to do so it was a perfect time to fart around on little projects such as this....tedious taping.  It's always awesome having extra help too.  

The plan was simple.  Tape off the inside windows (they were soldered in) and then spray paint black even the cord and the chain.I decided it was too difficult to paint inside the lights but the gold lines inside give kind of a vintagey shimmery look when hanging and light. On the largest one hanging in the entry I did paint the inside light pole by hand with black paint which were unlike the other 2 where the bulbs were flush with the top.

We were in the new house when it finally came time to spray.

Remove the tape and hang.  We had to shorten in the chain in both the hall and entry.

Please excuse the crappy picture but I don't want to give away the entry or hallway reveal, which will be coming soon!

Bathroom Reno Reveal!

Once again I was in a love-hate relationship with this damn blog.  I must have been a deep hate because I am so proud of the bathroom renovation....you would think I would want to share it with you all.  I was even avoiding clicking on the "Two Loonies and a Penny" bookmark in my tool bar until a fellow blogging friend who I play volleyball with asked if we had even finished the bathroom since there were no pictures up.  So Lace, here ya go...thanks for the kick in the ass. It has been at least a month now we have been done.  It really was the longest bathroom reno of all time....about 9 months! But with babies and shift work, things get put off pretty easily.  So first let's have a look at the nasty before...

Blue counter tops, peach tile, green walls and white, blue and pink linoleum....YIKES.

And this was my inspiration picture.....

And now for the reveal.....

We finished tiling in November with the help of my Dad. I love the white hexagon tile with the lightest grey grout.  I realized that I LOVE WHITE! If we ever move (foreshadowing) I am seriously considering whiting out the whole house, by that I mean every. single. wall, WHITE! There are three rooms in our house which are painted a shade of white; the kitchen, Penny's room and this bathroom (which is mostly white) and they are all my favorite rooms in the house.  Nothing beats the cleanness of it. The dark greyish blue color we chose to compliment all the white is "grilled sardine" by Benjamin Moore.

The next step of the reno after tiling was the wainscoting and trim which Mr.Loonie completed effortlessly.  I really am so proud of him, it looks awesome.  Especially after I went behind him twice with the wood filler, silicone and white paint.  ;)

Then it was the accessories, the best part!! It could use a little more styling but I think that just comes with time.  I need to stroll through a vintage store or my Grandma's house to find a little tin or wall hanging for the wall opposite the towel ring, something to just give the bathroom that extra charm.  What we do have is an IKEA accordion mirror, storage boxes and white frames.  To add the needed punch of color I edited two corally colored flower photos that I took on our Oregon vacation.  The grey striped mat is from Crate and Barrel and the white waffle shower curtain and bathroom accessories (cup, toothbrush holder, soap dish, towel, garbage can) are from Superstore.  Hmmm....what else...toilet brush holder and shower rings from Home Sense; mirror from JYSK, cabinet hardware from Lee Valley and the rest I already owned (towel ring, and glass apothecary jars).
You also might be wondering what that silver thing is hanging off the toilet.  It's the cloth diaper sprayer where we spray out little Pen Pen's poop into the toilet.  At least with the toilet surrounded in white, if the poop splatters it is easy to spot and clean, keeps us extra diligent.

So that's it....all for under $4000. I don't have the exact bills in front of me but from what I can estimate we spent around $3500 so add a few hundred bucks for random items.
Approximate Expenditures: $1400 for tub, toilet  faucet and sink. $1000 for cabinet and countertop, $300 in tile and grout, $350 in paint, trim and wainscoting, $160 for lighting and $400 in accessories and finishing details.
What do you all think!?
To view all the bathroom posts while the reno was in progress click here.

Chalkboard Paint Everything!!

As any smart girl would do, I did whatever Ryan Gosling told me to (Isn't he the sexiest guy ever?  What is it about this guy?! He just oozes smooth).  No one has to tell me twice to chalk board paint something.  It has been quite a craze for awhile and I don't question why.  It is seriously the perfect solution for organizing and even without anything drawn on, it is the perfect shade of matte black 

My new chalk pens which were in my stocking this year also inspired me to get crafty.  They are awesome! They look like a paint pen and wipe off chalkboard super easy.  No more chalk dust, smudges and dry fingers.  And, finally we won't have to worry about rubbing the chalkboard wall at our back door, our jackets are always covered in pink and purple chalk....Mr.Loonie loves it. :/

So on a Monday night when Pen Pen was in bed, it was Mommy time to do some evening crafting.  I first covered a ceramic "biscotti" jar I received for Christmas.  Not exactly sure what I will use it for but it needed a makeover.  Maybe flour?

Next was a old digital frame gifted to all the employees at a company Christmas party, it had the company's logo stamped on the bottom...yuck.  Now I can write something cheesy like, "Memories".  We'll see....

**Ended up in the garbage! Haha Turned out it wasn't working**

Finally I covered a few mason jar lids just for labeling purposes.  We store our ground up beans and other essentials in a mason jars and keep them out in the open so I thought it would be cute.

What do you Chalkboard paint?

Kitchen Backsplash

Sorry to keep all of you in suspense! I am the worst blogger ever.  Some weeks I am so interested in keeping this up and others, I just want nothing to do with it....this has been one of those weeks.  Just in a bit of a funk...Mr. Loonie is almost at the end of a long work cycle, it has been cold, snowy and windy and we are still going through the sleep issues with Penny.  I honestly had no idea of the internal struggles I would be having deciding on what type of parent I want/should be.  The amount of information out there in books, blogs, forums, mom's groups, etc. is overwhelming, it honestly makes my head spin. Just when I think I want to do things one way, someone throws their opinion at me and it makes me second guess myself. I then do endless research weighing the pros and cons of both sides but always end up going back to my original method, what feels natural to me.   Whoa....a little off topic, just getting things off my chest I guess!  My rant deserves a post of it's own I think.  So, back to tile.....

We are super pleased with the end result, the kitchen feels much more bright and updated. And remember the tile only cost us a dollar a sheet. So in total we used 27 sheets therefore $27!! Mr. Loonie has asked me like ten times since we finished, "So, are you happy with your kitchen?".  It's hilarious, he is just that happy with himself! I have to say I am pretty proud of us too, I feel like we could tile anything now.  It took us just over three hours which is a little long probably but trying to keep Penny entertained at the same time was a handful. We added water to the mortar a few times since it was drying out.  The next few days included grouting (we went with a white grout), wiping and sealing and then cleaning.  

Wondering why there is one dark handle and the rest brushed nickel?  I'm just trying one out before I change them all.  Let me know what you think? All dark (oil rubbed bronze) or all brushed nickel, a different style though?? HELP ME! I can't decide!!

Dreaming of a Banquette

The perfect corner for a banquette?!? I think so!!

I've always loved banquettes they just seem so inviting.  Who wouldn't want a cozy little spot to curl up into to read the morning paper (or check facebook on the iphone) while drinking a cup of coffee.  I've come to realize during my extra time at home that I really have the perfect kitchen for it, I just have to get rid of the cart, garbage can and spice cabinet.  Easier said then done but I can make it happen with a little kijiji selling and organization.

**Mr.Loonie just looked in while I was writing in this post and he thinks the idea of a banquette is stupid because the kitchen looks "wicked" as is.  Also, that I should enjoy my morning coffee on the couch like every other normal person. Men.....what do they know?! The only thing he knows is that building the banquette goes on his "honey do" list and cuts out on whatever he does like playing with his computer and car.

It wouldn't be that hard to build though just two long rectangular boxes with the top on hinges for storage and custom bench cushions.  Perhaps some trim, white paint and throw cushions to fancy it up abit. A cute round little table and chair would also be needed too. EASY! ;)

Another reason for wanting a kitchen eating area is for when Penny starts solids in a month.  I could use her high chair or just the bumbo for quick morning feeds instead of hauling everything to the dining table in the other room.  She could make as much mess as her little heart desired.

Here are some banquette ideas I've been pinning on Pinterest:

Love the wall opening to the front door - same layout as our house! It could be done!

Gorgeous, love the trim.

Love the area rug, round table and wicker!

A touch to modern but love the layout and the windows

Easy bench cushions.  Not liking the long table though.

Wish me luck.........

The Weekend of Tiling

The grout is a flyin' this weekend......finally! Well finally for the bathroom anyways.  We started the bathroom reno May long weekend with a little progress made in the summer but has been at a stand still now for which seems like forever.  So here we are in November getting this bathroom finished up! My Dad and Mr.Loonie are up there now laying it down while I get the kitchen blacksplash prepped and hangin' with little Pens of course. 

Bathroom Sneak Peek!

Yes, we are also tiling the kitchen back splash...something I never really planned on doing but when a deal came up at Wal-Mart for this glass mosaic tile pictured below, I couldn't refuse.  You are not going to believe me when I say this but a box, one 1ft x 1ft sheet was on the clearance rack for $1.00! One frekin dollar for real glass mosaic tile and it matches our colour scheme perfectly!! I saw almost the exact same sheet of tile at Home Hardware for $19.99.  We picked up 32 sheets which means we will be tiling the backsplash for $32.00 not including the cost of grout though.  The colour is called "ocean mist", found on the Creative Surfaces website.

Floor Tile, Countertop, Backsplash $1.00 tile!

Check out the before shot below. Yeesh, I could have at least put the dishes away and folded up the tea towel neatly before taking the shot.  Oh well, just keeping it real around here.  You can see one box of tile leaned up against the wall behind the sink, doesn't it just seem too perfect? I think so! Once the backsplash is done I am thinking of replacing the cabinet hardware as well.  The current handles are just a little too modern for me.  I picked them out five years ago while we were painting the cabinets but my style has changed over the years to a little more traditional/eclectic. I think that's how it would be described. Well, I must get back to work before the guys yell at me for being a slacker! haha

Stay tuned for the finished shots!!

Chalkboard Update - Frame Drawings

I am always trying to think of something cool and creative to fill up my chalkboard with like meaningful quotes written in unique lettering but I just end up with phone messages and stick drawings.  I did a quick search on Pinterest and found this easy frame idea that I could personalize anyway I want including the frame design and what to fill them with.  Since Halloween is just around the corner I did a jack o'lantern and then countdown to Christmas in another frame to keep us on track for gift shopping (I can't believe it's only 8 weeks away!!).  The rest of the frames were easy...a K for our last name and then love for my babes. 

What I wish I could do....

Penny's Nursery: The Big Reveal!!

Finally the big reveal!! I am in love with Penny's room and I hope one day when she can see past 18" she will too!  It is just so bright and colourful with so much to look at but not overcrowded or too busy...in my opinion anyways. ;)

We took these shots at 5am when the sun was coming up which explains the brightness and since I am not the best photographer these are the pictures we are left with.

The cost breakdown:

Crib - $120 (Bought on Kijiji: The price included the change table which I didn't use and sold for $40)
Closet Doors - $35
Crib Skirt, Pillows, Curtains, Quilt and Ottoman Fabric - $75 (with fabric to spare)
Light Fixture - $30
Art - $50
Rag Rug from Etsy- $80
Chair from Kijiji- $50
Paint and Supplies - $40
Change Pad, Sheets, Change Pad Covers (2) - $70
Baskets, Pom Poms, Trash Can, Laundry Bin - $50
Mobile - $50
IKEA Ribba Shelves (Picture Ledge) - $17 x 3 =  $51
Hooks from Kijiji - $45

Total = $746
Subtract $40 for Change Table = $706
Add $50 for odds and ends (buttons, spray paint, ottoman legs etc.) = $756 (Approximately)
Mattress and Monitor = Approx. $230 (bought with Costco gift card)

 

The room consisted of a lot of DIY projects which were really fun to me and kept me busy during my early pregnancy months.  First was refinishing the dressers that I had when I was a kid which then led to lining the dresser drawers with polka dot wrapping paper.  Next was the sewing projects with Penny's great grandmother, she helped me make the nursery safe shades (the fabric was the first thing I bought for the room and served as the colour inspitration for the whole nursery) and the pillows. 

I then searched Kijiji for weeks for the perfect crib and nursing chair with some character and found both 500km away in Edmonton, luckily my wonderful family were able to pick them up for me.

 

Now for the closet doors which were the other biggest project of the room besides the dressers.  I couldn't imagine the room without them though, they just provide that extra design and personal touch.  As you can see in the picture above the light reflects the circles back on the walls for the coolest effect!

Smaller projects included:

• Garden baskets which I spray painted gold to hold stuffed animals above the crib.
• Homemade pom-poms hanging above the change table for a $5 project for so much impact! 
• I Heart You picture I made using an old IKEA picture and frame I had laying around, filled the squares using burlap from our wedding table runners, spray painted wooden letters found at Wal-Mart and put it all together. 
• The book shelves are actually picture ledges from IKEA, they are awesome to showcase all the books my cousin and I had when we were kids. Also super accessible for reading in the chair. 
• P for Penny, again using a letter found at Wal-Mart and wrapping it in twine.
• The ottoman which my Dad and I whipped up quickly. 
• DIY crib skirt made using heat bond tape and velcro.

The hooks, chevron basket, rag rug and change pad covers were etsy finds.  After some use, I am so happy I went with topping the dresser with the change pad rather than using the change table, such a space saver and everything looks clean rather than having the open shelving that a change table has.  After she is out of diapers we don't have to worry about selling the change table and finding a dresser to fit the space.  The basket set-up next to the change pad really works for us too.  It contains diaper creams, a box of wipes and like ten diapers which we refill when necessary from the big diaper box hidden in the closet.

Other finishing touches include the mobile bought at a baby store in Edmonton, the owl clock and trash can found at Superstore, quilt made by Penny's great-grandma, laundry basket from Canadian Tire, the owl light given as a gift, the fox pelt given to me from a local trapper and the light fixture and picture above the changing dresser both found at IKEA.