Patio Door Love

One of the things I wanted to change about this house was the doors on the side. Right now there are two huge sliding doors on each side of the house. They have a small window in  them that doesn't let in a whole lot of light. I was envisioning french doors on this side, so started looking for some on Craigslist. After quite awhile of searching and not having much luck, I finally came across this set. To be honest, they were far from ideal. They are technically interior doors with single pane glass. The look is quite East Indian Surrey ( no offence if your East Indian or from Surrey, it's just the style of the houses that are built there). Not exactly the look I was going after.

However yesterday I won the french door lottery! I found an ad for this set in the free section of Craigslist. The picture was kind of dark, so I couldn't really see the glass. I was mostly interested as they were exterior doors with double pane glass which would be much more appropriate. This is what I saw when I showed up to pick them up.

Yup, that's stain glass! I love these! Much more my style for sure. I'm doing my happy dance right now. Sorry the pictures aren't so great, they are stored in a container right now until I can get around to framing in the space for them.

They are in perfect condition, extremely solid and definitely weatherproof. I can't wait until these get installed!

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Inspiration Mondays : Bathrooms

I love water. It soothes and refreshes me, it cradles me in a weightless dream, it recharges my soul.

Every house I have ever designed has been designed around the bathroom. I want a spa, an oasis of relaxation. Here are some bathroom components that inspire me.

I love this sink on a burl!

I really like the sinks in an old dresser look as well

How would you like to have this for a bathroom floor?

Hmm , I should paint an underwater seascape on mine.

I like bathtubs stuffed into nooks. I would rather they be in their own space apart from the toilet fixtures

I like the lighting effect they did, I might incorporate that idea into the front of my tub

Another nook

A chandalier in the bathroom just screams luxurious comfort

Rustic, but I like it

This is my favorite tub picture, I want this room so bad

The first time I saw this, I had to have one. Its a shower/steamroom/sauna all in one. They were four thousand dollars and only available from the states. Out of my reach finacially unfortunately.

I did manage to get this one though, in Canada and

 on sale for twelve hundred. Its sitting in a box in storage just waiting to get installed. I can't wait, its a shower/steam room with jacuzzi jets on the wall. I will be spending time in that baby for sure!

I love little unusual cabinets. I would like to set up a workshop to build things like this. Here are some cute bathroom accessories

I love the shabby house toilet paper holder!

And then there is always the outdoor bathing experience. Nothing like a good soak in the hot tub after a hard days work!

I love this little patio for sunbathing

Here are the plans for it

This great site has all kinds of little cute cabinets for sale. I want them all!

http://www.homedecorativeitems.com/shop/index.php?main_page=index&cPath=3_26

More seriously cute shabby chic stuff to decorate with.

http://www.barkleyfurniture.com/a1agiftsnew/shabbyelegance/index.html

With all this inspiration, it will be interesting to see what I end up with. It will definately be a room for the senses.

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A Kitchen Update

Well the kitchen isn't totally finished yet, but it is coming along nicely. Bear in mind, I am under construction still, this is not the final finished look but, I am so excited at getting my kitchen counters installed today, that I couldn't wait to show you. Having the counters suddenly made the room come together. I still don't have my propane hot water on demand system hooked up yet( hopefully by the end of June if all goes well), so I bought a portable propane hot water system to use in the interim. I figured I could always use it for camping trips in the future. I still need to build some custom cabinets in the right corner and a pantry just outside the kitchen to store small appliances and food. Once I have those, I can put away a lot of the clutter that I have been tripping over. I also plan to put another coat of paint on all the trim. Right now i just  have the primer coat on. I will do the next coat once I am done mucking about with the kitchen as I seem to keep dinging the paint on the door frames right now.

So here are some before shots to refresh your memory. This was the kitchen space after I had cleaned out the huge mess the previous tenants had left behind. Since these pictures were taken, I have removed the wallpaper and painted the whole room, painted and installed kitchen cabinets, the antique metal sink unit and replaced the two wood doors with beautiful leaded glass doors.

This was during the design stage. I had hauled out my stove and cupboards that were salvaged from a demolition and rearranged them until I was happy with the layout.

And here is where I am at now. I seriously love this counter top. It is the only new thing in the kitchen and the most expensive at $300. I was hoping to stumble across one on Craigslist but after waiting a year , I broke down and bought one. It was the look I wanted (butcher block) and I am so happy I got it, it looks perfect in here.

Here it is already loaded up with implements of  food construction. Note the hotplate on the stove. I still don't have propane hooked up to it yet either, that will get done when the hot water is sorted out.

A side view. The bag of water on the sink and the box on the floor are my hot water system at the moment.

I love that sign. As I live on the water, I have been keeping my eye out for nautical themed decor. I couldn't resist this sign. I laughed so hard when I showed it to Dave and he said" oh it will look nice when you paint it and redo the lettering". He just doesn't get the shabby chic concept. I had to explain, that I paid extra for the wear and tear look. This is a good shot of my refurbished glass door.

I replaced the table with this wonderful kitchen island I found. I like this so much better than the table. It has tons of storage on the other side for all my pots and pans, a nice view out the windows when you sit there to eat, and a nice big surface to work on if I want to bake etc.

The view from the stove looking back to the front door.

 A view down the other end of the counter

I love the chandelier, but have decided it would look better in the bathroom, so just waiting for the day when I can afford an electrician again , so I can replace it with this stain glass fixture.

So this is where I am at so far. I feel I am in the home stretch now. I have already prepared a few simple meals here and can't wait until everything is finished and all my appliances are hooked up and working. I still don't have a real fridge. I put my small fridge in the room next door and most of my fruits and veggies live on my counter. I need an electrician to sort out my power issues. Half the plugs in the kitchen still aren't working, neither is the baseboard heater, but once that is taken care of and the propane hooked up, I will be open for business. 

The next big project is the bathroom.So far I just have a toilet hooked up. I have flooring that needs to be installed, then I can plumb in my tub, shower and sink. I am just waiting on the propane guy to get my hot water on demand system hooked up and the roofer to cut me some holes in the roof to vent the propane unit and my wood stove. I am hoping to have this all done well before the end of summer. Its a matter of finances, timing and energy. Some of these renos, I really have to psyche myself up for. Laying down the flooring is one of them. My old arthritic knees are not going to like that chore one little bit, so I keep avoiding it. One of these days, I will get a burst of energy and tackle it. Come back and check it out.


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