From Dark to Light

In my last post, I let you know how big of a job it was to transform our house to what it is now. This next area is our front entryway. When we looked at the house, we immediately knew it had to be changed. It was just so dark!!

So…we tore out the front door with strict instructions from me that I wanted the side light windows saved!! It was more work than just ripping it out but I will show you what I did with them. So worth the extra effort! I wanted to keep the original slate floors because I loved the colours in it and knew it would be a nice contrast to all the hardwood we were putting in.

The panelling had to go as well! We wanted a nice and bright entryway and more natural light. So the process begins..

_DSC0109 — These are the stairs leading down to the front entryway…before…definitely needed lightening up!

After a lot of hard work by us and our wonderful friends and family…here are the results. It went from Dark to Light!

_DSC0020 — My online find dresser painted with ASCP in Pure White.

_DSC0033 — This frame came from Mark’s grandmother. Isn’t it gorgeous!? Hand stamped design in the wood. Very special…

Mark wanted to change out the bannister, but I got my way and we kept the rod iron. I love the black contrast!

And here is what I did with the side panels of the front door. What do you think? I love how it makes the entry to the kitchen seem larger….

So there you have it. Our dark entryway, transformed into a nice bright area!

Our Home…At Last

When we bought our home 3 years ago (I can’t believe it’s been that long), I had great plans to do “before and afters” as we renovated the place. Well, we got much too busy to even think of that as we did most of the renovations ourselves along with the help of great friends & family.

So….I’ve decided that now is a good time to show you some of the changes we made.

When we looked at the house what immediately caught my attention was how bright it was because of all the windows. I was in love. Mark was talking to the realtor and 5 minutes in I was gesturing to him that this was the place! We made an offer that night! After looking for at least 3 years it felt so good to have finally found the perfect place. We purchased it and had 4 months before we moved in to do all the renovations.

Here is the Living Room the first time we saw it. This house was built in 1959 and we purchased it from the original owners. Shag carpet and all…

It needed a little (a lot) of updating. So with lots of help we replaced all the carpets with hardwood, cleaned up the fireplace, added a barn beam mantle, stripped and painted the walls, added crown moulding, replaced windows, changed the wood fireplace to gas, and much more.

_DSC0142 2 — My daughter Ashley having fun with the picture window out…thankfully this was one of the warmest winters we had in a long time. Winter of 2011/2012.

So was all the hard work worth it? You bet! The living room is one of my favourite places to sit in the house. It’s a sun filled room, and sitting by the fireplace with a coffee and a good book… Priceless…

_DSC0017 — We change out the carpet in the summer and winter…this is my winter one….love the pop of red!

_DSC0016 — We had stained the mantle when we moved in…and just sanded it all down a couple of months ago. I love the natural wood.

My place to call home 🙂

Next…from dark and dingy entry to tons of light…

Blah Brown to Beautiful Layering

I picked up this chair at a yard sale and could see it’s potential. It has great lines and detailing, but the colour was dreadful. Brown on brown…it needed a facelift! I’ve painted a chair in the past with Annie Sloan chalk paint and knew it would work on this one as well.

The entire chair was painted with Coco first and then the wood was done with layers of Paris Grey and Old White.
I also did a wash of Paris Grey over the Coco on the seat and back just to lighten it up a bit and it was distressed to give it that worn look.

The entire piece was clear and dark waxed.

When it was done I thought it needed some more interest on the seat and back so I added the grain sack stripes in Paris Grey and Old White. And it’s done!!

**I love creating something new from something old**

I love this colour combination…Much better than the brown!

King Size Please…

I was so excited when Mark said he would build us a new headboard. I have been wanting one in this style for ages! We picked up some wood from Heather & Larry (thank you!) and immediately had a vision of what we wanted. The side pieces are from an old house in the area and the cross pieces of wood had the perfect chippy white paint. Mark put it together using old barnboard, and I painted it all to blend together using the steel wool and vinegar aging and then highlighting with Annie Sloan Old White paint. I am in LOVE with this headboard!! (My next project is to paint the wall behind it)…

What do you think?

Annie Sloan Makeover

I have seen many makeovers on chairs using Annie Sloan Chalk Paint, so when I got this chair I knew it would be the perfect candidate!

She was shiny striped and a bit dirty from being in storage.

I was really nervous when I started and thought “this will never work”…

Annie Sloan Chair — Well, wasn’t I surprised! I absolutely love it!!

Reading other posts from very talented people helped me do this. The one I followed was from Bella Tucker Decorative Finishes…I have their link on my facebook page.
You spray the material with water, go 50/50 with paint and water and paint the material. You do have to wait 24 hours between coats and also spray the material each time you paint a coat. Add your decorative finishes, wax and you are done! I also painted and dark waxed the wood. Who would have known you could paint a chair? Once it is waxed it feels a bit like leather.

_DSC0007 — This chair was painted in Old White and the highlights are Paris Grey. The wood was also painted in Old White but then dark waxed for some contrast.

I would definitely try this again!

Pretty Persian Blue

When Judith emailed me to see if I wanted to purchase this desk I immediately replied “YES”! She had a friend in Toronto who wanted to sell it and would even deliver it to her. I just had to go pick it up nearby.

I love the shape and size of this desk. And I knew the perfect colour I would use…General Finishes Persian Bue. I love this colour! The piece had peeling veneer which I ended up taking off and it needed some TLC but I love the result.

Hard work always pays off…

Here are some before and afters.

_DSC0147 — Peeling off the peeling veneer…

_DSC0070 — The top is finished with General Finishes High Performance Top Coat.

Abbey’s Antique White Bedroom

Abbey is a lucky little girl. A friend GAVE this set to her mom Sarah…wow, what a nice friend! Sarah and the family are moving today to a cottage on 12 acres and this set will be put in a bedroom that has pine walls. It is going to look wonderful! Sarah knew she wanted it white for that fresh clean look.

I can’t wait to see pictures of the set @ home. Thanks Sarah and family for letting me do such an important piece!

Here are some before and afters.