Residual Effects of the Snowball

After the 3rd floor was done, I still had this little pang in my soul.  I wasn't done.  I wanted more projects.  I still needed to create.

So I trekked around the house and it wasn't long before I found a spot to work on. 

Our second floor bathroom is the where all four kids get ready in the morning.  There is one sink and it's not huge but it is where the mirror hangs.  I'd been thinking about tucking a dresser-type unit into the spot pictured above to create a more practical space because then I could hang a second mirror and the girls could do hair there, freeing up the sink.

Now, back in January, I decided that I was sick of this guy...keeper of the microwave in the kitchen.

I found this great unit at Home Sense which fits perfectly in the space, matches the style of the kitchen, and gives me lots more storage and counter top.

I wasn't sure what to do with the basket drawer unit, so I just popped him on a free wall in the dining room to await his fate.

Hoping against hope I measured, and big sigh of relief...he was a perfect fit!!  I painted the wood part white, found a fun mirror at Goodwill which I sprayed to match and then dug out a little shelf I'd been wanting to find a home for.

I hung the mirror low so that the girls can see in it easily.  All the hair supplies and other items from those green boxes in the first picture are now tucked away in the drawers.  I am still considering spraying the baskets white too...what do you think?

News, Tears and Moving On

I have news...

  

Thanks to my fab friend Ellen, my blog now has a GADGET.  It's over there on the left and if you want to receive my new blog posts via email, all you have to do is put your address in and presto!  Cool huh?  And don't forget if you are out there reading this but have not logged in as a follower, I'd love to have you join and see your teeny picture down there at the bottom!  

And now the tears.

This is what our house looks like today:

Our deck, sunroom and front porch have been removed.  Endless hours of work have gone into preparing it for the big day.  In several days it will be sitting 2 feet up in the air. 

As you can imagine, things are not terribly pretty in there.

  

But for now I will take a deep breath and look forward to a time when I can show you some exciting after shots.

I did shed a few tears as I left my sweet house a little note though...

Moving on, I thought we'd cheer up by talking about an crazy easy way to give a room or piece of furniture a big new look.  KNOBS!! 

Soon I will be visiting one of my favourite stores, Anthropologie.  A year ago I bought 30 knobs there and redid my entire kitchen.  I am still in love with them.  They gave the room a really different look.

Before

After

I got a dresser for baby girl's room a bit ago and after paint, added these:

A knob can look cute as hook too.

Apron hanger in kitchen.

Baby Girl's room.

Lee Valley has a huge selection of knobs.  You might find some in the Michael's cheapie bins too.  Or any home store.  Have a look around.  It's an easy, quick redo that gives you a fun update!  (And you can always sell your old knobs on Kijiji!!)

Hanging

The other day I did a few hanging jobs for my friend Meire-Anne.

We started in her bedroom where I built and then hung her new headboard.

Before

After

Then we hung a beautiful fabric wall hanging that she brought home from one of her trips.  We used those Ikea wire curtain hangers.

Before

After

I also hung some gorgeous colour photos a friend gave her.

Before

After

And a couple more sweet trip momentos.

So let's talk tricks.  

If you want to hang pictures at the same height, it works great to measure down from the ceiling to the height you want.  Much easier than fighting with the tape measure from the floor up.  Now, if you should happen to be working in an old house where the ceiling is not quite level...you can run into issues.  But the same goes for the floor so a crooked house is just trickier all around.

If you want to hang a collage, a really great trick is to trace all your pictures on kraft paper.  Cut them out and label them so you can keep track of which is which.  Lay them on the back of their corresponding picture and mark where the nail should go.  Then you can tape them on the wall and work them around until you are happy.  This might take awhile!  I have left collages over night to see if I still like it in the morning.  Once you are satisfied you can literally put the nail right through the paper on your nail mark and then just pull all the papers down and presto - ready to hang!

Meire-Anne's bedroom wall.

I'll leave you with another adorable set of souvenirs I hung for Meire-Anne a few months ago.  Love those cutie turtles!

Happy Hangin'!