Exterior cottage love going on

June 25, 2014 By

Well, now with the warmer weather finally here, at least in my neck of the wood, I hope you are enjoying it. School is almost out and I’m sure that is a relief to end all the lunch making, homework checking and routine. Here’s to a great summer for everyone!

I have a bit of progress to report at the cottage.  Hubby has been determined to get the fire table finished, so here’s where we are now, and by we I really mean him.  I’ve done nothing, except help with the design and the finishes…of course 🙂   Can’t wait to try it out.

photo 234

And I received my fabric order from a few weeks back, so I’ll be sewing up a storm, whenever I can get a second.  These will be exterior cushions for the cottage deck.   Can’t wait for them to liven up the wood chairs, wood deck and log exterior of the cottage….you get the idea…so much wood…and so0000 much brown.

10415603_721486264560124_2839248500696968256_n

And kind of another exterior update, Hubby got the terracotta tile laid in the sunroom, right at the entrance to the deck.  It still needs to be grouted, I’ll share the progress once it is completed.  He’s been a busy, busy, boy.

While he was working away, I kept myself busy making over this lovely little china cabinet that a neighbour gifted to me.  I know it’s not really related to the cottage exterior theme of this post, but I’d thought I’d share it anyways.  It’s a perfect fit in this somewhat dark corner of the cottage, so I decided it should be a nice bright colour to liven up the corner.  This is how it looked:

photo 209

And in the process:

photo 145

I told you it was bright….and quite lively.  I used homemade chalk paint (Cyan Sky) and I will be giving it a going over with some antique wax (which will tone it down a little) and then of course, some clear wax to finish it properly.  I love, love, Fat Wax in case you are looking for a recommendation. Check out their website for locations near you.  I’ll post a picture once it’s completed, hopefully soon.

We also went to the Pontiac Artists’ Studio Tour a few weeks ago. I posted about it last year, when all the TBBs went.  Hubby got an adorable candy dish for his office (sorry forget to snap a pic before he went off with it) but I did get this great shot of an old barn on one of the properties.  There is just something about old, timeworn barns that appeals to me.

photo 3567

 

Happy Canada Day to my fellow Canadians and an

early Happy Fourth of July, to my American readers!  

Have a wonderful long weekend!

Lisa

Filed Under: Art, COLOUR, Cottage, decor, DIY, Events, Exterior, Fabric, Furniture, furniture makeover, Haven, makeover, nature, The TBBs, vintage Tagged With: , , , , , ,

Guest room mood board, living room designs and some reno updates

June 9, 2014 By

I hope you’ve been enjoying some of the spectacular weather that has been happening.  Makes it really hard to spend the day at the computer, but I may just be bringing it out on the deck.  It has sure been a busy few weeks here.  I’ve just finished a guest room mood board for a client.  Keeping in mind that we wanted to stay on a tight budget for this basement guest room, with a light and fresh beachy feel, here is the mood board.

Laidlaw Guest Room-001

The background colour is the room’s current colour – Benjamin Moore’s – Collingwood OC-28.  And I’ve suggested painting the existing unmatching wood side tables in New Hope Gray 2130-50.  A sheer pretty roll up blind for the tiny  window is perfect to let the light in. A soft upholstered headboard in a linen fabric keeps the bed looking fresh and clean and works well with the existing soft blue/gray tone on tone paisley bedding.  A mirror in a fun shape and a simple bright white dresser are perfect for storage needs and a graphic striped runner completes the beachy feel.

I’m also working on a client’s family room that is very long and narrow.  With dimensions of  23′ x 9′,  it’s a tricky one.  I’m loving the suggestions found on Pinterest, check out my Long Narrow Rooms board to see some of the inspiration photos I’ve collected.

Also on my desk, is the finishing touches to a client’s living and dining room that is all things minimal and modern, oh yes…and with lots of Indian touches and style.  Having lots of brilliantly coloured artwork to play with makes me a happy designer 🙂

And we also been having some fun with the cottage renovations, the sunroom roof was replaced and some skylights removed at the same time.  Lots of mess, but heaven knowing we will not have any more water pouring into it, when it rains heavily.  And we will be replacing some tile flooring in there as well, stay tuned for a tile repair that will look like an entrance rug…fingers crossed….

Hubby is also in the process of making a fire table for the cottage deck.  Lots of stone and concrete bought for it and here’s hoping he has some time in the near future to actually get it finished.  I’m looking forward to leisurely sitting around the fire with a glass of wine while enjoying the river view.  Here’s our inspiration –

ProjectNode-backgroundSubProject384Image-1200x750-en-CA-NewUploads-Large27

Via www.techo-bloc.com website

And in anticipation of having a beautiful fire table to sit at, I’ve ordered some outdoor fabrics to make some cosy pillows for our rather hard wood chairs.

CRLYEL-OD_1 SEFOCE-OD_1 SPLMAR_1 ZIGBLM-OD_1

Well, you’re all caught up now, on what I’ve been up too.  How’s your summer going so far?

Lisa

Filed Under: Art, Bedroom, COLOUR, Cottage, decor, Exterior, Fabric, family room, Haven, inspiration, Projects, renovation Tagged With: , , , ,

Transforming Your Deck into an Outdoor Living Room

May 28, 2014 By

Want to spend some more time outdoors now that the nicer weather has finally arrived?  Well, I’ve written about doing just that over at BrazenWoman.

333

 

 

Lisa

 

Filed Under: Exterior, nature, Seasonal Decorating Tagged With: , , ,

Charleston architecture and some beautiful gardens

May 21, 2014 By

Well, Hello, anybody still there! I’m sorry for the extended absence, but spring, well…. that and a bad back has wiped me out recently, so I apologize for my lack of posts.  But I’m back, pun intended 🙂 at it with a long delayed Charleston post.  If you remember, hubby and I visited Charleston last month and I still have a ton of photos to share with you.

One thing that makes Charleston very interesting, is that any building older than 75 years is not allowed to be torn down and therefore they have many historical homes and businesses in the downtown core.  Also, high-rises are not permitted, which means their core retains its charm and small town feel.

DSC_0004 DSC_0006 DSC_0027 DSC_0029 IMG_0600 IMG_0700

Even partial walls aren’t torn down as shown where it has been incorporated into a newer building.

DSC_0024

And here where it is used in the garden area of a restaurant/bar that we happened upon. I wonder how old those bricks are?

DSC_0033

Some beautiful homes around town.

IMG_8616

The home above shows what is referred to as a Single Home in Charleston.  What looks like the main door from the street actually only leads to a long covered porch (called a piazza).  The piazza looks out onto the side yard and the house is actually very long but only one room deep.  This was a pre-electricity version of air conditioning, so that any breezes flowed through the rooms from the windows to the piazza.

IMG_0696

IMG_0695

IMG_0694 IMG_0689 IMG_0688 IMG_0687 IMG_0617 IMG_0611

IMG_8612

Rainbow Row for obvious reasons 🙂

IMG_0639 IMG_0640 IMG_0704

April is the best month to visit Charleston, as told to us by the many guides we had the pleasure of listening to, as from May to September the weather becomes exceedingly hot and humid and doesn’t let up until October.  The flowers were in bloom which was a sight for my sore eyes, after looking at loads of white stuff for the last 5 months. DSC_0036 IMG_0625 IMG_8577 IMG_8601 IMG_8602 IMG_8609

Do you see the black round metal piece above the window here? It’s actually a bolt that holds a giant screw that goes through the entire home to eliminate and/or prevent any earthquake damage.  These bolts are in many, many buildings in Charleston as they are on a fault line.

And did you notice that black is a very popular exterior trim colour?

Lisa

 

 

Filed Under: Exterior, Haven, inspiration, Travel Tagged With: ,

Charming Southern Iron Work

April 28, 2014 By

A few weeks ago, my hubby and I were in Charleston, South Carolina.  I had not been to Southern Carolina before and I had always imagined it as a gentile, historical, civilized place and I was not disappointed….Mint Julips anyone? The weather was perfect, sunny, warm and with a gentle breeze.

DSC_0016

I’ll be doing a few posts on Charleston as it would make one very looooonnnnng post if I included everything in one.  As usual, I took many architectural photos of homes and the iron work that is all over Charleston, so for this post I’ll be focusing on the beautiful ironwork that is all over the city.

 Lots of it was done by the blacksmith and iron work artist, Philip Simmons.  Unfortunately, many of the original iron work was melted during the War between the States (as the Civil War is referred to in Charleston).

DSC_0034

There’s a definite European feel to Charleston, with their quaint little alleyways and cobblestone streets.  I also had a strong sense of deja vu, since sometimes I felt like I was back in New Orleans.

DSC_0041

This was an exterior bar at the back of a restaurant that was so charming in it’s use of salvaged materials, that I just had to take a picture. Note the various pieces of iron work that are placed on the face of the bar.  Each is so intricate and beautiful on their own.

DSC_0030

This grill below was in the middle of a large hedge that bordered a property.  It looks very old to me.

DSC_0037 IMG_0702 IMG_8554

This very fancy and scrolly (is that a word?) ironwork was on a very old theatre (sorry forgot the name) in the city centre.

IMG_8569 IMG_8582

The gated entrance to a private residence from their car port.  And below, a gated side garden on one of the large homes that we toured past.

IMG_8601

Families’ mottos were often included in the iron work gates and grills, to show what their business was. For example,the tobacconist would have a pipe in his gate.  Unfortunately, my photo of this particular gate did not turn out…I hate that.

Next up, some architecture around town.

Lisa

Filed Under: Architecture, Art, Exterior, Haven, Travel Tagged With: , ,
« Previous Page
Next Page »