renovation Archives ~ Page 2 of 9 ~ Lisa Goulet Design

A log cottage kitchen transformation

August 20, 2018 By Lisa Goulet

Well after a loooonnngg break, I’m back at blogging. I hope your summer has been going along well, mine has been busy, as per usual with projects, cottage company and gardening. But of course, come January I will be wishing for that summer busyness. In today’s post I’m sharing my log cottage kitchen which we recently renovated. This post will showcase my steals and splurges on this kitchen reno. So sit back, grab a coffee or tea and follow along on my log cottage kitchen reno adventure. Huh, maybe renoventure….it really should be a word.

log cottage kitchen with blue cabinetry, stone island and open shelving

So this kitchen started looking like this.

So let’s start with the bad:

lots and lots of wood, so much so that it felt dark and dingy
drop down breakfast bar on the island that was too low for anyone to actually sit at
the wood window shutters, more wood??
leaking sink and faucet
ineffective and insufficient lighting
false ceiling over sink, which made that area even darker
floral backsplash
chipped and lifting countertop
desk area that was not functional

However, it had lots of good:

size and layout was great
flooring is in great shape
stone island wall
most cabinetry boxes were in great shape
two large pantries which were still working well
vent downdraft was existing
corner china cabinet
lots of windows
lots of counter space

So our TO DOs were to:

So there were definitely lots of places where we could save money. Originally I wanted to keep the cabinet fronts and just have a few made to match and then paint the entire kitchen. However, once I took the cherry fronts to a few companies for an estimate on refinishing, they gave me the bad news that the finish on them was in such bad shape that they would have to be stripped bare. Which was going to be approximately $100 per door, not including the cost of spray painting them. So…onto Plan B – all new cabinet fronts. I can’t say it was inexpensive as it was a custom job but I am thrilled with the results.

The plan on computer via Sketchup. I love that it actually came out really close to my original plans.

Cabinetry

The decision for a blue/grey colour for the cabinets was made shortly after we moved in and it was still my top choice. With all the orange of the wood, the cool tones of the blue/grey are a soothing visual relief. It complements the wood and allows the remaining wood in the kitchen to sing. No one used to notice the log ends by the pantries before but now everyone points them out.

Once we had a good look at the cabinetry we realized that all the lower drawer cabinets were sagging so we made the decision to have all new lower cabinetry made. We also removed the desk under the window. Due to the lower windows in this area, I decided to have cabinetry made to look more like a piece of furniture here. The two large cabinets house all my big platters, bowls and serving dishes and the open shelving offers some display area.

I had been going back and forth on whether to use butcher block here or continue with the quartz countertop. However, once the quartz fabricator did his measurements we were looking at having to purchase two slabs to cover the entire kitchen. So the butcher block was the perfect way to keep the budget in check and since they were from Ikea they were a steal. Plus they are a great match to the existing wood.

The existing china cabinet was refaced and I had new seeded glass installed that looks like water droplets, so pretty! I also had new lighting installed so it can be lit for entertaining.

The center upper cabinetry was all removed and I added in one small upper cabinet where the existing microwave cabinet had been. This was specifically for glasses and mugs as I knew this would be the tea/coffee area. Black cabinetry hardware was added with square knobs on the cupboards and cup pulls on the drawers.

log cottage kitchen with blue cabinetry, stone island and open shelving

The rest of the cabinetry boxes stayed and just fronts were made for them. I also had the dishwasher and fridge panelled to match. This was a splurge but I DO NOT regret a penny of it. In fact this is my hubby’s favourite thing in the kitchen.

Island

I also wanted to keep the stone island as there is a matching fireplace and exterior garden walls. This stone is local and comes from a closed iron ore mine that my father-in-law used to work at. So there’s sentimental and practical reasons for keeping the stone. My husband wanted the kitchen to have two colours so I was happy to accommodate this by painting the island in a soft black, which was pulled from the stone colour.

However, once the new induction cooktop and downdraft fan were bought we realized that the existing island was about 2-3″ short in depth to accommodate them. My carpenter was a genius in managing to keep the stone front of the island, by propping it up while the rest of the entirely new island was built around it.

The fun with the island didn’t stop there. Because of the drop down breakfast bar the stone was too short for the now one level island. This shortfall was fixed by having a piece of wood cut to fit and painted the same black/grey as the island. And then of course there were the holes left when the existing supports were removed. My husband, was the hero at this point when he found stone that would fit and fixed all the gaps. Lastly, custom corner corbels were added to each end of the island.

Open wine storage was added back on one end and a beer/wine fridge now installed in the island, holds even more. About 6″ of unused space at the far end of the island became a cupboard with narrow shelves perfect for holding cat food supplies. An electrical outlet was also added on the far end of the island for convenience.

Shelving

The live edge wood shelving was a real labour of love. I knew I wanted them to be floating with no visual means of support and that took some doing. We purchased the shelving rough from a supplier and had them cut to size. I spent many, many hours taking off the bark and sanding them down. Then my husband went to a welder to have custom supports made that were then drilled into the log walls to ensure they would be completely stable. Then the shelves themselves had to be drilled to match the metal support dowels. We were thankful that we found all these amazing labourers in our little town. Once up we both loved them and they were definitely worth all the effort.

Now they house all our everyday dishes and a few special pieces that I rotate once in a while, when I tire of the view.

Countertops, sink and faucet

As I mentioned above I used quartz for the main counters and butcher block for the lower cabinet by the window. I am still in love with these quartz counters. They have a casual, natural feel and the slight veining in them helps to disguise any dirt.

iPhone pic

For the sink I originally wanted a farmhouse sink but it wouldn’t work with the angled corner of my kitchen without moving the dishwasher and since I was trying to keep the costs low, I went with Plan B again. A stainless steel, rounded square sink.

I went back and forth on either a double, single or one and a half sink. I ended up selecting the one and a half sink. Since the area wasn’t too big, a double sink would have meant two tiny sinks. So the convenience of having two sinks won out.

The Artesso articulating faucet was generously donated by Brizo in exchange for my blogging about it. I loved this faucet and planned alot of things around it. I knew I wanted a dark finish to contrast with the light cabinetry and counters.

She’s a beauty and I absolutely enjoy her every day.

Lighting

I also wanted dark finishes on my lighting but I love the look of mixed metals. So I went with dark finishes but with little hints of bronze.

log cottage kitchen with blue cabinetry, stone island and open shelving

As you can see in this picture above the large pendant has a dark grey and bronze finish.

log cottage kitchen with blue cabinetry, stone island and open shelving

The articulating sconces are also a dark finish but with bronze necks. The sink pendant also has a dark finish but with clear glass.

The wall you can just see on the left I made into a chalkboard. It’s a fun place for everyone to put messages.

Backsplash

I kept the backsplash neutral and clean, since there were enough finishes and textures going on. So even, though I love a fun cement tile, I kept it simple. This large scale subway matte tile has a handmade look and with the soft grey grout it is pretty timeless.

It covers the entire back and side walls of the kitchen. We painted the walls above the cabinetry the same colour white as the tiles to keep the flow.

This was not quite a complete gut but it was certainly transformative. Most people who had seen the kitchen previously, think we have enlarged the space. It just goes to show how light and brightness can make such a difference your home.

Now, how can we transform your kitchen?

*Photography credit: Melissa Kew Photography – all photos except before and iPhone pictures

Filed Under: Awards, COLOUR, Cottage, decor, design professional, Haven, inspiration, Kitchen, lighting Tagged With: 613, backsplash, blue cabinetry, blue kitchen, blue/gray cabinetry, colour, cottage, counters, decor, design, kitchen, Lighting, log cottage, log home, mixed metals, Ottawa, ottawa area, Ottawa blogger, ottawa decorator, ottawa design blogger, ottawa-carleton, paint, pendant lighting, quartz counters, renovation, stone walls, subway tiles, transformation, Woodhaven

Designing a modern cottage bath on a budget

June 22, 2018 By Lisa Goulet

This is the second in a series I’m writing about the renovation and makeover of my country log cottage. Here’s how I gutted and designed a new modern cottage bath on a pretty low budget.

It is a little scary but it started out like this.

If you look closely on the above picture, you can see right where the shower base meets the floor, there is a large crack. That’s where the floor was totally rotten. Like I mean so rotten, I was scared whenever someone used the bathroom that they would fall through the floor. You could actually see the basement through the crack. Yikes! Obviously we knew this before we bought. So, this bathroom was pretty much the first job we tackled once we had possession. We basically had to take everything out and start over. Even the side of the cabinet had significant water damage as well as the wall so everything came out.

Like the cottage living room post (click here to read it), I’m showing you on the before picture what the plan was and how it was executed. So, here’s a visual breakdown of what we did for our modern cottage bath.

First, we gutted everything. Next we put in a completely new subfloor, installed new water resistant drywall and used the Kerdi shower system to ensure that the shower would be completely waterproof. Hubby got to work on all this nastiness and I got to go shopping. Not quite fair, I know.

I wanted an interesting, inexpensive vanity that was open on the bottom to help make the tiny bath feel more spacious. I had previously used an antique dresser in my powder room at home so I thought potentially something like that but without the drawers, some kind of table. As luck would have it I found an antique library table when I went with some fellow designers to the Brimfield Antique Show (you can read that post here). I knew it would be perfect, once I figured out how to raise it a few inches since it was a little short.

Once I found this piece, it all started to click together. I wanted to highlight the barley twist legs so I decided that I would paint the legs. I had recently heard about the Canadian paint company, Fat Paint, so I contacted Victoria the owner, and told her what I was looking for. She offered to customize a colour for me so I just needed to choose one.

I know, this is where everyone wonders how did I choose a colour? It is actually quite systematic. I went shopping for flooring tiles, as I would need them sooner rather than later. I was also curious to see what I could find. The tile I settled on looks like wood but it isn’t, it is ceramic. We also ran it into the hallway outside the bathroom and in the nearby laundry room. Well, this floor went with the nearby slate floor and it had the slightest touch of turquoise in it, so it became the jumping off point for the colour scheme. I decided on a darker turquoise for the vanity that would really highlight the carved legs.

From here, I chose the shower wall tiles and the river rock coloration, then lastly I chose the wall colour, Benjamin Moore’s Woodlawn Blue, a soft version of the vanity’s legs. This is exactly why you always choose paint last in your renovation. So much easier to choose a paint colour to work with your fixtures, as there are endless colours of paint in comparison to tile selections.

Once I had decided on the vanity colour, I got in touch with Victoria and she automatically offered to mix me up a custom colour and ship it to me free of charge so I could try it out. Talk about service!

I found some prefab wood legs at my local Home Depot that I figured would work as extensions on the bottom of the table. So my husband, attached them and I set about painting the base. You can barely tell that the bottom six inches or so of the table is not original and I’m sure if I hadn’t told you, you would never have noticed. If you are thinking of painting a wood piece and want to do minimum sanding and prepping, check out my post here about how Fat Paint works. It saves you so much time.

Last but not least, I refinished the top with quite a few coats of durable polyurethane so that it would stand up to some splashing.

I loved that the library table had a nice little lower shelf as I was planning to pick up some baskets for storage. And those baskets would also help to hide the necessary plumbing underneath the sink. Since this is the main floor bath and acts as a powder room most of the time, I knew I wouldn’t need closed storage.

Next I chose a rectangular sink because I wanted it to mirror the shape of the table itself. I love this one from Kohler, it’s timeless, works perfectly with the square base of the Delta Dryden faucet and gives me that modern cottage bath feel I was after. BTW – Another great cost saving for me was Delta offered me the shower and sink fixtures free of charge for an honest opinion of them. You can read my original post here.

The lilypad artwork in the above photo is actually a photograph from a local artist. I love picking up original pieces from the area. My husband loved it and it was the perfect colours and feel for our modern cottage bath.

Photo credit Melissa Kew Photography

For the shower I had my heart set on river rock tile. How perfect are they for it a beach front cottage? To offset the cost of them, I used simple grey matte oversized subway tiles on the rest of the shower walls.

I added a border of marble and glass tiles 2/3 of the way up that ties in the bath colours. My husband, figured out that he could run the subway tiles vertically above the border, so we did just that. This is called a soldier’s course, in case you are interested. This also has the added bonus of making a low ceiling feel higher. In this low ceiling bathroom that was a huge plus.

I love the square Dryden fixtures and they add the right amount of masculinity to my modern cottage bath. Below, you can see the little niche for shampoo and soaps, he did with the river rock tile.

We removed the second shower head and raised the remaining one up to a proper height, since it was low. A great cost savings on the shower was the fact that we reused the shower glass and door. We just ordered new bronze trim and a handle to match the shower and sink fixtures. And thankfully we didn’t break it removing it and reinstalling it. We did sweat that alot!

Round reclaimed wood mirror with bronze bath faucet and lighting

Photo credit Melissa Kew Photography

A new toilet was installed and I sourced an oval mirror, to balance all the squares and rectangles in the space. It’s made from repurposed wood and has a nice rustic feel for a country bath. I had two sconce lights placed on either side of the mirror to replace the one hollywood strip. Did you know that being lit from each side is eminently more flattering than overhead lighting aka Hag lighting? The sconces themselves are simple and slightly industrial with a dark finish to match the fixtures.

We also installed a few of these cute little deer hooks so that hanging up towels is quick and easy.

My husband, was a huge part of this renovation. He did all the demo, all the tile work, all the installations except where we needed professionals. So obviously if you can do some of the work yourself that will be a great savings. Just remember though, that you should know what you can or cannot tackle. Sometimes DIY leads to even more expense when you have to call in the experts to fix a wrong.

All in, this renovation cost us under $8,000. Which is actually very reasonable as an average bathroom renovation costs around $20,000 and quickly goes up. Keeping everything in the same footprint in this tiny bathroom helped to keep the cost low. The majority of the cost was definitely the Kerdi Shower system. We didn’t want to skimp on that as we didn’t want a repeat of the water damage that had happened.

So there you have it, our modern cottage bath.

So when can we start working on your bathroom renovation?

Filed Under: antiques, Bathroom, COLOUR, Cottage, decor, design professional, furniture makeover, Haven, inspiration, lighting, makeover, Projects, renovation, vintage Tagged With: 613, bathroom, colour, cottage, decor, decorating, design, furniture, Lighting, log home, makeover, Ottawa, ottawa area, ottawa decorator, ottawa design blogger, ottawa-carleton, painted furniture, renovation, transformation

Exciting news

May 22, 2018 By Lisa Goulet

Photo credit: Melissa Kew Photography

This kitchen will soon be featured along with the rest of my log home cottage in a local magazine. I’m so excited. Once it’s published and available I’ll let you all know.

And did you know that it was an award winner? Click here or on the picture below to see the DDA video showcasing it.

Filed Under: Cottage, decor, design professional, Haven, Homepage Portfolio, inspiration, Kitchen, makeover, renovation Tagged With: 613, colour, cottage, country, decor, decorating, design, kitchen, Lighting, makeover, Ottawa, ottawa area, pontiac, renovation, transformation

How to properly light your kitchen

May 16, 2018 By Lisa Goulet

So how do you properly light a kitchen? I was asked this question recently in my Facebook group – Empty Nesters – Reclaim your Space (click to join). Here’s how to light your kitchen so you aren’t squinting when you are trying to create your gourmet meal.

There are three types of lighting:

Ambient or General Lighting
Task Lighting
Accent or decorative lighting

You really want to layer all three types of lighting so that you don’t get a spotlight effect in your room. And I always recommend dimmers for most lighting, even in a kitchen, especially if you will be entertaining.

For a kitchen, an example of all three types of lighting would be:

Ambient or General lighting – This is typically potlights (and yes, put them on a dimmer), one or more large overhead lights or track lighting. This is the overall light for the room. If you are using potlights your designer, electrician and/or contractor will have recommendations for you on their spacing. This is dependant on the size of the room, placement of fixtures, work areas and the size and light beam of the potlight you are installing.
Task lighting – this is lighting that directly lights your work area, think of a reading lamp. This would be your under cabinet lighting in a kitchen, or pendant lights over a sink, island or peninsula.
Accent or decorative lighting – this can be wall sconces, glass cabinets with interior lights or a decorative lamp placed on the island.

Here’s a visual showing all three types of lighting.

So in this example, the ambient or general lighting is the potlights. The task lighting is the under cabinet lighting, the pendant lights over the peninsula and the fan light over the stove. The accent lighting is the in cabinet lighting.

To see more of this kitchen renovation click here.

Proper lighting in a kitchen is essential and should be one of the first steps when planning your renovation.

Filed Under: decor, design professional, Haven, inspiration, Kitchen, lighting, renovation Tagged With: 613, accent, ambient, decor, decorating, decorator, design, kitchen, Lighting, Ottawa, ottawa area, ottawa decorator, ottawa design blogger, ottawa-carleton, proper lighting, renovation, task

A new phase – What do you want your home to be?

April 18, 2018 By Lisa Goulet

Photo by Anthony Tran on Unsplash

A new phase begins. What do you want your home to be?

So now that the kids have left or about to, how do you want or need your home to function? This is the key to making your home work for you and your partner. Think about how you want to live.

What are your goals?

For example, do you want to entertain or travel more, start or continue a hobby, or just get out from under the clutter?

What path would you like to go down?

More entertaining?

If entertaining is key to you, then perhaps an open concept kitchen/dining/living area will allow you to host those larger groups more easily. Perhaps removing some walls (once an expert has determined this is doable), will make this a reality.

Maybe you need a guest room or bathroom for out of town family and friends, then it is time to redo a few rooms to suit grown ups.

Want to travel more?

Than how about making your home more maintenance friendly. Easy care and durable finishes are a must. Declutter spaces for easy cleaning and installing internet capable thermostats and alarm systems will give you peace of mind travels. Perhaps you want to travel so much that a condo may be the ideal move for you. No yard or exterior to maintain may just be the ticket….pun intended.

Planning on playing?

Perhaps continuing with or starting a new hobby is exactly what you want to do in the next phase. Think about changing up that extra room or space into an art studio, music, craft, sewing or even a theatre room, so you can indulge your inner movie critic. Rooms DO NOT have to stay as they are advertised on your floorplan.

Or do you just need a refresh?

Something to make your home feel shiny, fresh and new!

Decluttering of course, is almost always necessary. First, check with the kids about everything they may want or need. Than be pretty ruthless about this, you DO NOT want six storage units full of stuff that no one wants and that you are paying monthly fees on. Those units should be for temporary use only. Such as if you’re moving and want to store some furniture while you are staging your home or you are keeping items for a university student to use when they get their own home (hopefully sooner than later).

I know grandparents stuff can be sentimental or valuable, if so keep the best pieces that you love and can incorporate into your home, but not the entire dining room set that you don’t care for or have the room for. That chandelier that is priceless and unique can be the focal point in a contemporary room. A mix of design styles makes your home personal and interesting so don’t be afraid to challenge the norm. Breaking rules can be just the thing. That chandelier could be a showstopper in your master bedroom or bath. It doesn’t have to be in the dining room.

Paint or new flooring can also go along way to revamp a home. If you have worn and stained carpet, install hardwood. It is timeless, especially a mid-toned brown one with medium sized planks. Think of a french chateau with those beautiful hardwood floors, they never date. A stunning herringbone pattern will be cherished forever. Just choose what you love and not what you see everywhere, because that is likely a trend.

If hardwood is not your style, then a stone such as marble, slate or granite is another classic choice. If these are too pricey, then a great faux stone tile can also work. Typically porcelain tile is more durable than ceramic, but always ask your tile supplier about the durability of your selection and make sure you tell him/her where it is going. What is durable for a busy hallway versus a hardly used powder room can be vastly different.

Keep grout in mind as well for ease of maintenance, ideally it should be mid toned as well and now there are many stain and water resistant versions on the market. They are costly but well worth the investment.

Paint should always be chosen last on a project, yes dead last. There are millions of paint colours available but not millions of sofa or drapery fabric or tile choices. And also keep in mind paint should always complement your fixtures so DO NOT ignore the pinky beige carpet or tile (if you are keeping it) or you may end up highlighting it instead of working with it.

So think about what your goals are for your home and then you can start making your Reclaim your Home plan.

I’ll be posting more in depth information on all of these options in the next few weeks so keep checking back.

Filed Under: design professional, Empty Nesters, Haven, inspiration Tagged With: 613, bathroom, bedroom, decor, decorating, Empty nesters, home, makeover, Ottawa, ottawa area, Ottawa blogger, ottawa decorator, ottawa design blogger, Reclaim your home, renovation