Staircase Overhaul

We decided to redo the staircase.

 

It wasn't that we didn't like the function of it, but we are slowly updating this house one room at a time and the staircase was one of those things that constantly kept nagging at us to change it

 

We knew we didn't want the carpet on it anymore, so we decided to take a risk and rip the carpet off, hoping there could POSSIBLY be nice wood treads underneath. Then we would simply stain them and all would be right in the world. Nope plywood. So we knew we needed to stick with full carpeting of the stairs or go for the overhaul. We went for the overhaul. Not without a ton of planning and inspiration pics of course.

 

Here are a few that inspired us (all of which you can find on our Pinterest here, and one that we actually posted to our Facebook page yesterday):

                              Via:  Contemporary Staircase by Cambridge Architect LDa Architecture & Interiors

Via

 

 

 

Via

and the image that has inspired the overall look that we want for our hallway:

 Via

 

So, after seeing all these beauties we couldn't really keep the carpet. One day after work I came home and the carpet was pretty much gone. Ian went to town and ripped it up, staples and all...well most of the staples. Him and I spent another 4 hours one night taking out ALLLL of the staples on these stairs. I can honestly say, there could have been a tornado that destroyed our entire home and that carpet still would have been firmly attached to those stairs there were so many staples.

 

After the staple removing party, we ended up with this:

  

 

And if you didn't see it on our Facebook page, here was the before:

So we're in it now! Carpet is gone, and there's a lot to do to get these beauties made-over. We've actually come quite far this week, and we're almost finished (with a few set-backs of course), but we'll share the next phase of this project with in our next post.

Have a great weekend everyone!
Melissa and Ian

We're at it again....Bathroom #3!

Sooo...you might be thinking, how are they STILL renovating bathrooms? Have they not already done two?

Yes, yes we have.

But quite honestly, we just love renovating bathrooms SOOO much that we decided to do this one for fun. Did you even sort of fall for that? Didn't think so. The main floor powder room is the one bathroom that probably bothers me the most. Not because it was the worst of the 3 (it was probably in the best shape), but because its not only us that uses it, which means we can't hide it from the world.

So whenever we have guests and they need to use the washroom, I cringe at the thought of them walking in there and thinking...wow, Ive just stepped back into 1990.

For starters there is no towel rod or paper towel holder. You'd think we could get our butts in gear and put something up, but we figured this would force us to complete this bathroom sooner. Not-so-much. Secondly, the toilet is bad. Like seat falling off, and its just not a good scene. Lastly, the fixtures are gold/silver and rust. Not as in 'rust the colour', rust as in 'super-old-and-not-in-good-condition-rust-falling-off' rust. For those of you who've used this bathroom you're probably thinking its not "that" bad, but I know a few of you out there who are probably relieved to know that those were not our decor choices. NOT our decor choices :D

So over the past while, Ive been collecting "pinspiration" sources of powder rooms that have inspired us. We're starting to think about ideas and here's what we're liking so far (all photo's are courtesy of Pinterest and can be found on our board here):

Mirrored pieces:

source

Pastels... (Im a BIT obessessed with anything mint green right now- and always):

source

Wallpaper:

source

Touches of gold:

source

Rustic and warm:

source

Vintage touches:

source

Coloured vanities:

source

Truly in a small space or powder room, I think you can break the rules a bit. Feel free to use colour, wallpaper (as there's no tub or shower to we don't need to worry about moisture issues) and fun accents.

As you can see from the pictures, our thoughts are still all over the place. We're still working on a tight budget here, so we'll definitely be doing this space on the cheap as well. Hopefully we can come up with some creative ideas for this one ;)


What would you do in a powder room? Have any of you wallpapered, used fun colours or tiles in a small space like this?

Hidden Gem

So a few weeks ago, we went to a local spot I have been wanting to go to for quite some time. A very close friend of mine, told me about a place her and her mom frequent for unusual finds, and of course I had to go check it out (thanks LC!! xo)

For those of you who live near me, you may have heard of a place called Timeless Materials. If you have not gone to check it out, you dont know what you are missing!

I wasn't sure what to expect when we went in, but I swore my eyes were moving so fast my brain couldn't process it all...I had hundreds of ideas crossing through my mind every second. This place is a treasure hunters dream!

I have to warn you, you need to think outside the box. You aren't going to find pretty done-up pieces in here, but you will find tons of ideas.

Timeless Materials is located in a 1840's 3-story restored barn in Ontario Canada. Along with their sister company Kieswetter Demolition they salvage building materials, furniture and architectural items and repurpose them.  

Here's just a peak at some of the treasures we found...

Aren't those staicases amazing?! Been looking for an antique firehall bell?! Look no further!

The day that we went to check them out, there was a huge thunder storm and it was so unreal to be on the top floor of this 3-story barn hearing the rain thundering down on the rooftop. Very cool.

We had tons of ideas running through our heads when we left, but the one we both had in common was a reclaimed wood fireplace mantle. We'll be back!

Have any of you had the opportunity to visit Timeless Materials? If so, what was your favorite "find"? :)

Ugly Duckling Chair...again...

Do you guys remember this post about my  "ugly duckling chair", I blogged about a while back? Ok so, about that chair....its been sitting in my basement...waiting. Waiting for me to finish it. The deal? Im sooo hoping the other 200+ staples will remove themselves and I wont have to do that again :(

The likelyhood of that? 0%.

We've been running around like crazy people with projects all over the place (currently, we are still in the depths of our backyard jungle make-over) and the chair took a back-seat (no pun intended) in terms of proiority projects.

However, last night our town was under a strong tornado warning, and of course I convinced Ian that going down to the basement was absolutely necessary. Nevermind the fact that I actually packed up water, food, clothes, shoes, and other supplies...just in CASE a tornado actually hit. Ian thought I was crazy...until he brought his toothbrush and a pair of underwear over to me and asked me to pack it too :) For those of you still thinking Im crazy, a tornado did actually hit a town about 2 hours away from us on Sunday, without warning, and caused devastating damage.)

Anyho, while we sat in our basement (quite comfortably actually since we were so prepared-lol), I saw the chair out of the corner of my eye. Sitting there. Waiting to be finished.

I swore that if we survived the tornado, I would finish it. So here I am people....planning on working on that chair this weekend.

Here's what my chair looks like again:

I do have some inspiration that Ive been using to motivate me:

Here's one re-done by Oh Brooke:

Amazing job, and the chair frame looks quite similar to mine. Im still debating on whether or not I should paint the frame white...but this project convinces me! You can read all about how she did it here.

Mandi at Vintage Revivals has done an incredible job with this cane back chair. I love her blog and she is such a big inspiration to me in so many ways. The room she put this chair in, is incredible too! Here's the chair:

and to see the rest of the room click here. Amazeballs.

Some other inspiration:

source

source

source

Have you ever re-done a chair like this? If so, what was your inspiration?

:)

Linking up to:

Katharine Hepburn's Estate

For a cool $18,000,000 you can buy an iconic home...Katharine Hepburn's estate.

It just went on the market and its pretty incredible. Its decorated beautifully and simple enough to suit the tastes of most. For those who dont like simple, a few stouches here and there could totally make this your own. With 6 bedrooms, 7 1/2 bathrooms and 8,368 Sq. Ft, you'd definitely have enough space for that bowling alley you've always wanted....maybe a movie theatre, indoor tennis courts, ballroom, etc, etc....

So, anyone willing to loan me $18 mil?! I promise I'll make the guest room spectacular ;)

You can see the rest of the palace home here.

Happy dreaming ;)