Master Ensuite Mini-Makeover :)

We've been in our home for over a year now, and I wish were closer to being "done" with our decorating, but sometimes you have to live in a space for a time before you know exactly what to do with it. I am still pondering what to do with our Master Bedroom, but I knew that our Master Bathroom needed a little "oomph" and sparkle. 

This mini-makeover consisted of a new paint job {or two! see below!}, new mirrors {which I purchased 18 months ago}, and upgraded sparkly light fixtures {which I purchased a year ago}. This micro-update was indeed a long time coming! haha!

Big A was a hero again in this DIY adventure. Here's the short version of the makeover. I chose the above paint swatch 8 months ago {Benjamin Moore CSP-95 Sea Salt}, but never actually purchased the paint. On a whim a few weeks ago, we decided to just start painting over the dark taupe colour...except we didn't have the right paint colour. We had BM's White Down on hand which we used and loved in our old house, so I made the executive decision to use that paint. And I hated it in the space. It was too yellow-y and too creamy. I wanted a cool "greige" colour, and White Down was all wrong for this bathroom.  I tried to live with it for a couple of days, but I *hated* it and so we repainted it with Sea Salt and I couldn't be more delighted!

The original bathroom {which I didn't even snap a photo of because I'm so out of blogging practice!} had one bronze light fixture centred above the cabinets. It was fine, but it wasn't me. I convinced Big A that adding another light, one above each sink would add so much light to the room. Big A was a trooper, crawling into the attic to do all the electrical work, then measured and cut holes in the wall. He also had to mud the hole left from the old fixture. Lots of work, but SO worth it.

I am really enjoying the results. We still have a few more things to do -- a feature wall above the sinks, art and...{look away wood lovers...painting the wood cabinets gray. Trust me, it'll look FAB!

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Living Room Upgrade - Built-in Bookshelves! {Lots of Photos!}

So like most of you, we've been really busy this summer. We've enjoyed the amazingly long days of summertime in Fort McMurray. We've traveled a bit, enjoyed our backyard and our new hot tub {yay!}, we bought a new truck {double yay!}, explored all the trails in our area on "nature walks" with the kiddos, and spent amazing quality time with family. 

Be sure to follow me on Instagram @mummymaggie to follow along in our day-to-day adventures :)

In all of this fun, we did manage to squeeze in a couple of DIY projects which I promise to post to this here bloggy blog. I guess this is the part of the post where I apologize profusely for being absent for so long. I am sorry. I missed you, my lovely readers. Thanks for understanding that life sometimes veers us of the blog-writing track, but we always come back :)

So without further ado...the Living Room Upgrade! Yes, I did give a bit of a teaser way back in March, and yes, it did take a LONG time to complete the project, but here we are. 

Not to "phone it in", but my "Do-It-Yourself, McMurray" article in the latest YMM Magazine is a feature on this project. Click here to check it out.

Here's the finished result! Ikea cabinets {originally for kitchens and bathrooms} repurposed into built-in bookshelves at a fraction of the cost. We choose sleek, high gloss white cabinets and modern stainless steel handles to set off the look.

This photo is the only one I could find of a "before".  It's from Aviva's 2nd birthday party, hence the festive pink balloons :) I love how this photo really shows how this space was a blank canvas, just waiting to be "Mummy Maggie-fied!"

An "in progress" shot, showing how quickly the awesome cabinets transformed the space as they were put up. I also want you to check out the seating. I originally had our two couches facing each other because I thought I was maximizing space. Oh, how wrong I was...see below :)

A close-up of the cabinets going up. Adair was a trooper to manage to configure these Ikea cabinets. Did you see the number of boxes from my teaser photo?! Ikea MADNESS!

Here's another "during" pic. I love how Ginger is just chilling on the couch with all the DIY craziness going on around her.

Here it is! After months {yep, it took months of stolen late nights after our kids went to bed -- and they go to sleep LATE!} of hard work -- our built-in bookshelf project is complete. We are so pleased with the results. I love the cabinets, but I especially love the tile work. It's thin strips of Carrera marble on 12 x 12 sheets. We decided to hang it vertically to maximize the height of the 9-foot ceilings, and then add strips of stainless steel tiles for visual interest. It looks amazing!

Here's another angle which highlights the change of the living room furniture configuration. This new layout created so much more space because it's open to the kitchen, so the couch at the bottom right of the photo distinguishes the space {and highlights the AMAZING chevron throw I scored at Urban Barn!}. It actually looks a bit different now, mostly because I can't leave well enough alone. But that's another post for another day :)

This last photo is a close-up of the cabinets. Adair truly put a lot of work into these babies, especially around the crown. He *had* to buy the right saw to cut the trim around the crown moulding. You can also see a bit of the close-up of fab tile work too. Thank you, Big A!

So...what do you think of our living room transformation? Was it work the wait?

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