Year of Epic Makeovers: The Best of 2011

So many amazing transformations took place in our home in 2011! From simple projects to entire room makeovers, 2011 was a year of FUN & Budget-friendly DIY transformations.

Here are the highlights from our 2011 DIY Adventures in Home Improvement & Decorating!

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The Dining Room & Conversation Area

This Transformation post is from May 2011 - more has since been added {like the painted mirror,  West Elm curtains and the reupholstered bergere chairs - see below too!}.

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The Amazing Chevron Wall

This was an amazing project because I truly realized the power of paint. We had originally wanted to wallpaper the wall, but it was too expensive. My beloved zig-zags added the perfect punch to a dull white box of a room!

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The Kitchen Transformation

For details of this amazing transformation, click here for the full post! We've also recently added under-cabinet lighting - what a HUGE difference that makes too! I'm so thankful for a handy and talented hubby!

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Little A's Room: Modern Nursery Chic

I am IN LOVE with Little A's fun & girly {without being baby-ish!} nursery. If we move, I'm going to have to re-create this room! Here's a link to the original post and a follow up post where I did some Dollar Store DIY art!

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Spray Painted Door Knobs

I love this project because it's SO easy & fast and creates a HIGH IMPACT for little effort! It's spray paint. And it's AWESOME. Click here for the full post/tutorial.

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Modern Moroccan Master Bedroom Updates

It didn't take much beyond paint, light linens & a vision to create this relaxing Master Bedroom Retreat! The furniture, rug & even the West Elm sofette was found through Kijiji - so this room is chic and VERY budget-friendly!

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The Family Room

We turned our 4th bedroom into an upstairs family room! Click here & here for how we did it!

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Simple Chair Transformation

This was a simple DIY project - my 1st attempt @ upholstery. Click here for the full post!

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EZ's Room: Modern Zoom Zoom Zoom!

EZ's room is very kid-friendly, but not too childish. The wall treatment was done by Big A - and he did an AMAZING job! It adds a lot of architectural interest to an otherwise builder's box of a room :)

The DIY Alphabet Wall was done with letters from the dollar store! Click here for the tutorial!

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Bergere Chairs

We're *almost* finished this now-gorgeous chairs, but this was indeed an epic transformation that completed the conversation area in our dining room!

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The Entry Way

Our entry way went from being EMPTY to several changes itself this year. We added a bench & a large rug, framed photos, a new light fixture, drapes, painted the door black, then changed the bench to a console table -- I love to have a flat surface at the front entry!

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Spice Organization

This was an easy little project, but I LOVED it because it made my spices so accessible which comes in handy since I'm cooking more since becoming vegan.

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Bulletin Board Upgrade

Click here for the tutorial!

 Whew! We've had a busy DIY-ing year! I've probably missed a few, but I hope you've enjoyed our Year of Epic Makeovers!

Thank you so much for following along in our DIY adventures & madness! Thank you for the blog love and all your comments mean A LOT to us. 

Linking up to:

Southern Hospitality's Top Projects of 2011

Passionately Perfect's Coffee & a Conversation #19

It's Overflowing's Overflowing with Creativity #2

Space 46's Best of 2011 Made Up & Loved Linky Party

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EZ's Room Reveal!

I've been meaning to post this for quite some time. I've been waiting until it's perfect, but a well-decorated room is one that is layered over time. And this decorating process could go on for ages, so I thought I'd just post where we are NOW with EZ's room.

{Click here for my inspiration post; 
here for the tutorial on the wall treatment; 
here for the DIY Alphabet wall tutorial}

EZ LOVES his room. Anyone that comes over must venture up to his room so he can show off his space. 

The room is kind of awkward for photo taking -- it's hard to fit everything in. This is the view from the door.

Here are some Before & After pics so you can see how far this room as come!

A close-up of the wall art. A friend sent these jpegs to me - and they are a perfect match! They are from www.oohmoon.com -- she offers one free digital art design every day. So my wonderful friend saw these and saved them for me :) Am I lucky or what? So yes, they were FREE -- all I had to do was print & frame them.

EZ loves his orange club chair. It's perfect for reading stories. He also ADORES his globe with the plane on top, which I picked up a couple months ago at HomeSense for $30. Sometimes, even now, when I tuck him into bed, he'll stop and say thank you for getting him the plane. He says, "Thanks mum. That's my plane."

Of course, the awesome and easy DIY alphabet wall. EZ loves looking at this. He "helped" put it up, which he likes to tell everyone too! 

I picked up these round bath mats a few years ago at Ikea for $6 a pop. I love how they add a pop of colour, without totally covering the floor like an area rug. They are fun & durable too!

 I hope you enjoyed the little tour of EZ's new room. I still have a few projects planned for his room, but all our DIY projects are on hold for a bit until we sort out our BIG PLANS for 2012!

Linking up to:

Not Just a Housewife's Best DIY Project of 2011 Contest

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The One Got Away: Home Edition

Did you ever fall in love head-over-heels with something, then kick yourself for NOT getting it?

I found this at HomeSense {my favourite place in the world!}.  It's BIG - I didn't have a measuring tape but surmised it to be 3 1/2 cubits long.  Yes I very accurately measured it with my forearm.  Seriously.

Anyway, on the day I saw it - my heart skipped a beat and I had a VISION for my living room re-design.  But there were other factors to consider: 1) It was late in the day and I was tired from a long day of shopping; 2) I had the baby and I didn't think it was going to fit in the Flex-y; 3) I just didn't feel like forking out the money for it at that point - it had already been a successful shopping day for me and I didn't want to over-extend myself.

So all I did was take a photo of it and I walked away.

Now I just can't get it out of my head {just like that song - you're welcome by the way!}.

The colours aren't great on my iPhone photo, but it's a creamy background with a silver-y, pewter metallic circle. I imagined it over my piano.  Now it's gone. But it's HomeSense, so maybe I'll find it again if it's meant to be.  You hear that, Universe?

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Paris

When I was a little girl {like 7 years old}, I was obsessed with fashion and all things Parisian {my grandma even got me a subscription to VOGUE!}. My obsession still continues...


I've been to Paris twice -- once when I was 16 and then again when I was 21. I *need* to go again. 

To remind me {and the Universe!} of my dream to travel to Paris again, I've added a few decorative elements that are evocative of Paris.


First, here's my "subway art" Paris print from Homesense:

Next is my latest Homesense clearance find! It's a silver-y gray leather canvas with a black Eiffel tower - all for $9!

Lastly, is a white Eiffel tower. I think that *white* Eiffel towers are harder to find, so when I saw this beauty at a new interiors boutique for $23, I scooped it up!

I find it's hard to add "destination"design elements without being over-the-top or kitschy. 


Do you have any exotic locales that inspire you that you add into your home decorating?

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New Light Fixture & Sunburst Mirror {DR Update}

I'm a big believer in curating a space over time. With that said, thank you for indulging me with constant updates to our home. Just when you think a room is finished, another addition or change is made.

But I think that is the beauty and fun of decorating and design. You can have a plan, but as time goes on, your idea grows into bigger and better vision for the room.

That perfectly describes our dining room.  When we first moved into our home two years ago, it was a boring, empty, beige box. I had a vision of an all-white, luxe-fest, jewel-box of a room. Then that became a mid-century modern eclectic mix. 

Now I don't even know how to describe it. 

I like how the light fixture doesn't compete with the rest of the room. It just complements all the other features of the room.

But I adore my dining room:

• I'm happy I added shades of gray to the white Chantilly Lace walls. 
• I love my chevron wall. 
• I love our Kijiji-find dining set. 
• I love my Kijiji-find settee. 
• I love my Target Moroccan pouf. 
• I love my Louis Ghost Chairs from Homesav.com. 

And NOW, I LOVE LOVE LOVE my new light fixture from West Elm AND the sunburst mirror from HomeSense {a whopping $59!}.

My two new lovely additions :) The Cluster Glass Pendant light is from West Elm.

Another angle - see the grass in a box? My mom treated me to that this weekend. Such a nice mom!

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