Kitchen Update - A RUG!

I've been mulling over some kitchen updates for awhile. I want a new table, new chairs, and a new rug.

Most folks I ask wonder why I would ever want a rug under the dining table. Between the food crumbs and the kids, it may seem like not only terrible idea, but a recipe for filth. I get it. 

But there is a method to my madness.

1. I want something soft underfoot that will quiet the noise of the chairs moving. Hate the scraping tile noise. Grrrr....

2. I need to jazz up the joint a bit. It's been almost 2 years!

And NO, I didn't choose a thick pile, shag rug. I chose a rug that realistically meets the needs of our family. 

An OUTDOOR RUG! Yep, it can get wet. It's easy to clean. It can just be hosed off. No muss, no fuss. Totally durable.

See what a difference a rug makes?

I chose the Safavieh Courtyard rug from Wayfair.com in 8 ft by 11 ft. I also got it on sale! And delivered to my door in less than 2 weeks -- even way up north here in Fort McMurray!

  Here's a close-up of the rug. I love the Moroccan-esque pattern. It's bold but the colours subdue the pattern a bit.

I'm super excited for this purchase. I'm excited to have some more pizzazz in the dining area, and to finally have some quiet when we move the chairs! No more scraping on the tile :)

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The Awesome-ness of New Dishes

When Big A & I got married, we got new dishes, as is the custom. We kind of bucked tradition and didn't get a fancy place setting. Instead, we were "cool" and got an everyday set in a mix of white, chocolate brown & robins egg blue. We got married in 2004, so those were the "in" colours then.

Those dishes were good to us, and yes, we did use them faithfully everyday. Over the last 8 years, they were chipped and scuffed, and simply not that pretty to look at.

So for our fancy new house, we decided to splurge for fancy new place settings. Okay, not like "Versace-fancy", but like "Crate & Barrel-fancy." I decided to get all white, to not only keep it simple, but so we could add to our collection over time.

I choose the "Essential" dinnerware from Crate & Barrel. I like it because of its simplicity.  I can easily add a charger plate for interest, or add square plates/bowls to change it up. 

{via here}

 Again, one great thing about these Crate & Barrel sets is that the white porcelain material is always the same, so you can add different pieces to your collection over time. The other awesome thing about these dinnerware sets is that they are not that expensive.

We also picked up some small & large serving dishes, salad bowls and the like, all in the same white porcelain. 

I am so glad we treated ourselves to this new dinnerware. I feel like a grown-up when I'm eating now, and I'm not always apologizing for my mismatched, scuffed up and "tired" dinnerware.  I love to open up my cupboards and see my all-white, matching dishes :)

Upgrading your dinnerware is an easy {and somewhat affordable!} way to beautify your kitchen and simplify your life.

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New Kitchen Lights - Even More SPARKLE!

Like many other things in our new home, the light fixtures were just ok. They're by no means icky, just not as awesome as they could be.

To be honest, I think EVERYONE thought I was bananas for changing the light fixtures. But I adore cool light fixtures. They totally change the feeling of a room - from ho-hum to "happening".

**I also convinced the builder to buy back ALL the light fixtures from us to put into another house -- just like I did with the tiger tail granite :) Yippee!

Needless to say, I'm having fun buying all new lights! 

Here are our kitchen lights!

 BEFORE:

AFTER:

I bought these on our first trip to Edmonton. We had about 10 minutes at the amazing light store, appropriately named "Best Lighting", before the showroom closed. I saw the light over the kitchen table first and was smitten. The light was even on sale! Totally meant to  be :)

I scoured the store for pendants and luckily these gorgeous orbs were in stock. These chrome beauties were exactly what I was looking for. And they were only $100 each!

I'm so incredibly pleased with how they transformed the room from boring to brilliant!

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New Backsplash Tiles!

When we purchased our home, it was still under construction so we had *some* say in how a few options were finished.

One of these options was the backsplash tiles for the kitchen & bathrooms. The builder had picked out a decent beige-y oversized subway tile. It was okay, just not FABULOUS. 

And seriously, when you're paying what we're paying for this house -- you want JAW-DROPPING AMAZING. Ok, that may be overkill, but you want something special.

And, let's be honest, I wanted something SPARKLY! 

One of the best things is that the builder offered to put in whatever tiles we chose! How amazing are they?!

I sourced some alright options at our local shops, but they were expensive and they did not "sing" to me. So just before we put down cash on some fancy tiles, I decided we should go to Edmonton to check out what the city had to offer.

The first place we went was to Lowes. We arrived around 10:15am {on a Holiday Monday - one of the perks of Alberta is that the shops are open on stat holidays! SCORE!} and they had JUST put out a new line of tiles that very morning! 

I LOVED EVERYTHING! And it was so affordable {like under $20/sq. ft. compared to the $40+/sq. ft. I was looking at locally}.

Since there were so many stylish options, I decided to do a different tile for every room. Here's what I came up with!

  Main Bathroom: Modern Mix of Cream, Putty & Stainless tiles

{These are a cooler & more modern version of the tiles I had already picked out! WIN!}

 Master Ensuite: White Carrera Marble 

{I've always eyed carrera marble but I never wanted to commit to it because it stains! This is a perfect alternative and will go perfectly with my new sparkly quartz countertops!}

 Powder Room: Stainless Steel penny rounds 

{I've ALWAYS wanted these so it was a treat that Lowes carried them!}

Kitchen Backsplash: Sparkly white glass, marble, gunmetal & stainless steel

{These are almost exactly the same as what I sourced here in Fort Mac - but I liked these much more - so much lighter & brighter!}

Getting this kitchen tile was a CHALLENGE. They had 100 in stock but they couldn't find them. They asked us to come back in a couple of hours so they could look for them. When we returned, they said they needed more time. We had to drive back to Fort McMurray {a 5 hr+ drive}, but waited another few hours. I couldn't leave this amazing find behind. 

We waited until after 5pm {remember we got there at 10:15am?!} and they STILL hadn't found it. They said they'd call when they located the tile, but we HAD to leave for Fort Mac since we both had to work the next day. So we left with only a faint hope they'd call.

But, true to their word {YAY LOWES!}, they did call 3 hours later. They had stayed late to find them for me!

Luckily 3 days later my brother happened to be driving through Edmonton and picked them up for me! Thanks bro!

UPDATE: The tiles went in today. Wait till you see them!

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Update & Sparkly Countertops

We've been in our new home for just over a month, and it's definitely been a whirlwind {hence the lack of posting - sorry peeps}. 

We didn't have internet or phone until 10 days ago, but I guess it's been 10 days, so that's not a good excuse! 

Anyhoo, I am absolutely DELIGHTED with the way our new house is becoming a home. We moved into the brand new house in a brand new neighbourhood {hence the lack of availability of phone or internet despite we live in the 21st century. And we still don't even have a proper postal code, let alone mail delivery service!}, and it's slowly become our home -- or "Mummy Maggie-fied", if you will.

I'll show you the changes we've made so far in various posts. In this post, I was telling you about the tragic tale of the tiger tail granite. Specifically, how much I hated it :) I'm told by many people that this granite is expensive and fabulous, but I'm sorry, it just didn't suit the house nor did it fit into my vision of how awesome this suburban house could be. 

So we had it removed. And replaced. The day after we moved in. All for the price of a small car.

But it is WORTH EVERY PENNY!

Here's the BEFORE:

 Here's the AFTER:

 We chose Cimstone quartz in Lapland. The colour on the screen really doesn't do the quartz the appropriate justice. It's gorgeous bright white with tiny gray and mirror flecks, giving it that sparkling look. 

This is a close up of Lapland:

 I am absolutely thrilled with the final results. The change is massive. The house is so much brighter and the richness of the wood is really highlighted. We changed the granite in all the bathrooms to this white quartz as well. I can't wait to show you the rest! We've been busy around here!

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Yogic Decorating

Since moving to Fort McMurray I've been doing a lot of yoga. Between the breathing {pranayama} and movements {asanas}, yoga is transformative. You cannot escape the calming, healing power of yoga. 

Sitting in the stillness, I am able to see the stresses in my life differently.

Image via here

 

One such stress has been this ugly tiger tail granite situation in my new house. I decided last week to take a high road with the builder, but since then {and after receiving super expensive quotes to replace the countertops with quartz!} I've had some time to really consider what I need {not merely just what I want} and gain some true perspective.

First - I'm lucky to have granite at all. I plan on decorating around it, and not with it. What I mean is, the current granite's colour scheme will not interfere with my decorating plans.  I'm going ahead with my plans, and when the time & money is right, the countertops will change. 

Second - There are MANY important and NECESSARY projects that will precede the replacement of the countertops. I hope Big A doesn't see this, but we have to:

• Get window coverings for the ENTIRE house!
• Redesigning Little A's room - since she's now out of a crib {so we need a bed, dressers, lighting, etc}
• Design/Furnish the guest room/nanny's room
• Get an outdoor swingset for the kidlets
• Paint EVERYTHING - like every room, every closet, even the stair railings
• Get new living room furniture & figure out
• Buy new TVs, a VitaMix, a Kitchen Aid mixer
• Change some light fixtures
• Buy mirrors for every bathroom
• There's probably MUCH more, but I can't think of it now

 Third - It's only a countertop. Who cares?! There are many things in my life that require my full attention, and this granite situation has been unnecessarily distracting and negative. I choose to see the light and know that everything happens for a reason.

So that's my current feeling about the tiger tail granite. If we get a reasonable quote or we come into a lot of extra money, perhaps we will change the granite. But that change should not precede the basics like covering our windows so we're not exhibitionists :)

So thank you YOGA {and family and friends too!} for helping me gain the appropriate perspective on this stressful and disappointing predicament. 

Ommm...Ommm...Ommm

 

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Countertop Decisions

Thanks for all your great feedback on yesterday's post. I'm happy to hear that my friends & followers agree with me.

Frankly, I haven't met a person that liked the granite. It's hard to explain design & decorating to a builder who thinks any granite is awesome because it's granite. Even tiger tail ugliness.

I guess some people would buy a house because it has granite, regardless of what it looked like. For me, it's a major turnoff if it doesn't go well with the other finishings.

Anyway, I digress because today's post is less about complaining, and more about DOING.

We are seriously considering replacing the tiger tail granite with a white quartz. Although the quote we got yesterday made me seriously reconsider if I could live with tiger tail. It's expensive to begin with, but then add Fort McMurray prices. Let's just say it was a 1/3 of my salary from my first law job!

Here are a few options we're looking at.  What do you think?

Ice Snow - warmer white with some tiny flecks to add interest

Image via here

White Shimmer - this looks amazing in the ensuite!

Image via here

Silestone Lyra - quartz's answer to Carrera marble

Image via here

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New Kitchen Chairs!

Hello folks! Thanks for still following my DIY adventures, even when I'm quiet. Life is hectic {doesn't EVERYONE say that?!}, so something had to give for a little while -- and for me, it was my blog and DIY projects. Thanks for your indulgence.

Even though this here bloggy-blog has been on the backburner, I've still been working on a few things. Our latest addition has been our new kitchen chairs! I love them...WAIT TILL YOU HEAR WHAT I PAID FOR THEM!!

The brief backstory is that in January we decided to sell our large counter-height dining set. It was awesome for entertaining, but it was ultimately TOO big for our kitchen. 

I have *three* (ahem!) other kitchen tables in my basement -- yes, you read that correctly. I'm a furniture hoarder, and I'm not ashamed to admit it!

I tried out an oak oval table for awhile, which I planned to DIY-ify awesomely, but it didn't feel right.  Ultimately, we settled on a parson-style wenge wood table. But I didn't have the right chairs. Then the two month Grand Hunt for Cool Kitchen Chairs began.

I found a couple contenders, specifically these two cool metal chairs from Crate & Barrel. 

Images via Crate & Barrel

I was completely in love with the Lyle chair, but they are $259 each. And Big A wasn't a big fan, so we decided to keep searching. I hunted every HomeSense, Kijiji and furniture store searching for the perfect kitchen chair.

Then I had a stroke of genius. I decided to get back to my roots - my favourite mid-century modern chair. The classic white Panton chair. Since I cannot afford the real thing, I searched online and found the best price of $100 each on Kijiji.

THEN I remembered that awhile ago I saw faux Panton chairs at Kitchen Stuff Plus.  I went to the website and sure enough, there they were. And on CLEARANCE of $40 EACH!

I couldn't order them online, so I went to my nearest store only to find out that they are practically sold out. I convinced the store to sell me their floor model for 10% off, then I schlepped to 3 other stores, convincing them to do the same. I pretty much cleared out Ontario of ALL the KSP Panton-style chairs :)

So for $160 (taxes included!), I now have FOUR cool, kid-friendly, easy-to-clean, kitchen chairs.

What do you think?

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January Update

I can't believe we're halfway through January already! Time flies when you're having fun.

We had EZ's 3rd Birthday party over the weekend and it was a big success. We *tried* to keep it simple this year, but as you know, I like to do things big. EZ had a blast with his family & all his little friends. I'm editing the photos now, but here's a sneak peek!

Alright, let's see...what else is new?

We're on the hunt for new kitchen chairs since selling our counter-height dining set. I'll post about that soon because I think I need your advice on a table too. Oh and I changed the drapes in the kitchen too!

I think that our dining room is done. Finally. Ok, well, except for a few pillows, but I seriously LOVE the finishing touches {ie. art} that we added to it. We started this process a YEAR ago {literally!}, so it's nice to reflect on how much we've accomplished in that time.

Our living room is getting there. I'll blog about it soon. I posted on Twitter some cool chairs that we picked up from Kijiji. But recently, we hung up some new art and a mirror that I got from HomeSense. 

See? So many posts to write, so little time. Thanks for following our adventures. And thank you for being patient :)

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Change is the Spice of Life...

...or is it Variety? Who can keep up? Haha! :)

Anyway, this post isn't about idioms - it's about a simple, but important change in my kitchen!

Since becoming vegan a couple months ago, I tend to make *a lot* of food myself. Well, at least a lot of food is made in my kitchen, not necessarily that I make it. You know by now that I'm merely a wannabe foodie & chef, but I can barely boil water without Googling directions. Seriously.

And with all this healthy vegan cooking going on, we use A LOT of spices to bring out flavour in the foods we make.

A couple of years ago, I posted about how I organized my spices when we moved into our new house. I put them in cute metal jars {with magnetic bottoms!} and labelled them with my beloved label-maker. They looked cute, but were hiding for the last couple of years in one of my upper cabinets. 

They were annoying to get at because I put the labels on the side of the jar, so when trying to locate a spice I had to haul ALL the jars out until I found the one I needed. 

{Okay, so it's not a difficult task, but it is annoying & unnecessarily time-consuming all the same!}

Until now...

 I reorganized my spices on the side of my fridge, right where I need them when I {or someone else, ahem!} is preparing food. 

I arranged them alphabetically which feeds right in to my obsessive need to organize. I was also able to keep most of the labels by just easing them off the side of the jars and replacing them on the clear tops. Win-Win!

I also like that I can see if I'm running low on a spice so I can refill it before it runs out.

Frankly, I was a bit apprehensive about displaying the spices because they may look too busy, but with my kitchen now so much lighter and brighter, the spices don't clutter it up at all. 

In fact, I think it looks like a working kitchen where people actually prepare food. Or at least spice up pre-made food from the grocery store to look like it was homemade :)

So tell me - where do your spices live in your kitchen?

Linking up to:

Organize & Decorate Everything's - Home Decor and Organizing Link Party #23

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Kitchen Makeover - REVEAL!

The day has come when I can finally show you what we've been working on for the last 3 weeks  

{and what's been percolating in my head for 2 years!}. 

I'm kind of in LURVE with it. I hope you like it too.

We still have some finish touches {under-cabinet lighting, area rug, wall art, curtain, etc}, but I can't exactly show you a finished product every post - I need time to curate...and build up the war chest again! Haha!

Without further ado, here's our new kitchen!

 So...what do you think?

Here's a "Before" when the previous home owners lived here.

NOT our stuff. NOT our style. And that's not even my arm either! Haha! Very dark, cocoon-like and "Tuscan".

Now you're asking what did we do to make it so lovely?

Well, my amazing husband did a lot of the work {remember, I'm the brains behind the DIY. Oh, and I'm also the Mummy, so I look after the kidlets...for the most part, ahem.}.

PAINT

 Big A took down the cabinet fronts to paint.  We used Benjamin Moore's OC-15 - Baby Fawn. 

It's a light, bright greige. It's perfect to match our granite {which we were NOT going to change!} and it also complements the floor tiles - which I don't like, which is why I need an area rug for the kitchen. 

Big A used the paint sprayer to get good, even coverage on the cabinet fronts. His paint sprayer is set up in the basement. I should really learn how to use it. While the paint was drying, it was time to tackle the backsplash.

BACKSPLASH

Most people would think the tumbled marble cobblestone-y backsplash is nice enough...and it is, but it's just not the look I wanted for my kitchen.

We found cool tiles for the backsplash at Costco of all places and planned to tile right over the marble. But Big A decided he didn't want to do that. He wanted to remove the current backsplash and do it right the first time. You can't argue with that!

So when you remove a backsplash, most of the drywall comes with it so he had to replace the drywall - something he's never done before. Actually, he never tiled before either. But he accomplished both tasks with great success and relative ease, as far as I know anyway!

A close up of the Costco backsplash tile & the granite. I really like the colour of grout we choose - it's called "Antique White" and it really brightens and punches up the backsplash!

Another gratuitous photo - I love my new kitchen!

After several days of very hard work, we he completed the big stuff and my kitchen became usable again, and oh-so-lovely!

Here are some "Before & Afters" to compare.  

Please ignore the poor quality of the "Before" photos, my camera was acting up - so I borrowed a camera from my dad for the "Afters"!

Thank you to the friends who let us borrow tools {from trowels to tile saws!} to help us complete our Kitchen Makeover on time & budget!

Linking up to:

Not Just a Housewife's Best DIY Project of 2011

Somewhat Simple - Strut Your Stuff Link Party

Beneath My Heart - Best DIY Project of September 

 


Not Just a Housewife - Show Me What Ya Got #42

House of Hepworths - Hookin Up with HOH #68

  
The Shabby Creek Cottage - Transformation Thursday! 

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