[digiscrap: Renovations.]

I've been trying to get photos from, like, 2009 - off of my computer.  I was so overwhelmed with all of the reno pics I took - that I just decided to make it simple.  Each page is the same template that I created ... which made the whole thing a lot easier.

So - voila ... our home from beginning to end.  Double click the images to enlarge.

Have a great one!

[renovation 09: The Family Room & CONTEST INFO]

OOPS!! Sorry everyone ... had this posted under the wrong date - so you weren't able to find it. But here it is ...

Well - you've seen the fireplace, and seen the railings ... but I thought I'd show you the whole room. This is what it looked like "before" ...

And this is the room that started the whole project. See, with my hubby laying on the couch for those 3weeks after his leg injury - he realized that our carpets were embarrassingly stained. 12 year old, cream, builders carpet. YUCK.

So - we started planning on changing the carpet ... which lead to changing all of the flooring on the mainfloor. Which lead to changing the baseboards, then adding the crown ... the paint colour needed to match, so it was changed too. Then the railings, some changes in lighting, and blinds were added instead of the brown curtains ... oh. And the fireplace.

See?? Renovations can realllllly get the better of you. But last night, I had photography clients come over while the kids were in bed, and my hubby at the hockey game, and the house felt - lovely. I am so pleased with it ... it feels calm and clean.

Here's the reveal ... (drumroll please ...)

Stay tuned for a CONTEST I having for my blog readers. The prize? I will design your CHRISTMAS CARDS! Confused? WELL - I will digitally design a card with up to 3 family photos, you'll pick the colour scheme and the "greeting", and I'll do the rest. You'll be able to upload and print them out, say, at Costco - for about 12 CENTS each. Seriously - it's the ONLY way to do Christmas cards ...

Stay tuned!! And hey - have a good one!

[renovations 09: The Fireplace]

All I wanted was a mantle. You know, one made out of wood - that I could hang Christmas stockings from, without worrying about chipping the drywall. Well ... that was the starting point.

My father-in-law was the "project manager" and he said that the whole thing needed to go. If we were going to do this, we were going to do it RIGHT. Um ... yessir!!

So, down it came. The tile was ripped out, the drywall - destroyed.

Then, it was rebuilt from scratch, and the fire-insert was centered and shelves were built.

The insert above was made smaller by bringing in lower from the ceiling (so moulding could go around the perimeter of the ceiling), and the depth was cut in half.

The fireplace was tiled with little black tiles, and finished with mouldings.

It really anchors the room now - and I can't wait to dress it up for Christmas! I'll show you the FULL change with the "Family Room" reveal ...

Have a great one!

[renovations 09: Stairs]

With all that's been going on - I totally forgot about showing you some of our renovation pics. What can I say? I'm used to living in it now ...

For today's reveal - our staircase. It was chipped, peeling and really outdated. We considered doing an updated version of the white posts, as they are definitely making a comeback.


My hubby had a pain-in-the-neck time tearing it down before the guy came. Do you remember the drama with the railing guy??? Yeah. I had forgotten about it until now ... a picture is worth a thousand words sometimes ...


We opted for the warmer wood and iron ... and the painting? Something I whipped up with a spatula and 3 tones of paint. Trust me - I am NOT an artist ... can't draw a stickman with a ruler. But I was getting worried about the black and brown theme I was having and needed something to bring it all together. I couldn't find ANYthing that was substantial enough ... so, this was the most inexpensive solution. It cost about $150.00 to make ... and we really like how it anchors that wall now when you're sitting in the family room.


What do you think?? I think it's one of the biggest changes we ended up doing. Well - wait a sec - maybe that's not quite true ... we did a lot of things ...

Now that I'm remembering to do this - more pics soon!

OH ... and just to let you know how I'm getting all this blogging done?? The wee hours of the morning with my dear screaming baby ... putting her in the swing and listening to the clock tick by at 2am. UGH. I sometimes get one or two posts done, save them and schedule them for different dates ... and don't think about it until I see them on my site. Just in case you thought I sat around at the computer all day blogging ... HA!! Wouldn't THAT be nice!! Well. Not really. Being a mom is much better ... and so would 8hrs of sleep *wink*!!

Have a great one!

[renovations 09: Josiah's Room]

Ok ... here's the next reveal!!

Remember what this room looked like before?? No? Well, that's probably because I was HORRIFIED at what the room had turned into and didn't post any pics ... I affectionately called it "Tijuana" - you know, the place where all the junk ends up? Yup. That was THAT room. It was SUPPOSED to be my craft room - and it served it's purpose over the past 4 years. Then, it became the room my hubby would sleep in when he came home from hockey at 3am and didn't want to wake me. But by the time the renovations began, this room became the place where we just opened the door and chucked things in - hoping to deal with them later. UGH!!

Here are a few pics of what we had to deal with (how embarrassing!!):

Then, with the news of a new wee one coming, we decided to move Josiah from the nursery, to this room. That way, he could have his "big boy" room - and we didn't have to do a thing for the baby.

My hubby always wanted to give our boy a "Cars" bed, and Siah LOVES Cars ... so we got one that was a shell around a twin bed - that way he could grow out of it, and just need a headboard when done.

Some things we did: I chose two colours from the Cars duvet, a green and a blue. I also chose red curtains for some punch. Our brother-in-law, PDG, made the shelves that can hold different nicknacks as Josiah grows (photos, awards, model trains ... whatever ...). And I hung up 2 magnet boards that Siah can display his own artwork on. I had bought "circle" mirrors - unaware that they were not connected (oops). So, instead, I attached them to the sides of his furniture - didn't want them on the wall where they could do some serious damage when removed. All the furniture (other than the bed) was bought at IKEA for SUPER cheap. And the toy storage is a bit too small - but it'll do for now. One of my favourite things is the "triangle" clothes hamper that fits so neatly against the dresser. I got that at Jysk. One thing I had HOPED for, was to find "road stickers" that I could put on the green wall (the right hand wall). I imagined having a winding road ... but haven't found anything substantial enough.

Ok - here's the BIG REVEAL!!

So? What do you think? Any other ideas? I had thought about putting "zoom" and other car words on the wall ... but I don't want to paint anything on my freshly painted walls ... maybe I could find some stickers ...

Well - I had a LOT of fun doing this room ... and am already getting a teensy bit excited to do Katia's room in a couple of years ... I wonder what she'll want to have??

Have a great one!

[new baby: The Heirloom Blanket]

When I was pregnant with Josiah, my mother pulled out the circular, white blanket that my Nana had knitted for my arrival. Mom had kept it in pristine condition for 32 years. I wish I could say that it was in the SAME condition *blush*, but I CAN say that it is certainly LOVED by Siah. He has chewed it, pulled it, dragged it - you name it. And it's not so much "white", as it is *cough* ... gray-ish?? He LOVES his blanket.

Well - when we found out we were pregnant with this new little one (come ONNNN baby ... ), I asked my mom if she would consider knitting a blanket for him/her. She actually was pretty excited about it, went out and picked a pattern and the softest white yarn ... and today she presented it to me.

Wanna see?

And wanna see what it looks like in the nursery? Ok - so wehaven't changed the room at all since we prepared it for Josiah. Why bother? I like it, it's calm and cozy ... and if it's a girl - well, then I just might "girly" it up. If it's a boy ... for me, it's perfect.

We did do a LITTLE bit of renos on this room - only in that the carpet was changed and the baseboards/crown moulding were added. Here's the room ... and the most lovely blanket, made with love ...

And I'll let you know that she reads my blog ... so if you are so inclined, you can let her know what a FANTASTIC job she did ... she really did! I'm sure that would make her day! Thanks mom!!

Now on to Tias' blanket?? *wink*

[renovations 09: Front Room REVEAL]

Ok ... so the series shall begin. Renovations 09 are coming to a close (whoo hoo!!), and I am able to actually post some "Before & After" pics for the world to see.

So - our front room ... I call it my "Chai Tea" room. JUST in case we end up with a house full of boys, I'm going to need a room that is sophisticated and a little bit "girly". We don't have a lot of colour in the house - mainly browns, blacks, creams ... - so I went FULL ON with "Aztec Brick" from Benjamin Moore.

Here's the before ... not bad - but not as vibrant as I wanted it ...

Here's the reveal: What was changed? Crown, wainscoting (which it LOOKS like we had in the first pic, but it was just white paint & a chair rail with no mouldings), window headers ... the paint and the shag carpet (which we LOVE). And I put the black furniture unit behind the loveseat(that used to be in our familyroom's square space beside the fireplace), and it houses all of my digiscrapbooks. I LOVE that too - because they're easy to get to now, and I can imagine myself drinking my Chai Tea, looking through my albums with the rain pouring outside ... Ok. I can dream, can't I??

And I love the pillows ... it took me a long time to find them - not fun with a big belly and 2 wee wons (gotta love caramel rice cakes to pacify the kids while shopping *smile*). I found these at Pier One Imports - and thankfully I had birthday gift certificates that I hadn't used .., because each pillow was MIGHTY expensive. But hey - it's the girly room ... no boys allowed with sticky fingers and dirty toes *grin*. Well - that's the PLAN ...

Soooo ... whatdoya think? Do you have a room in your house that you went BOLD on? Do you love it, or regret it? It's just paint, is what I figure ... I could change it to a calm taupe and put the pillows away ... but I won't be doing that.

I like the orange. *GRIN*

[talk: STUFF]

No baby today ... at least not yet *laughing*. Did you REALLY think it'd come today??? I didn't ... and honestly - there's too much to do around here to even THINK about going into labour.

The RAILING MEN are here. They are officially my favourite people - even though I've been mighty frustrated with them over the last 6 weeks ... BUT the railings are starting to take shape and look AMAZING *yay!!*. They're doing the upstairs first, so that Josiah doesn't decide to take a running leap off of the 2nd floor onto the couch in the family room. And he'd try - trust me *wink*!

This means that I may actually be able to post some RENO pics ... "befores" and "afters" ... I'm excited to see them, and I LIVE here *laughing*.

I've cut and pinned the curtains for Josiah's room ... hoping to hem them and put them up within the next hour ... I'm NOT a seamstress ... but I can hem with my machine.

And my hubby and I are going out for dinner tonight with P&S *holla!*. P was so helpful by providing a wheelchair for my hubby after his surgery. It's only been about 5 weeks that he HASN'T been using it ... so, we're taking them out to a fantastic restaurant for some grown up time - and I'm looking forward to a bucket full of laughs ... they're good for it *wink*!!

OH!! And my sis-in-law took my boys on a Starbucks date late this morning, and I've ALMOST finished editing all the pics of last week's wedding. I had taken 800 pics, and was able to scale them down to 250. I love editing pics - although time consuming ... it's like art to me.

Can't wait to show YOU them and put them on my site ...

I've got TOO MANY pics to sort through, with Tias' bday, the family reunion, Penticton pics - heck, I haven't even finished my Australia/New Zealand trip from May!! I'm sensing a panic attack coming soon ... *grin*. Well. Maybe.

Alright ... typing as fast as possible - and off to my sewing machine ...

Have a FANTASTIC day!!

[new baby: 36wks7days Dr. Appointment]

I've just come home after a trip to Walmart. Why? Oh, because it suddenly HIT me that I'm going to have a baby *blush* - and am not all that ready for it!I bought newborn diapers, Oval, Vitamin D drops and a few other things that I new have expired since I needed them for Josiah.

Then, I went and got myself a pair of pajamas for the hospital ... I wouldn't be caught DEAD wearing the t-shirt and shorts I've been wearing these last few weeks *blush*. So - they're now in the wash, getting a lovely dose of "clean" ...

I'll be starting to get my hospital bag ready ... mainly because my doctor told me today to be prepared for a quick delivery. That was said after I voiced my concerns about a long labour and having high expectations after Josiah's 3 hour-start-to-finish-delivery.

Now, OBVIOUSLY no one knows what I'm in for. When this baby comes or how long the delivery will be, is up to the Lord. Nothing I can do can change that ... but I'd rather be prepared JUST in case it is early and quick ...

I was NOT prepared for our first born at 36 weeks, and my hubby and friends actually went out and bought the rocking chair and everything else while I stayed at home, taking care of the new wee one. SO - don't want that to happen again ...

Anyway - I had thought the baby had "dropped", but apparently isn't QUITE there yet. It's head is down, and had dropped a bit, but isn't lodged in that way it will be ... "When you waddle, you'll know," my doctor said. Such a man *grin*.

Ok ... so off to sew some curtains, get the boys ready for a dinner at my folk's place before my dad heads off to Russia for a couple of weeks ... then, the stair railings come DOWN tonight *WHOOO HOOO!!!* and the new ones are being put up tomorrow.

Must run ... much to do!

[new baby: Almost 34 Weeks]

WOW.

Well, in some ways I feel like I've been pregnant forever - and in others, I'm a wee bit nervous about being a "ticking time bomb" and waiting for labour to begin. People who say you forget the pain, are liars *wink*.

Our eldest son was born at 36.5 weeks, and our second born was born 10 days early. So, I'm hoping that this baby follows their big brothers and comes EARLY. Here's a pic of me at 33.5wks - I'm sooo swollen and stretched. I weep for my pre-preggo body *wink*. OH - if you haven't voted - check the right side of my blog and post your vote: girl or boy??

Our renos are NOT done ... waiting for the banister guy to finish his job so the carpet can come in, so the baseboards can be finished, so the painting guy can complete the details. I hate the "not quite finished" stage ... I just want to be DONE. I'm so wanting to post pics, but NOTHING's completely finished.

So - that leaves me with my thought for the day: patience. I sing that song to Tias often, "have patience, have patience, don't be in suuuuuch a hurry." But, again, I am reminding myself to BE patient, to enjoy - even the painful, swollen feet and hands - because I will never be in a place I am today, ever again.

It's easy to always look ahead and think, "Oh - I can't WAIT for this to happen" ... but the truth is, is that it's our every day life that we'll look back with fondness on. One day, I won't be making dinner for a 4yr old and 2 yr old. One day, I won't be changing diapers. One day, I won't have a big house to worry about. One day, the house will be quiet.

So - today I am going to make the MOST of it.

Hope you have a FANTASTIC day doing whatever it is that makes life worth while for you!!

[renos: Is That Light I SEE??]

Yes ... it's the light at the end of the tunnel ... pretty darn sure!

The hardwood on the mainfloor should be finished today (um - where IS he anyways??). And the shag carpet was installed in the front room and family room this morning. Now, just the baseboards need to be installed, the lighting in the kitchen and powderroom need to be finished, and some final trim put on the new fireplace ... then I think we're done this stage.

Next stage - well, we're waiting for the banisters to arrive. We couldn't install the carpet upstairs today because they couldn't guarantee that they would be able to line up the stairs with the hallway ... and we can't install the stairs carpet until the banisters are done.

Then, there's the powderroom. It's painted, but we're waiting for the vanity so we can install the countertop, sink, and faucet. Then the toilet can be put back ... sure am missing that mainfloor bathroom ... I hate going up and down the stairs every 20minutes *grin*.

Today I also went to my dr. appointment - and am now to be going every 2 weeks. WOW. That's a scary thought ... I do that a few times, and BLAMO. Baby time. *grin*.

Baby's heartbeat was 150 today ... whatever that means *grin*.

If you have a second, cast your vote on the right side of my blog ... seems to me that everyone's thinking "girl". Hmm ... we're not - so we shall see who's right *grin*!!

Have a good one!

[renos: Who's Idea WAS THis???]

Would love to show you some pics of the blasted renos - but alas, me & the boys are officially kicked out of our home - so the camera is packed away. Well, sort of. I took some shots of the hole in the entrance last night. Guys were working 'till after 11pm last night. UGH UGH UGH. At least our neighbours were so forgiving ...

There is no stove, floors, internet, cable or phone at our place. And the floors are the biggest issue with 2 wee ones. So, for the second day in a row - we're camping out in the afternoon at my folks place. That way, Siah at least gets his nap.

The hardwood will be done today. Carpets come in on Thursday - so I'm assuming that I'll be kicked out on Thursday and Friday. Not really a big deal - not like some renos that last for months and months ... just a bit tricky with a 2 year old wandering around ...

And on a COMPLETELY different note ... anyone watch "The Bachelorette?" My hubby and I have a "date" every Monday night and evaluate the show together. We pause it (it's always taped) and kill ourselves laughing, or freak out in disbelief. Ok. That'd be ME freaking out.

Like, last night (IF YOU HAVEN'T WATCH IT - AND WANT TO - STOP READING) .... could any of you believe that Mr. "E" was back??? And for those of you who don't know how much I wept when he left (seriously - hormones are killer right now at 30wks preggo) ... check out my comments on my friend's blog here. So when he came back, I REJOICED. Literally. Trust me - not a pretty sight, but still, the happy dance was needed.

How did I get to watch it, without tv?? iWell, it was running last night ... just disconnected during the day for the renos ...

Ok. Gotta get off mom's computer (what am I, 12??). Hope life's treating you well!!

[renos: HELP!!! This means YOU!!]

Ok ... TWO posts today ...

But this one is in a frantic rush - and I'm hoping I'll get SOME hits and comments *fingers crossed*.

Here's the thing ... the fireplace. I need to know WHAT to do!! Here's a pic of what it looks like today (kinda ruins the befores and afters ... but who cares *grin*).

Here's what I need help with. The fireplace sits above the floor. There will not be tile on the floor, just the main, shag carpet. SO ... what do I do with the 4 inches below the fireplace? I thought of continuing the baseboards from the walls, all along the base of the structure. But then it'd have to be notched out when it hit the fireplace (the baseboards are 6inches or so ...). OR we could tile all the way around the fireplace (not around the shelving), including along the floor. Our painter says he`s never seen baseboards around a fireplace, that it should be separate from the wall, not blend in.

These are the tiles we chose:

They are black, not blue *smile*. And about 1inch wide ... small little guys. Love them. SOOOOO - dear ones - what should be painted out white (like the mantle), where should be tiled, what should go along the floor.

ANYONE. Please. Help.

[renos: Dah Dah DUUUUUUUUM]

Renovations. Such a gift, such a pain ... who's idea was this anyways???

Oh - that'd be ours. *sigh*.

So, we're at the end of week 3, I think, and nothing's really finished ... just a lot of projects that are half-way or almost done.

Let's see ... wait! Yes, the bedrooms are done - they only had mouldings to put up. And Josiah's new room is painted (hoping for the CARS bed to arrive tomorrow). REALLY want to get his room finished and have him move in there ... and get the baby's room ready!

The crown is done, the fireplace is about half-way finished ... the front room has the wainscoting up, but nothing's been painted ... the kitchen is painted, but the lighting is more like hanging wires than lighting. And today, demolition begins on the powder-room. Glad I'm not potty training over the next couple of weeks!

Hardwood comes tomorrow, installation starts Monday. And they'll be having to break the slate tile as well. May have to move out during the day ... ah well. Better than breathing dust.

Pictures? Nothing ready yet ... hoping that we'll get Siah's room DONE this weekend and I can post the "before" (Tijuana *smile*) and "after".

Ok ... off to the granite guy and sink/faucet guy ... have a good one!

[renos: Still Here, Still Kickin' ...]

Hey hey ... I'm still alive. And doing well (aside from being a wee bit hormonally imbalanced *wink*) - probably because I'm not bored *grin*.

Renos are coming along. All the baseboards and crown are in. The fireplace has been moved, and the surrounding shelves have been built. Upstairs, Josiah's new room has been painted and the hallway/landing is also completed.

Today, the wall above the newly built fireplace will be painted; the rest of the mouldings/crown will be sealed and painted; and hopefully the front room or kitchen will be done. Tomorrow, the fireplace will be completed ... YAY!!!

Also, we're getting the finalized info on the vanity for the powder-room. We've chosen a "bowl" sink - but only 3 inches up, not the big 6 inch one. It was surprisingly inexpensive, less than $90 and we think it'll really update the room.

Yesterday, I went to the banister-place. We have 12-year-old, white, dented, chipped banisters. We were deciding whether to simply sand them and repaint, or get new ones. The cost of sanding and painting was really high, so we opted to get new iron-spindle ones. They will make a massive difference in our great-room.

THEN, once those are done, the flooring gets done. Or maybe before the banisters ... we'll see. The stairs can't be done until the banisters are, but the rest of the house can be ... I'll be sad when I can't wear my shoes in the house - and there is such freedom in being careless on your cut-up carpet (because of wiring and such) ...

Can't wait to post some pics - but nothing is REALLY completed yet. Hopefully Josiah's CARS bed will be in next week, and we can hang his curtains and all that fun stuff. THEN I'll take a pic or two *GRIN* ...

Ok ... off to wrap the Father's Day presents (for hubby and dads). Then driving my mom to the airport ... and tonight is Tias' Preschool Graduation ... Ok ... I can post this pic - it's just toooo darn cute for words!! Gotta love the marketing that suckers parents into buying such pics!!

Hope you have a good one, and I'm hoping to be better at posting next week *grin*!!

[digiscrap: Catchin' Up]

We all have some way that we like to unwind - maybe it's having a bath, looking through a magazine or talking on the phone with friends.

For me, once the kids are safely tucked into bed and my hubby and I are comfy on the couch, I like to digiscrap. Now, I haven't done anything since my hubby's injury - but over the last few nights, I've managed to actually start to catch up a bit.

I have SO many photos - and first, I back them all up, then I digiscrap them, then I delete the photos off of my computer, then I back up the digiscrap pages. It's a bit time consuming - but I find this process works well for me.

Ok ... so - here are some of the pages I've done recently ... doesn't mean that the photos are recent :-) ...

OH! And for those who may be interested in our renovations - they started TODAY. The painter-dude has started painting the mouldings in the garage, then onto Josiah's green & blue room ...

I tried to get a timeline on how long this will all take ... apparently 4-6 weeks. HA!! You might think I'm crazy - but this has become a form of "nesting" for me ... and in another 6 weeks, I'll only have a little over a month to go before our wee one arrives ... THAT'S exciting!!

Ok ... here are the pages. Enjoy.

double click images to enlarge

[renos: Cleaning Up Tijuana]

We all have a "junk drawer" ... or room, no?

Well, I call the extra room upstairs, "Tijuana". Why? Because it's where all the junk ends up ... clutter, mish-mash, extras, hostess gifts, gift wrap, card making supplies, boxes of old photos - before digi came into play, broken things, things to be mended ... you name it, you'll find it.


But now it's time to face the music - so today, I am attacking this room. I won't lie - I have a deadline of Monday to have my entire mainfloor and upstairs void of trinkets and wall hangings. So that has lit the fire under my toes.

"Tijuana" is now going to be Josiah's room, and Josiah's current room will be the new baby's ... and I'm taking a bunch of pics to get the full effect. His new room will be painted next week (fingers crossed) and his new Cars bed should be in the week following, or two.

Bah-bye Tijuana.

For the full effect, I'm going to wait to post the "pre" pics ... trust me - it's mighty embarrassing. Especially over the last 13 weeks of my hubby's injury ... EVERYthing has ended up there. With the door closed *wink*.

It reminds me of an episode of "FRIENDS". Do you remember the one where Monica has a closet where it is jam packed with stuff and Chandler finds great joy that his wife has a junk closet? Well, the "Tijuana" room is kinda like that ... except neither of us are laughing *smile*.

On another note ... the colour palette keeps adjusting. Too grey, too green, too yellow, too pink. You change one shade, and the rest follow suit. Even the trim colour of white is enough to make me go cross-eyed. I mean, HONESTLY ... 50 shades of white to chose from? *sigh*.

But I shall choose, and I shall be happy with it. Right? *GRIN*.

FINGERS CROSSED.

[renos: Boys Bedroom Renovations]

Well - THIS is what I thought we were supposed to be doing this summer!! Getting the little one to realized he's going to be the BIG brother ... and kicking him out of his crib *grin*.


For that last few weeks, we've been baiting Josiah with a "red, Cars bed".


To which he would reply, with biiiig eyes, "Oooooooooooo!!!!"

We made a family outing of it, and it was good for Mattias to have to tag along for something about his brother, as Josiah seems to do for Tias every day.

The anchor of the room ...

And I actually felt BAD that we had moved Tias into a double-bed with grown up boy furniture ... but he doesn't want to change it. And Josiah was over the MOON with the thought of this as his bed.

So, we ordered it, and it arrives in 3 weeks. That gives me a bit of time to sort out "Tijuana" (that's was I call the craft room that ends up having everything in it ... just like Tijuana).

Then, off to Sears for the bedding - which was on SALE (whoo hoo!!). We got the Cars comforter and sheets, along with a set of dark blue sheets for an extra set. We also got him a Cars lamp - which has proven to be a problem in that he wants to sleep with it *grin*.

The wall colour? Ohhh - THIS was fun! I choose a yummy, bright "brookside moss" green. And there's a small architectural feature with his window, and that wall is going to be "champion cobalt" blue ... they're actually very sophisticated colours and would work well when he's out of his "Cars" bed. And the colours are pulled from the scene on his comforter ...

Decorating is going to be FUN ...

And as for the nursery that Siah's moving out of? It's perfectly fine the way it is ... the carpet will be changed, as all the bedrooms will be, and baseboards and crown moulding will be added. But that's it. If I knew it was a girl, then MAYBE I'd change it ... but right now it's done in browns, taupes and creams ...

Ok ... are you sick of my renos yet?? And we haven't even started yet!!

[renos: From Where We're Starting ...]

Interested in a "before"? I'd rather show you AFTER it's done *GRIN* ... but I'll give you a bit of an idea of what we're starting to do 'round these here parts.

Choosing paint colours was FUN ... basically I'm keeping the same feel, just using more INTENSE colours than the ones I chose 5 years ago ... "aztec brick" which is a vibrant, fiery orange for the front room (it'll be finished with the lower half as white wainscoting), "olive branch" which is a thick, warm green for the powder room, and "french press", an intense chocolate brown from the BM Pottery Barn Collection for the kitchen.

I'm debating as to whether we should paint the insets again ... we have a lot of them for wall hangings and such ... I'm thinking we'll leave them this time in just the neutral (which I'm leaning towards Bennington Grey).

I LOVE our front room ... but with the new shag being ordered, we'll be taking out the area rug and I thought now's a great opportunity to try a more intense colour for the room .. Hmmm ... should've straightened those tables before taking the pic *grin* ... Here's the "now" ...

Here are a few pics of the current colours vs the updated-to-be colours. The top colour is Aztek Brick for the front room. I am in love with it. Bold. Warm. Sophisticated. This may end up being the only "woman" room in the house if we have another boy *GRIN*!!

And you can't REALLY tell that this wall is GREEN (but it is). It's the powder room on the main floor - but I never liked the hue I chose then. It was very cold, so this time I'm going to be bold and do a true Olive Branch. It's also very warm with massive amounts of pigment and screams "lush" to me.

We installed black granite in the kitchen when we first moved in. The cupboards are white - unfortunately, not wood but melamine - and stainless steel appliances. The brown I chose 5 years ago is nice, but not deep enough. I wanted a stronger contrast between the walls and cupboards. So, I chose "French Press" ... here's what it looks like against the current brown - which kinda looks green - but it isn't. Gotta love inconsistent lighting!!

Finally, we chose Josiah's stuff for his room today ... all about that on the next post.