Friday 28 September 2012

Blue bed -Black bed

Since we moved in, I've been planning to repaint my old bed, now in our guest room, in a colour more suitable to our current decor. This is a bed I've had since I came to Canada 40 years ago. When I bought it at a Sally Ann store (for $10 if I recall correctly), it was an institutional dark brown. I painted it red, and detailed the decorative flower basket on the headboard in yellow, blue, white and green. In the '80's it got a coat of beige, and in the '90's became blue, which it has remained until now.







This time, it got a coat of black with bronze flecks,







and I picked out the headboard detail in gold.











As my tastes have changed over the decades, so has this venerable old bed.

Blue bed -Black bed

Since we moved in, I've been planning to repaint my old bed, now in our guest room, in a colour more suitable to our current decor. This is a bed I've had since I came to Canada 40 years ago. When I bought it at a Sally Ann store (for $10 if I recall correctly), it was an institutional dark brown. I painted it red, and detailed the decorative flower basket on the headboard in yellow, blue, white and green. In the '80's it got a coat of beige, and in the '90's became blue, which it has remained until now.


This time, it got a coat of black with bronze flecks,


and I picked out the headboard detail in gold.



As my tastes have changed over the decades, so has this venerable old bed.

Monday 24 September 2012

Another room renovated

One of our tasks this summer was redoing the main floor bathroom. This is what it looked like when we moved in: simulated black marble plastic tiles with pink trim.




 





We had to act right away on the peeling back wall, so installed a not-very-expensive wraparound tub wall. It will remain for now, though at some future date I'd like to replace it. 










Two years later, after attending to more important alterations, we carried out the old vanity (a difficult job as it was heavy, constructed of very solid plywood), and stripped the plastic tiles from the drywall behind (an easy job as they practically fell off at a touch.)










Michael detached the toilet, which we moved temporarily to the back porch, then removed the linoleum tiles on the floor, the plywood beneath them and finally the fir boards below that to get down to the subfloor. 










He replaced the plywood, laid heating cable over it, 










poured self-levelling cement (the worst part of the job as it didn't self-level willingly), set the new terracotta tiles and finished with a dark-coloured grout. I put two coats of sealer on the grout.











Then I repainted the walls, we installed beadboard wainscotting, which I had already painted out in the backyard, and replaced the toilet. Our new vanity including sink and faucet was acquired from Craigslist, and suited both our colour scheme and the rustic look we were aiming for.











Our old oval mirror that we've had for many years turned out to be a good match for the vanity. We added a new curved shower rod and a half-curtain to the window in colours that matched the walls.










An inexpensive print on the wall and a bamboo etagere to hold towels completed the room.








Cooler weather in the last week gave us an opportunity to test the floor heat and find it is working well. All in all, we're pleased with the transformation.

Another room renovated

One of our tasks this summer was redoing the main floor bathroom. This is what it looked like when we moved in: simulated black marble plastic tiles with pink trim.

 

We had to act right away on the peeling back wall, so installed a not-very-expensive wraparound tub wall. It will remain for now, though at some future date I'd like to replace it. 


Two years later, after attending to more important alterations, we carried out the old vanity (a difficult job as it was heavy, constructed of very solid plywood), and stripped the plastic tiles from the drywall behind (an easy job as they practically fell off at a touch.)


Michael detached the toilet, which we moved temporarily to the back porch, then removed the linoleum tiles on the floor, the plywood beneath them and finally the fir boards below that to get down to the subfloor. 


He replaced the plywood, laid heating cable over it, 


poured self-levelling cement (the worst part of the job as it didn't self-level willingly), set the new terracotta tiles and finished with a dark-coloured grout. I put two coats of sealer on the grout.


Then I repainted the walls, we installed beadboard wainscotting, which I had already painted out in the backyard, and replaced the toilet. Our new vanity including sink and faucet was acquired from Craigslist, and suited both our colour scheme and the rustic look we were aiming for.


Our old oval mirror that we've had for many years turned out to be a good match for the vanity. We added a new curved shower rod and a half-curtain to the window in colours that matched the walls.


An inexpensive print on the wall and a bamboo etagere to hold towels completed the room.


Cooler weather in the last week gave us an opportunity to test the floor heat and find it is working well. All in all, we're pleased with the transformation.

Friday 14 September 2012

Old is Good

Grandview Heritage Group has launched a program to celebrate houses that are 100 years old with appropriate signs. We got our sign over a month ago, but it's taken this long for me to post a photo of our proud old birthday girl.















The Group intends to make this an annual project. Perhaps it will teach more people to appreciate the value of what is already there rather than tearing it down to build a new house out of cheaper materials. Our house was such an ugly duckling when we bought it, and yet now so many passers-by comment on how attractive it is.

Old is Good

Grandview Heritage Group has launched a program to celebrate houses that are 100 years old with appropriate signs. We got our sign over a month ago, but it's taken this long for me to post a photo of our proud old birthday girl.






The Group intends to make this an annual project. Perhaps it will teach more people to appreciate the value of what is already there rather than tearing it down to build a new house out of cheaper materials. Our house was such an ugly duckling when we bought it, and yet now so many passers-by comment on how attractive it is.