New living room photos

I may not have been blogging much lately, but I can't seem to stop tinkering with the house - I do it almost unconsciously!  One day I feel the need to change up the mantel, another day I am switching pillows around.  Our friend and babysitter came over on Friday after having been away for a while and couldn't believe how many changes I had made.  Because I have been doing them bit by bit and been so distracted by my work and business course, I really hadn't taken in the cumulative effect of all my little tweaks.

The dresser project: let there be light!

I am happy to report that one item on my project list has been checked off.  The new school year filled me with energy and enthusiasm, and one day I found a drop cloth, took out the drawers on my big dark dresser/toy cabinet, and got busy.  No time like the present, right?  I sanded it all down with my rotary sander and by hand, and removed the hardware.  There was a LOT of hardware.  Each drawer actually had four separate pieces, and they were screwed and nailed down.  This thing was built to last!

I then primed it with STIX Bonding Primer, using a 2-inch angled brush and a "velvet nap" mini roller. I wasn't messing around.

My biggest hurdle was choosing the colour - I am not what they call "decisive."  I got so many great suggestions from you guys and on Twitter, and really dithered about this.  My poor Para colour deck got quite a workout.  Finally, I went with my gut and chose a creamy white - Desert Sand to be exact.  I dug out my coupon for a free gallon of Para Ultra paint that I got at Blog Podium (thank you Para and Blog Podium!) and headed to the local paint store in the Junction.  I have to say, I normally just whip up to Home Depot and choose the cheapest paint I can get.  Having this certificate forced me to find a Para paint distributor, which happily was West Toronto Paint.  I had the best service, loved supporting a local store, and don't think I will be going anywhere else for paint any time soon!  They gave me great advice on how to go about it: many thin coats ("as thin as you can get") with a light sanding in between.  This is quite a departure from my usual glob it on thick to avoid too many coats.  And sanding in between? Yeah, right. 

This new-found high standard approach made for a lovely smooth finish, and many many days of chaos.  Also, I became a little obsessive about it, constantly feeling for any drips, bumps, or nicks.  Did I mention this baby is seven feet long and has nine drawers??

So you can imagine my dismay when I put it all back together and the doors in the centre wouldn't close.  I took them off again and laboriously scrapped off all my meticulously-applied paint from behind the hinges, and on the doors.  I have managed to jam them together, but can't quite figure out why they won't close.  My mum suggested that maybe the moisture from the paint swelled the wood itself?  Argh.  Double Argh.

Whatever - moving on.  Maybe I will eventually plane them and repaint. (As if...)  I put the half the hardware back on, after polishing it all up.  The original drawer face configuration just seemed too heavy on the lighter background.  Plus, I didn't want to cover up all my hard work!  I also left the three middle drawers (behind the doors) as they were.  Call it strategic, call it laziness.  I like it.

The result pretty much rocks my world.  SO much brighter and lighter in there!  You may have noticed I also moved the dark brown sofa from there and switched it out with the little blue one.  I am thinking of adding another project to the list - recover the blue sofa!  I do like the smaller size and lower back as it also helps open the place up.  So there you have it.  Dresser = Done. You like?

PS. Can you spot Cam in the after photo?  :D

PPS. All the lovely arrows I had so much fun using in Photoshop were a free download from the ever-amazing Ez at Creature Comforts.

My Dresser Project - Any Advice?

One of the projects I am most excited to get started with is this dresser I got a while back on craigslist.  I know that painting it will make a drastic difference to the room.  But I am having trouble deciding if I want to go stark white or light grey.  I am worried that the white will be too jarring, and I am worried that the grey will just look like dingy white.  Here are a few colour options I have picked out from Sarah Richardson's Para Paints collection:

Promise - yellowy grey 

Powder - bluey grey

Bisque - warm beige-y white

Snowfall - pure white

I am thinking I will keep the brass hardware and maybe polish it up a bit, so I think I need a warmer colour to go with that.  Help a girl out - what should I do?

Another Amazing Craig's List Score

My love for Craig's List has been well-documented on this blog - I find it fascinating what people will sell, how they will describe it, and how much they ask for it.  Plus it's like a 24/7 garage sale - with some killer scores to be snatched up!  I cannot take credit for this find, however.  A fellow craig's list addict Claire posted about this piece on her wonderful blog, Take This Sofa, where she does a round-up of Craig's List finds every day.  Just think of the karma points she is earning...

I have long been trying to figure out what to do with this nook by the window.  Since my latest living room furniture configuration, it has been a great place to stick all the plastic toys and train tracks that seem to collect in my house.  But even in carefully sorted clear plastic boxes, the clutter was getting to me.  So I dreamed of something that would fill the long, skinny space, provide lots of storage for toys, and of course give me another surface to table-scape.

Sadly, I am no good at table-scaping, but I love it none-the-less.  And this piece of solid, Thomasville-quality furniture was just what the doctor ordered - it fits like a dream (sliding juuust under the window sill) holds tons of junk, and was $150 smackers!!  I may paint it one day (I am having a light grey obsession at the moment) but definitely not any time soon.  For now I will just light more candles for the gods of Craig's List - and Claire. :)

Life Takes Over and a Mood Board

I am pretty sure in all my fancy blog classes, lectures, tutorials and tip sheets, it does not recommend radio silence for days on end. But sometimes life just gets so darn BUSY, and then the weather gets gloriously warm, and before you know it a week has flown by. Luckily today brings a cool foggy morning and the boys are content to play with their cars, so I can take a minute to post a little something. I have been working like crazy on the bathroom beautification project, which I will show once it reaches photo-worthy status. One of my friends also asked for some simple advice on wall colour and slip-cover colours for her living room, and I decided to take this an an invitation to spend hours on Olioboard.

She already has a big blue sectional that is comfy and kid-friendly, so that is the centre-piece.  She also has some great teak trunk-like tables and a fabulous pottery collection.  Because I am all about navy and grey at the moment, I suggested a warm grey for the walls and a dark grey for the slip-cover on her Ikea armchair.  This beautiful rug warms up the hardwood floor and anchors the furniture together.  Because she is a friend from out east, I added some ocean art to ground the walls, and some slightly nautical fabric for curtains.  Fun pillows tie everything together.  What do you think?  Anything else you would add or replace?  This stuff is so fun...