tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-40617810372376233792024-03-17T23:04:03.433-04:00Honey Sweet Homecreating a home you lovesamaahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08492305705967376990noreply@blogger.comBlogger58125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4061781037237623379.post-5779289573060324912014-01-07T12:02:00.000-05:002014-01-07T12:05:59.495-05:00It's a Boy!<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<span style="background-color: white; color: #666666; font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">My best of 2013 - this little guy :)</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="color: #666666;">We welcomed
baby Isa into the world on October 28</span><span style="color: #666666;"><sup>th</sup> (just a couple days after posting <a href="http://honeysweethome.blogspot.ca/2013/10/a-nook-for-baby.html">our nook for baby</a>!) and it’s been a blissfully
beautiful 2 months. I'll be honest, it’s been super hard at times too,
but he’s just the sweetest little monkey and we are so <i>so</i> blessed. </span></span><br />
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="color: #666666; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">My labour and delivery didn't go quite according to
plan, I ended up having a homebirth! It was totally unplanned and not something
I was at all interested in (as beautiful as the idea of a homebirth was, as
first time parents we felt more comfortable at the hospital), but my
labour just progressed really quickly. It wasn't short per say, it just got
really intense really fast. My husband had the car literally packed and ready
to go, but by that point I could barely walk, let alone get in the car! In
retrospect I’m so grateful for the way things turned out - I loved the privacy
and peacefulness of being at home. The lack of access to pain meds though –
that’s another story! Maybe I’ll consider posting about our birth story at some
point. <br /></span></span><br />
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-zv2jD7vbkJ0/Uswv1zYswoI/AAAAAAAADfo/IKAk5mjVjQ4/s1600/DSC_0936.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-zv2jD7vbkJ0/Uswv1zYswoI/AAAAAAAADfo/IKAk5mjVjQ4/s1600/DSC_0936.JPG" height="426" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span style="color: #666666; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Since then we've spent every day getting to know our sweet
little man. Everything we do takes literally double the time because all we want to do play with him or cuddle or watch him sleep. </span><span lang="EN-US"><span style="color: #666666; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">I can hardly
believe he’s already 10 weeks! He’s growing so ridiculously fast, but he’s also
such an old soul. I can't believe I'm his mom, but I also can't remember life without him. It feels like I've loved him forever.</span></span><br />
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-msWBvMLzCKM/Uss3_QuDUTI/AAAAAAAADfQ/1AGA2e5nnx0/s1600/DSC_0924.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-msWBvMLzCKM/Uss3_QuDUTI/AAAAAAAADfQ/1AGA2e5nnx0/s1600/DSC_0924.JPG" height="426" width="640" /></a><span lang="EN-US"><span style="color: #666666; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">As much as
I didn’t think it was possible, parenthood has made me fall so much more in
love with my husband too. There’s this whole other side of him as a father I
didn’t know before, and the relationship he’s developing with our son is so so
beautiful to watch. Neither of us is perfect (who is?), but my heart is so full
of gratitude for our little family. I don't mean to paint an entirely rosy picture
though, the baby blues have been pretty rough and the emotional adjustment to motherhood isn't always the stuff of dreams, but its getting easier with every day for
sure, and I wouldn't trade that sweet toothless smile for anything in the world. </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="color: #666666;"><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">I'm looking forward for posting about our nursery soon, although I'm a little too preoccupied with kisses and cuddles (and diapers and laundry) these days to make any promises :) </span></span></span></span><br />
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samaahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08492305705967376990noreply@blogger.com17tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4061781037237623379.post-23015557019384493792013-10-26T15:18:00.000-04:002014-07-21T00:09:09.049-04:00A Nook for Baby<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<span style="color: #666666; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">As crazy as it is for me to believe, we're less than a week away from our due date!</span><br />
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-yhc8m1Ph8W0/UmwGyz2uXOI/AAAAAAAADdU/j4UtpTEtuTg/s1600/DSC_0765b.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-yhc8m1Ph8W0/UmwGyz2uXOI/AAAAAAAADdU/j4UtpTEtuTg/s640/DSC_0765b.jpg" height="426" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span style="color: #666666; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /><br /></span><span style="color: #666666; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">I can't remember when exactly my nesting instinct kicked in, but it's definitely in high gear now :)</span><span style="color: #666666; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"> I've been working little by little on the nursery for the last few months, there are still a few details to pull together so I'll share that when I can. In the meantime though baby will be rooming in with us in this cozy little corner :) </span></div>
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<span style="color: #666666; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">I love love LOVE our bassinet. I fell so hard for it online (at PB), but considering we'd need a crib down the line, the price tag was not happening. Then when I finally considered the splurge, I found out they're no longer sold in Canada - or even shipped here! Weird right? I scoured craigslist for weeks while seriously debating the one by Restoration Hardware (and elaborately rationalizing the price in my crazy pregnant brain :), until I finally </span><span style="color: #666666; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">found this one on Kijiji - definitely one of those clouds parting angels singing moments! And bonus - it </span><span style="color: #666666; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">was generously gifted to us by family :) </span><span style="color: #666666; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">We've left the skirt and bumper off for now, I kind of like it with the bottom exposed? Best part is that we can roll it next to our bed at night for easy access during midnight feedings. </span></div>
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<span style="color: #666666; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Can't wait to meet this little bun...and be a </span><i style="color: #666666; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">mom (</i><span style="color: #666666; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">I know, </span><i style="color: #666666; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">right?!)</i><span style="color: #666666; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">!</span><span style="color: #666666; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"> </span></div>
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samaahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08492305705967376990noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4061781037237623379.post-81988773679172281482013-10-10T12:40:00.000-04:002014-01-06T20:29:33.487-05:00Sneak Peek - Turkish Tiles<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<span style="color: #999999;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">In the mad dash to get ready for baby, we finally got started on our <a href="http://www.honeysweethome.blogspot.ca/2013/07/babymooning-in-istanbul_27.html">Turkish tile project</a>. Here' a little sneak peek! </span></span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhCwf0do7xeafbuOztkZZZvow5rvalDxrSxKgbyRDF6X0pcg3PQkQSUyx2Nuq6dKHOFXORvpRbTKcBhmfcBC-hqy01brz58pl1Rg6JI-kvBzMbPLkNEI6xZaLTzXldpINgQDw-RmiNUQVM/s1600/DSC_0752b.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhCwf0do7xeafbuOztkZZZvow5rvalDxrSxKgbyRDF6X0pcg3PQkQSUyx2Nuq6dKHOFXORvpRbTKcBhmfcBC-hqy01brz58pl1Rg6JI-kvBzMbPLkNEI6xZaLTzXldpINgQDw-RmiNUQVM/s640/DSC_0752b.jpg" height="426" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span style="color: #999999;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">Turkish
tiles obviously have nothing to do with baby prep, but if we didn't do it
now we wouldn't get to it for months..or even years :) We still have to finish the frame and figure out how on earth to hang this thing (it's HEAVY!), but I'm super excited at the progress. Updates soon!</span></span></div>
samaahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08492305705967376990noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4061781037237623379.post-20170605953467250132013-09-25T08:00:00.000-04:002014-07-21T00:11:00.512-04:00Basement Bath Reveal! <div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<span style="color: #666666;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">So it's been like 7 months since I first posted about <a href="http://www.honeysweethome.blogspot.ca/2013/02/basement-bath-reno-part-i-installing.html">installing the shower in our basement bath</a>, talk about a drawn out reno! Truth be told all the major work was done back in March, but between being preggers and the fact that we don't really use that bathroom ourselves (it's for the in-laws when they're here, or other guests) we didn't get around to painting and caulking or the other finishing touches until the end of July - as in the day before my MIL was coming to town :) In fact, I was quickly snapping these after shots just as she arrived, while she patiently waited to actually use the bathroom :)</span></span><br />
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<span style="color: #666666; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br />Here's how the room looked before:<br /></span><br />
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<span style="color: #666666;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">Perfectly fine as is, but with only one tub in the house we really wanted to put in a shower, which also meant gutting the floor and ripping apart the walls. The wall to the left was shared with a storage closet, so we <a href="http://www.honeysweethome.blogspot.ca/2013/02/basement-bath-reno-part-i-installing.html">cut into that to install the new (huge!) shower</a>. </span></span><br />
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-w6nAJ8gBFZM/UkHFl-4Ui7I/AAAAAAAADbw/jivxOFCYsEo/s1600/Bathroom+Afters.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-w6nAJ8gBFZM/UkHFl-4Ui7I/AAAAAAAADbw/jivxOFCYsEo/s640/Bathroom+Afters.jpg" height="476" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span style="color: #666666;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">This is pretty much the most luxurious space in our whole house. I'm so wishing it was our upstairs shower!</span></span><br />
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<span style="color: #666666;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">I originally picked out a gorgeous marble subway tile and chair rail for the walls, but after a <i>lot</i> of urging from our handyman we kept it simple with these larger travertine tiles and a marble mosaic on the floor - slightly less expensive and a lot less maintenance for a guest bath.</span></span><br />
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-TI_LkQhTQKE/UkHDIxvAGtI/AAAAAAAADbk/qss7doNPbNc/s1600/DSC_0304.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-TI_LkQhTQKE/UkHDIxvAGtI/AAAAAAAADbk/qss7doNPbNc/s640/DSC_0304.JPG" height="426" width="640" /></a></div>
<span style="color: #666666;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">At first I wasn't really feeling just how much the colours varied in the stone, but now I actually really love it. The bench was a nice added feature too - just that small added detail makes the shower feel super-fancy.</span></span><br />
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-lYiDLzNdERQ/UkHRMBiALVI/AAAAAAAADcg/nj7WjjisEzQ/s1600/Bathroom+Afters2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-lYiDLzNdERQ/UkHRMBiALVI/AAAAAAAADcg/nj7WjjisEzQ/s640/Bathroom+Afters2.jpg" height="476" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span style="color: #666666;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">We repeated the same travertine tiles in a diagonal on the bathroom floor, and also gave the room a fresh coat of 'chocolate froth' by Behr (which is reading so grey in these terribly lit photos but is actually a warm greige). </span></span><span style="color: #666666;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="color: #666666;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="color: #666666;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">The
pretty new towel rods and paper holder are from Homesense - I love
their selection of bath accessories and I find the prices so much more
reasonable than big box stores. </span></span></span></span>We did salvage the toilet and vanity because they were pretty much brand new, although I really want to give the vanity a little makeover at some point. Once the vanity's painted out the new mirror (which i <i>love</i>!) hopefully won't look so out of place. </span></span><br />
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<span style="color: #666666;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">But it'll likely be a long while before that happens - for now we're calling it done! </span></span></div>
samaahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08492305705967376990noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4061781037237623379.post-50956698454257937712013-08-02T10:47:00.000-04:002014-07-20T19:26:13.894-04:00A Mughal-Themed Bridal Shower!<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span style="color: #666666;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">My brother-in-law is getting married to the loveliest girl ever, and a few weeks ago<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"> her
friends threw her a really fun Mughal-themed bridal shower in our home. The girls
were decked out in gorgeous outfits and jewels, the food was delish, and the
games were super cute. And naturally, my part in the party planning was a little decorating :)</span></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #666666;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">I used
whatever I had on hand (between myself and some stuff borrowed from my Mum) so
to be honest I’m not sure how ‘Mughal’ the décor really was, but I think it had an overall eastern-ish
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<span style="color: #666666;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">The main focal
wall was draped with rich fabrics in jewel tones – an old bedspread & curtains, some
fabric from my own wedding, and a sari. I added a few accessories and also a little
seating area. (There's a peek in the corner at my formerly bald <a href="http://www.honeysweethome.blogspot.ca/2013/03/updates.html">fiddle leaf fig</a> which started sprouting new leaves! But only from one stem - any tips to encourage growth?)</span></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #666666;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">Red & pink tissue
poms, my fave go-to décor, added some fun colour around the room.</span></span></span></div>
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-hScXicIZEcI/UfrVA42yY2I/AAAAAAAADXM/nTYBcqLiGIo/s1600/Farhana%27s+Bridal+Shower.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-hScXicIZEcI/UfrVA42yY2I/AAAAAAAADXM/nTYBcqLiGIo/s640/Farhana%27s+Bridal+Shower.jpg" height="478" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span style="color: #666666;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><span style="color: #666666;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">I didn't have nearly enough seating so we lined the room with tons of cushions
and pillows – I found those velvet emerald ones on clearance at Pier
one awhile ago and have been hoarding them ever since, I’ll find a spot to use
them someday :) </span></span></span></span></span></span><br />
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<span style="color: #666666;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">I forgot to
snap any pics of all the fab food the girls brought but these rosette cupcakes were too cute to miss –
and they were so good! Don’t ask me how many I ate :) </span></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #666666;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">Now we’re
getting ready for a house full of family and a whirlwind of wedding festivities
in the coming weeks – I’m <i>SO</i> excited I can hardly wait! </span></span></span></div>
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samaahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08492305705967376990noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4061781037237623379.post-70358215052719651722013-07-27T11:47:00.002-04:002014-01-06T20:17:01.522-05:00Babymooning in Istanbul<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span style="color: #666666;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">My husband<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"> had some
time off last month between finishing school and returning to work, so we took
the opportunity to visit one of my all-time favourite cities: Istanbul! </span></span></span></div>
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Sunrise over the Blue Mosque</div>
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<span style="color: #666666; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br />It was probably
one of our last chances to get away just the two of us before baby, so we
wanted to make the most of it. We </span><i style="color: #666666; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">loved</i><span style="color: #666666; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"> it. It was breathtakingly
beautiful and SO much fun and so spiritually uplifting too. </span></div>
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<span style="color: #666666;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">This was my
second time in Istanbul (the first was a mother-daughter trip just before I got
married :) and I love everything about the city – the eastern charm &
tradition mixed with western comforts, the little cobblestone streets and
alleyways, the skyline sprinkled with towering minarets, and most especially
the people. Their hospitality was unlike anything I’ve
experienced as a tourist before. I can’t count the number of apple teas I was
offered (or how many I actually drank :), and more than once we ended up spending
hours with people we just asked for directions. Everyone was just so sincerely warm</span></span></span><span style="color: #666666;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><span style="color: #666666;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"> - other than one
unfortunate encounter with pickpockets!</span></span></span> </span></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #666666;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">By far the best part for us was the
spiritual energy of the city. The mosques were incredible, some of the most magnificent I’ve ever seen, but more
than that were the prayers and dhikr and recitation of Quran that filled them. There were too many sacred sites & relics for us to possibly visit in one week, but
everywhere we did go was packed full of locals and foreigners alike making
ziyarah. It was indescribably beautiful :) <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"></span></span></span></span></div>
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Suleymaniye Mosque</div>
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Eyup Sultan Mosque</div>
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Blue Mosque interior and courtyard</div>
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<span style="color: #666666;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">And of
course I found bits of design inspiration everywhere I looked! Between the
grand architecture of the mosques and palaces and the gorgeous ceramics and
textiles lining the street shops I was in design heaven :) </span></span></span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-N32Kdrl0jI4/UfL975OCtrI/AAAAAAAADVs/kv-UXhPaqQE/s1600/2013-06-29.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-N32Kdrl0jI4/UfL975OCtrI/AAAAAAAADVs/kv-UXhPaqQE/s640/2013-06-29.jpg" height="424" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
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<span style="color: #666666;">Our fave little shop in the Grand Bazaar</span></div>
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<span style="color: #666666;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><br />I indulged my love
of blue and white in a few bowls and vases, plus a huge tile set that I can’t
wait to put together! My other mini-splurge was a small Turkish kilim – haven’t
found a home for it yet but I’m thinking of turning it into a wall hanging. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></span></span><br />
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<span style="color: #666666;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">It was the
perfect mix of spiritual retreat and touristy fun, with a little dusting of
romance for good measure :) Not to mention the incredible cuisine – my growing bump fell in complete <i>love</i> with iskander kabob! Here's hoping we can go back again someday soon, with baby!</span></span></span></div>
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samaahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08492305705967376990noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4061781037237623379.post-46499845754446197242013-06-14T16:10:00.000-04:002014-07-21T00:41:32.436-04:00summer garden party: easy centrepieces & diy heart garlands<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span style="color: #666666;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">A few weeks ago we threw a little surprise shindig for my parents anniversary - they rarely celebrate in a big way so I really wanted to make it special. But after spending weeks getting our backyard party-ready (laying sod and a new deck - more on that soon!), I didn't have a lot of time (or money!) left for other details. So when it came to decorating, easy and inexpensive ideas were <i>key. </i></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #666666;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">I
picked up some fresh flowers from the grocery the day of the party
and threw together these pretty floral arrangements in my fave Dollarama
vases. They didn't have a lot of stock that morning so I chose an assortment of whatever was on hand, but I was happy with how they turned out :) </span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #666666;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">The frayed-edge burlap runners were another quick and easy diy, cut from some jute fabric I found on sale at Fabricland. I thought it was befitting for a garden party :) No sewing necessary (I used <a href="http://www.craftymilitarywife.com/2013/04/easy-no-sew-burlap-table-runner-diy.html" target="_blank">this tutorial</a> as a guide) - it took literally less than an hour to make 5. </span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #666666;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">To top it off, I added a little shimmer to the tables with some candle holders saved from my engagement (which were super cheap from Jordan). </span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #666666;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">We set up the buffet inside so I wanted to dress up the huge blank wall behind the table. These super sweet heart garlands (inspired via <a href="http://pinterest.com/honeysweethome/boards/" target="_blank">pinterest</a> of course :) did the trick, and they were so simple to make. </span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #666666;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">I already had a little heart puncher (bought years ago from walmart for $5), so I just used some red paper and punched out tons of hearts, then strung them together with a needle and thread. It was so mindlessly easy - just watch out for tangles! </span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #666666;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">I missed out on pics of my 40+ tissue poms, but I did get plenty of the </span></span><span style="color: #666666;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">pièce de résistance (which admittedly doesn't look simple <i>or</i> easy) - the amazing cake, handmade by our fabulous and super talented friend Farheen :)</span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #666666;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">Complete with a recipe for halal fondant - and trust me, it tastes as good as it looks! </span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #666666;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">We also diy-ed our own canopy to shade our guests rain or shine, at a fraction of the cost of renting a tent.</span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #666666;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">That tutorial will have to be saved for another post though - partly because I didn't have time to take pics of the process, but mostly because I almost ruined the entire thing by cutting the tarp way too short (so much for remembering the pythagorean theorem!). We'll be redoing this for another party in August so hopefully I can share the deets next time around :)</span></span></div>
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samaahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08492305705967376990noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4061781037237623379.post-76955570079554008942013-06-11T22:10:00.000-04:002013-06-11T22:10:18.705-04:00Baby News!<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span style="color: #666666;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">Hello again loves! I'm finally back after that long break - which was unintended, but with good reason :) </span></span></div>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-mQu-EPcOV6A/UbfTL1jeGSI/AAAAAAAADAQ/adLhL4-BhDk/s1600/Bump_Ahead.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-mQu-EPcOV6A/UbfTL1jeGSI/AAAAAAAADAQ/adLhL4-BhDk/s400/Bump_Ahead.jpg" width="397" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.creatingkeepsakesblog.com/blog/2013/03/weekly-wednesday-download-bump-ahead-sign/" target="_blank">source</a></td></tr>
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<span style="color: #666666;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">The honey and I are expecting our first little one! Alhamdulillah, it's been such an exciting and blessed time. But I won't sugar coat it too much, the excitement has come with lots of less-than-fun symptoms - I'm sure many of you can relate! I'm SO indescribably happy and just over the moon thinking about what an enormous blessing this is, but I'm not going to pretend I haven't also been super cranky :) <br /> </span></span><br />
<span style="color: #666666;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">Thankfully I've started feeling a little better as of late so I'm <i>hoping</i> to get back into the swing of things. Stay tuned!</span></span><br />
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samaahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08492305705967376990noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4061781037237623379.post-69048165266871069032013-03-15T14:09:00.000-04:002014-07-20T19:27:21.726-04:00Updates<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<span style="color: #666666;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">Happy Friday everyone - Jummah Mubarak! </span></span><br />
<span style="color: #666666;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="color: #666666;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">It's been a slow week around here so no big reveal to share just yet, but the <a href="http://www.honeysweethome.blogspot.ca/2013/02/basement-bath-reno-part-i-installing.html">basement bathroom</a> is almost finished! </span></span><br />
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-CEsZeGIihEw/UUNf0mGC1hI/AAAAAAAAC8A/3rGzTPv-vQs/s1600/Bath+Reno1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-CEsZeGIihEw/UUNf0mGC1hI/AAAAAAAAC8A/3rGzTPv-vQs/s640/Bath+Reno1.jpg" height="476" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span style="color: #666666;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">The shower is complete and the drywall is patched, all it needs is a fresh coat of paint and a little caulk around the trim. Then God-willing we'll be moving on to the kitchenette! </span></span><br />
<span style="color: #666666;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="color: #666666;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">New potlights are going in today in the master closet - exciting stuff! So glad we had this done, it was uber dark in there before. </span></span><br />
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-z1rdF9A_KCM/UUNjPm5sZ4I/AAAAAAAAC8Y/J5yL5sKdl3k/s1600/DSC_0415.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-z1rdF9A_KCM/UUNjPm5sZ4I/AAAAAAAAC8Y/J5yL5sKdl3k/s640/DSC_0415.JPG" height="640" width="426" /></a></div>
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<span style="color: #666666;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">Would have loved a pretty chandelier of course, but the potlights made more sense in a closet this size. Plus my parents had these fixtures leftover from their basement reno, so they were free! </span></span><br />
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<span style="color: #666666;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">In other news, my beloved fiddle leaf fig tree is on it's last leaf, literally :( </span></span><br />
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-JlLBtybBcts/UUNg7AMleQI/AAAAAAAAC8Q/J32cTq0WvXE/s1600/DSC_0408.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-JlLBtybBcts/UUNg7AMleQI/AAAAAAAAC8Q/J32cTq0WvXE/s640/DSC_0408.JPG" height="426" width="640" /></a><span style="color: #666666;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">I had it in a spot with tons of light but it just hasn't adjusted well to the new house. I tried repotting it, talking to it, even reading Quran over it. I'm still hoping and praying it'll come back to life in the spring - any suggestions? </span></span><br />
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<span style="color: #666666;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">Back next week with more deets on the bathroom - enjoy your weekends :) </span></span></div>
samaahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08492305705967376990noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4061781037237623379.post-56700111379832798422013-03-01T11:20:00.003-05:002014-07-20T19:28:00.373-04:00DIY Penny Projects + A Winner!<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<span style="color: #999999;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">I've been having so much fun going through all your fabulous DIY penny projects in the <a href="https://www.facebook.com/ValueVillage" target="_blank">Value Village/Savers</a> giveaway - a huge thank you to everyone who entered, as well as those who stopped by!</span></span><br />
<span style="color: #999999;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br />If you're looking for some penny inspiration or even just some eye candy, here's a look at the entries:</span></span><br />
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<span style="color: #999999;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">Tanya of <a href="http://dans-le-townhouse.blogspot.ca/" target="_blank">Dans le Townhouse</a> designed and created<a href="http://dans-le-townhouse.blogspot.ca/2013/01/my-diy-penny-ring.html" target="_blank"> this stunning DIY penny ring</a>
from an old penny she found in her change after a trip to Value
Village! I love this project so much - it's quick and easy but so so
beautiful!</span></span></span><br />
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<span style="color: #999999;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJrTDiS13cAKsg9pWGg8WgrjDbgtKyNZBYBlmh75hbcMotCfn6L9uI4c-uwrEF0QDh96_Yaj1yXutoeXXrZpnQ6L2zikeKe0cFgEUbglausDViSVfJIJ73JQs6NArzkLmHobn8S5dI0IQ/s1600/Penny+Ring+Complete+II.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJrTDiS13cAKsg9pWGg8WgrjDbgtKyNZBYBlmh75hbcMotCfn6L9uI4c-uwrEF0QDh96_Yaj1yXutoeXXrZpnQ6L2zikeKe0cFgEUbglausDViSVfJIJ73JQs6NArzkLmHobn8S5dI0IQ/s640/Penny+Ring+Complete+II.jpg" height="394" width="640" /></a></span></div>
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<span style="color: #999999;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">TicQuellia designed another gorgeous penny ring - she created her 'common cents' ring using
pennies from years significant to her. What a great way to DIY a
personal memento <i>and</i> a fabulous piece of statement jewellery! Follow TicQuellia at @ticquellia-elle.</span> </span> </span></span><br />
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<span style="color: #999999;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-FXgEOEAMDXc/UTC7h1Kg06I/AAAAAAAAC6w/Gvhvl6RjVSs/s1600/PhotoGrid_x.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-FXgEOEAMDXc/UTC7h1Kg06I/AAAAAAAAC6w/Gvhvl6RjVSs/s640/PhotoGrid_x.jpg" height="640" width="640" /></a></span></div>
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<span style="color: #999999;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">Jennifer
created another special memento and a family heirloom - a beautiful penny
bracelet featuring the year of her wedding and the birth years of
herself, her husband, and her children! She attached the coins to a
copper chain and the results are just stunning! Can you imagine how
gorgeous this would look on?</span></span><br />
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<span style="color: #999999;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-K5nFJyXFM2c/UTDDZJIEVWI/AAAAAAAAC7g/vpxmbE3IXHc/s1600/penny+bracelet.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-K5nFJyXFM2c/UTDDZJIEVWI/AAAAAAAAC7g/vpxmbE3IXHc/s640/penny+bracelet.JPG" height="480" width="640" /></a></span></div>
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<span style="color: #999999;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">Another easy DIY </span></span><span style="color: #999999;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">with gorgeous results </span></span><span style="color: #999999;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">comes from </span></span><span style="color: #999999;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">Jamie of <a href="http://tocrave.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">Kreyv</a></span></span><span style="color: #999999;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">! She created <a href="http://tocrave.blogspot.com/2012/04/so-cheap-so-easy-penny-vase.html" target="_blank">this pretty penny vase</a> using an oatmeal container
and $2.50 in pennies. A couple coats of spray paint later and she had this
cute textured vase! </span></span><br />
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<span style="color: #999999;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-RFTSAud8_9U/UTC6luhmdfI/AAAAAAAAC6o/vXiTt49LY5Y/s1600/penny+vase.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-RFTSAud8_9U/UTC6luhmdfI/AAAAAAAAC6o/vXiTt49LY5Y/s640/penny+vase.JPG" height="428" width="640" /></a></span></div>
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<span style="color: #999999;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="color: #999999;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">This is the perfect idea if you love the shape and texture of pennies but aren't a huge fan of copper. I think it would be so cute as a piggy bank too! </span></span></span></span><br />
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<span style="color: #999999;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">To put your pennies to work in your home decor, Crystal
submitted her simple but ingenious idea to use pennies as curtain weights! She
picked up some curtains at Value Village and sewed pennies into the hem
every 6 inches - what a handy tip!</span> </span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="color: #999999;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">Another home decor project, Jennifer of <a href="http://prairieknitwit.blogspot.ca/" target="_blank">Knit Wit on the Prairies</a> DIYed <a href="http://prairieknitwit.blogspot.ca/2012/08/makeover-madness-part-3.html" target="_blank">this amazing penny tiled table</a>
just before saying goodbye to the Canadian for good. She used an old
end table she had on hand and a piggy bank full of pennies to create her
beautiful mosaic table top, and Jennifer's table has special
significance too - she added a little cluster of pennies featuring the
birth years of her family! </span></span><br />
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<span style="color: #999999;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-uXW1ct4aD_k/UTDAvpKCohI/AAAAAAAAC7I/fD7QS2Rv-Sg/s1600/penny+table+after+collage.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-uXW1ct4aD_k/UTDAvpKCohI/AAAAAAAAC7I/fD7QS2Rv-Sg/s640/penny+table+after+collage.jpg" height="640" width="640" /></a></span></div>
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<span style="color: #999999;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">Shannon's husband of <a href="http://worley-family.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">C, Me & E</a></span></span><span style="color: #999999;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"> loved the look of copper so much they decided to create <a href="http://worley-family.blogspot.com/2012/09/penny-wall.html" target="_blank">this <i>gorgeous</i> penny tiled alcove wall</a></span><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><a href="http://worley-family.blogspot.com/" target="_blank"></a>. She wasn't originally a fan of the idea but I bet she loves it now! It took them about 4 days (and what I'm guessing was a ton of patience!) to attach each penny to their wall alcove using liquid nails. They used about $42 worth of pennies - not a bad investment for a showstopper of a wall! </span></span><br />
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<span style="color: #999999;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-v4vm-BGq89U/UTCv52aGOGI/AAAAAAAAC6I/oSazu-9RMh0/s1600/pennywall1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-v4vm-BGq89U/UTCv52aGOGI/AAAAAAAAC6I/oSazu-9RMh0/s640/pennywall1.jpg" height="640" width="426" /></a></span></div>
<span style="color: #999999;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="color: #999999;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">And finally we have an extreme DIY that is definitely not for the faint of heart! Ellen and her husband from <a href="http://thesustainabilityadventure.blogspot.ca/" target="_blank">The Sustainability Adventure</a> built the eco-home of their dreams and recently added <a href="http://thesustainabilityadventure.blogspot.ca/2013/02/diy-extreme-penny-wall.html" target="_blank">this <i>incredible</i> 16ft penny-tiled accent wall</a> that is sure to blow you away! </span></span><br />
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<span style="color: #999999;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-EaOlp_qfqOU/UTC1_mqsN3I/AAAAAAAAC6U/sfpsVZkeUps/s1600/16+ft+penny+wall.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-EaOlp_qfqOU/UTC1_mqsN3I/AAAAAAAAC6U/sfpsVZkeUps/s640/16+ft+penny+wall.jpg" height="640" width="480" /></a></span></div>
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<span style="color: #999999;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">They used almost $200 in pennies and spent months making mesh penny tiles, tiling, grouting, and cleaning the grout. It looks like a TON of work (and forget about the work, I doubt that I could handle such a tall ladder!) but the results are SO worth it!</span></span><br />
<span style="color: #999999;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: #999999;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">To see where my love for penny tile began, check out this <a href="http://honeysweethome.blogspot.ca/2012/04/we-found-out-last-month-that-canadian.html">penny tile inspiration post</a>, and my own <a href="http://www.honeysweethome.blogspot.ca/2013/02/penny-tiled-mirror-recent-features.html">penny tiled mirror</a>!</span></span><br />
<span style="color: #999999;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="color: #999999;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">Now for the winner of the giveaway - there was no way I could pick my favourite from all these amazing projects, so we drew for it randomly. Congratulations to <a href="http://worley-family.blogspot.ca/" target="_blank">Shannon of C, M & E</a>! I'll be in touch soon!</span></span><br />
<span style="color: #999999;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="color: #999999;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">Finally a HUGE thank you goes out to<a href="https://www.facebook.com/ValueVillage" target="_blank"> Value Village/Savers</a> for sponsoring this fun contest! I have to say I secretly wished more than once that I could enter myself :) I love that Value Village promotes recycling and reusing, and supports local communities, not to mention it's one of my fave places to go thrifting. My husband even used to hang out there with his friends as a teen - apparently it was the cool place to be in Sydney River :) </span><i><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"> </span></i></span><br />
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<span style="color: #999999;"><i><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">P.S. I wasn't paid or perked to host this giveaway - I really do just love Value Village!</span></i></span></div>
samaahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08492305705967376990noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4061781037237623379.post-78245320071370660572013-02-25T09:56:00.000-05:002013-02-25T09:56:37.801-05:00Last Day to Enter Your Penny Projects in the Value VIllage/Savers Giveaway!<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<span style="color: #666666;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">Happy Monday everyone!</span></span><br />
<span style="color: #666666;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br />Just popping in to let you know that today is the last day to <a href="http://www.honeysweethome.blogspot.ca/2013/02/win-150-thrifting-spree-at-value.html">submit your penny projects to enter the Value Village/Savers giveaway</a>!</span></span><br />
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-bzjUS1BhwbE/USt6NIXaFrI/AAAAAAAAC5Q/FZ87AT-4Z7I/s1600/Penny+Giveaway+Wide.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-bzjUS1BhwbE/USt6NIXaFrI/AAAAAAAAC5Q/FZ87AT-4Z7I/s640/Penny+Giveaway+Wide.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="color: #666666;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="color: #666666;">It can be anything - big or small - so there's still some time left to put something together :) We've received a bunch of amazing entries so far - all of which will be featured later this week!</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="color: #666666;">Enter <a href="http://www.honeysweethome.blogspot.ca/2013/02/win-150-thrifting-spree-at-value.html">here</a> or via email at samaakhan[at]gmail[dot]com. </span></span></div>
samaahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08492305705967376990noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4061781037237623379.post-6031348802493072412013-02-22T14:43:00.000-05:002014-01-06T20:38:39.471-05:00Linen Closet Makeover<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<span style="color: #666666;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><i>Hey guys - Happy Friday + Jummah Mubarak! On a side note - there are 3 days left to <a href="http://www.honeysweethome.blogspot.ca/2013/02/win-150-thrifting-spree-at-value.html">enter your penny projects</a> for a chance to win $150 giftcard at Value Village/Savers! </i> </span></span><br />
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<span style="color: #666666;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">So confession time - the unsettled-ness of the new house is driving me nuts! We've been here 2 months and there is still a <i>ton</i> left to unpack. You know that feeling where everything is disorganized and you don't know where to start? Yeah, that's been me for the last 6 weeks or so. In all fairness it's partly because there's nowhere to really put things away - we have a lot of space but not so much storage<i>. </i>But the fact that I'm a master procrastinator isn't helping matters either. I am SO ready to be rid of all the clutter.</span></span> <span style="color: #666666;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></span></span><br />
<span style="color: #666666;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">So naturally I was really excited to finally check some<i> </i>storage off our to-do list last weekend: the linen closet. It's a small start, but it's a start! </span></span><br />
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-YyWhz2gNgWc/USaSNaB6fMI/AAAAAAAAC2Y/_5Y-4xu2JT4/s1600/DSC_0395crop.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-YyWhz2gNgWc/USaSNaB6fMI/AAAAAAAAC2Y/_5Y-4xu2JT4/s640/DSC_0395crop.jpg" height="426" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span style="color: #666666;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">When we moved in the closet was in pretty sad shape - gross yellowed paint and no shelving. You could see the patches where the previous owner had fixed up the drywall, presumably from ripping out the old shelves (which I'm guessing, from the state of the other closets, were pretty gross too). </span></span><br />
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-gE-rd5sV0mU/USaWV-E9UrI/AAAAAAAAC2o/ZGa49x1SGSo/s1600/Linen+Closet.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-gE-rd5sV0mU/USaWV-E9UrI/AAAAAAAAC2o/ZGa49x1SGSo/s640/Linen+Closet.jpg" height="474" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span style="color: #666666;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">Since there were no shelves I just piled a bunch of stuff in there, and for weeks I avoided opening the door in case everything fell out on me in an avalanche of bags :) So last weekend we <i>finally</i> got around to making it functional.</span></span><br />
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<span style="color: #666666;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">I thought about wire shelving vs solid shelves, and although wire shelves are airier, I'm just personally not a fan of the lines they create on fabrics - plus the solid shelves actually worked out cheaper. </span></span><br />
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<span style="color: #666666;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">We started with a quick paint job to freshen things up - a gorgeous blue grey called 'Light French Grey' by Behr. <span style="color: #666666;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">Then we got to work on the shelving - the hubs picked up 3 8ft-long </span></span>1x3s and cut them to size for new supports. </span></span><span style="color: #666666;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">I measured out the spacing for the shelves and then we attached the supports to the
studs (pre-drilling the holes and then securing them with screws<a href="http://www.honeysweethome.blogspot.ca/2013/02/basement-bath-reno-part-i-installing.html"></a>), checking that everything was somewhat level along the way.<br /></span></span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikBTmYa7SDtDFSDJ6-NLkgForeI1E1TIIQJsZoRZrXnRA-fZ2o0C981E2atbYllGTblKQqJJRhxEw8ujrHSIWgENj4SVnM7pq5bK6cTYT936lk0UuPAvRueWd9rKTR4vweg_a6lFwV5Zo/s1600/Linen+Closet5.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikBTmYa7SDtDFSDJ6-NLkgForeI1E1TIIQJsZoRZrXnRA-fZ2o0C981E2atbYllGTblKQqJJRhxEw8ujrHSIWgENj4SVnM7pq5bK6cTYT936lk0UuPAvRueWd9rKTR4vweg_a6lFwV5Zo/s640/Linen+Closet5.jpg" height="450" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span style="color: #666666;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="color: #666666;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">I wanted the supports to look really neat so we also made sure the screws were sunken in a little, then I spackled all the holes. I also caulked the corners where the supports met up for a more seamless look. </span></span></span></span><br />
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-wEMFB7E8hO8/USe044LDZuI/AAAAAAAAC3w/SzD_JTJFirU/s1600/Linen+Closet3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-wEMFB7E8hO8/USe044LDZuI/AAAAAAAAC3w/SzD_JTJFirU/s640/Linen+Closet3.jpg" height="474" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span style="color: #666666;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">Finally I gave the wood a light sanding and then painted out the supports to match the walls.</span></span><br />
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-OswYE9BvBew/USe3TMWV5FI/AAAAAAAAC34/tX6xFAXuyDQ/s1600/Linen+Closet4.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-OswYE9BvBew/USe3TMWV5FI/AAAAAAAAC34/tX6xFAXuyDQ/s640/Linen+Closet4.jpg" height="478" width="640" /></a><span style="color: #666666;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"></span></span>
<span style="color: #666666;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">You can still see them a little but they blend in to the walls pretty well. After that we just placed the shelves on top - we had them pre-cut at Home Depot from 8 ft pieces of laminate shelving that they carry in the lumber section.<br /></span></span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNOBjyg7cl3cdijnj40hz8oQnY_b4DdR7mn4ejeXSIApxYQuwijzXVDpvC2KO0unSFkY6o-tYyzUw2UgXvJIS9_XbFJgANNu3NJk4GYLR1EEdzNLsuWEt_S05TjMcEcHRT34st6ixATyg/s1600/DSC_0374.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNOBjyg7cl3cdijnj40hz8oQnY_b4DdR7mn4ejeXSIApxYQuwijzXVDpvC2KO0unSFkY6o-tYyzUw2UgXvJIS9_XbFJgANNu3NJk4GYLR1EEdzNLsuWEt_S05TjMcEcHRT34st6ixATyg/s640/DSC_0374.JPG" height="640" width="426" /></a></div>
<span style="color: #666666;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br />It turns out I made the top shelf a little too high - there's a ton of room up to the ceiling but the opening to the shelf isn't tall enough to put anything really big up there, but luckily there's enough room that I can still pile things up. I've already started putting a few things away.<br /></span></span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9GG1a4u-GET4S84zG42tFrUzcSFoal85PUmZ8RzpJWYThYld27hPvwKuj_4s40ZV4D34N0cZPS3Y_f1jwPAtPECo9y4WNAW4Wqb8Edvz5h_-I2Es9I7bSlpxkv40B-KQoNg1dZ6XXjGM/s1600/DSC_0395.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9GG1a4u-GET4S84zG42tFrUzcSFoal85PUmZ8RzpJWYThYld27hPvwKuj_4s40ZV4D34N0cZPS3Y_f1jwPAtPECo9y4WNAW4Wqb8Edvz5h_-I2Es9I7bSlpxkv40B-KQoNg1dZ6XXjGM/s640/DSC_0395.JPG" height="640" width="426" /></a></div>
<span style="color: #666666;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="color: #666666;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">This isn't everything that will be going in the closet so it's very misleading - it won't be quite this sparse for long :) But I LOVE when things are neat and organized so you can only imagine how I'm swooning over this linen closet :) I already had the iron holder, so a</span></span><span style="color: #666666;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="color: #666666;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">ll in all the supplies only cost us around $25 - not bad right? I can't wait to tackle some of the other closets!</span></span> </span></span></div>
samaahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08492305705967376990noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4061781037237623379.post-31643667026783908502013-02-15T08:00:00.000-05:002014-07-20T19:28:24.473-04:00Win a $150 Thrifting Spree at Value Village/Savers!<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span style="color: #666666;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">Super
exciting giveaway to share this morning – don’t dump those old pennies just yet
:) I’m partnering up with Value Village and Savers stores to offer one of you
guys a chance to win <b>$150</b> for the thrifting-spree of your dreams! </span></span></span><br />
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-FRh871bAecI/UR1qrMEHjuI/AAAAAAAACz0/V9cpl5dRCHI/s1600/Penny+Mirror.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-FRh871bAecI/UR1qrMEHjuI/AAAAAAAACz0/V9cpl5dRCHI/s640/Penny+Mirror.jpg" height="480" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span style="color: #666666;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">In honour
of the Canadian penny’s recent retirement, we would love to see how YOU are
repurposing the coins! It can
be anything – big or small – that includes the penny. The contest is open to both
Canadian and American entries, and the winner will receive a <b>$150</b> gift card to
spend on whatever their thrifty heart desires at Value Village and Savers
stores! </span></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #666666;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">Yes I am secretly wishing I could enter myself. </span></span></span><span style="color: #666666;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">Value Village has long been one of my fave haunts –</span></span></span><span style="color: #666666;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"> proceeds help support local
communities </span></span></span><span style="color: #666666;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><i>and </i></span></span></span><span style="color: #666666;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">it’s
a gold mine for thrifty treasures. I popped in to my local store this week to give you a little taste of what you might find (and after lugging in my big camera I realized I forgot my memory card - sorry for the poor cell phone pics!)</span></span></span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjoeerIt7g3evmr-auNyWLv5HS8bHVq1KVyxDBpy3TJlbXvFQnhmRxrkLUVgW7di8A0eQBmQ7SOvft2-LcQk-8n4IXlsYB8ksRH5NN20TPNNH4vVsDbsNSEpxt_9oazCvoU9s66FJi2XOQ/s1600/Value+Village+Contest.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjoeerIt7g3evmr-auNyWLv5HS8bHVq1KVyxDBpy3TJlbXvFQnhmRxrkLUVgW7di8A0eQBmQ7SOvft2-LcQk-8n4IXlsYB8ksRH5NN20TPNNH4vVsDbsNSEpxt_9oazCvoU9s66FJi2XOQ/s640/Value+Village+Contest.jpg" height="378" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span style="color: #666666;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">These gorgeous glasses caught my eye from several aisles away - aren't the colours amazing? Kind of wishing I brought them home right now.</span></span></span><br />
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-UexITrXn4jE/UR09mzhw5AI/AAAAAAAACxY/iG3M7IV-wZw/s1600/Value+Village+Contest1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-UexITrXn4jE/UR09mzhw5AI/AAAAAAAACxY/iG3M7IV-wZw/s640/Value+Village+Contest1.jpg" height="304" width="640" /></a></div>
<span style="color: #666666;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><br />They had tons of great baskets and bowls - I especially liked these wooden ones for coraling random stuff on an entry table or nightstand. </span></span></span><br />
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-EwuKILZ9LA4/UR0_Jo6lhJI/AAAAAAAACxg/Mfgs98OueN4/s1600/Value+Village+Contest2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-EwuKILZ9LA4/UR0_Jo6lhJI/AAAAAAAACxg/Mfgs98OueN4/s640/Value+Village+Contest2.jpg" height="424" width="640" /></a></div>
<span style="color: #666666;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><br />I've been crushing on gold and brass for awhile now and I can totally see these dressing up a styled bookcase. The light fixture on the right was a little tacky no doubt, but picture it without bulbs and the base - wouldn't it make a great terrarium? </span></span></span><br />
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-2DUtr-SN-KI/UR1BbaOZvhI/AAAAAAAACxo/2Obs9PKcgIw/s1600/Value+Village+Contest3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-2DUtr-SN-KI/UR1BbaOZvhI/AAAAAAAACxo/2Obs9PKcgIw/s640/Value+Village+Contest3.jpg" height="420" width="640" /></a></div>
<span style="color: #666666;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><br />The armchair on the left had a beautiful shape, plus a peek under the skirt revealed gorgeous tapered legs - all it needs is a new upholstery job! The mid century mod chair on the right was also <i>very</i> cool, I'd love it redone in a punchy new fabric. </span></span></span><br />
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-BtJ5nnEQKJE/UR1DhMBPOrI/AAAAAAAACx0/GKKL2leqkg8/s1600/IMG00086-20111207-1454.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-BtJ5nnEQKJE/UR1DhMBPOrI/AAAAAAAACx0/GKKL2leqkg8/s640/IMG00086-20111207-1454.jpg" height="480" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span style="color: #666666;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">I actually spotted this piece awhile back at VV but I had to include it here because it's just that gorgeous - I still regret passing it up! It had spectacular lines and the most beautiful hardware on the doors. I'd have painted it out but it looked great as is too!</span></span></span><br />
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-Com1gHbj7rc/UR1E9Y6NauI/AAAAAAAACyk/mopb_d0jsVg/s1600/Value+Village+Contest4.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-Com1gHbj7rc/UR1E9Y6NauI/AAAAAAAACyk/mopb_d0jsVg/s640/Value+Village+Contest4.jpg" height="282" width="640" /></a><span style="color: #666666;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"> </span></span></span><br />
<span style="color: #666666;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">The clothing section is definitely the biggest part of the store - although I still had design on my mind when I took a browse - how great would these fabrics look repurposed as throw pillows?</span></span></span><br />
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-kY7bRPQlHkA/UR1Fu0Tv_5I/AAAAAAAACys/MFzdD2fRMyI/s1600/IMG00377-20130212-1535.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-kY7bRPQlHkA/UR1Fu0Tv_5I/AAAAAAAACys/MFzdD2fRMyI/s640/IMG00377-20130212-1535.jpg" height="480" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span style="color: #666666;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">Not sure where this big old wheel was from but it would make for some very cool rustic art!</span></span></span><br />
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-Qtio_NY7_L8/UR1Hy1SGa1I/AAAAAAAACy0/iHIccMbZLD8/s1600/Value+Village+Contest5.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-Qtio_NY7_L8/UR1Hy1SGa1I/AAAAAAAACy0/iHIccMbZLD8/s640/Value+Village+Contest5.jpg" height="534" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span style="color: #666666;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">A few other pieces that caught my eye: This sweet little desk perfect for a girl's room, another cute dresser that just needs some new knobs, and a great breakfast table under $20! The side table was also one of my faves - it had a marble inset top and the prettiest legs - could you imagine it painted out in white?! </span></span></span><br />
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<span style="color: #666666;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">Like I said - <i>thrifting gold mine</i>. Here's what you need to do to enter:</span></span></span><br />
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<span style="color: #666666;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><b>1. Create or design something using the penny</b> : whether you have jars and jars of old pennies or you just want to get your craft on, we want to see your penny DIY's! For a little inspiration, check out <a href="http://honeysweethome.blogspot.ca/2012/04/we-found-out-last-month-that-canadian.html">this post on penny tile</a>. </span></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #666666;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><b>2.</b> <b>Snap a photo and submit it</b>: email your submission to samaakhan[at]gmail[dot]com. Alternatively if you have a blog, you can link it up below! </span></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #666666;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">The contest will be open until <u><span style="font-size: small;"><b>Monday Feb 25th</b> </span></u>- after which <span style="font-size: small;">we</span>'ll pick <span style="font-size: small;">one lucky <span style="font-size: small;">entry<span style="font-size: small;"> </span></span></span>for the grand prize - $150 giftcard to spend at your local Value Village or Savers! </span></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #666666;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">Entries are open in both Canada and the US. Submissions will be featured here on Honey Sweet Home as well as Savers/Value Village's <a href="http://pinterest.com/saversvvillage/" target="_blank">Pinterest page</a>! </span></span></span></div>
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-1DNanmPoI8s/UR1pPRUgmDI/AAAAAAAACzs/pUh1wirPgx4/s1600/Collages.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-1DNanmPoI8s/UR1pPRUgmDI/AAAAAAAACzs/pUh1wirPgx4/s400/Collages.jpg" height="400" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="color: #666666;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">Can't wait to see your projects! </span></span></span>
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samaahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08492305705967376990noreply@blogger.com16tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4061781037237623379.post-36696913109653761772013-02-14T08:00:00.000-05:002014-07-20T19:28:45.959-04:00Basement Bath Reno Part I - Installing the Shower<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<span style="color: #666666;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">One of the
things we knew we wanted to do when we moved in to <a href="http://www.honeysweethome.blogspot.ca/2012/12/moving-again-our-new-place.html">the new place</a> was a BIG reno in the basement.
It was already somewhat finished but we had a few changes in mind – the first
being adding a shower to the existing powder room.</span></span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiST_Gl1SHuqyjfFq_38TScnuDlDaX0j5T3mWweVcqwK3dFmxXgG4SBf1mX0MCzWGWQ1wtyaBd8ZT9nMUyjOkXs-3Ptc4ZKAMeF81j8Q1pcqlfvyRYaFXvBNbLq4ZoFDflNsGnp_wjoWy4/s1600/Bath+Reno.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiST_Gl1SHuqyjfFq_38TScnuDlDaX0j5T3mWweVcqwK3dFmxXgG4SBf1mX0MCzWGWQ1wtyaBd8ZT9nMUyjOkXs-3Ptc4ZKAMeF81j8Q1pcqlfvyRYaFXvBNbLq4ZoFDflNsGnp_wjoWy4/s640/Bath+Reno.jpg" height="462" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span style="color: #666666;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">Clearly there wasn't space in the bathroom to add a shower, but luckily there was a huge storage closet just behind the empty wall on the left side - plenty of space to add a big shower, with room to spare for a good sized storage closet. </span></span></span></span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEioOLVwstPrImFSFR46DGjVoIByU5kzkh-SGo-87kh_CBIRZaGKSSrW6i5AJX4FV3qMmwrh3wtMGomSFf2Dan9ErI_344r-FSeDu3vSII_gLro7PdsCmz4E3k7BzItlnUl0gvP_MsMuNZ8/s1600/Basement+7+-+Storage+(future+shower).JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEioOLVwstPrImFSFR46DGjVoIByU5kzkh-SGo-87kh_CBIRZaGKSSrW6i5AJX4FV3qMmwrh3wtMGomSFf2Dan9ErI_344r-FSeDu3vSII_gLro7PdsCmz4E3k7BzItlnUl0gvP_MsMuNZ8/s640/Basement+7+-+Storage+(future+shower).JPG" height="640" width="426" /></a></div>
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<span style="color: #666666;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">The only bump in the road was that the wall we needed to cut through was solid concrete - yikes! We considered other layouts but short of moving the whole bathroom, anything else would really cut into the living space. One of the contractors we brought in for an estimate was up for working with the concrete wall so we stuck to the original plan and got started on the work last week. </span></span></span></span></div>
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-NsjS2azplZE/URxlF_vLsqI/AAAAAAAACqU/eNU3cmpf_ow/s1600/Bath+Reno2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-NsjS2azplZE/URxlF_vLsqI/AAAAAAAACqU/eNU3cmpf_ow/s640/Bath+Reno2.jpg" height="480" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span style="color: #666666;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"><span style="color: #666666;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">The
contractor was planning to put in a steel support beam but after opening
up the drywall he realized it wasn't a load bearing wall, so they were able to skip that. </span></span></span></span>The hubs had some time off and worked with the guys all week - in fact I may have picked up the jack hammer myself a couple times ;) They had a cement saw too which was a lot faster, but it generated WAY more dust, so they used the jack hammer for most of the demo. </span></span></span></span></div>
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-deCFh4ITOhE/URxnqpeYnwI/AAAAAAAACrI/LvC4VP9r5sU/s1600/Bath+Reno3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-deCFh4ITOhE/URxnqpeYnwI/AAAAAAAACrI/LvC4VP9r5sU/s640/Bath+Reno3.jpg" height="478" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span style="color: #666666;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">At this point the rubble definitely had me questioning whether this was worth it - that and all the DUST! We covered the entire basement in tarps and sealed it off from the upper floors with a plastic drop cloth (plus we don't have ducts) but the dust is still <i>everywhere</i>. I have no idea how it traveled up 3 floors, but pretty much every surface in the entire house is covered in a thin layer of soot. So if any of you are local and want to come help me clean, I'll love you forever :) But I'm trying to ignore all the dirt and keep my mind on the finish line - pretty shiny tiles!</span></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #666666;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">Other prep work included adding a fan that runs through the ceiling towards an exterior vent</span></span></span></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEid3VYkxxmiZ0sCbWmQhdp8cMlCuHRGevG1brPY5VdrA6CuuyZPeXs02hZcbF-gSpsN-8CG3QZsCC1ARn2zrpjXdM0gt0o5ULgfErxnSFDI9jtx7NwWQhZNIjrRLRIMi2rCD5cefzQJvqQ/s1600/DSC_0173.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEid3VYkxxmiZ0sCbWmQhdp8cMlCuHRGevG1brPY5VdrA6CuuyZPeXs02hZcbF-gSpsN-8CG3QZsCC1ARn2zrpjXdM0gt0o5ULgfErxnSFDI9jtx7NwWQhZNIjrRLRIMi2rCD5cefzQJvqQ/s640/DSC_0173.JPG" height="426" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span style="color: #666666;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> and running the plumbing around to the shower</span></span></span></span></div>
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-73qccrc70IU/URxtrDmX6NI/AAAAAAAACsE/lUJA-cw56co/s1600/DSC_0163.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-73qccrc70IU/URxtrDmX6NI/AAAAAAAACsE/lUJA-cw56co/s640/DSC_0163.JPG" height="426" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span style="color: #666666;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">as well as installing the drain, which I didn't take a picture of because I got pretty bored of all this stuff and went back upstairs :) </span></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #666666;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">I did have a little fun though when they put down some new cement </span></span></span></span></div>
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-7UTvJMyYpn8/URxuJuyFwII/AAAAAAAACsM/7S4HcT_yfN4/s1600/DSC_0161.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-7UTvJMyYpn8/URxuJuyFwII/AAAAAAAACsM/7S4HcT_yfN4/s640/DSC_0161.JPG" height="426" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span style="color: #666666;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">It's already covered up but I love that it'll always be there under the house :) </span></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #666666;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">This week they've framed out the doorway</span></span></span></span></div>
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-SrRSPYjDk5s/URxvOuEPzmI/AAAAAAAACsY/abdmYDiqJ8g/s1600/DSC_0341.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-SrRSPYjDk5s/URxvOuEPzmI/AAAAAAAACsY/abdmYDiqJ8g/s640/DSC_0341.JPG" height="640" width="426" /></a></div>
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<span style="color: #666666;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"><br /></span></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #666666;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">and they've almost finished tiling inside the shower. I was <i>completely</i> bummed out when we couldn't use the original tile I picked out - a gorgeous marble subway tile - but its still turning out okay. More on that soon, for now here's a little sneak peek</span></span></span></span></div>
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-wLFL-zOuyYg/URxxjJ5BtTI/AAAAAAAACt0/Ha60fJRsV3E/s1600/DSC_0345.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-wLFL-zOuyYg/URxxjJ5BtTI/AAAAAAAACt0/Ha60fJRsV3E/s640/DSC_0345.JPG" height="426" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span style="color: #666666;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">More details to come as we make progress! For now stay tuned tomorrow for a <i>big</i> giveaway contest!</span></span></span></span></div>
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samaahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08492305705967376990noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4061781037237623379.post-69771240901099296092013-02-05T20:04:00.002-05:002014-07-21T00:42:14.596-04:00Penny Tiled Mirror + Recent Features<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span style="color: #666666;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">Some fun news to share today - HSH got a few mentions this week in the press :)</span></span><span style="color: #666666;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"> </span></span><br />
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Yo_Lqh-dzB4/UQ_6fxKVAdI/AAAAAAAACiw/T_h6FFmlFn8/s1600/DSC_0077.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Yo_Lqh-dzB4/UQ_6fxKVAdI/AAAAAAAACiw/T_h6FFmlFn8/s640/DSC_0077.JPG" height="426" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span style="color: #666666;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">In </span></span><span style="color: #666666;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">honour of the penny's retirement, the Saturday edition of the
Toronto Star featured the work of several artists re-purposing the
coins, including a mirror I recently tiled with pennies. I was <i>so</i> thrilled to be featured! You can check out the full article <a href="http://www.thestar.com/life/2013/02/01/artists_and_craftspeople_turn_to_the_penny_as_a_new_creative_medium.html" target="_blank">at the Star's website here</a>.</span></span><br />
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<span style="color: #666666;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">I also did a super short interview with the CBC National last night (Feb 4th), which also got picked up by CNN. Kind of crazy exciting right?! It's literally only a few seconds, but you can check it out <a href="http://www.cbc.ca/player/News/TV+Shows/The+National/ID/2332049803/" target="_blank">on CBC's website here</a> - it starts about 2 mins and 45 seconds in, or at <a href="http://edition.cnn.com/video/?hpt=hp_c4#/video/world/2013/02/05/dnt-can-penny-goes-away.cbc" target="_blank">CNN's website here</a>. </span></span><br />
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<span style="color: #666666;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">Here's a closer look at my new penny tiled mirror</span></span><br />
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-ePX-SCaXdZg/URFpj50vNtI/AAAAAAAACjk/aczlJQ57p4Y/s1600/DSC_0094.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-ePX-SCaXdZg/URFpj50vNtI/AAAAAAAACjk/aczlJQ57p4Y/s640/DSC_0094.JPG" height="426" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span style="color: #666666;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">I blogged about <a href="http://honeysweethome.blogspot.ca/2012/04/we-found-out-last-month-that-canadian.html">loving penny tile</a> last year, but to be honest, as much as I loved the idea, I wasn't sure if I really wanted it in our home. I thought it might look a little too homemade or just kind of odd. But we decided to give it a try, and I have to admit - I'm so happy with how it turned out!</span></span><br />
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-ahFmxsLSgbk/URF2ckRmS_I/AAAAAAAACkU/Kd9_hxBp_Sw/s1600/Penny+Mirror.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-ahFmxsLSgbk/URF2ckRmS_I/AAAAAAAACkU/Kd9_hxBp_Sw/s640/Penny+Mirror.jpg" height="454" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span style="color: #666666;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">I <i>love</i> the look, especially all the different shades of copper and how the frame sort of shimmers in the light. The hubby is a pretty big fan too :) I went with a wide frame so the penny border could be a little chunky. I also played around with the pennies a bit to see what arrangement I liked best and how to line up the corners (I ended up just hiding some of the gaps by adding a few coins on top of the first layer). The project took about $9 in pennies, so pretty time consuming, but the best part was going through the coins - I found a few from the 50s, but the oldest was 1939! </span></span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZjXplsReG6-ZMu6amygp-jaDvAXPttk5TwdKFwEkMWaWq6MnpME5fEvXhRAy9p1l9_g__1ZRr_ptF7QvGEuI4uT5kziwF9u4cSLSyuckiWGZKPuHB-tcXc77yvZyrC1XTJdoTC-2S3hs/s1600/Penny+Mirror1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZjXplsReG6-ZMu6amygp-jaDvAXPttk5TwdKFwEkMWaWq6MnpME5fEvXhRAy9p1l9_g__1ZRr_ptF7QvGEuI4uT5kziwF9u4cSLSyuckiWGZKPuHB-tcXc77yvZyrC1XTJdoTC-2S3hs/s640/Penny+Mirror1.jpg" height="478" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span style="color: #666666;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">I originally had something completely different in mind for this space, but we both really love the light the mirror reflects into the entryway. Plus its a fun farewell tribute to the Canadian penny!</span></span><br />
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<span style="color: #666666;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">Sharing at <a href="http://thriftydecorchick.blogspot.ca/2013/03/march-before-and-after.html" target="_blank">Thrifty Decor Chick</a>,</span></span></span></div>
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samaahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08492305705967376990noreply@blogger.com12tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4061781037237623379.post-70076169271988358382013-02-01T15:17:00.000-05:002014-07-20T19:29:45.767-04:00Winter White Desk Makeover<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<![endif]--><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="color: #666666;"><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">Happy
Friday loves! Inspired by the blanket of snow that we came home to last night, I have
a bright and fresh makeover to share today – this sweet little desk!</span></span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-EQLlQ2pb0Es/UQwK2itKsGI/AAAAAAAACfo/Rpm6peqhT94/s1600/Desk3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-EQLlQ2pb0Es/UQwK2itKsGI/AAAAAAAACfo/Rpm6peqhT94/s640/Desk3.jpg" height="632" width="640" /></a><span style="color: #666666;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">It wasn’t
quite as lovely in its former life – truth be told I walked past this piece at
the goodwill for several weeks before finally taking it home. But we used that
to our advantage and bargained it down to 30 bucks :) <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></span></span></div>
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-hhfB0-Tzq8w/UQvvYG4LGxI/AAAAAAAACc4/VmnrHFKqj9w/s1600/DSC_0357.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-hhfB0-Tzq8w/UQvvYG4LGxI/AAAAAAAACc4/VmnrHFKqj9w/s640/DSC_0357.JPG" height="426" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span style="color: #666666;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">And no - that yellowish tinge wasn't created by my camera - this was for reals. </span>The finish
was dated, and those pulls just weren’t doing it for me - they might look fab
somewhere else but on this piece there were just too many of them. Like little bats flying at you...yikes! But a little love and a bright shade of white revived this desk from tired to timeless!</span></span></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiB3HTnRa15H4T3-jSHxKrl_EpTGCAZN6yS62RH5Bo_wVqvq4Mi6DM97PfxuMTI1nh5-_hIRsyxQyFeM-L2hjnug_9bfifW5vjPDD4utjzcpp5d5aR5-EUvBnRJa3ulIBDar2iw3etdfP4/s1600/Desk4.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiB3HTnRa15H4T3-jSHxKrl_EpTGCAZN6yS62RH5Bo_wVqvq4Mi6DM97PfxuMTI1nh5-_hIRsyxQyFeM-L2hjnug_9bfifW5vjPDD4utjzcpp5d5aR5-EUvBnRJa3ulIBDar2iw3etdfP4/s640/Desk4.jpg" height="478" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span style="color: #666666;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #666666;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">I
wanted the new hardware to add a little interest to the plain drawer
fronts but still be inexpensive - since there are so many of them. These
great new geometric knobs did the trick - cheap and chic! </span></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #666666;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><br /></span></span></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGwvy7IwLGCym4SqH0qlnW8of4rZgsBkmrCg_XzXHhND72KAaYJCCdFGxVVk9fMUkb5HLEB7xXPZGqH72K7rFfRyGL_JIqlVYviwc_ocFxg3Wu4AzGKb_GS04RHewRcdhJ034Y1Pxbsi4/s1600/Desk2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGwvy7IwLGCym4SqH0qlnW8of4rZgsBkmrCg_XzXHhND72KAaYJCCdFGxVVk9fMUkb5HLEB7xXPZGqH72K7rFfRyGL_JIqlVYviwc_ocFxg3Wu4AzGKb_GS04RHewRcdhJ034Y1Pxbsi4/s640/Desk2.jpg" height="477" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span style="color: #666666;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><span style="color: #666666;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">I found the little blue bowl at Winners and I'm <i>ridiculously</i> in love with it. The vase was a $1 thrift store
find. Both lovely additions to my growing obsession with blue and white that all started with <a href="http://honeysweethome.blogspot.ca/2012/09/going-green-campaign-dresser-makeover.html">this lamp</a>.</span></span></span></span></span></span></div>
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-XdmFDkszmUk/UQwRX9mbPwI/AAAAAAAACgY/KWsVt1nKFoc/s1600/DSC_0665.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-XdmFDkszmUk/UQwRX9mbPwI/AAAAAAAACgY/KWsVt1nKFoc/s640/DSC_0665.JPG" height="426" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span style="color: #666666;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">I started the desk's makeover by prepping the drawers for new knobs: filling up the
old holes with wood filler and sanding them smooth. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"><br /></span></span></span></span></div>
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-7-hkFuvDXdQ/UQwFHwy61pI/AAAAAAAACe4/sjcPnGJy16E/s1600/Collages.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-7-hkFuvDXdQ/UQwFHwy61pI/AAAAAAAACe4/sjcPnGJy16E/s640/Collages.jpg" height="354" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span style="color: #666666;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #666666;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">I wasn’t
digging the original curvaceous legs either, so the honey squared them out with a
jigsaw. </span></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #666666;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><br /></span></span></span></div>
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-bxuYFqEqd_8/UQwExvQVmZI/AAAAAAAACew/9fvbZbc0OLI/s1600/Desk1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-bxuYFqEqd_8/UQwExvQVmZI/AAAAAAAACew/9fvbZbc0OLI/s640/Desk1.jpg" height="304" width="640" /></a><br />
<span style="color: #666666;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">To keep the paint job looking neat I also taped off the drawers and the interior of the desk. </span></span></span></div>
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-zu9jHFXWu5E/UQwDoryhcAI/AAAAAAAACeo/P1qI173fpf8/s1600/Desk.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-zu9jHFXWu5E/UQwDoryhcAI/AAAAAAAACeo/P1qI173fpf8/s640/Desk.jpg" height="404" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span style="color: #666666;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">Then I got to work with the usual suspects: 1-2 coats of Zinsser primer (the desktop got a second coat
for extra durability), 2 coats of Behr cottage white (leftover from my <a href="http://honeysweethome.blogspot.ca/2012/03/drab-to-fab-makeover-hutch-love.html">hutch project</a>), and 3-4 coats of Varathane sealer, lightly sanding between coats (when I remembered too :) </span></span></span></div>
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/--ZFgVJjnrDY/UQwC_6lgznI/AAAAAAAACeg/-avDfRwXk70/s1600/Supplies2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/--ZFgVJjnrDY/UQwC_6lgznI/AAAAAAAACeg/-avDfRwXk70/s640/Supplies2.jpg" height="214" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span style="color: #666666;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">Turned out pretty sweet!</span></span></span></div>
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-6fx6DNKW99g/UQwgESPOVKI/AAAAAAAACiA/-mM6gOPieFY/s1600/Collages3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-6fx6DNKW99g/UQwgESPOVKI/AAAAAAAACiA/-mM6gOPieFY/s640/Collages3.jpg" height="438" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">Sharing at: <a href="http://thriftydecorchick.blogspot.ca/2013/02/february-before-and-after.html" target="_blank">Thrifty Decor Chick</a>, <a href="http://missmustardseed.com/2013/02/furniture-feature-friday-favorites-a-link-party-18/" target="_blank">Miss </a><span style="font-size: x-small;"><a href="http://missmustardseed.com/2013/02/furniture-feature-friday-favorites-a-link-party-18/" target="_blank">Mustard Seed</a>, </span></span></span></div>
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samaahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08492305705967376990noreply@blogger.com11tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4061781037237623379.post-80020119438453225532013-01-23T15:53:00.000-05:002014-01-06T20:49:21.408-05:00Special Delivery<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<span style="color: #666666;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">I LOVE getting mail so SO much - as in I check the mailbox multiples times a day with hopeful anticipation - but I hardly ever</span></span><span style="color: #666666;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="color: #666666;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"> get anything (except my credit card bill which doesn't count).</span></span> So you can only imagine my excitement when this package showed up at my door! </span></span><br />
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-MpyLYXBZK3g/UQBMu8xo9vI/AAAAAAAACZA/No2SffqYSoA/s1600/DSC_0039b.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-MpyLYXBZK3g/UQBMu8xo9vI/AAAAAAAACZA/No2SffqYSoA/s640/DSC_0039b.jpg" height="426" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span style="color: #666666; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">It's big..as in 8ft wide big :) Best kind of mail ever! I can't wait to unroll it.</span><br />
<span style="color: #666666;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="color: #666666;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">In other news, quite a lack of posts as of late - which I'm blaming on the delay in getting our internet installed in the new place. We just got reconnected this week, and needless to say, it was an interesting experience being offline for 5 weeks. I'm not sure I ever realized before just <i>how</i> crazy dependent we are on the net! But despite being unplugged we kept busy - between the move, four weddings, two trips out of town, and a house to-do list that's a mile long, I feel like I'm only just settling in. </span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="color: #666666;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">Back soon hopefully with some updates on the new house! </span></span><br />
<br /></div>
samaahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08492305705967376990noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4061781037237623379.post-14227426480659584062012-12-05T12:37:00.000-05:002014-01-06T20:53:58.395-05:00Moving Again + Our New Place<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-NM8e6np6nOY/UL7aUD3Tl8I/AAAAAAAACSA/uc9A2modUp8/s1600/moving.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-NM8e6np6nOY/UL7aUD3Tl8I/AAAAAAAACSA/uc9A2modUp8/s640/moving.jpg" height="426" width="640" /></a><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="color: #666666;"><span style="font-size: small;">Yes
indeed - our 6 months up north are almost up! The time really flew by,
I'm actually sad to be leaving...At first I felt a bit isolated up
here, but this little city quickly grew on me and I'll definitely miss
it. Still, I'm happy to be moving home! Well, my home anyway...the hubs
is from Cape Breton, but we're actually moving to Pickering, which is
just east of Toronto - so that's kind of a compromise between Toronto
and Cape Breton right :) </span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="color: #666666;"><span style="font-size: small;">Anyway I'm <span style="font-size: small;">really </span>excited about the new place<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;">!</span> It belongs to my in-l<span style="font-size: small;">aws<span style="font-size: small;">,</span> who'll be sharing the home with us. </span>We'd actually been<span style="font-size: small;"> house-hunting since M<span style="font-size: small;">ay, it took us <span style="font-size: small;"><i><span style="font-size: small;">a</span>while</i><span style="font-size: small;"> to find <span style="font-size: small;">the right p<span style="font-size: small;">l</span>ace!<br /></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span><br />
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-Qqsy0TsPrsE/UL7hQ7KsJPI/AAAAAAAACSs/7SnPsGeWsLQ/s1600/Living+Dining+1.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-Qqsy0TsPrsE/UL7hQ7KsJPI/AAAAAAAACSs/7SnPsGeWsLQ/s640/Living+Dining+1.JPG" height="426" width="640" /></a><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="color: #666666;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;">The house was a flip so a lot of the finishes are brand new. <span style="font-size: small;">At first we really wanted a place we could fix up ourselves and customize, but it's also kind of nice<span style="font-size: small;"> <span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;">to be moving into something <span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;">bright & fresh without <span style="font-size: small;">any work needed</span>. Now we can<span style="font-size: small;"> just</span></span> focus on little cosmetic changes and<span style="font-size: small;"> <span style="font-size: small;">one or two<span style="font-size: small;"> bigger renos<span style="font-size: small;">. <br /></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-fSyb6t1wiGo/UL7qO_2EK8I/AAAAAAAACTY/4Afxl8-KpM0/s1600/Kitchen+1.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-fSyb6t1wiGo/UL7qO_2EK8I/AAAAAAAACTY/4Afxl8-KpM0/s640/Kitchen+1.JPG" height="640" width="426" /></a></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="color: #666666;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br />I lo<span style="font-size: small;">ve th<span style="font-size: small;">at the kitchen is <span style="font-size: small;">clean and new!</span></span></span> W<span style="font-size: small;">e'd lo<span style="font-size: small;">ve to reconfigure the space to <span style="font-size: small;">make better use of it</span> <span style="font-size: small;">and add more counter<span style="font-size: small;">spac</span>e, but <span style="font-size: small;">that's definitely not a priority<span style="font-size: small;">.</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-S0SLtqQsk9g/UL944EVexNI/AAAAAAAACUI/qQZu9BcYH9Q/s1600/Brands+Crt.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-S0SLtqQsk9g/UL944EVexNI/AAAAAAAACUI/qQZu9BcYH9Q/s640/Brands+Crt.jpg" height="640" width="452" /></a></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="color: #666666;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;">The uppe<span style="font-size: small;">r floor has 4 bedrooms<span style="font-size: small;"> (forgot to shoot the 4th)<span style="font-size: small;"> - <span style="font-size: small;">two <span style="font-size: small;">wi<span style="font-size: small;">th broadloom and 2 with laminate. I actually like the floors but my hus<span style="font-size: small;">band isn't a fan<span style="font-size: small;">, so that's another someday project.The extra rooms <span style="font-size: small;">mean we can have our own<span style="font-size: small;"> office spaces (at least for now). That's pretty much<span style="font-size: small;"> music to my ears <span style="font-size: small;">since the hubs has been completely hogging what used to be our shared desk :)<br /></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-8faUbON5E-8/UL97tBRj7MI/AAAAAAAACU0/JUg9sAeGu_E/s1600/Brands+Crt1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-8faUbON5E-8/UL97tBRj7MI/AAAAAAAACU0/JUg9sAeGu_E/s640/Brands+Crt1.jpg" height="640" width="430" /></a></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="color: #666666;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;">The bathrooms are all <span style="font-size: small;">red<span style="font-size: small;">one which is really nice<span style="font-size: small;">. <span style="font-size: small;">All they need <span style="font-size: small;">are a few accessories to dress them up and <span style="font-size: small;">add a little p<span style="font-size: small;">ersonality. We're also planning to add a shower to the lower level for my in-laws<span style="font-size: small;">.</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span><br />
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-JVL_oJKVqQo/UL99PuFdkGI/AAAAAAAACU8/IOfXe958dFA/s1600/Basement+8+-+Other+view.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-JVL_oJKVqQo/UL99PuFdkGI/AAAAAAAACU8/IOfXe958dFA/s640/Basement+8+-+Other+view.JPG" height="426" width="640" /></a><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="color: #666666;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;">We're hoping to make the windows in the lower level bigger so it feels less basement-y, but the <span style="font-size: small;">best thing about this floor <span style="font-size: small;">is the ceiling height!</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-H8n5Ix9i2XA/UL9-dqhSTTI/AAAAAAAACVE/xHZ_Avn7-1g/s1600/Basement+5+-+Laundry+Room,+future+Kitchen.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-H8n5Ix9i2XA/UL9-dqhSTTI/AAAAAAAACVE/xHZ_Avn7-1g/s640/Basement+5+-+Laundry+Room,+future+Kitchen.JPG" height="640" width="426" /></a></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="color: #666666;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;">The super spacious laundry room is the perfect spot to add a<span style="font-size: small;">nother</span> kitchen. <span style="font-size: small;">Tha<span style="font-size: small;">t plus <span style="font-size: small;">the new shower and bigger windows will make a great</span></span></span><span style="font-size: small;"> in<span style="font-size: small;">-law suite<span style="font-size: small;">, even potentially<span style="font-size: small;"> a rental<span style="font-size: small;"> unit in the future</span></span></span><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;">. </span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span><br />
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/--wtK6_yteO8/UL-CulPh5_I/AAAAAAAACVw/Lo85mTjfCkA/s1600/Entry+2.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/--wtK6_yteO8/UL-CulPh5_I/AAAAAAAACVw/Lo85mTjfCkA/s640/Entry+2.JPG" height="460" width="640" /></a><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"></span></div>
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<span style="color: #666666;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;">For the entry we're consi<span style="font-size: small;">dering</span> a new front door <span style="font-size: small;">with <span style="font-size: small;">windows to brin<span style="font-size: small;">g more natural light into that area</span></span></span>. I'm also thinking<span style="font-size: small;"> about fau<span style="font-size: small;">x <span style="font-size: small;">wainscoting, maybe <span style="font-size: small;">even </span>some wallpaper or stencil<span style="font-size: small;">ing...<span style="font-size: small;">but<span style="font-size: small;"> </span></span><span style="font-size: small;">I'll save all the decora<span style="font-size: small;">ting <span style="font-size: small;">ideas floating around my head <span style="font-size: small;">for another post :)</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span> <span style="font-size: small;"><span style="color: #666666; font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">F</span><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="color: #666666; font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">or now I better get back to packing!</span> </span></span></div>
samaahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08492305705967376990noreply@blogger.com14tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4061781037237623379.post-66541655621430520432012-11-19T07:00:00.000-05:002014-07-20T19:30:14.457-04:00The Tuxedo Dresser - A Black & White Makeover<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif; font-size: small;"><span style="color: #666666;"><span lang="EN-US">I’m a
little bit smitten with our latest dresser makeover – it’s classic yet a
little funky, kind of black tie with a twist, which I totally love :) </span></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif; font-size: small;"><span style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: #666666;"><span lang="EN-US"><span lang="EN-US">We bought
this dresser off Craigslist in the summer – I liked the shape and all the pretty
little details in the woodwork, although the hubs thought the bottom looked like a giant mustache.</span></span></span></span></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhAhKmWU_NuhXRDwObVlTMkQL1BfbD3Cr4InjbQFTYNhoERy5vJJ_x0_6XB37gbM-nAFa3L2wP9jCNunikAuLNvXmJItaqDVXshsAPD8HxYfFiOYFNPvpbyfDw5aqhxQmjSkVh6cfaVNfU/s1600/DSC_0166.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhAhKmWU_NuhXRDwObVlTMkQL1BfbD3Cr4InjbQFTYNhoERy5vJJ_x0_6XB37gbM-nAFa3L2wP9jCNunikAuLNvXmJItaqDVXshsAPD8HxYfFiOYFNPvpbyfDw5aqhxQmjSkVh6cfaVNfU/s640/DSC_0166.JPG" height="426" width="640" /></a><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif; font-size: small;"><span style="color: #666666;"></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif; font-size: small;"><span style="color: #666666;"><span lang="EN-US">Despite seeing past the technicolour finish, it took me awhile to get
started. The
honey and I both wanted to use up some leftover paint from
<a href="http://honeysweethome.blogspot.ca/p/furniture-makeovers.html">previous projects</a>, but I kind of felt like doing something new. </span><span lang="EN-US"><span lang="EN-US">Frankly, the thought of using the same old paint left me feeling pretty uninspired...</span>But I rolled with it...Eventually I settled on </span><span lang="EN-US">staining the top dark and </span><span lang="EN-US">painting the body white – I've been loving that country-esque look lately. But after a LOT of prep and several tries the stain just wouldn't take evenly. </span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif; font-size: small;"><span style="color: #666666;"><span lang="EN-US"><br />So on to plan B, a different two-tone look that's a little less country, a little more chic.</span></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif; font-size: small;"><span style="color: #666666;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjA6-zHTzrLhL3j4QPVcgqTVW0pGrIesjuq4AhXfplHBQhjeDfzF4EToXckNOSmp094sDDlxHY6SlxLvLCQo6fqAb7UGYl9OQ-oTTQdl2NCQadotC4LngDph4Y6MCv9IaCFgZgnZQgL7mQ/s1600/DSC_0478.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Black and White Tuxedo Dresser" border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjA6-zHTzrLhL3j4QPVcgqTVW0pGrIesjuq4AhXfplHBQhjeDfzF4EToXckNOSmp094sDDlxHY6SlxLvLCQo6fqAb7UGYl9OQ-oTTQdl2NCQadotC4LngDph4Y6MCv9IaCFgZgnZQgL7mQ/s640/DSC_0478.JPG" height="640" title="Black and White Tuxedo Dresser" width="426" /></a></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif; font-size: small;"><span style="color: #666666;"><br />I'm SO crazy about black and white - the colours are so classic but together they look so bold. </span></span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVsN72guki1jnvZh6K8QqZ4HTpB7Oip0cnKBEJDtCSmQN-fwq3IqiGxBoHPne3aog88KVPrtdl2pDU1fzYnIUhGasXcRJasLyK6WYt5BvLEAycQ4EYmcg7C3blGq8X_0asbHs1KWa4xhM/s1600/DSC_0513.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVsN72guki1jnvZh6K8QqZ4HTpB7Oip0cnKBEJDtCSmQN-fwq3IqiGxBoHPne3aog88KVPrtdl2pDU1fzYnIUhGasXcRJasLyK6WYt5BvLEAycQ4EYmcg7C3blGq8X_0asbHs1KWa4xhM/s640/DSC_0513.JPG" height="426" width="640" /></a><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif; font-size: small;"><span style="color: #666666;"></span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: small;"><span lang="EN-US"><br /><span style="color: #666666; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Love how the new paint job highlights the details. Although in black it does look a little more mustachey..</span></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif; font-size: small;"><span style="color: #666666;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-W_pR33qAOiE/UKhlk4Zv53I/AAAAAAAACLQ/cAxP5Fbtw2c/s1600/Kijiji+2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-W_pR33qAOiE/UKhlk4Zv53I/AAAAAAAACLQ/cAxP5Fbtw2c/s640/Kijiji+2.jpg" height="640" width="426" /></a></span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="color: #666666; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br /></span><span lang="EN-US"><span style="color: #666666; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">The new knobs are my favourite part. I had bought the same ones with a white center last year on clearance at Homesense, and while working on this dresser I realized they'd be perfect, but I only had 3. I was disappointed I couldn't use them, but then totally lucked out finding these!</span></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif; font-size: small;"><span style="color: #666666;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-PPjelSXUTgs/UKhxIwNYwNI/AAAAAAAACMI/YgiOGnWu6wM/s1600/DSC_0500.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-PPjelSXUTgs/UKhxIwNYwNI/AAAAAAAACMI/YgiOGnWu6wM/s400/DSC_0500.JPG" height="400" width="266" /></a><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-IG6DLzziDFk/UKhxpTsED8I/AAAAAAAACMQ/VJzbOZSVo74/s1600/DSC_0497.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-IG6DLzziDFk/UKhxpTsED8I/AAAAAAAACMQ/VJzbOZSVo74/s400/DSC_0497.JPG" height="400" width="266" /></a></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif; font-size: small;"><span style="color: #666666;"><br />I was surprised at how much I ended up liking this piece - despite using <i>the same old paint</i>. All it needed was a little re-imagining.</span></span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJYVXecZLiEVknuD1QD2moz6a3SDkmP7Kh8kfUoI5hLDERWP6C3eJJAQBgfPXabpId7u-jDEkU_H7hHbeB9uj8HxrJVbR39SiCuQ-dKrR1ALeic045TBLeRB4YOENoIieIkiEcK_6SBPQ/s1600/Tuxedo+Dresser+After.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Black and White Tuxedo Dresser" border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJYVXecZLiEVknuD1QD2moz6a3SDkmP7Kh8kfUoI5hLDERWP6C3eJJAQBgfPXabpId7u-jDEkU_H7hHbeB9uj8HxrJVbR39SiCuQ-dKrR1ALeic045TBLeRB4YOENoIieIkiEcK_6SBPQ/s640/Tuxedo+Dresser+After.jpg" height="565" title="Black and White Tuxedo Dresser" width="640" /></a><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif; font-size: small;"><span style="color: #666666;"></span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="color: #666666; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br /></span><span lang="EN-US"><span style="color: #666666; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">In terms of the how-to, I prepped the piece by lightly sanding a few rough spots and gave the whole thing a thorough cleaning. I filled the holes from the old pulls with wood filler and sanded smooth. Then I taped off the sides of the drawers and got to work: 1 coat
of Zinsser primer, 2-3 coats of paint, and 3 coats of satin Varathane sealer. </span></span></span><br />
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-gCSbLVrRCzo/UKaSCLaY-mI/AAAAAAAACJE/0MWD3yUWX7U/s1600/Supplies1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-gCSbLVrRCzo/UKaSCLaY-mI/AAAAAAAACJE/0MWD3yUWX7U/s640/Supplies1.jpg" height="201" width="640" /></a><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif; font-size: small;"><span style="color: #666666;"></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif; font-size: small;"><span style="color: #666666;"><br /></span><span style="color: #666666;">I added a little paint conditioner to help with brush/roller marks, but I've learned it's really about your technique. Thin coats are better than thick, and the hardest part is trying not to work the paint too much by going over it a million times. Especially with the <span lang="EN-US">Varathane, use VERY
thin coats and work quickly, or you’ll end up with tons of marks (the can says not to use a roller but I did so anyway), not to mention BUBBLES! I ended up adding a little conditioner to the Varathane too - probably not recommended but I found it helped. In the end I achieved an even surface that's also silky smooth to the touch :)
Last but not least I measured out the placement for the knobs and drilled new</span><span lang="EN-US"><span lang="EN-US"> </span>holes. </span></span></span>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif; font-size: small;"><span style="color: #666666;"><br /></span><span style="color: #666666;"><span lang="EN-US">For now this pretty little tuxedo dresser is fancying up my dining room, waiting to get sold!</span></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif; font-size: x-small;"><span style="color: #666666;"><span lang="EN-US">Sharing at <a href="http://www.thriftydecorchick.blogspot.ca/2012/12/december-before-and-after.html" target="_blank">Thrifty Decor Chick</a>, <a href="http://primitiveandproper.blogspot.ca/2012/12/poww-117.html" target="_blank">Primitive & </a><span style="font-size: x-small;"><a href="http://primitiveandproper.blogspot.ca/2012/12/poww-117.html" target="_blank">Proper</a>, </span> </span></span></span>
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samaahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08492305705967376990noreply@blogger.com22tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4061781037237623379.post-51370495605844258192012-11-08T09:00:00.000-05:002014-07-20T19:30:34.730-04:00Updated Living Room Reveal + Searching For an Area Rug!<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<span style="color: #666666;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">The sun was finally shining yesterday, giving me an opportunity to snap a few shots of my updated living room! </span></span><br />
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<span style="color: #666666;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMmUEhDcmmRYcoUcctitOxn5gUIm2xr6QwhmDT4RSIPNYoilw2chtMCsy2jUoN71_82SKSw0aKb29Of7PyRw0TdghapOs0Izc7HRf55fe193bmpX2auHW1qF9pAGKPSHxSbWi-cKFabP0/s1600/DSC_0393.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMmUEhDcmmRYcoUcctitOxn5gUIm2xr6QwhmDT4RSIPNYoilw2chtMCsy2jUoN71_82SKSw0aKb29Of7PyRw0TdghapOs0Izc7HRf55fe193bmpX2auHW1qF9pAGKPSHxSbWi-cKFabP0/s640/DSC_0393.JPG" height="640" width="438" /></a></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #666666;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">If there's one thing I've learned while blogging this past year it's that my style is constantly evolving. Here's a look back at <a href="http://honeysweethome.blogspot.ca/2011/11/my-first-living-room.html">our first living area</a> in our old apartment.</span></span><br />
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-bRh9VDh78Ck/UJsbTSEMxWI/AAAAAAAACAQ/X8BPEZc9R4M/s1600/DSC02113copy.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-bRh9VDh78Ck/UJsbTSEMxWI/AAAAAAAACAQ/X8BPEZc9R4M/s640/DSC02113copy.jpg" height="480" width="640" /></a><span style="color: #666666;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"></span></span></div>
<span style="color: #666666;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="color: #666666;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">As I've explored my style a little more I've had fun changing things up. Here's what our living room looks like now!</span></span><br />
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-31GcK0ssnyw/UJsdb-i4vuI/AAAAAAAACAY/hpvFw053tgI/s1600/DSC_0426.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-31GcK0ssnyw/UJsdb-i4vuI/AAAAAAAACAY/hpvFw053tgI/s640/DSC_0426.JPG" height="426" width="640" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhnRGJVfshiTTS3SrCfxBYkZjcP03WH9mP_O3RVc8IZHY1QXM8TOpxbGBxlqh2GgGuVdcUFH5gJOchRUB2BUZ6zbY2AmcuSuC11z-reQ_jD1YIPD-vaHv0IAr5ZZnVdDC13N-nzEJhDzSk/s1600/DSC_0433.JPG" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhnRGJVfshiTTS3SrCfxBYkZjcP03WH9mP_O3RVc8IZHY1QXM8TOpxbGBxlqh2GgGuVdcUFH5gJOchRUB2BUZ6zbY2AmcuSuC11z-reQ_jD1YIPD-vaHv0IAr5ZZnVdDC13N-nzEJhDzSk/s640/DSC_0433.JPG" height="426" width="640" /></a></div>
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-dtoo9OQoXuw/UJtKWdtapbI/AAAAAAAACEI/uItJ4zNnpFE/s1600/DSC_0442.JPG" style="clear: left; display: inline !important; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-dtoo9OQoXuw/UJtKWdtapbI/AAAAAAAACEI/uItJ4zNnpFE/s640/DSC_0442.JPG" height="426" width="640" /></a><br />
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-7_DL3-T7ItQ/UJtQ-UNHw9I/AAAAAAAACFE/lmpT_Vps8-A/s1600/DSC_0470.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-7_DL3-T7ItQ/UJtQ-UNHw9I/AAAAAAAACFE/lmpT_Vps8-A/s640/DSC_0470.JPG" height="640" width="426" /></a></div>
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<span style="color: #666666;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">I found the handmade wool cushions from Kashmir at the CNE - an annual fair in Toronto that includes an international market. I wanted to incorporate more eastern elements into our home and I really liked the colours and patterns in these pillows.</span></span><br />
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-IudSMbw76yQ/UJsn3SwET8I/AAAAAAAACBA/jnCx9w6LNlw/s1600/DSC_0423.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-IudSMbw76yQ/UJsn3SwET8I/AAAAAAAACBA/jnCx9w6LNlw/s640/DSC_0423.JPG" height="426" width="640" /></a></div>
<span style="color: #666666;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="color: #666666;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">I hesitated a LOT before adding the zebra pillow and other animal patterns in the room, they felt a little too wild for my tastes...but I'd been crushing on animal prints for months so I finally decided to embrace it - in small doses! The pillow and coffee table tray were both from Winners/Homesense. </span></span><br />
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-VxjJE2w8GR0/UJsy58gY4wI/AAAAAAAACBo/bG_ipU-I9SE/s1600/DSC_0400.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-VxjJE2w8GR0/UJsy58gY4wI/AAAAAAAACBo/bG_ipU-I9SE/s400/DSC_0400.JPG" height="400" width="266" /></a><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-N6XLAelh1L0/UJs5yaWd05I/AAAAAAAACCQ/LkEge2_54FM/s1600/DSC_0402.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-N6XLAelh1L0/UJs5yaWd05I/AAAAAAAACCQ/LkEge2_54FM/s400/DSC_0402.JPG" height="400" width="266" /></a></div>
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-IfrowUmBN-I/UJtETZsWtXI/AAAAAAAACDI/QJJxYuNOYrI/s1600/DSC_0420.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-IfrowUmBN-I/UJtETZsWtXI/AAAAAAAACDI/QJJxYuNOYrI/s400/DSC_0420.JPG" height="400" width="266" /></a><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-akz66060M64/UJs72PVwfuI/AAAAAAAACCY/uBLLxexKmxk/s1600/DSC_0415.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-akz66060M64/UJs72PVwfuI/AAAAAAAACCY/uBLLxexKmxk/s400/DSC_0415.JPG" height="400" width="266" /></a></div>
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<span style="color: #666666;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="color: #666666;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">The hanging lantern was from World Market on our last US visit. The curtains are the same </span></span></span></span><span style="color: #666666;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><a href="http://honeysweethome.blogspot.ca/2011/12/no-sew-curtains-for-curtainly.html">no-sew curtains</a> from our old apartment. Between the chairs, I also added a little brass accordian table from Urban Outfitters.</span></span><br />
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-Be2LDjuIQ-k/UJtHAm-DxEI/AAAAAAAACDY/LOWAOb6qI7c/s1600/DSC_0430.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-Be2LDjuIQ-k/UJtHAm-DxEI/AAAAAAAACDY/LOWAOb6qI7c/s400/DSC_0430.JPG" height="400" width="266" /></a><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-cBsU5Gg1SY4/UJtHURQ13mI/AAAAAAAACDg/s85wCJ3WG9s/s1600/DSC_0432.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-cBsU5Gg1SY4/UJtHURQ13mI/AAAAAAAACDg/s85wCJ3WG9s/s400/DSC_0432.JPG" height="400" width="266" /></a></div>
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<span style="color: #666666;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="color: #666666;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">The tall plant was a serendipitous find :) I went into Home Depot for some poly and stumbled across it hidden in a corner. It looked pretty neglected with lots of brown spots, but it was still love at first sight! It was more than half off and I'm hoping to nurse it back to health, but it had no tag so I don't know what it is - any plant enthusiasts out there have an idea?</span></span><br />
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-5S_BICGPYZ4/UJtLeqw79dI/AAAAAAAACEQ/IQt6murt-iA/s1600/DSC_0441.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-5S_BICGPYZ4/UJtLeqw79dI/AAAAAAAACEQ/IQt6murt-iA/s400/DSC_0441.JPG" height="400" width="266" /></a><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-qNk0WqAwjnw/UJtM313XIdI/AAAAAAAACEY/PQXQLcEB3Mg/s1600/DSC_0468.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-qNk0WqAwjnw/UJtM313XIdI/AAAAAAAACEY/PQXQLcEB3Mg/s400/DSC_0468.JPG" height="400" width="280" /></a></div>
<span style="color: #666666;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="color: #666666;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">See the before and after of my <a href="http://honeysweethome.blogspot.ca/2012/09/going-green-campaign-dresser-makeover.html">campaign dresser makeover here</a>. I think this is probably my favourite vignette in the whole space :) On the opposite wall is my latest DIY, a <a href="http://honeysweethome.blogspot.ca/2012/10/diy-brass-etagere-gold-leafed-ikea.html">gold-leafed etagere IKEA hack.</a> You can also </span></span><span style="color: #666666;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">see more about <a href="http://honeysweethome.blogspot.ca/2012/10/living-room-gallery-wall-install.html">the gallery wall here.</a></span></span><br />
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-9qSmSz6XcKw/UJtegV4OLrI/AAAAAAAACFw/qB5320z0cXY/s1600/DSC_0457.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-9qSmSz6XcKw/UJtegV4OLrI/AAAAAAAACFw/qB5320z0cXY/s640/DSC_0457.JPG" height="426" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span style="color: #666666;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">I love that this space reflects more personality now and a bit more of a collected feel. </span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="color: #666666;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">It is still a work in progress though, I've already blogged about wanting to <a href="http://honeysweethome.blogspot.ca/2012/10/searching-for-living-room-ottoman.html">change out the coffee table for an ottoman</a>, and I'm also keeping my eye out for a pair of side tables. I'd eventually like to add a different rug, hopefully something a little bigger. Here are a few I'm loving lately:</span></span><br />
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-26a2pWGHF64/URSW-q57W0I/AAAAAAAACm4/VsODZGklvuE/s1600/Collages4.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-26a2pWGHF64/URSW-q57W0I/AAAAAAAACm4/VsODZGklvuE/s640/Collages4.jpg" height="310" width="640" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="color: #666666;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"> 1. I'm crazy about this black and gold hemp rug, a bit pricier but here's hoping for a sale!</span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="color: #666666;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">2. Had my eye on this <a href="http://www.rugsusa.com/rugsusa/rugs/rugs-usa-inspire/navy/200HJHK21A-26010.html">pretty + graphic navy rug</a> for awhile</span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="color: #666666;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">3. LOVE this <a href="http://www.rugsusa.com/rugsusa/rugs/rugs-usa-molala/cerise/200A28744-5010.html">eastern overdyed rug</a>, although it's about 5x my budget..but a girl can dream!</span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="color: #666666;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">4. This <a href="http://www.ikea.com/ca/en/catalog/products/20217065/">deep oriental rug</a> is a decent price, although on the darker side</span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #666666;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">It'll definitely be awhile before we're adding anything major though, for now we're just enjoying the new space!</span></span></div>
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samaahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08492305705967376990noreply@blogger.com17tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4061781037237623379.post-30864748105587436932012-11-07T19:11:00.000-05:002012-11-07T19:11:00.942-05:001 Year of Blogging<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-KFyrvdNcYzU/UJrpNzMEdWI/AAAAAAAAB_A/dsFYdrxr07Q/s1600/72128031502399817_7roOJCQH_c.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-KFyrvdNcYzU/UJrpNzMEdWI/AAAAAAAAB_A/dsFYdrxr07Q/s400/72128031502399817_7roOJCQH_c.jpg" width="281" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://pinterest.com/pin/72128031502399817/" target="_blank">source</a></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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</xml><![endif]--><span style="color: #666666;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">It’s a
little hard to believe I’ve been blogging for an entire year, but this time
last year I was putting together <a href="http://honeysweethome.blogspot.ca/2011/11/cheap-easy-floral-knock-offs.html" target="_blank">my very first post</a> and nervously hitting ‘publish’!
Looking back at the past year, I haven’t necessarily posted that often, but
even so I feel like blogging has changed my life in so many ways, alhamdulillah :)<br /><br />
I’ve started to rediscover what I’m passionate about and own my talents, and a
huge part of that is thanks to the encouragement and sweet words received from
many of you! Along with my wonderful family and friends, who always seem to
believe in me so much more than I believe in myself. Finding something I truly
love to do and being even the smallest bit validated in it gives me this
amazing optimism for the future. I don’t know what direction I’ll go yet –
whether I’ll build a little business or something else entirely - but
I'm excited and inspired and confident in a way I wasn't before this blog (I know that sounds totally cheesy + awkward but it’s true!). </span></span></span><span style="color: #666666;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><br /><br />It's been a wonderful year, and I'm so excited to keep decorating and DIYing and sharing every bit of it here! </span></span></span><br /><span style="color: #666666;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"></span></span></span><br />
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samaahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08492305705967376990noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4061781037237623379.post-41845912971554993812012-10-25T16:48:00.000-04:002014-07-20T19:31:09.282-04:00Living Room Gallery Wall Install!<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<span style="color: #666666;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"> Well, I finally put together my first little gallery wall in our living room! </span></span><br />
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-zbJCPnhFmuI/UImUq2ntW1I/AAAAAAAAB-A/-GDGY9CBbRM/s1600/DSC_0342.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-zbJCPnhFmuI/UImUq2ntW1I/AAAAAAAAB-A/-GDGY9CBbRM/s640/DSC_0342.JPG" height="426" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span style="color: #666666;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">I was planning a gallery of travel photos for another spot, but after spending 3 months searching for something large enough to go over our sofa, I finally decided to do one in our living space :) </span></span><br />
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<span style="color: #666666;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">Most of these frames had been collected over the past year, a few like the mirror are even older. To figure out the placement I measured the wall space above my sofa and then measured out the same square footage on the floor. Then I played around with a few different arrangements before settling on my favourite. </span></span><br />
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-uKObmEfxNFs/UIi67UGYKeI/AAAAAAAAB64/cNgYA5dZXZk/s1600/DSC_0077.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-uKObmEfxNFs/UIi67UGYKeI/AAAAAAAAB64/cNgYA5dZXZk/s640/DSC_0077.JPG" height="426" width="640" /></a></div>
<span style="color: #666666;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"> </span></span><br />
<span style="color: #666666;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">I thought about doing kraft paper templates to get the spacing right on the wall, but in the end I didn't bother. Using my measuring tape I figured out roughly where the mirror should go and then I referred back to the photo above to figure out the spacing for the rest of the frames. </span></span><br />
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-j17Z6vWeDTM/UIi_vz1_wyI/AAAAAAAAB7o/WVHNz3J8HAM/s1600/DSC_0339.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-j17Z6vWeDTM/UIi_vz1_wyI/AAAAAAAAB7o/WVHNz3J8HAM/s640/DSC_0339.JPG" height="640" width="426" /></a></div>
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<span style="color: #666666;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">I still want to do a gallery of our travel photography elsewhere, so I chose a collection of colourful and meaningful prints for this space. <span style="color: black;"><span style="color: #666666;">The green dome pictured is the Prophet's Mosque in Medina, his blessed resting place and the one place in the world I long to go most (<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/shabbir/3094170876/">image found on flickr</a>). The little postcard in the top right is from a recent trip along the Pacific coast in Cali, an incredible vacation that my sweet husband surprised me with :) </span></span></span></span><br />
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-PSsdrbhq73o/UIjDjcKBzoI/AAAAAAAAB8Y/pklUPswV0Bc/s1600/DSC_0332.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-PSsdrbhq73o/UIjDjcKBzoI/AAAAAAAAB8Y/pklUPswV0Bc/s640/DSC_0332.JPG" height="640" width="426" /></a></div>
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<span style="color: #666666;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="color: #666666;"><span style="color: #666666;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="color: #666666;">The floral print as well as the oriental print are actually gift bags! When we visited the US I
found these gorgeous printed bags on clearance at World Market and I loved
them so much I cut them up and framed them - cheap and easy artwork! The papyrus calligraphy is from Egypt, and the other Arabic calligraphy pieces were DIYed. The lower one was a sticker I found at a local store called <a href="http://www.thecraftsouk.com/">The Craft Souk</a><span style="color: #666666;">, which I mounted on a plaque with some card stock and gold cord. The top print is our favourite line of poetry which I just typed out on my computer. </span> </span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNVU6MT2YIL9w9hI66MnhyphenhyphenvY_Gq26O5duGLrw3NUJaJt-LN8nm5ggoQYYGe-m_mkyIR20rbk45p75uSmPb1ICs5VggNPif6TykVbE-lHfOQJx_LHLFbjzZrcD3l4nZS1y3GSwAq7x0dn4/s1600/DSC_0337.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNVU6MT2YIL9w9hI66MnhyphenhyphenvY_Gq26O5duGLrw3NUJaJt-LN8nm5ggoQYYGe-m_mkyIR20rbk45p75uSmPb1ICs5VggNPif6TykVbE-lHfOQJx_LHLFbjzZrcD3l4nZS1y3GSwAq7x0dn4/s640/DSC_0337.JPG" height="640" width="426" /></a></div>
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<span style="color: #666666;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="color: #666666;">This geometric print was one of my art pieces. I drew the same pattern in blue tones on a card I gave to my hubby on our engagement, but he wouldn't let me frame the original :) The pattern has a special significance for both of us. </span></span></span></span><br />
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-mezOm1q3R3Q/UImTDDMbp6I/AAAAAAAAB94/YEPYLmlwnxA/s1600/DSC_0326.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-mezOm1q3R3Q/UImTDDMbp6I/AAAAAAAAB94/YEPYLmlwnxA/s640/DSC_0326.JPG" height="426" width="640" /></a><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-XXjVegILzLo/UImVr2RIAWI/AAAAAAAAB-I/3E4LlUJ4cDM/s1600/DSC_0330.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></a></div>
<span style="color: #666666; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">I love this little grouping! I was so tired of the huge blank wall in our living space and now it's come to life with so much colour.</span><br />
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-XXjVegILzLo/UImVr2RIAWI/AAAAAAAAB-I/3E4LlUJ4cDM/s1600/DSC_0330.JPG" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-XXjVegILzLo/UImVr2RIAWI/AAAAAAAAB-I/3E4LlUJ4cDM/s640/DSC_0330.JPG" height="496" width="640" /></a><br />
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<span style="color: #666666;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">A shot of the new gallery wall with a little peek at our updated living room - I'm waiting for a sunny day to take some pics of the space to share soon :)</span></span></div>
samaahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08492305705967376990noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4061781037237623379.post-18273054695927410832012-10-22T07:00:00.000-04:002014-07-20T19:31:24.918-04:00Sprucing a Guest Room with A DIY Upholstered Headboard<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<span style="color: #666666;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">Happy Monday! Hope everyone had a great weekend! We had an amazing time with some family visiting from out of town :) Just before their visit, my honey and I helped my parents spruce up their guest space with a few simple updates and a DIY upholstered headboard! </span></span> <br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9hfSvSgMj4Up-yphrZDzZQKaZfDboTYjewHGp77U6C5cRHEpVDma8owpi5cgW_JqueApIVxzHcfP9wc_CTTYdmWhEfIaRDXcWlJvmIqCt5sMS8hl2noNHPXBHesstp-Ur9GpLuDR0LB4/s1600/DSC_0307.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9hfSvSgMj4Up-yphrZDzZQKaZfDboTYjewHGp77U6C5cRHEpVDma8owpi5cgW_JqueApIVxzHcfP9wc_CTTYdmWhEfIaRDXcWlJvmIqCt5sMS8hl2noNHPXBHesstp-Ur9GpLuDR0LB4/s640/DSC_0307.JPG" height="426" width="640" /></a><span style="color: #666666;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"> </span></span><span style="color: #666666;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">This space in their basement got little attention the last few years, it was mostly home to unused furniture from the rest of the house :) Since most of the budget went to new broadloom and new built-ins (more on that soon!), we couldn't spend a lot on furniture and accessories. So we DIYed the headboard - f</span></span><span style="color: #666666;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">or about $50 in supplies and less than 2 hours of work</span></span><span style="color: #666666;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"> - and made a huge impact in the space! </span></span><br />
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<span style="color: #666666;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">Supplies:</span></span><span style="color: #666666;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"> </span></span><br />
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<li><span style="color: #666666;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">OSB wood board cut to size at the shop</span></span><span style="color: #666666;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"> </span></span></li>
<li><span style="color: #666666;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">fabric</span></span><span style="color: #666666;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"> </span></span></li>
<li><span style="color: #666666;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">foam mattress pad</span></span><span style="color: #666666;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"> </span></span></li>
<li><span style="color: #666666;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">quilt batting</span></span><span style="color: #666666;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"> </span></span></li>
<li><span style="color: #666666;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">staple gun</span></span><span style="color: #666666;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"> </span></span></li>
<li><span style="color: #666666;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">upholstery tacks (nailheads) and a rubber mallet (optional)</span></span></li>
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<span style="color: #666666;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">We started by measuring out a size for the headboard. For a queen bed, we went with 62" by 35". We chose an OSB board because it was way cheaper than plywood and easier to staple to, and we had it cut to size at the store.</span></span><br />
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-IWMJ3uFAWMY/UISPvc5cb9I/AAAAAAAABx0/w_MFwYbhSsQ/s1600/DSC_0224.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-IWMJ3uFAWMY/UISPvc5cb9I/AAAAAAAABx0/w_MFwYbhSsQ/s400/DSC_0224.JPG" height="265" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="color: #666666;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">Rather than buying upholstery foam (which can get pricey!) I used a foam mattress pad. The twin size pad worked perfectly. </span></span><br />
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-_Qs-_v5FPIk/UISVjiBqEFI/AAAAAAAAByw/PaFUeDLUD0o/s1600/DSC_0232.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-_Qs-_v5FPIk/UISVjiBqEFI/AAAAAAAAByw/PaFUeDLUD0o/s400/DSC_0232.JPG" height="266" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="color: #666666;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"> </span></span><br />
<span style="color: #666666;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">First I laid the foam on top of the board and cut it to size - about an inch larger than the board so it could wrap around the sides and create smoother rounded edges. </span></span><br />
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-wiuKHOhAFJU/UISbh9yJB4I/AAAAAAAABzk/iS_bM7fa0rA/s1600/Headboard.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-wiuKHOhAFJU/UISbh9yJB4I/AAAAAAAABzk/iS_bM7fa0rA/s640/Headboard.jpg" height="546" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span style="color: #666666;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">Next I laid out the layers of the headboard - fabric, batting, foam, and the board. If your fabric has a right side, make sure it's face down, and if it's patterned you'll also want to line it up. You can also glue your foam to the board - we did this with plain old craft glue since we were working indoors, but I realized afterwards it wasn't necessary. </span></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBD5VLF38GL7gzuf2W8UB8K9DR1lbEK-Zj3PKOTZ3CL04F0PKH8JPB7SyKYbcoGSKXBOu2Xz6LdlMt3XtBuEktnHWj9gBga3kgSLs1RKSgSjoJM1-JD30b2TD_uug81hAUYst5fR-Yxm4/s1600/Headboard1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBD5VLF38GL7gzuf2W8UB8K9DR1lbEK-Zj3PKOTZ3CL04F0PKH8JPB7SyKYbcoGSKXBOu2Xz6LdlMt3XtBuEktnHWj9gBga3kgSLs1RKSgSjoJM1-JD30b2TD_uug81hAUYst5fR-Yxm4/s640/Headboard1.jpg" height="538" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span style="color: #666666;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">With my foam overhang around the board it was harder to staple all 3 layers neatly, so I stapled the foam first. I pulled it around the back of the board and stapled, and trimmed some excess from the corners. Then I just pulled the fabric & batting tight and stapled to the back of board. I started in the middle and worked my way around, one side at a time & saving the corners for last. </span></span></div>
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-43BpB-MJqQM/UISiiIb5kvI/AAAAAAAAB08/P88-BLQKNTI/s1600/Headboard2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-43BpB-MJqQM/UISiiIb5kvI/AAAAAAAAB08/P88-BLQKNTI/s640/Headboard2.jpg" height="572" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span style="color: #666666;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">To do the corners, I trimmed away some of the extra fabric & batting that was creating too much bulk. Then I just sort of winged it, stapling as close to the corners as I could and using the little flap that remained to create a small pleat. </span></span></div>
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-FTgZVBUDfwI/UISk6QfoW0I/AAAAAAAAB1E/_dYWxemn63U/s1600/Headboard3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-FTgZVBUDfwI/UISk6QfoW0I/AAAAAAAAB1E/_dYWxemn63U/s640/Headboard3.jpg" height="544" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span style="color: #666666;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">Next I added a nailhead trim with upholstery tacks. You can use pre-made strips of nailhead trim <a href="http://www.diyupholsterysupply.com/Upholstery-Trim-Strip.html" target="_blank">like these</a>, but I couldn't find the right colour in stores and was too impatient to order online :) In anycase, nailing them individually didn't take long at all, and I ended up loving the spacing! I kept a measuring tape on hand to make sure my line stayed somewhat level, but for the most part I eyeballed it. I also went back and redid a few. </span></span><span style="color: #666666;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">The trim isn't <i>totally</i> straight and the spacing isn't quite even, but you can hardly tell. </span></span><span style="color: #666666;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">The hardest part was that the tacks kept bending, but after a bit of practice I got better. The key was to start gently tapping until they inserted into the wood, and then nail harder to get them all the way in.</span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #666666;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">The last step was adding legs. You could attach your headboard to the wall, but we wanted a less permanent set up. So my sweet husband cut 2 legs from the leftover OSB and attached them to the back of the headboard, measuring the right height and making sure they were level!</span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #666666;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">Between the 2 of us it hardly took us 2 hours, and the final product makes for an inviting and relaxing guest space :) </span></span></div>
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-4WCiG6hxR6I/UITPVB8_9vI/AAAAAAAAB14/BqQUOKLGFC8/s1600/DSC_0296.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-4WCiG6hxR6I/UITPVB8_9vI/AAAAAAAAB14/BqQUOKLGFC8/s640/DSC_0296.JPG" height="426" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span style="color: #666666; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">This project was so easy, trust me when I say anyone can do it - I can't wait to do another! It adds a subtle sophistication to the space, plus it's soo comfy. </span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjA4mPQYLEue9Tg9eDx2Jyrd08toQ7WzCnZYoFyjkqmQ6B7YgJ7jfWfmv4KJxEJ49QakXfTPgguP6XFum6419NF5FRO7oKbpqPQjeUoZATDI15ceR9Lr_C5EJF-JR8cx1nfF7cnj3fhTiU/s1600/DSC_0319.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjA4mPQYLEue9Tg9eDx2Jyrd08toQ7WzCnZYoFyjkqmQ6B7YgJ7jfWfmv4KJxEJ49QakXfTPgguP6XFum6419NF5FRO7oKbpqPQjeUoZATDI15ceR9Lr_C5EJF-JR8cx1nfF7cnj3fhTiU/s640/DSC_0319.JPG" height="426" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span style="color: #666666;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">We dressed the bed using mostly linens we had on hand, although I added a bed skirt to hide the old metal bed frame. Other little updates to the space include the inexpensive Ikea table lamp, new cushions for the wicker chairs, and full length curtains that help to soften the look of the room.</span></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhoKG1SqqLdOSuG1QdtY5mQAMfYiG4LVAVN0z5PL0-YgtBRyjqej4Tq9to1B2_1pMJkZmy2wl9qBxQqwKHGIeSam4Dqt8tq33mUPGXQDMUM1q5gCjtWZ_IQLQeuG0tefpyZ8Zj5dWU0qfM/s1600/DSC_0289.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhoKG1SqqLdOSuG1QdtY5mQAMfYiG4LVAVN0z5PL0-YgtBRyjqej4Tq9to1B2_1pMJkZmy2wl9qBxQqwKHGIeSam4Dqt8tq33mUPGXQDMUM1q5gCjtWZ_IQLQeuG0tefpyZ8Zj5dWU0qfM/s640/DSC_0289.JPG" height="640" width="448" /></a></div>
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<span style="color: #666666;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">With a couple updates and an easy DIY headboard, my parents' guest space is totally transformed. Lucky for me my husband I will be the next guests checking in - for Eid next weekend :)</span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #666666; font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">Sharing at <a href="http://www.theshabbycreekcottage.com/2012/10/transformation-thursday-no-176.html" target="_blank">Transformation Thursdays</a>, <a href="http://thriftydecorchick.blogspot.ca/2012/11/november-before-and-after.html" target="_blank">Thrifty Decor Chick</a>, <a href="http://missmustardseed.com/2012/11/furniture-feature-friday-favorites-a-link-party-13/" target="_blank">Miss Mustard Seed</a>, </span></span></div>
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samaahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08492305705967376990noreply@blogger.com22tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4061781037237623379.post-6817698232671701372012-10-10T11:28:00.000-04:002014-07-20T19:31:50.222-04:00DIY Brass Etagere – Gold Leafed Ikea Vittsjo Hack! <div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-dsIIKmxMmDo/UGoZt_5VTJI/AAAAAAAABeo/JrEUq5TF4gg/s1600/DSC_0161.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; display: inline !important; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-dsIIKmxMmDo/UGoZt_5VTJI/AAAAAAAABeo/JrEUq5TF4gg/s640/DSC_0161.JPG" height="426" width="640" /></a><br />
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<span style="color: #666666;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><span style="color: #666666;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">I think
etagere is just a fancy french word for shelf, but it’s so much lovelier to say
:) Whatever you want to call them, I’ve been crushing on brass and gold <i>étagères</i>
for ages. They’re so stylish and elegant and the perfect way to display a few
pretty treasures. </span></span></span></span></span></span><br />
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<a href="http://www.decorpad.com/photo.htm?photoId=97426&index=2&searchQuery=etagere&searchType=photos" target="_blank">Tiffany Richey Design via Decorpad</a></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgd8UzF57tlBqWnrqftfns5tUAeSmrMKSPHeP9BZdsin5Zk3YNwwzdb-_InpubbPOBXS8Y_ELr0-SvfAg4PoargaFLcTF0e3_t0vh02nkTJ2AuTbGMlrUuIl2jxN_Qybqm3w-nrFi1-C3U/s1600/23855072996955163_09cXpVzz_c.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgd8UzF57tlBqWnrqftfns5tUAeSmrMKSPHeP9BZdsin5Zk3YNwwzdb-_InpubbPOBXS8Y_ELr0-SvfAg4PoargaFLcTF0e3_t0vh02nkTJ2AuTbGMlrUuIl2jxN_Qybqm3w-nrFi1-C3U/s640/23855072996955163_09cXpVzz_c.jpg" height="426" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
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<a href="http://www.stylebyemilyhenderson.com/portfolio/single-gallery/11913858" target="_blank">Emily Henderson</a></div>
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<span style="color: #666666;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">I fantasized
about finding a fabulous vintage étagère, though I never bothered searching for a new one – even if I could afford it, I wouldn’t know where to look (where
do fancy people who buy these kinds of things even shop?). So when I came
across <a href="http://home-styling.blogspot.com.au/2012/06/catalogo-e-sugestoes-store-resources.html" target="_blank">this DIY version by Ana Antunes</a>, I was instantly inspired! And I had the
perfect spot for it in my new living room :)</span></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #666666;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">I started
with the Vittsjo shelving unit from IKEA. These units come in 2 sizes, for my
space I went with the larger one - it's $90 in Canada but only $70 if you're in the US. </span></span></span></div>
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-L54k3QOM3Uk/UGhKxcIU7PI/AAAAAAAABaw/qbSw3foPl4c/s1600/vittsjo.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-L54k3QOM3Uk/UGhKxcIU7PI/AAAAAAAABaw/qbSw3foPl4c/s640/vittsjo.png" height="484" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span style="color: #666666; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">I love the
soft and elegant gold </span><a href="http://home-styling.blogspot.com.au/2012/06/catalogo-e-sugestoes-store-resources.html" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;" target="_blank">Ana painted her Vittsjos</a><span style="color: #666666; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">, but I had no idea how to
recreate it. I tested out some different spray paints and initially went with
Krylon’s metallic brass. But after a few weeks living with it I was kind of disappointed. The colour was more yellow than
I wanted for this project, and the finish was flat. I decided to try gold leaf instead,
and I’m </span><i style="color: #666666; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">so</i><span style="color: #666666; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"> happy I did - this time around I’m completely in love!</span></div>
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-CE78HOvCzm4/UGoYb0lg-rI/AAAAAAAABeg/581rFSgpjlw/s1600/DSC_0119+%25282%2529.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-CE78HOvCzm4/UGoYb0lg-rI/AAAAAAAABeg/581rFSgpjlw/s640/DSC_0119+%25282%2529.JPG" height="640" width="426" /></a></div>
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<span style="color: #666666;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">The finish is smooth to the touch, but it still has a really cool distressed look
that I love.</span></span></span><br />
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-50E6Qgpu4Dc/UGpCfq8UdYI/AAAAAAAABhI/TpgICjRZvHs/s1600/DSC_0131.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-50E6Qgpu4Dc/UGpCfq8UdYI/AAAAAAAABhI/TpgICjRZvHs/s640/DSC_0131.JPG" height="640" width="426" /></a></div>
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<span style="color: #666666;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">Plus it’s more reflective than paint (which was just sort of glossy), giving the étagère a
metallic effect.</span></span></span><br />
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<img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-CtiqIpoqoys/UGpCqHKga4I/AAAAAAAABhQ/VTV3kmEo3kc/s640/DSC_0191.JPG" height="640" width="426" /></div>
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<span style="color: #666666;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">I love that bit of sparkle that it adds to our living room! Plus after moving into this home we moved our bookshelves upstairs to the study room, so I like the height of this piece in the space too. </span></span><br />
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-1RESHzmCkDE/UGtSapmWwZI/AAAAAAAABjQ/YiphKW_FAuw/s1600/DSC_0217.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-1RESHzmCkDE/UGtSapmWwZI/AAAAAAAABjQ/YiphKW_FAuw/s640/DSC_0217.JPG" height="640" width="426" /></a></div>
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<span style="color: #666666;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><span style="color: #666666;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">I’m still
playing around with the styling of the shelves, but it’s so nice to have a
space in our living room to display some of our favourite things. <span style="color: #666666;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">A few special books,
sentimental knick knacks, and other accessories that make me happy :)</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span><br />
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-RvN7VVFx4kg/UGtfY6mG6lI/AAAAAAAABj4/_bCT0XOJRQY/s1600/DSC_0165.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-RvN7VVFx4kg/UGtfY6mG6lI/AAAAAAAABj4/_bCT0XOJRQY/s400/DSC_0165.JPG" height="400" width="265" /></a><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-6YXHoB66w_4/UGtfk64yxVI/AAAAAAAABkA/oJrB4bwgleI/s1600/DSC_0108.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-6YXHoB66w_4/UGtfk64yxVI/AAAAAAAABkA/oJrB4bwgleI/s400/DSC_0108.JPG" height="400" width="266" /></a></div>
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-mpx_0BDsI5k/UGt6cki9WRI/AAAAAAAABmU/uqBVPY1QtRo/s1600/DSC_0176.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-mpx_0BDsI5k/UGt6cki9WRI/AAAAAAAABmU/uqBVPY1QtRo/s400/DSC_0176.JPG" height="400" width="266" /></a><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-beNwrVoVk3k/UGt6pGHoVaI/AAAAAAAABmc/p6hThgjD6b4/s1600/DSC_0181.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-beNwrVoVk3k/UGt6pGHoVaI/AAAAAAAABmc/p6hThgjD6b4/s400/DSC_0181.JPG" height="400" width="266" /></a></div>
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<span style="color: #666666;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">Eventually
I want to change the bottom and top wood shelves into mirror or glass, but for now
I left the original ones. The bottom shelf is housing some of our drum collection.</span></span></span><br />
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-aQ9Esvbi9n4/UGtjLOZycXI/AAAAAAAABks/oEQyDXgJ4DA/s1600/DSC_0124.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-aQ9Esvbi9n4/UGtjLOZycXI/AAAAAAAABks/oEQyDXgJ4DA/s400/DSC_0124.JPG" height="400" width="268" /></a><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-DiE4R1sVLSM/UGtjTziZ11I/AAAAAAAABk0/sc0-El-zUlY/s1600/DSC_0136.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-DiE4R1sVLSM/UGtjTziZ11I/AAAAAAAABk0/sc0-El-zUlY/s400/DSC_0136.JPG" height="400" width="261" /></a></div>
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<span style="color: #666666;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">I have to admit, the process
was pretty long, and at times a bit discouraging. If you’ve never used
gold leaf before like me, think twice before starting on something this big! That said,
I did eventually get it done, which also means it’s totally doable with a
little time and patience. </span></span></span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgSJzfPzZMqJHSLglmf8xmCPJzT6Ctg3hMVtsu7NToYloKD7Lru7XaQVZwWnnzNIJRmXIAjHMVFFop-YmIP4JO1Kr5kRBb8FyU2NGNzPqNSzOhNe4VOe3DqFmYnRx-7XwhRy9IoSH0CZzo/s1600/Right.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgSJzfPzZMqJHSLglmf8xmCPJzT6Ctg3hMVtsu7NToYloKD7Lru7XaQVZwWnnzNIJRmXIAjHMVFFop-YmIP4JO1Kr5kRBb8FyU2NGNzPqNSzOhNe4VOe3DqFmYnRx-7XwhRy9IoSH0CZzo/s640/Right.jpg" height="505" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span style="color: #666666;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">To hack your own Vittsjo, here’s what
you’ll need:</span></span></span></div>
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<li><span style="color: #666666;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">3-4 books of gold leaf (for this size Vittsjo; they usually come in 25
sheets per book, I found mine at a local art shop for $5 a book, they’re also
sold online or at craft stores)</span></span></span></li>
<li><span style="color: #666666;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">size (leafing adhesive)</span></span></span></li>
<li><span style="color: #666666;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">a couple foam brushes</span></span></span></li>
<li><span style="color: #666666;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">a soft artists brush - I used a makeup brush instead</span></span></span></li>
<li><span style="color: #666666;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">sealer (optional)</span></span></span></li>
<li><span style="color: #666666;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">a vacuum (the gold bits <i>will</i> get everywhere :) </span></span></span></li>
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<span style="color: #666666;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"> For any<span style="color: #666666;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"> first-time gold leafers like me, here's what I did:</span></span></span></span></span></div>
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-eY07odND1b8/UGo15yB2TQI/AAAAAAAABf4/uKxuo0JLB6o/s1600/Supplies.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-eY07odND1b8/UGo15yB2TQI/AAAAAAAABf4/uKxuo0JLB6o/s640/Supplies.jpg" height="428" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span style="color: #666666;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br />Before you start, think about doing a few practice pieces in inconspicuous areas (like the back legs). I did a few test pieces to make sure I liked the finish of gold leaf since this was my first time using it. </span></span><br />
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<span style="color: #666666;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><b>Step 1:</b> apply an even coat of the leafing adhesive (found in my local art shop) with a foam brush,
working in small sections. Be careful that it doesn't puddle in the corners! Let it dry until it’s clear and tacky,
according to the package, in my case it was about 45 mins.</span></span><br />
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<span style="color: #666666;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><b>Step 2:</b> cut the gold leaf books in half - half a leaf was plenty to wrap around
the thin sides of the Vittsjo. It’s much easier to cut the sheets in the
books, or at least between pieces of the wax paper they come in, than cutting them individually.<br /> </span></span></span><br />
<span style="color: #666666;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><b>Step 3:</b> lay a sheet of gold leaf (one sheet at a time). Handling the leaf is a bit tricky - if
you even breathe too hard on it it’ll flutter away - but after a bit of
practice I got into a good groove. The easiest way I found to handle them was
holding the leaves using bits of the wax paper. </span></span></span><br />
<span style="color: #666666;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><br /><b>Step 4:</b> gently smooth out & flatten the leaf using the tip of your
finger (or a brush, I found using my finger easier, just remember not to use
sticky fingers!). As you're smoothing it out, wrap it around the sides of the Vittsjo. </span></span></span><br />
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<span style="color: #666666;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><b>Step 5:</b> burnish
the gold leaf (basically rub it) to smooth it out, flake away the excess pieces and also buff it up. I used my fingers in some areas as well as a soft make-up brush, which was good for getting into the corners. You can also use a soft cloth. <br /> </span></span></span><br />
<span style="color: #666666;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">Repeat steps 1-5 until you've covered the whole Vittsjo. You can even do step 5 all at once after leafing the whole shelf. As you work, you’ll likely have some areas where the leaf didn’t stick, which
you can go back and redo with some of the bigger flakes that fell off. Don’t
freak out about it, my inner perfectionist had a hard time with this, but it’s
almost impossible to get a totally smooth application without any little pieces
that you have to fill in. The little imperfections are hardly noticeable once
you’re done though, and they add to the distressed/textured effect of the gold
leaf. </span></span></span><br />
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-QrH9ABwIFsA/UGtIMzK98SI/AAAAAAAABio/QhtLIvXcJvc/s1600/DSC_0130arrow.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-QrH9ABwIFsA/UGtIMzK98SI/AAAAAAAABio/QhtLIvXcJvc/s640/DSC_0130arrow.jpg" height="426" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span style="color: #666666;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">I worked on
this project a little bit every day for over a week. You might be able to knock it out in a day or two, but I just preferred doing a
little at a time. That way it was still fun and it didn't become <i>too</i> tiring or frustrating :)</span></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #666666;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><b>Step 6:</b> apply a sealer if desired. It won’t really get a lot of wear & tear, but I wanted to make sure
the finish was still somewhat durable, and it only took about 10 minutes to do. This particular sealer didn't dull the finish at all. </span></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #666666;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">The gold
leaf was definitely a lot more work than painting, but I’m so happy with how it turned out! I didn't really love my Vittsjo with my original spray paint job, but now I totally do :)</span></span></span><br />
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-xo9KGCjVGZM/UGuFkhfzkzI/AAAAAAAABoE/gJyUFlmTkjw/s1600/DSC_0138.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-xo9KGCjVGZM/UGuFkhfzkzI/AAAAAAAABoE/gJyUFlmTkjw/s640/DSC_0138.JPG" height="640" width="426" /></a></div>
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<span style="color: #666666;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">Our new etagere looks great in our living space - reveal of the full room coming soon!</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="color: #666666;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Linking up at the <a href="http://www.younghouselove.com/2012/10/fall-pinterest-challenge-getting-board/" target="_blank">Fall Pinterest Challenge</a><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">,</span> <a href="http://missmustardseed.com/2012/11/furniture-feature-friday-favorites-a-link-party-13/">Furniture Feature Friday</a>, well as the<a href="http://thriftydecorchick.blogspot.ca/2012/11/november-before-and-after.html" target="_blank"> November Before </a><span style="font-size: x-small;"><a href="http://thriftydecorchick.blogspot.ca/2012/11/november-before-and-after.html" target="_blank">& After Party</a><span style="font-size: x-small;">! </span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="color: #666666;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="color: #666666;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">! Be sure to check them<span style="font-size: x-small;"> </span>out for tons of great projects :)</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></div>
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samaahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08492305705967376990noreply@blogger.com34tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4061781037237623379.post-13369202983163546462012-10-09T14:45:00.001-04:002012-10-09T14:45:48.069-04:00My Designer Husband<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<span style="color: #666666;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"></span></span><br />
<span style="color: #666666;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">While we were house hunting this weekend, my sweet husband made an excited comment that stopped me in my tracks:<i> "once we add curtains it'll really soften the look of the space"</i></span></span><br />
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<span style="color: #666666;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">Yes, he said soften. And yes, this is the same man who didn't see the point in getting <a href="http://honeysweethome.blogspot.ca/2011/12/no-sew-curtains-for-curtainly.html" target="_blank">curtains in our last apartment</a>. </span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #666666;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">This after he asked me a few weeks ago whether we should get <i>"those european pillows", </i>in reference to euro shams. It was a momentous occasion, let me tell you!</span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #666666;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">Seems like all my crazy design antics are growing on him :) </span></span></div>
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samaahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08492305705967376990noreply@blogger.com4