Tweaking the living room + another gallery wall update

Decorating is an ever-evolving process. A few weeks ago, the gallery wall in our living room looked like this:

We planned to slowly keep adding frames over time, but I had officially checked it off the 'to do' list. Except, something wasn't quite right about it: the dark frames, next to the dark bookcase, weighed the room down and didn't fit with the light and airy feel we were going for. So I took all the frames down, spraypainted them white, and put them back up again.

(I also moved a few pictures around, so now we need a new piece of art to fill that big empty frame).

I'm much happier with the new look - the white frames make the art stand out and a few dark frames keep the wall from being too light and bright.

I also moved that large print on our mantle to the opposite wall. Another small change, but I feel like I've found the right 'home' for it. And since my hanging mirrors didn't work out, I still have to figure out what to put on the mantle...

Mirrored mantle display

Hello blog friends! I took an inadvertent break from blogging to catch up on some DIY wedding projects and to enjoy some pre-wedding festivities, like my second bachelorette party and wedding shower (I'm a lucky girl, I know).

I managed to slip in a few home improvement projects, including this mantle update:

A cute start, right? I used heavy-duty double-sided tape to hang the mirrors, since I didn't want to mess with drilling or nailing into brick (to make it look like the mirrors were hanging from the ribbon, I hot-glued small nails to the ribbon and used tiny pieces of double-sided tape to attach it to the brick).

Apparently the tape wasn't heavy-duty enough, since hours later I heard a smash when one of the mirrors fell to the floor. Oops.

Hot Hot Heat (a thermostat tutorial)

No, I'm not talking about the weather (I wish). While I was at Canadian Tire shopping for plate hangers, I spotted an ENERGY STAR programmable thermostat on clearance and decided to go for it (I figured if the installation went horribly wrong, we're not in danger of freezing in June).

This is the thermostat we started with - nothing wrong with it, except that Adam and I are always forgetting to turn down the heat before we go to bed, which means we're wasting heat and money, and we end up sweating the bed (gross, but true). And it's ugly...

Before installing our new thermostat, which will do the remembering for us, I read through the installation instructions. It seemed easy enough: turn off the power, remove the old thermostat, label the wires, and match those labels to the ones on the new thermostat. Except that our thermostat was so old it didn't have labels, just a lot of dust, a tube with mercury in it, and red and yellow wires.

Luckily the internet is awesome, and some quick googling revealed that I should connect the red wire to the port marked "R" and the yellow wire to the port marked "W" (I'm calling them ports because I have no idea what they're actually called, but hopefully you get the idea).

The final step was to install the batteries, replace the cover, and turn the power back on. And since the new thermostat is a different size and shape than the old one, I also had a little paint touch-up to do (because I'm impatient, the paint is still a little wet in the after photo below). The whole process took about 30 minutes, but it obviously would have been quicker without the googling. I tested it, it worked (!), and then I shut it off for the summer haha.

We can't toss our old thermostat into the garbage because it contains mercury, so I plan to drop it off at our local household hazardous waste depot later this week.

Reversible slipcover DIY

We finally got a break from the rain this weekend (don't worry - it's back already), so Adam and I took advantage of the sunny weather and spent most of Saturday working outdoors (more on that later). But first I sat down with my sewing machine to finish my first slipcover. Here's a little before and after - drum roll please:

Ta da! Can you tell I'm excited about how it turned out? Luckily the whole making it reversible thing was easier than I thought. Basically, I made two slipcovers, then sewed the bottom hemlines together so one "sits" inside of the other.

Which means I can choose between Side A:

And Side B (which really needs to be ironed, but probably won't be):

And the whole thing is easily removed for washing. Here's how it looks in our living room, where it's currently acting as a side table, but can easily be pulled out for extra seating when need be. Not bad for $10.

Sewing a slipcover

Sometime before we moved (great memory, eh?), I picked up this brown leather footstool at Value Village for just $10.

It wasn't much to look at, but I loved the shape and size, and I knew it would look great under a cute slipcover. Of course I'd never made a slipcover before, but I figured this would be a good test project (and if it turned out horribly, at least I'd only be out $10).

I made my own pattern, which basically consisted of six side panels and one top piece. I measured the stool's dimensions, then transcribed these measurements onto some scrap fabric I had lying around, adding about half an inch to each side. Next, I cut out my pieces, pinned them together, and my footstool and I had our first fitting. After much trimming and repinning, I had a template. I copied the template onto some nicer scrap fabric, had another fitting, and sewed the whole thing together (I sewed the six side panels together first, then sewed that to the top piece, then hemmed the bottom). It's definitely not perfect and could use a good ironing job, but it's also not bad for a first try.

And there will be a second try; I have another slipcover pinned and ready for sewing. I want to sew both slipcovers together to make one, reversible slipcover, but I'm still figuring out exactly how that will work (my sewing projects usually follow this make-it-up-as-you-go process). So more sewing this weekend - check back next week to see the final result.

Painting the couch + new pillows!

Adam and I spent a great Easter weekend in Massachusetts visiting my extended family. Since we were away all weekend, I took the day off on Tuesday to recover from the long drive and do a few things around the house.

You may remember that our living room sofa (a $200 Kijiji find) used to look like this:

Not bad, but I didn't like the way the wood trim stood out against the black and tan rug. To help it blend in, I decided to paint it black. I put a piece of cardboad under each of the sofa's feet to protect the rug and floor, roughed up the wood with 100 grit sandpaper, and brushed on two coats of black acrylic paint. The whole project took about 15 minutes, including drying time between coats. Still, it was a dramatic transformation.

And to complete the sofa's new look, I also whipped up a few pillows using some fun, new fabric I picked up last week (it was a buy 1 metre, get 2 free deal). I'm so happy with how this quick and inexpensive project turned out - the black frame ties the couch in with the rug, and along with the new pillows, it gives the couch a much more contemporary feel that really works in our eclectic space.

Weekend finds

It's kind of funny that I blogged about my rug fantasies on Friday, since I stumbled across the perfect area rug for our living room the very next day:

That's our dog, Maddie, already enjoying the new addition. The future husband and I went to Home Depot on Saturday to pick up a new bathroom faucet (more on that later), when I saw this large, indoor/outdoor rug by Martha Stewart Living for $119. It was the right size, the right price, and it came with the right care and cleaning instructions (i.e. spray it with a garden hose). SOLD. I love how it suits our space, and the simple geometric pattern is a lot more fun than plain ol' seagrass.

But the rug wasn't my only great find of the weekend. My future mother-in-law and I checked out The Bay's store closing sale on Saturday and scored some awesome deals. Like these super cute throw pillows - for just $7.20 and $3.20 each - and this comfy grey-and-white throw for less than $12!

Here they are in their new homes (I tried the throw on the couch first, but I like it better on our antique chair). I'm planning to darken the wood frame around the bottom of the couch, so that it blends in with the black of the new rug (I'm thinking of Minwax's Bombay Mahogany), but right now I'm just enjoying my weekend finds!

Choosing a rug for the living room

The living room is quickly coming along, but it's still missing an area rug. In our old apartment, we had a beautiful white, shag rug - at least it was beautiful, until our dog decided to "decorate" it with you-know-what. More than once. So the new rug needs to be durable, stain resistant and easy-to-clean (and I want it to look good, too).

I've been daydreaming about an 8' x 10' seagrass or jute rug, and here are a few of the rugs I've stumbled across.

This Classic Home - Natural Seagrass Rug from CSN Stores is exactly what I'm looking for - plus it's 20% off the $456 price tag.

I really like the diamond pattern of this Stanton Carpet outdoor seagrass rug - also from CSN Stores - but the $638 price tag is a little steep (even if it is 20% off).

I also like the subtle pattern of this sisal rug from Sears (for $400), but the 5'3" x 7'7" size is a bit too small for our living room.

Then there's Ikea's Tarnby rug. It's a great buy at just $149, but the nearest Ikea is in Montreal, which means it's not really an option.










So, no clear winners yet. The future husband and I are driving down to MA at the end of the month to spend Easter with my extended family, so I'm thinking about trying to convince him to go rug shopping then. He'll likely consider it a form of torture, so keep your fingers crossed for me!

Painted cabinet before and after

This cabinet is a hand-me-down from the future in-laws (it's an old hospital bedside table) and it's an indispensible piece of extra storage (we currently stash all of our photo albums inside). Here it is in the living room of our old apartment, where the bright red colour totally worked:

And here it is in our new house, after a DIY paint job:

The red was too much for our new space, and it looked terrible against the big green sideboard we converted into a TV stand (which sits nearby). So last weekend I rolled on a coat of furniture primer, and covered it with two coats of Sico melamine cabinet paint in "Hint of Grey" (it's the same colour we're planning to use on our kitchen cabinets, so consider this a little preview).

Initially I painted the hardware - which was already covered in rust and old paint - with the same hint of grey, but when I was finished the whole thing was just too...white. Since I wanted to keep the original hardware - 1) because it adds character to the piece and 2) because I wasn't sure I'd actually be able to remove it - I decided to hand-paint the hardware black, using a small craft brush and a bit of acrylic paint.

Not bad, eh? The cabinet now lives near our entryway, so it's also a convenient place to drop mail, keys, etc. To keep it organized, I picked up this simple metal basket for $11 at Winner's.

I'm thinking about putting a tall, leafy green plant between the cabinet and fireplace for an added pop of colour, but for now I'm just loving this old cabinet's new look.

Update: Here it is with plant in place. Even better!

Installing trimmable blinds

I picked up some trimmable faux wood blinds over the weekend and after hours (and hours) of measuring, cutting and hanging, finally...we have some privacy!

Here they are open...

and closed.

Open:

Closed:

Yeah, I've been playing this game all weekend haha. I love the new blinds (hence all the opening and closing), but man they were a lot of work! First I had to measure the windows and calculate how much to trim off each side of the blinds. Next, I measured and marked the blinds, and trimmed each slat individually with a pair of heavy-duty scissors. Finally, I removed the extra slats, installed the centre brackets and wall mounts, hung the blinds and installed the valances (with lots of measuring and re-measuring in between). The entire process took hours, but it was worth it. The blinds look like they were made for our oddly-sized windows and I have to admit I'm pretty proud of my handiwork.

Gallery wall update

Remember that gallery wall I so painstakingly planned? Well here's what it looks like now:

(That big hole in the upper right-hand corner is for the new print I ordered from The Working Proof, and I have a couple of small frames set aside - you can see them on top of the soon-to-be-painted stereo cabinet - for family photos. I also created some large gaps between frames to hang small, interesting objects in the future - though I have no idea what these small, interesting objects will be).

I decided I wasn't loving the arrangement, so I took down a few frames, added a few others, cut some new mats and moved some of the pictures around to better balance the colours in the art. Which means 1) I still haven't started painting the kitchen like I planned to, and 2) there are a lot of extra nail holes hiding behind those frames. The good news is that I'm much happier with the wall now - nail holes and all.

Creating a gallery wall

I love gallery walls and I've wanted to try one for awhile - something dramatic like one of these. The layout of our open concept living room/dining room gives the illusion of a big, empty wall behind the couch (we've actually got a large vintage stereo cabinet hidden back there) and it seemed like the perfect location for a gallery wall.

So, I gathered up some of our favourite pictures, paintings and prints to make paper templates, which I then arranged on the wall using painter's tape. After lots of arranging and rearranging, here's what I ended up with (you can just see the top of our stereo cabinet in this picture - it got a little beaten up during the move, so one of my future projects will be painting it):

Following John and Sherry's advice from their hallway photo project, I measured the distance from each frame's edge to its hanging device (wire, hook, etc.) and marked an 'x' on the corresponding paper template. I hammered a nail into each 'x', tore down the paper template, and hung my frames.

It's an ongoing project, which means I'll be adding frames as I go (and probably switching out some of the pictures up there now). I'd definitely like to see some more family photos up there, and I'd like to add a few silver frames to mix things up. I'm also planning to replace the off-white and grey mats with white ones (luckily there are only a few that need to be replaced).

If you're thinking about building your own gallery wall, The Working Proof is an awesome place to purchase affordable art. As an added bonus, 15% of the sale of each print is donated to a charity chosen by the artist. How cool is that?!

And, until the end of the month, 100% of the sale of the gorgeous print below will be donated to Medecins Sans Frontieres to support their relief efforts in Japan. I just ordered mine and I can't wait to see it on my gallery wall!

Birds in the Bush, by Susan Schwake