Botox for my antiques

We inherited a lovely antique dining room set from my Grandparents when we moved into our house a few years ago. While I love the suite, it was feeling a bit 'stuffy' for a young family. I lusted for something a bit younger and hipper, but I didn't have the heart to get rid of this set or to put it under the proverbial knife! It just needed a little pick me up, as we all do from time to time!
In the end I decided to update it with new hardware from Lee Valley Hardware. If you have never visited a Lee Valley store, it is well worth the trip. They have everything from microplanes to fruit fly catchers to very intense wood working tools (think Pinnochio!!).
I looked around a number of different sources for new hardware. Lee Valley had the best selection at the most reasonable prices. Big box stores were suprisingly expensive for not great quality; Restoration Hardware had beautiful pieces at about 3X the price. Lee Valley was just perfect, and located on the TTC to boot!!

PS: I have moved my mercury glass lamps from the living room to the buffet as my baby becomes increasingly grabby and mobile!...I think I like them here!

New ring pulls

Original fixtures

Start the car!

I was perusing the "Finds" section of Sarah Richardson's website yesterday, and noticed her post about this graphic linen Kravet fabric, listed at $122.80 a yard. It reminded me that I had bought a remnant of this same fabric at Designer Fabrics on Queen West in Toronto for $5! START THE CAR!! (This is a quote from an Ikea commercial (view here) that my family frequently references when we get a killer deal....as in "I got this shirt for 60% off. Start the car!").

Anyways, I had totally forgotten about this fabric, as I bought it mere days before my now 7 month old was born while I was in the depths of crazed nesting...and then my baby was born and I forgot everything that had happened before that point in time.

Seeing the fabric again inspired me to make two cushions for our living room couch on Sunday night, piped and backed with a matching turquoise velvet. I rearanged the living room furniture this weekend and the new cushions finish off the new configuration and add a nice punch of colour!

Did you do anything fun around the house this weekend? Any START THE CAR moments?

Goodnight Moon, Goodnight room!

This weekend we finally got around to putting the final pictures up in my 2.5 year old daugther's room. I have blogged previously (here) about my love of graphic posters and how I go about framing them. The posters for my daugther's room came from the Vancouver 2010 Olympics - they are sentimental because we brought her to the Olympics when she was only 8 months old.

The room is not perfect:

...the wall colour is not quite what I wanted

...the pictures are too high thanks to the preexisting chair rail,

...I really don't love the mirrored doors I chose for the closets that we built

...and I'm sure a designer would have a seizure when they saw the amount of colour I've packed into this room

...but it was a labour of love and we did all the work ourselves. Most importantly, my daughter loves her room and sleeps soundly and peacefully. ....what more can you ask for!?

Here are a few before pictures!

Pretty things

One of the things I love about visiting my parents' house is all the pretty (read: breakable) little things they have. All such items have been removed, stored away, or moved to the highest shelf in my home until I no longer have toddlers....but I miss having the things I love near by.

What are your favourite things at your house?

Ga-ga for graphic prints

I just love the current trend of graphic prints. They make me cheery when I see them....but I am not a confident or skilled enough designer to use them on big investment pieces like sofas or rugs. I also fear that my rooms will quickly look dated when the trend passes, and I'll have to convince my husband as to why we need new curtains/sofa/rug etc. when the one we have doesn't actually have anything wrong with it.

So I've selected a few less permanent pieces to whet my appetite for this trend, without breaking the bank.

Here are some pictures of my favourite low-commitment items. The good news is that my fear of commitment hasn't negatively impacted my personal life :)

Turquoise velvet octagon pillows from Take me Home in the RBC Plaza

Brown and white throw (actually a baby blanket!!!) from Dwell Studio for Target (LOVE Tar-jay!!)