Tuesday, December 31, 2013

ON THIS HARVEST ...............

COME A LITTLE BIT CLOSER NOW.......................
( HEAR WHAT I HAVE TO SAY )



This is huge people - HUGE -

I WANT TO DANCE THE NIGHT AWAY.........................


ON THESE HARVEST FLOORS :)


OH OH
WHAT'S THIS I SEE?

Suzan says - excuse me Mr. Floor Man
Mr. Floor Man says - Yes?
Suzan says - I see a hair on the floor - and it's not mine
Mr. Floor Man says - What are you hawk eyes?
Suzan says - Well I HAVE been accused of that before
Mr. Floor Man says - They still have to be lightly sanded between the next 2 coats -
Mr. Floor Man says - Don't worry about it


Mr Floorman says - Why are you taking a photo of it?  I told you it will be gone tomorrow
Suzan says - for my blog
Mr. Floorman says - I'd rather you not
Suzan says - You sound like my husband...................sorry but it's getting documented

and then Suzan trips on the stair trying to get the photo - and drops the metal piece from the old door bell chime

Mr. Floorman says - AHA !!!!  Bet you aren't going to put that on your blog now, are ya?

Good grief - does that sound familiar or what?  Are ALL men the same or what?


Mr Floorman says - do me a favor - call me John
Suzan says - ummm - sorry - don't think so ...............................

BUT THERE'S A FULL MOON RISING
LET'S GO DANCING IN THE LIGHT....................

BEFORE



REPAIRS


DURING


AFTER



NOW WHERE DID I PACK MY PAINTING CAP???????????
BECAUSE MR FLOOR MAN IS GOING TO BE ASKED TO WEAR IT TOMORROW

YOU KNOW THE ONE, RIGHT?  WHEN I CHANNELLED MY HERO - CAROL BURNETT?


AND IF YOU HAVEN'T SEEN THAT POST - YOU MUST - ( JUST TO SEE WHAT EVERYONE ELSE WORE - OMG - SOME OF IT IS THE FUNNIEST EVER !!! )
YOU CAN FIND IT HERE - AND THERE ARE LINKS TO 15 OTHERS WHO WENT ALONG FOR THE RIDE :)

Now excuse me - I have some dancing to do
ON MY HARVEST FLOORS


John says - What the hell are you doing?
Suzan says - I'm walking the floors over you ♫ ( I can't sleep a wink - that is true )
John says - They'd better be totally dry................

We went with an Ebony stain - ( which ironically has had the name changed to Graphite - an Annie Sloan color lol ) so there's lots of black mixed in with the various shades of deep brown and even though they're very thin slats, there's still a barn floor vibe to them because of all the grain coming through, don't you think?  If you go back up to the original pics you would never guess there was so much grain in them at all.
I wanted to go as dark as possible because all the walls are going a very True White................
This is the first time in my entire life I've painted walls white ( and I'm loving it )

I fought with myself over installing new floors - and then I fought with myself over the decision to go so dark -
In the end I'm thrilled with both decisions :)
Now if I can just get the same results with the entire house I'd be in heaven.

Have a wonderful day y'all
Much love,

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Savvy Southern Style

Sunday, December 29, 2013

Right on Target!!!

For all of you that have been following this makeover - you'll remember the curtains I've used in my bedroom


They were bought at the Restore years ago - for 35 dollars I believe.
They're high quality silk - double lined - with French pleats sewn into the top fusing.
I bought them because I fell in love with them - not because they would fit anywhere in the house lol.
Our last house had 12 foot ceilings so they never reached the floors -
I had to put them behind the bed to hide that fact
You can see that bedroom makeover HERE


Sadly - even though they're the perfect size for this bedroom ( actually too long for this one - there's some hidden tucking going on here ) they STILL have to be behind the bed - it seems I'm doomed to always be sleeping under a window )


While shopping at Target this Christmas I came across a pair of curtains - of course they are not the same quality but since they are in 2 different sections of the room you can barely tell that they don't match.  Here's what I found for the little " nook " .


If I promise you I'll have the bedroom reveal tomorrow, would you believe me?

Well you shouldn't because I've said it far too often now at this point LOL - but I'm trying - I really am.  Smack in the middle of all of this I've come down with a head cold - my eyes burn - my nose is running - I'm sneezing non stop - and I have a headache that feels dangerously close to a migraine.

I think I should rent a hotel room tonight - a luxurious over the top 5 star - deep soaker tub - with haut cousine room service - doesn't that sound just about perfect?

But that would cost the about the same as the sink I want - so perhaps I'm better off to curl up with Soda - she's waiting for me as you can see


Pretty good match though, don't you think?


Did I mention how much I love all the nooks in this house?

My dream of a reading nook is going to become a reality - the lumber has been bought - and it's being made as a house warming gift :)

Care to look at my inspiration photos ( again ) ?  You can see them all HERE


although I'm kind of liking it just the way it is ( for now )


Just a quick side note on renovations -

1) ALWAYS MAKE SURE YOU CALCULATE TO A " T " THE EXPENSES

2) PAINSTAKINGLY GO OVER THE LIST A MINIMUM OF 10 TIMES
HAVE A CONTRACTOR WORK FOR YOU AT A FRACTION OF THE GOING RATE
( I WON THE CONTRACTOR LOTTERY ON THIS HOUSE WITHOUT A DOUBT - A PRICE THAT I COULD NOT SAY NO TO )

3) ELIMINATE A DREAM OR TWO AS YOU GO ALONG YOUR MERRY WAY

4) SWITCH PLANS IN THE MIDDLE TO SAVE MONEY HERE AND THERE

5) HIT X 2 ON YOUR CALCULATOR AT THE END OF IT ALL - BECAUSE IT ALWAYS COSTS MORE THAN YOU THOUGHT POSSIBLE.

6) MAKE AN APPOINTMENT WITH THE BANK - AND GET A LINE OF CREDIT - AND JUST BE GRATEFUL YOU WERE COMPLETELY OUT OF DEBT FOR 35 DAYS :)


John says - I TOLD YOU AND TOLD YOU WE SHOULD HAVE TAKEN CAR PAYMENTS - BUT NOOOO - YOU WANTED TO BUY IT OUTRIGHT
Suzan says - I did NOT want car payments John
John says - What the hell is the difference between a car payment or a line of credit payment?

I'm not quite sure how to answer that one - this may be the second time he's been right................
I didn't follow my own rule about hitting the X 2 button on the calculator I guess :)

O BLA DI - O BLA DA
Life goes on.................
( where's my twenty carat golden ring? ♪♫ )

Have a wonderful Monday
Much love,

Bathroom number 1 makeover

Well I have something to show you ..................finally!

The upstairs bathroom was never a huge issue in my mind - as unappealing as it was, I knew I could do something on the " cheap " with it -

Here's the before ( this is the actual MLS photo that appeared on the original listing )


and here's what very little work did for it  ( and I do mean very little ) so don't be expecting any huge miracles here lol


I had just enough left over paint ( from a few years ago actually ) to do the walls ..............it's a very pretty sort of aqua.............

I had bought the shelf unit for our last home.

I painted out that heater thingamabob and the window frame with paint I already had on hand - switched the towel rack for the one that was downstairs ( since that bathroom has to be gutted )
and then I simply shopped around the house for accessories - so not one dime was spent on this little
room :)
Oops sorry - I bought the mat..............19.99 - and it's totally the wrong color because I bought it before I knew what I was doing in there!

The accessories are strictly what I could find because truthfully we still haven't unpacked most of our stuff and so they will most likely be changed before it's finished - but since I change things weekly it won't exactly be out of the norm for me anyway lol

My little bird cage bought at Michael's a year or so ago - and the jewellery box Lindsay and Tony gave me at their rehearsal dinner.


My " star " tea light holder ( with the chain beside it - it's supposed to be suspended but the chain fell off and I have no idea where it goes - so I have to go back to Pier 1 and hope they still have them - so that I can inconspicuously examine it ) Inspector Clouseau at your service once again


 The biggest change came from painting the heater vent white - don't you think?


I still have to hang something on the window - but it does have a privacy film on it for now at least.

John says - What the hell is a wreath doing hanging on the towel bar?
Suzan says - I think it's pretty
John says - How am I supposed to grab a towel from behind it?
Suzan says - DO NOT TOUCH THOSE TOWELS - YOU UNDERSTAND?
Suzan says - It took me 20 minutes to fold them the right size
John says - Here we go again - candles we can't light - dishes we can't use - now towels we can't dry with?
Suzan says - Take a towel from the linen closet - what's the big deal?
Suzan says - BUT DON'T MESS IT UP WHEN YOU GRAB A TOWEL.........PLEASE!!!!!!!!!

The linen closet makeover is Here


Tomorrow I'll show you the bedroom - and the curtains I found to almost - oh so close - match these



But for now I'm going to soak in a very hot - very bubbly bath


Oh - and then I'm going to run downstairs and look at my sanded floors - before they're stained dark
and torment myself for a couple of hours on whether dark was the right decision after all :)


P.S - had I changed the floors I would have most definitely went with wide planks - but since we're NOT changing them - I have to tell you - I'm really loving these skinny slats almost as much!!!
( except that we had to pay a fortune to have them replicated in areas where they had to be patched e.g. where walls used to be - they don't make them this size any more )

You all have a wonderful Sunday everybody :)

Much love,

Sharing with!
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Between naps on the porch                     Coastal Charm
My Uncommon Slice of Suburbia            Remodelaholic
http://www.savvysouthernstyle.net/
Savvy Southern Style

Saturday, December 28, 2013

When is Antiques Road Show coming to Montreal?

Because I found some antique items here yesterday when the living room heaters came off..............

Remember them?


not only was it smack in the middle of the hallway and living room - but in every room along the perimeter of every wall
anyway the ones in the living room were removed yesterday - time for those babies to go.............................

you know those stories you read about where people find all kinds of hidden treasures under walls and such?
I'm sooooo excited to show you what we found that I can barely contain myself

are you ready?
ok


lovely, isn't it?
it's definitely very old - and yet in such pristine condition - so it has to have some value, no?

and this - a handle from a tool?


and this


and one red package that looks suspiciously like an old Du Maurier package..............which was being used as a shim ( you'll find more people today are smoking du mauri ori ori ay - have had that jingle in my head all day - I can even still remember the girl smoking them in the commercials - 70's I think )
I'm not going to get rich but those panelled heaters are Gone Gone Gone ...................
They took up more space than you can believe - all different angles and heights - a friend of mine said it looked like a 60's ski lodge lmho
We're going to make new ones out of MDF - uniform ones -
Oh I wish I had been blogging 2 houses ago when John and I made radiator covers
Anyway - here we are - box free in the living room


The floors have been patched



and there's light at the end of the hallway


here's the before of that particular view


Did I show you all the fridge niche?
Sorry - really can't remember - here it is - with it's " backside" in the mud room - which means it takes up
zero space in the actual kitchen


Did I show you the microwave niche?
Here it is with it's " back side " on the other wall in the mudroom which means it takes up zero space in the kitchen


I was going to make a " butt " niche - so that when someone stood in the kitchen they wouldn't be taking up any space at all either but you can overdo niches - so I won't bother with that particular one.

(All in all it's just another niche in the wall........................)

Now excuse me - I have a couple of more walls to knock holes into - I'm sure there's money somewhere in this place !!!

Have to tell you - some of your comments make me laugh my head off - some make me giggle - ALL make me smile on days when there's sometimes very little to smile about - THANK YOU so much.
There's been a few moments in the last month where I've seriously considered shutting down my little blog because I'm not doing my bit  - but as long as some of you are interested in what's going on here - I'll keep documenting it :)

Enjoy your weekend everyone
( weekend? what's a weekend? it's sounds sort of familiar but I can't quite put my finger on it - does it have something to do with 2 days off? )
Much love,

Friday, December 27, 2013

I should have chosen Schroeder..................


We all know how much I love music anyway -
So how on earth did I end up with


I've never known a man to be so fastidious about his own personal hygiene and yet leave a mini disaster in his wake upon every room he enters................

There's piles of garbage on his desk.
There's piles of garbage in his van ( disgusting - the van is absolutely disgusting )
There's piles of garbage in his pockets - every single one of them............

And often - so often - too often - he leaves trails as he walks room to room - I'm serious - he leaves little bits of paper that have fallen out of his pockets -

If you went hiking with John on Kilamanjaro - you'd never get lost -
You'd simply follow the trail of his trash back to the base camp.

He doesn't bother with tedious things like closing closet doors - or drawers for that matter - he simply moves on because after all that's what the valet is for, right?

He doesn't clean counters after making a sandwich because that's what the maids do, right?

If I ask him to PLEASE clean the shower - he simply sprays the wall with the shower hose - using only water ( OF COURSE IT'S CLEAN, HE YELLS, YOU DON'T NEED ANYTHING BUT WATER )
And the grime and soap scum that gets left behind?
Well he doesn't even see that - and thinks I'm being picky for noticing that.

This man - that everyone loves by the way - is a SLOB...............

And has turned me into her....................


I resent him for it - because I used to be more like this...................


Not really - I don't think I was ever quite that sweet - but I really do think I was meant to maybe just wile away the hours listening to music


The floor company did the stairs - there's still 2 more coats of gloss to go on them - today the living room and hallway get done - we went with Ebony -
I'm terrified I've made a huge mistake here - but blockhead loves 'em....................


The cabinets have been assembled ( Ikea )


I made a time capsule of sorts on the drywall -
Gordie says - They'll never see it Mom
Mom says - Not until they renovate anyway
Gordie says - Uhhh - I think the paint may cover that up..................
BLONDE MOMENTS ARE OCCURRING A LITTLE TOO FREQUENTLY IN THIS HOUSE
I put it on a plank of wood instead lol
For the next renovators in the future


And shhhh - don't tell anyone - but I am soooo happy Christmas is over with this year - I want to zap it from my memory entirely -

We had no water on Christmas Eve - I COULDN'T TAKE A BATH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
It's ok to be a sweating dirty mess any other time of the year - but Christmas Eve?
I sprayed perfume over the entirety of my body and prayed.
I would normally pray for peace on earth -
This year I prayed I didn't stink.
Or that no one would get close enough to notice.

John says - You're blogging early today
John says - I hope you're telling them how much I've been helping........................

But we won't go there this morning folks.
We.
Just.
Won't.
Go.
There.
K????

Hope you all had a beautiful Christmas - and that you were all able to take a shower or bath - and hug lots of loved ones :)

I'd love to show pics of a finished area - but I simply don't have one yet - I have tons of almost finished area's though :)

Much love -
And hugs to all ( the water's working again - I've had a bath - it's ok to hug  )
Will all this be funny one day?
Not so sure about that right now LOL