2 more sleeps until we are in our new house!  It will be a bit of a construction zone for awhile...still waiting for the new island, granite countertop, kitchen flooring.....etc.  But, the walls are painted and the new bathroom will be operational by the end of the weekend my contractor promises! I will have to wait until we are away at the lake this summer to have the hardwood floors redone as the tight timeline simply couldn't accommodate that prior to move in.  

All furniture and appliances will be delivered Monday.....Television and internet (which my children are most concerned about) will be operational as of Tuesday.  I have bedding purchased and washed, just waiting to adorn our new beds.  Today I will be outfitting the kitchen with my new white dishes, sparkly stemmed glasses, my gorgeous new pots along with my other wonderful finds! 

Not so fun will be cleaning up the construction dust, however my crew has done such a wonderful job cleaning up after themselves that I think a couple of hours with a Swifer and some Lysol wipes should do the trick! Perhaps I can even enlist the help of my kids....although I think I will save the heavy lifting for them as I have several rubbermaid bins of our personal items to brought over today. 

The project is by no means over though.....now onto the basement.  My contractor and I came up with a fabulous floor plan to accommodate everything I wanted for that space.  It will prove to be some fabulous additional living space which I am hoping will entice my kids and their friends to hang out! Then, once the snow has melted (which I hope is soon!),  we will tackle the outside.....paint, new garage, new roof and some fabulous paving stone work.  I love transforming a house like this!

Four days until move in!  Back from vacation and facing reality.  Spent today putting together light fixtures, making last minute decisions and coordinating cable/internet installation.  Also made another quick visit to Ikea to pick up the bathroom sink/vanity which I will feature in another post.  I honestly have to say that I have been blessed with the absolute best contractor as his team has been working tirelessly to ensure we are able to move in on monday.

While waiting for the cable/internet installer, I decided to tackle the light fixture for my daughters room.  Listening to the the latest playlist on my iPhone, I managed to attach 100 little flowers to this sphere of beauty.  My goodness!!

Isn't that amazing!!  It is like a giant pom pom....or a huge marshmallow! And those aqua walls that remind us of the sea...pure bliss.  I think my daughter is becoming a decorator...following in my footsteps with her own ideas.  Oh, and that is my contractor Kevin in the background.  He is awesome!!

I will be enjoying a well deserved break for the next week as I head south with a girlfriend to read, relax and rest.  Will leave my house in my contractor's very capable hands and I can't wait to see the progress upon my return.  I am leaving the prairie for the beach!

Bon voyage!!

Continuing to think about the exterior of the house, my mind is now focusing on the yard and garden specifically.  Perhaps it is because a hint of spring is in the air with the transition to daylight savings time that we all begin to long for those lazy summer sunny days where we can enjoy our gardens.  Again, my children have many ideas on how our backyard can serve their purposes of recreation and enjoyment!  

We enjoyed a swimming pool in our previous home and it certainly is at the top of the wish list for this home as well.  Unfortunately the prairies enjoy a much shorter summer season than southern Ontario does, having that said though, all the more reason to enjoy the short time that we do have.  We will have to see.......how the budget looks after completing the interior of the house!! 

I have been focusing on the interior of the house up until this point but the exterior is equally as important.  The first task is coming up with an overall colour scheme.  Being drawn to coastal colours and cottage style exteriors I am leaning towards greyish green colours with accents of white and black.  I love the look of this exterior.

A beautiful sage grey colour with warm white trim accented by a black front door, shutters, porch light and urns of greenery.  I am also going to source a black and white address plaque and my contractor has promised to build me a window box! My covered entry is a little bit more subtle than the one in this picture, but I am quite confidant that I can replicate the overall feel of this exterior to my new home.  

Work is well underway on the house. The basement is fully demolished, the upstairs bathroom is being rebuilt, the new kitchen island is under construction and the electricians are busy at work.  The painters are lined up.....stay tuned for new and improved paint colours...... and the hardwood floors are set to be redone.  All of the decision making from my inspiration and vision for this house are making their way into reality.  There is a flurry of activity happening which will allow us to have our "first sleep" in the house April 1st.  And that is no April Fools joke!!

The next step is thinking about the basement....how to make it into a lovely and comfortable living space for us all.  So essentially turning it from a "basement" into a "lower level"!!  This space will include the laundry room, storage room, family/recreation room.......

                                              

which may end up looking something like this!  My sons have insisted on a pool table and they have determined that we actually require 2 "sectional with TV" areas.....one for gaming and one for watching movies.   Well, there is something to be said for making a very comfortable area for the kids to hang out....they will come over with their friends and you will know where they are!

I am thinking a lot about this second bathroom as it will also need to be highly functional.  I envision my sons taking this bathroom over as their own as well as it being available for guests. 

So this is what I am thinking....

Elegant enough for guests, yet functional for the everyday needs of a family.  Just not sure if I should repeat the stone pattern flooring I have chosen for the second floor bathroom, or the bamboo look flooring I chose for the kitchen.  Let me know your thoughts!!

Now that I have possession of my new house, there are all sorts of little yet important things to be done.  Water meter and hydro readings, changing my address, coordinating cable and internet service (my kids want that done ASAP of course!!), property taxes, arranging for snow clearing and lawn care.....either that or I buy a snow blower and lawn mower!! I think I'll do my back a favour and hire a service. Although my fabulous contractor has already bought me a shovel and his crew has been doing it for me.  Thank you so much guys!  You are the best!! They have worked so hard this past week going through 2 dumpsters of debris from the demolition of the basement, kitchen and bathroom.  Luckily we didn't uncover too many surprises and it appears to be smooth sailing going forward.   Off to buy a new bathtub today so that they can get started on that room next week.

Being an introvert at heart, I find that heading into the weekends I use some of my time on Fridays to reflect....not only on the week that has just past, but to also look forward to the weekend and come up with a positive message to focus on.  I suppose in a sense it is a way to figure out why I am doing what I am doing and how does it reflect on who I am and the life I want to lead.  As well, I am a Taurus and  in being a Taurus, my home and environment are so very important to the contentment of my soul and my well being.  I think that is why this little passage really spoke to me....

That is exactly what I love to do.....to find a place and then make a place beautiful....to be enjoyed by family and friends.

Wishing you a wonderful weekend!!

Faith.....is so very crucial when taking on a renovation project like this.  It will take time before the vision is realized and feelings of frustration and discouragement can take over.  My kids and I have been "homeless" for awhile now but you know what....it is only making us stronger as a family and I am really so in awe of how they are rising to this challenge.  Life tests us from time to time...we can deny the lesson or we can embrace it.

Took my sweet Tanner for a walk today to the new house.  She is my unconditionally loving 6 year old yellow labrador retriever.  This is her in our new backyard.....think she loves it.

This however is what my basement looks like now......and where I need to have faith.  This space will eventually become a laundry/craft room, bathroom, family room, mudroom and storage.  I thought I had  the vision for this space all in my head but I don't know......

What have I taken on??? I keep reminding myself that I have bought a house on one of the most desirable blocks in the city.  And despite the fact that I have to do work to the house, not only will it prove to be a wise investment, I will also have a very comfortable, functional and dare I say beautiful house that will be the home of my dreams! 

I am so excited as we have finalized our move in date for April 1st and now I really have my work cut out for me.  I have to outfit the house with furniture from top to bottom....I am starting fresh with a clean slate and leaving the negative karma behind me.  Now coordinating this is no easy task but thanks to Ikea, I can order most of what I need from them and not only will they deliver it but for a nominal fee, they will also set everything up for me too!  I am pretty handy with an allan key but hey, when you are talking 4 beds, night tables, dressers, table and chairs I am happy to step aside and watch it all magically come together while sipping my chardonnay!

In my daily travels however, I like to keep my eye open for things that grab my attention.  Last week while in Homesense, I not only enjoyed a lovely visit with a friend I hadn't seen in a while as we crossed paths in the picture frame aisle, I also came across this terrific chalk board.

It has a lovely distressed white wood frame and I envision its home on a wall in my new kitchen for writing grocery lists, messages to my kids and for my daughter to doodle on.  Its a funny thing...people can't seem to walk by a chalkboard in a home without feeling compelled to draw or write something. 

Today, while actually looking for bed linens at Home Outfitters, I stumbled across this lovely chair.  I was hoping for 2, but they only had 1 so they sold it to me for 1/2 price.....gee, thanks! My lucky day!

I love the country french yet elegant look of this beautiful chair.  Again, it has a distressed natural wood finish to it and upholstered in a lovely neutral linen fabric.  Am not sure at this point exactly where it will find itself in the house, but I love it and that is how you are supposed to purchase items for your home.  If you love it, you will find a place for it.  I don't think anybody would guess I paid $150 for it! 

It has been a very exciting weekend.  So much work has been done to the house already and it is amazing to see the progress.  At this point, work consists primarily of demolition but with that the potential of the space is realized.  I honestly think it is going to be even better than I had imagined!

First task at this point at the request of my contractor is to choose flooring.  The majority of the house is hardwood flooring which will be repaired and refinished to perfection.....how lovely!!  However the bathroom and the kitchen had vinyl flooring which I need to replace.  I had considered different types of tile and then cork flooring....but then made a trip to Curtis Carpets to peruse options and came across something that really caught my eye.

I am going for a beach inspired coastal feeling for the bathroom.....green for the walls - reminding me of the sea, crisp white towels and a white subway tile bath surround - reflecting the pure white hues of sea shells, and a natural coloured flooring reflecting the surface of sand and pebbles.  So for bathroom flooring, this is what I have decided on....and I think it is going to look fabulous!

Onto kitchen flooring....I wanted something a little bit more sophisticated yet keeping with a natural environment feeling.  The hues of colour in the kitchen will be stronger as it will range from dark chocolate brown to natural linen to crisp white with accents of glass and stainless steel.  Am very excited about this flooring choice and can't wait to see how it completes the room...

The texture and variation of this natural bamboo vinyl flooring is fabulous.  It will beautifully compliment the granite countertop and contribute to the warmth and comfort of my home.