Audrey's Room

Remember this post about Audrey's room?

Well, I have finally found a fabric scheme we can both agree on.  And it happened just in the nick of time since I need to choose paint colours for her room this week.

You see, we peeled back some of the wallpaper in her room and discovered some mould under the window areas. Surprise!!!!!

So Jay is going to repair the windows and clean up the mouldy business.  We are removing the wallpaper and skimming the walls too.  And I'm getting down to business in designing her room.


I was checking out fabric.com and came across these fabrics:

source

These fabrics are very Audrey.  She wants her room to be bright colours, specifically aqua.  

I want a more subdued palate that will grow with her when she's not so into neon colours anymore.  

She already has a couple accent pieces in the raspberry pink tone.  She also has a cream antique iron bed with chippy paint that I think would look great here.  

So here is my To-Do List for Audrey's room:

1.  Choose aqua paint for walls.

2.  Measure for curtains, shams, throw pillows, custom bench cushion and order fabric

3.  Get bed out of storage and clean it up.  See if it will work in it's original condition or if I need to paint it, etc.  

4.  Sew, sew, sew!

5.  Choose a rug for the space

If anyone has a paint colour suggestion, I'd love some help!

xo Meg

the Recap

What a crazy, wonderful weekend we had!  I'll run down the recap for you:

On Thursday, we got the keys to the new house!  We were all so excited and we walked over to look through and get down to business with the planning.  The kids played in their empty rooms and the overgrown backyard.  We picked out a paint colour for the living room/dining room, primed out the pink walls and got some sample pots from BM to try out some colours.  

We picked BM Natural Cream.  

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Then on Friday, we left for the cottage.  A little time on Cedar Beach is just what this family needed.  Jay has been working so much to try and wrap up a project with a really tight deadline.  It's meant we haven't seen much of him lately.  So, we spent the holiday swimming and kayaking,throwing around the football, and hanging in the hammock.  We got to see some of our big family: my aunt and uncle, my brother and his amazing kids, and my dad.  We all sat by the fire and drank too much wine till the wee hours.  It was  Canada Day perfection.  Exactly how I would wish to spend it.

Audrey and Avy in the hammock chair reading. (Sorry about the photo quality)

We returned (me a little sunburnt), on Saturday night after a tour of the antique store on the way home.  I didn't do much buying, only an aqua Mason jar with a perfect glass lid to store our beach glass in. I can never resist an old aqua Mason jar.  But we are rested and happy (especially the kiddos).

Sunday was spent painting the walls in the Living and Dining rooms and removing the cupboard doors and hinges in the kitchen.  We plan to paint out the kitchen in white and put on new pulls.  Since we have a large kitchen reno planned for phase two, we don't want to spend a lot or do too much work.  Just a coat of paint and a new pendant light will have to do for now.  I don't think I could stand it unless we painted it out.  Oh yeah, and the horrible floor tile backsplash is staying for now even though it might drive me insane.

In between these projects, I played a soccer game and Elliott played a soccer game and we had dinner at a friend's house last night.  Thank heavens for good friends who are willing to throw a couple extra sausages on the BBQ for us during this crazy time!  If they hadn't offered, I think we would have had cereal and peanut butter toast for dinner last night.  

I'm off to finish the second coat of paint in the Living and Dining room!

xo Meg

Big Changes

   We get the keys to the new house today.  I'm so excited about that but it's been a tough week around here.  I'm struggling with a few things in my regular life right now.  I know, nobody really wants to hear about your problems in blogland.  It's more about the pretty pictures.  

   I'll be pretty busy for a while just with the move and everything.  But I'll try to post because I really love this blogging thing.  And I will surely have loads of 'before' shots of the new place.

For now, I'll leave you with this pretty picture:

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I love the vintage details in this room - the wire wastebasket, the tiling, the amazeballs sink, the cute little vignette on the shelf.  Very well done...

xo Meg

Swimming Pool Dreaming

Today I went with Elliott's fifth grade class on a field trip to the local swimming pool.  

We are so lucky to have a beautiful neighbourhood swimming pool, complete with high diving board and shady areas for watching the children. We frequent Thames Pool, two blocks from our house, every summer.  Inevitably, we always meet up with some friends from the neighbourhood.

If I were to put in a pool in our new backyard, it would look just like this:

I know this image has made the rounds on the design blogs this spring.  I first tore the pages featuring this home out of Canadian House & Home in 2009.  It is, hands down, my favourite house.  The back yard is perfection and I love the casual shingle style home with aqua and red accents.  Casual, family friendly and laid back.

A pool would be really awesome for our family.  Elliott and Audrey are both avid swimmers, the kind of kids who swim for hours on end, even if their lips are blue.  They would love to have a pool in their own backyard.

I would maybe add this pool house too, with an outdoor shower and changing area.  Ah, summer... only two days of school left!

Only three days until we get possession of the new house.  

xo Meg

Purgin' and Packin'

Yep... still purgin' and packin'.  My house looks like an episode of hoarders.
I'd post pictures but nobody should be forced to look at that...

Instead, I'll post this photo of Jay and I attempting to move all our books. 

Like my socks?

Kidding, of course.  

But we do have a whole lotta books at our house.  I packed them into a jillion boxes last night.  Now I'm thinking about where I could sneak in a library wall in our new house.  I love the look of neatly organized books, especially if there's a sliding ladder too.

Beautiful Libraries.com via Pinterest

This one would do perfectly.  Schoolhouse lights, glossy black floor, little library room framed in gorgeous windows.  

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I love the worn texture of this room.  Comfy seating and that painting hung on the face of the shelves.

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Really, that green velvet curtain?  Stunning.  You can put a library anywhere.  Living room, family room, bathroom.....

This one is my favourite for so many reasons.  First off, you know I'm a total sucker for a built-in bench.  I love the charcoal wall and artwork, that swing arm lamp!, the mix of objets and books on the shelves.  Sophisticated yet cozy.  Love.  

  Hope you're doing something fun this weekend... instead of packing.

xo Meg

Wednesday Pick-Me-Up

house & home

So many things to love about this casual, comfortable space.  It's simple, understated and, well, real. The graphic black rocker, big fat lantern and leggy side table to name a few.  I would love to flop onto that slipcovered couch with my coffee and a good book.  

xo Meg

Dining Family Style

One of my favourite new house ideas is a banquette.  

I really love a banquette.  I always choose booth seating at a restaurant.  I love the cozy, comfortable feel of soft seating.  But I wonder, is it too casual to use in a space with only one dining area?  

This is technically a sofa pulled up to the table but the effect would be the same as a built-in banquette.  Can't you just picture a big group of friends cozy around the table with wine and delicious food and great conversation?

Eventually, I want to open up the space between the dining and kitchen areas.  I want an island in the kitchen with stools and a separate dining table. The kitchen faces the dining room, which has a beautiful leaded glass bay window in it.  I would love to build a pretty bench into the bay area.  But there is no other 'formal' dining room in the house.  

I should mention that we don't, in any way, live a formal life.  The people we invite to our table to share a meal with us usually also share in the prep work and bring their children.  We live in a very casual, informal way.  

I love the colour scheme and beachy feel of the above banquette.  I would always choose the window seat.

This one is pretty casual, more like a breakfast room.  I love the linen textiles and that amazing light fixture.

This nook perfectly represents what I would call 'my style'.  I might choose a slightly different colour scheme but the feel of the room is just right to me.  

And the feel of the room is what is important, right?  I don't want to live in a space with a bunch of rooms I don't actually use.  In fact, real estate in my neighbourhood simply doesn't allow for it.  And I have a big rectangular antique table that would look perfect pulled up to a banquette.

Think it's okay to live that informally?  Does a house need a formal dining space?  

xoMeg

{all images via my pinterest}