Family Room Design

Along with Elliott's room and bath on the lower level, we will also have a family room space.  We've been doing a lot of thinking about who will be using this space, and how.

   We don't really watch TV in our house - with the exception of hockey games (I'm so excited that hockey is back!).  

   We do watch movies occasionally, and Elliott plays video games with his friends. Jay and I will mainly use the living room on the main floor for relaxing and we have a smaller TV in our bedroom for Hockey Night in Canada on Saturday nights if the kids have friends over.

I think it's really important in a small space to determine the real use for each room.  If you don't have a lot of square footage, some rooms have to serve a dual purpose. You don't want to waste square footage on a room that gets little use.  We've put a great deal of thought into how this space will really be used.  The design plan follows that thought.

For example, the lower level will mainly be used by the kids and their friends for:

• Watching TV and Movies
• Playing, Singing Concerts and Dance Recitals
• Playing loud and obnoxious video games
• Family Games Night
• Harry Potter Movie Night with the whole family
• Occasional parties for sporting events (like the Stanley Cup)

Basically, nothing down there can be too precious and it all has to be stain resistant.  But I don't want it to look like a kids rec room.  Tricky, right?

There are also some things we already have for the space.  These things will need to fit into the new design and decorating scheme.  For instance, although I would now choose a different colour for the sectional, we have this one:

It's very beige.  But it's also very comfortable, well made, and it creates a ton of seating.  If you remember, we had to use it in our living room at our last house because it was too big to go down the stairs to the family room.  It's really perfect for our basement family room.  Except that it's very beige.  

I've been looking at some pinspiration (shocking, I know).  Here are some spaces that have a 'feel' I love for this area:

I am noticing a few themes:  rustic wood, white walls, a hit of jewel tone, etc.  I'm also noticing that black & white is added in all of the rooms I like.  For me, this modernizes the space a bit more.  After all, we're dealing with a completely different architecture with this home.  It's a 60's rancher so I'm needing to re-think my vintage design aesthetic.  

I would also be surprised if a wood stove like this didn't make an appearance too!

  The budget for this project will be mostly swallowed up by the actual construction of the rooms.  That means reusing and repurposing lots of items we already own.  I might splurge on a couple of cool framed posters I recently saw - not that they're much of a splurge.  There's also a vintage wooden Coca-Cola crate that's collecting dust in my parent's basement that I'm thinking of sneaking into my trunk while no one's looking.  

   I'm excited to get our things out of storage so I can actually see what we have.  It's been stored for so long that I hardly remember!  

xo Meg

Elliott's Bathroom

One of the first projects we'll be working on in the new year will be the lower floor of our brick ranch house.  Plans include a fab teen space for my boy, Elliott.  There will be a bedroom and bath, with a large walk-in shower for him.  We will be using some of the elements from his old room in his new digs but the bathroom isn't even constructed yet.

Our plans include:

•  a dark slate floor, perhaps laid in a herringbone pattern (if I can convince Jay)
• planking for the walls (if I can convince Jay)
• industrial-feel lighting
• a round mirror
• simple subway tile, most likely in white

Here are some bathroom spaces that I love.  

Here is a sample of the tile design I'm thinking of:

And here's my design plan:

Sources

1.  Brixton School Wall Clock

2. Gooseneck Light

3.  Grundtal Mirror

4. Hand Towels

5.  Pretty Clever Typography Quote

6.  Wood Shelves from our leftover barn board

7.  Coiled Rope Laundry Basket

I'm going with a pretty simple look - mainly charcoal and white - with some warm wood accents so it doesn't feel cold.  I haven't found a vanity yet.  Possibly a repurposed dresser would work.  Or perhaps something with simple lines that's sprayed gray.  Let me know if you have any suggestions!

xo Meg

Bring it, 2013

    Like every other blogger, I thought I'd share with you my goals and dreams for 2013.  I've even found a mantra for this year.  Yesterday, I reflected on all the changes that happened in our life in 2012, and I'll admit, it made me a little sad.

   I'm not sure why:  maybe it's because I was looking back at pictures of our old home.  The one that I loved so very much.  Or maybe it's because change can be so scary.  I feel like I'm really out on a limb right now.  Moving house, making new friends in our new neighborhood, making some career advancements, etc.  These are all risks for me. And I'm afraid of failing, just like anyone.  Sometimes I just like to 'turtle', as we like to call it around here.  (please picture a turtle pulling it's head back into it's shell here). That's part of what I'm trying to work on.  But it's pretty tough for me sometimes.

   As far as goals and dreams go, I have some personal goals, blogging goals, parenting goals and home goals.  I'll start with something easy:

Home Goals

Our new house needs tons of work.  This means lots of photos and before/after posts.  I'm looking forward to being creative and designing the space in a whole new direction.  These are the things we know about at this point:

check out my pinterest board for Elliott's Room & Bath

Basement Reno:  this includes a new bedroom and bath for Elliott, as well as a family room and laundry room.  This is the very first thing we'll be working on once we take possession because the third bedroom on the main floor is pretty small for Elliott ( like 8'x9').  It will function as our home office once we move Elliott downstairs.  We desperately need a home office too.

not my house, sherry's via BHG

 

Exterior Repairs & Reno: our ranch has some foundation issues.  It needs a crack repair, parging and some of the bricks around the garage need re-pointing.  This work isn't glamorous but it is necessary. We also have some pretty big curb appeal plans.

Kitchen Overhaul:  I will go into more detail about this once I have photos to show you.  The kitchen was badly renovated 5 years ago.  We will be re-using some of the existing cabinetry but moving it around and replacing the doors.  We will also be putting a wall back in, changing out lighting, etc.  More details to follow on this one.

my ranch home inspiration pinboard

Dining Room Nook:  I think I have mentioned how much I love a banquette for dining.  We are finally going to build and install one at this house.  We kind of have to, since the dining room is so small.

I'll have a better grasp on these goals once we actually have keys.  I'm looking forward to showing you some pictures of our new space.

Blogging Goals

I would like to work on a post schedule for the blog, and also do an aesthetic overhaul this year.  I would also like to improve the quality of the photographs I post here.   Blogging is like a journal to me and I have been surprised by how much I've enjoyed connecting with other bloggers,  Again, I tend to turtle in social situations where I really have to put myself out there. But I want to push myself out of my comfort zone a bit.

Personal Goals

As original as this one is, I'd like to work on having better eating habits, exercising and shedding a few pounds.  What?  You've heard of this New Year's resolution before???

My plan is to complete tabata workouts at home 3 times weekly and go for a run three times weekly.  The food thing is tough for me, as I truly love food.  I am aiming for fewer calories and better nutritional value.

There you have it.  I try not to put too much pressure on myself with things like resolutions.  But writing them down does make me feel a little more accountable.

Happy 2013 to you!
xo Meg

A Year In Review

2012 was a big year around here. While I was putting together my recap, I came across my posts from last year at this time.

   I don't know if you remember this post.

It is about the accident that changed things in our life.  The day the transport truck sideswiped our car on the highway, leaving us all miraculously unharmed. 

I was terrified by this accident.  Even though I am aware that the outcome could have been so much worse. Even though I am aware of just how lucky we were. The accident sparked us to make several big changes in our life.  The changes included renovating and selling our home, moving everything into storage and searching for a new, smaller home for our family.

Here is a quick look at the renovations:

 

AUDREY'S ROOM | HALLWAY & STAIRS | LANDSCAPING  | EXTERIOR PAINTING | KITCHEN RENOVATION

We worked really hard on these projects and I think that helped us to work through all the change and upheaval.  I feel so optimistic about 2013.  These accomplishments and the changes we've made in our life have all been so great.  I feel like we're finally on the right track.  But there are still more changes to come for us.

 In just a couple of weeks, we move into our new home and begin to renovate it.  I can't wait to get to work in there.  To carve out spaces that fit the way we live our lives and to make the space our own.  I have so much to share with you! 

xo Meg

Christmas Update

 

I have been missing my little blog this holiday season.  We have been busy with activities and life; and packing and organizing. 
   Last year, I thought I'd participate more in the holiday link parties and festive goodness this year.  Our temporary home isn't a hovel by any stretch of the imagination, but our holiday decorating has been a little *ahem* understated this year.  It has been hard for me to really get into the spirit of the season.

this is jen's tree.  mine is too ugly to post

   But I'm feeling festive this week.  I'm so looking forward to the long stretch of holidays that my family is taking (starting on Friday!!!).  I am especially looking forward to the skating and hot chocolate date that our family always has on Christmas Eve.  Maybe even more so this year, since I won this fabulous giveaway from Hat Attack over at Shorely Chic. 



(hope i look as cute as she does in my new fisherman knit accessories!)

We have been sipping on lots of hot chocolate over here at my house.  And I even made this Pinterest craft for some of my co-workers.

 

 

I also made Toblerone Fudge this weekend.  My sisters-in-law are big fans and I make it for them every year.  It always makes me happy that they love it so much.  Especially since this year two of them are expecting babies so they deserve as much fudge as they want to eat. 

 

 

(it's a Kraft recipe, pic from here)

 

I won't wax poetic about why I haven't been a very active blogger lately.  This blog is an outlet for me and a source of joy.  I just haven't had a whole lot to say lately.  I do keep up on my blog reading though. 

 

I wish you all a happy holiday season and the Merriest of Christmases!

 

xo Meg

 



Inspiration and Audrey's Room Fabic

I am feeling so inspired and excited about moving into our new house!  I have been trolling pinterest for ranch home inspiration and am working on pulling together schemes and design plans for each space.  It's tricky because we have too many furnishings to fit into the house so I'm doing a lot of editing.

Remember this mood board for Audrey's Room?

Well, yesterday I tweaked it and ordered the inspiration fabric.  It's Robert Allen's Kiki in Pinata.

Here's the revised version of the mood board:

Once the fabric comes in, I'll be able to select the colour to paint that bed we found on the side of the road.  We'll be using the turquoise/aqua colour most likely.

Danielle also used this fabric in Emory's big girl room.  Here's a picture of that so you can see how Danielle rocked it.  We are doing one long lumbar pillow for the bed in Kiki and using the bright colour palate for the rest of the room.

Cute, right?

Hopefully all this inspiration leads to more regular blog posting.  I've really been missing my blog but I just haven't felt much like writing with everything that's been going on.  Thank you for sticking with me, friends.

xo Meg

Ranch House Here We Come!

Yesterday we completed the home inspection on our new home.  There were a few surprises on the exterior of the home that will require a little extra expense to fix.  But other than those few things, things are looking good for moving forward with the property. 

This home is considerably smaller than the homes we've lived in before.  And so very different!  I think both these things are good for us right now.  It seems like we simply don't have enough time to take care of an older, large home.  There was just always so much to do to maintain it.  This was one of the reasons we made the decision to sell our big old home this fall. 

That being said, the layout of our new house looks something like this:

 It's well laid out for our family but it will require some new storage and organization solutionsin order to work for us.  And we'll be selling/donating a whole bunch more furniture. 

First up, the 'tiny bedroom' on the main floor will be converted into a music room/office, as it's the only place that we can put Audrey's piano. Additionally, the kitchen will need an overhaul. It's in good shape and is newer, but it's not a style I love so we will definitely be making lots of changes there.

 Elliott really, really wants a bedroom and lounge space in the basement.  He's 12 now and just wants a cool space he can go with his friends and play the xbox in peace.  I am ok with this as we are completely renovating the lower level and the windows are actually above ground level down there.  I'm choosing to think about fire safety, rather than a  teenager sneeking-out here.  I'll post more about this phase of the reno another day, when we have it more sorted out.  It's likely the first thing we will be completing once we have posession.

We are going to live with the home in its current footprint for a while.  We want to see how it works for our family before we decide on the additional renovations (if any) we will want to do.  I would like for the small space to work for us but I just don't know if it's possible.  The home is on an amazing lot, on a great street so we would consider an addition like this:

(I forgot to label the bathroom in these graphics - it's the small rectangle in the middle)

 

This small change gives us a little more breathing room.  But we haven't made a decision yet. We want to see how the house works in it's current state before we decide to renovate.

 

So there you have it.  I'll probably post a few pictures of the house once we have signed off.  We get the keys in late January, so I have lots of time to dream, plan and organize!  If you have seen an awesome 60's ranch renovation online, send me the details.  I'd love to see what other people are doing to modernize them.  

I know all my American friends are preparing to celebrate the things they're thankful for this weekend.  And there really are so many things to be thankful for, aren't there.  We celebrated here in Canada a few weeks ago - I hope you all get to enjoy some family time with the people who are important in your life. Happy Thanksgiving to you!

xo Meg