april update, fur babies, and a single bed frame with french provincial night stand

Last month was a busy month getting a jump on cleaning up our yard after winter (between MANY rain showers), pruning trees, weeding flower beds, and getting veggies started indoors for our first vegetable garden.

April also brought a quick visit with my dad and his wife who generously delivered some old furniture from my grandparents' basement (all to be refinished some day), and a visit with my mom and her partner over the Easter weekend.

Oh yes and there was a weekend trip to visit family as well!  We visited with my sister and her partner, celebrated a friend's bday, headed up for lunch with my dear gramma and one of my aunts, and last but not least, took Matt on a walking tour of one of my favorite old neighbourhoods where I lived for several years.

In addition to visits with family, a week in April was spent doggy-sitting Karma, our tenants' lovely Louisiana Catahoula Leopard Dog (have I mentioned we have a cat?).  Twas an interesting week...but if our kitty Yasha could talk, I'm sure she'd have choicer words to describe it!  It was a great experience overall and Karma and Yasha took big steps toward becoming friends..or at least being the in the same room together peacefully!  Here are pics of the fur babies:

Yasha

Karma (cuddling with Matt)

Despite the April busyness I did manage to refinish a few pieces of furniture to finally share with you today.  As you can see, this photo shoot took place on our back deck as I currently don't have a good place to set up a bed frame in our house. 

Although these cute little pieces didn't originally come together, they share similar lines and in my opinion, look great together as a set (they will however be available for purchase separately as well).

If you're interested in these pieces, please click here for measurements and pricing.  Update:  *SOLD*

before:

xo Tanya

a pain in the neck...and a change

Hello!  My apologies for the long absence!  I've been nursing a very sore neck/back for a good month or so but am almost as good as new (provided I ensure to listen to my body from now on instead of pushing it as per usual).  Once my back started to feel better I started tackling the long overdue task of painting our family room/kitchen area (that doesn't qualify as 'pushing it' does it?).  The whole area was a rust/brick colour...not our colour at all and made the room feel very dark. 

new colours:

before:

Painting is going well and phase 2 is almost complete: phase 1 = 'Anjou Pear' by Benjamin Moore (left) in the family room, phase 2 = 'Coastal Path' (right) in the kitchen.  Phase 3 will be painting the kitchen cabinetry 'Mascarpone' (middle).  I'll post before and after pics once the project is complete in case you'd like to take a look.

What a difference it's made so far!  But wow, I hadn't painted a room in years and forgot how much work it is with all the taping off, patching and edging.  COMPLETELY worth the effort though.  I can't believe I waited a year!  But it really takes living in a space for a while for me to hum and haw and make bigger decisions like paint colour.

Are you procrastinating on painting some rooms in your own house?  If so, I highly recommend getting it over with...one wall at a time!

xo Tanya

black antique double headboard

Remember the black antique bed frame that I completed for my mom in Victoria a short time ago?  Well, she has decided not to use the foot board after all.  It's almost the same size as the headboard (just a tad shorter) and will make a great headboard on its own.  It is now up for sale and is located in VICTORIA.  Please click here or on the For Sale tab above for measurements and pricing.  Update:  *SOLD*

 

round cottage kitchen table

Happy New Year!  I hope you all had a wonderful holiday season with your family and friends.  As expected, mine was full of great visits and lots of wonderful food and bevies ;)  I headed to my home town to be with my family and old friends...and not surprisingly, came home with some furniture from the side of the road (a fabulous black iron patio table with 2 chairs...and a work bench which was on my 'to buy' list!).

Last April I refinished this super cute round cottage kitchen table for our home.  Since then we've acquired a new old table that we're using...until I refinish it...and likely sell it because I've found another one!  

I've given the top a fresh coat of creamy white paint so it's as good as new again.  I never did take a before picture of this piece but it's from the 70's, is made from hardwood (maple I think) and it previously was a medium coloured stain with a glossy finish.  Update:  I was wrong, I DO have a before pic!  Added below.

If you're interested in purchasing this table, please click here or on the For Sale tab above for measurements and pricing.  Update:  *SOLD*

before:

black french provincial desk

This sweet little desk had been hanging around my house waiting to be refinished for quite some time (I starting having visions of refinishing it for our bedroom!).  Alas, it found a home along with the vintage wooden crates and shabby chic shelf for a client to give as Christmas gifts to her little sweeties.  I lined the drawers with the same cute polka dot paper I'd used on a few other pieces for her.  The desk will be used by a girl and boys, so I replaced the swirly vintage pulls with simple black metal knobs.  (Forgive the pics...low natural light these days. ugg.)

before:

vintage wooden crates

I tracked down these vintage creates to use as shelving for a client for her boys' room.  I scrubbed them down and sealed them with water-based varnish.  They're versatile and can be arranged on the wall similar to how they're stacked with space between for additional shelf area...or can be hung on their sides as bins for toys or larger books.  I love the old mandarin orange labels on them from the 70's...Oh the days when packaging use to be sturdy and reusable!

shabby chic shelf

This cute solid wood shabby chic shelf was a find for my client's little girl's room to match the antique high boy dresser, antique bed frame and antique french provincial side table.  I painted and distressed it, and added glass knobs to match those on the dresser and side table.  Keep your eyes peeled for more cute shelving to come...lots of fun ideas brewing.

before: