Sneak Peek: Mid Century Credenza

Remember when I posted about those free chairs?
I spy with my little eye, something that is awesome... right there... behind them!

Those cabinets/credenzas were rescued by my boss a year or so ago, and have been languishing by the back door since then. They are just too great to throw away, but alas, no one had time to spend on them... until me.

I Love Lamp: Pineapple Express

Thanks, Value Village!
I picked up these lamps months ago and then did nothing with them.

Sneak Peak: Matched Set

Hello.
My name is Pat and I am a chair-a-holic.

Yes, people. I've done it again. I brought home more chairs.
If you recall, I brought these diamonds in the rough home a couple of years ago.

Today, my boss, knowing my affliction for the prop, informed me of three such specimens behind our building. My boss is officially my favorite person today.

DIY: Copper Cabinet Hardware

The next item to tackle on my long house list is cleaning. 

Specifically, the original wood cabinets and copper hardware.

If you need a reminder on what this vintage kitchen looks like, click here.

New House: 1966 Time Capsule

We absolutely loved our last home, which was a big brick Victorian farmhouse built in 1874. It was stunning, and it was where this blog was born.

Our new adventure begins with a move to the other side of the country and a new and vastly different type of home. We bought a 1966 time capsule. We love the vibe and many of the original features, but there are definitely many upgrades that need to be done.

In My Wheele House Turns 4!

Time certainly has flown by.

What started as a way to a) satisfy my DIY urges and b) fill our very large but empty house with furniture has turned into something of an archive of our time here.

So how did it start... with a disgusting, dusty, broken ottoman.

Seriously, gross. BUT, with a little hard work, a lot of coats of red paint, and an awesomely bold pattern, I was able to turn it into something quite wonderful.

I love this 'after' shot because you can see how empty our place still is at this point.
No rug, no artwork, no lighting. Sad really.

Over the past 4 years, that ottoman has seen its share of love.
Greyson still claims his little spot of sun whenever he can.

Then came along this little bundle of trouble...
Which lead us to my very first ottoman cleaning post.

The ottoman was a coffee table, an extra seating spot, a perfect vignette base, and so many others.

It has been a wild 4 years with many changes. I wonder what projects and adventures will fill the next 4?

Mini Dresser for My Mini dresser

My neighbour put this out before garbage day a few months again.

I thought it had potential, so I brought it home.

It is a night stand, but I thought I could use it in Millie's room.

Product Testing: New Use for Olive Oil

You might have heard of using olive oil for a wide variety of uses from polishing stainless steel to conditioning leather to (and this might be the weirdest,) cooking!

Well, I might have come up with a new use...

Real Estate: Good Bones

This gorgeous home for sale in my neighbourhood is fabulous. Oh, what I would do with the decor on this one. Having said that, they did a great job making this 1890 brick Victorian a blank slate for its new owners but kept all of the magically things that make it unique.

Check it out, Click here!

With a little light landscaping, the curb appeal of this gorgeous facade went up ten-fold.

Mission Chair: Reversible Reveal

The sneak peak for this project was 3 weeks ago. I finally put the finishing touches on this Mission style chair. To check out its sad story, check out the blog post, Chairpalooza.

Before it was in pretty rough shape, but the bones of it were still in great condition.

After, it turned out pretty fantastic. Grey-dog agrees.
So, how did I get from the sad chair to this gem?

Awesome Interiors: The Collector

This years Ottawa Magazine: 2013 Interiors Edition came out, and yet again, it did not disappoint.

There was one particular article that caught my eye, however. It was called "The Collectors".

The description reads:
"Baseball cards. Butterflies in shadow boxes. Vintage couture. What is is about collectors and their collections? What objects do they pursue and why? Five gatherers discuss their flights of fancy". By Cindy Deachman

Classic Car Show: Details

Its all in the details.
Classic car manufacturers really understood this while still paying attention to sleek lines.
It was so influential, in fact, that the streamline-deco that we all love so much was influenced by the early transportation designs; planes, trains, and automobiles.

Last night, I had the opportunity to meet up with friends, Jeff & Helen of heLENS photography at the Hazeldean Mall's Tuesday classic car show. It also gave me a chance to use my new-ish phone yet again.
I gotta say, I am super impressed with it's photo feature.

I decided to concentrate on the details, with a couple of full car photos here and there. This one in particular was taken for Hubby since he loves the rat-rod. I gotta admit, there is something charming about the rust.

It is also important to point out that none of these photos have been retouched, cropped, or photoshopped in any way (except the watermark). I really wanted to show how impressive my phone is. What is the phone, you ask? Oh, well let me tell you! It is a Nokia Lumia 920 (Windows phone). No this isn't an advertisement... but maybe it should be. *wink, wink, Nokia....

Renovation: Victorian in Powell River

A few years ago, I was visiting my parents in Powell River. Their friend, Victoria, lived across the street, and was renovating a home exactly like their house. The area is called, 'the Old Townsite', and the style of home is found throughout the area. According to the Powell River Historical Site, this architecture was defined as 'the street facing gable'.

There is a fairly good chance that the second house in this photograph is my parents home, about 100 years ago. My Mom can confirm...

This house, however, is absolutely the one across the street.
Victoria and Steve had passed by this house many times, always feeling that one day they would buy it and renovate. One day, it went up for sale, and so they seized the opportunity. Of course, this is not the condition that the house was in the day they bought it...