Are you ever done?

No seriously. For decor-addicts….that is the question on deck. Are you ever done? Is there ever a corner of your house you are not squinting at and thinking….. I can do better or do you catch yourself wondering if that new rug you bought for the kitchen wouldn’t look better over there…
Enter one of my favourite rooms to blog about, sweat over and redecorate again and again and again.The master bedroom. We have blown out walls, built closets, bought new and used furniture. I’ve painted and rehab’d pieces and have changed the drapes I think 4 times now. That being said, I think I’m done. No really. I think I may have finished.
Now, don’t get all excited and send me flowers just yet. I still have some linens to pick out for the bed and of course some accessories but you know, I think I AM DONE. Don’t tell my husband. I like him to live on the edge!!!!
So how did I get there finally? Believe it or not it was a stencil that pushed me over the cliff. I ordered an all over trellis stencil from Cutting Edge Stencils about 3 weeks ago. The shipping was quick and the product was great. I watched a few videos online at their site for tips and gathered my supplies. They say this is a ‘Beginner’ stencil and that’s pretty fair and accurate. It is easy to match the pattern and it goes up quickly. I used the trim paint to make sure it matched in the room.

Two words to the wise though….level + measure. A lot.
…and VOILA!

The other side of the room is jealous but I have some lovely accessorizing to do there etc. So he won’t be mad long



This room has had aqua, teal and now chocolate accents. It has been tie-dyed, floral, silky and strange. In the end it has turned out very neutral and I think very grown up. The colour story in this room is left to the wall colour (Cricket by Behr) and it does a nice job of keeping the room sophisticated. Like I said some linens and some art & accessories but ladies and germs….. I’m done.

So….from one crazy project to another!

I am closing in on the living room becoming the awesome Gamer’s Paradise I want it to be. I finally got my new rug from Overstock.com and it it great. Almost dog hair resistant. Almost.

The IKEA Poang chairs are awesome for gaming and I enjoy watching the guys pull them all over the house. NOT!
Started a new project tonight, but still playing with the details….more to come courtesy of Cutting Edge Stencils. I know, I know….I am never happy with the master bedroom

Had an early 43rd birthday night out with my girls this weekend. A nice snuggly Saturday with the menthings… ordering Chinese food instead of cooking and lazing around all day Sunday while starting the new painting project.
My ladies (partners in crime).

Next up….finish stencilling and start decorating for Christmas. OY VEY!

A little too late and some dollars short...

I know I am the last human decorating blogger out there to acquire some chevron in their life.....so as usual I will be bringing up the rear again. Ordered this little baby today from O.com. I got the 5.6 x 7.6 to settle in front of the slipcovered couch. The rubber backing means it wont become a sled with the boys riding it across the room. I ordered it in the Light Blue as my livingroom is Woodlawn Blue by Benjamin Moore.

I had scored some awesome deals at IKEA with my gift card that I won on the IKEA "Pin It to Win" contest. I bought some gaming chairs for the boys, decided against the slip cover in houdstooth and went with a canvas coloured one. I still have the "gold records on the wall"....but am picking away slowly at the gaming/office/livingroom.

Slowly.

Kinda like how much I have blogged in the last month. OY.

Some of the other tidbits added to the room are all from IKEA. Yes, I went over the $100 gift card :)

Stockholm cushions

Poang armchairs

Lack tables

I am now stuck on an overhead light in the room to replace the weirdo chandelier. Just keep Pinning, Just keep Pinning.....LOL

Release the hounds....

....tooth.

See, I am unhappy with the general Gramma vibe going on in the front livingroom where my menthings have claimed said area for all things gaming and PC. I want this room to be fun with a big 'F'.

So I see some funk coming to a loveseat or sofa near me soon...

The green machine in the foreground needs a sweater.

I am thinking something along these lines.....on sale at Sears for $150. Cheaper than new furniture and washable. Have I mentioned I have sons? That they have lots of friends? That boys are sticky in general?

What say the Divas of Design on this one?

The end of summer.......

Enjoy the photo of Quinn at Fire camp.

This is always a hard time of year for me. I am not in the "oooooh, let's decorate our fall mantle" camp. I am in the "why can't we have one more month between July and August" camp. I spent the weekend camping with my boys at a local quarry. Spring-fed waters at about 80 degrees, beach bumming, jumping off the cliffsides, campfires and smores, dancing in the evening hours, snuggling in the tent....I want more of that.

First day of school today. It comes so fast. One going into Grade 6 who reminded me that he had to have this kind of that and the right whatsits. The other one going into his Junior year at highschool, whom I had to remind to shave this a.m.

Whoosh.......that's the sound of summer. At least I have some beautiful memories and pictures to last me through till next year :)

I call it Dharmaritaville!

Man have we been spending our summer in the great outdoors that is our backyard. We’ve been making improvements in and around the new swimdeck and enjoying the space so much I think my friends and family are ready to call out a search party. I refer to my backyard as Dharmaritaville. I am the “Woman to Blame”
….name that reference.
When we put in the new swimdeck, we had a strip of grass leading from the interlocking brick to grass to steps. Boys + friends + kids parties all summer meant a lot of grass in the pool. So, on my trip up north to the cottage, Greg and I *rescued* (ahem, liberated) some flat black Muskoka granite from the lake and brought it home to put down a path.

Butcher knife, a hot day of Greg sweating it out and I now have this lovely little dealio. Ahhhh….much less grass and dirt in the pool. I was in charge of beverages.

After a few weeks of growth, it’s lovely.

But that’s not NEAR as exciting as my first ever estate auction that Greg and I attended here on Saturday morning. I felt like a fish out of water, getting my own paddle, but I persevered. The sale was at an old converted school house turned into an antiques barn. Oh……you would have loved it. I poked over the offerings and even spied a few things I thought were for me. The one and only thing I truly wanted I spied immediately upon walking up to the sale. A 1920s white wicker sofa. Be still my heart. I have seen others like it in much worse condition for hundreds of dollars. On my limited budget, I was sure she would be winking at me from the back of someone else’s truck bed as she sped into the distance.
Never fear, dear reader! I pursued and won my first ever auction item! $80 was my final bid and she winked at ME as we strapped her into our pickup!!!
Meet Savannah:

She needs a little stretcher repair but she is gorgeous! Screaming out for a beautiful set of cushions but I was so excited to nap on her, I rallied and found some odds and sods and quickly passed out Saturday afternoon for a 2 hour nap.


She is even Liam-Approved!

I did make him get off her immediately after this picture was taken though. MINE!

Winner, Winner, Swedish Meatball Dinner!

Imagine my surprise when I opened my email today and saw this little alert:

Congratulations! You are a winner in IKEA Canada's 'Pin & Win' Pinterest contest. You have won a $100 IKEA gift card to spend on any of your favourite IKEA items!

I have been excitedly waiting on the new catalogue for 2013 and have even downloaded it from the IKEA Canada site (HERE) The Pin & Win contest was a fluke for me, I just followed IKEA on Pinterest for all the new eye-candy :) Of course, I started pinning straight away.

So now I have $100 to spend thanks be to IKEA. I am thinking the boys need some cool loungey chairs for the new games room/ computer den combo we created this summer out of our formal livingroom. I'm thinking these:

IKEA PS VÅGÖ = $29.99 each. Loving that you can just hose them down. I have boys, yo. For those of you who think I will stick to the $100 budget, I would like you to call my house and assure my husband that this will be the case. :) It will make him feel better when I ask for the keys to the pickup.

DO NOT tell him I am also on the hunt for nightstands. That will be our little secret...mmmmkay? Thinking of these, sprayed silver.

Soon my lovely round morsels, soooooooon.