I tried to think of a clever title for this post but came up blank because essentially, I’m just here today to share some of our dining room updates that I’ve yet to blog about.
Not too long ago, our dining room was looking like this…
dining room, easter, entryway, Family Room, Home & Garden, kitchen, Living Room, Seasonal & Holiday, spring
Hoppin’ to it! Spring décor.
I can’t believe Spring is just around the corner! It seems like I was just putting away the Christmas decorations yesterday (don’t worry, I wasn’t). But, here we are anyway.
So, to celebrate the upcoming season and arrival of Peter Cottontail, I did a little Spring decorating. Nothing major, but enough to brighten up our place and add a little ‘spring’ to my step (groan, did I really just go there?) Of course I did.
In the kitchen I added some cheer behind the sink in the form of this awesome free printable and a little Spring cyclamen.
Come on, you know you are singing it now… #sugarhillgang
Look at my little cyclamen bud about to open up. So cute.
And no, I did not match my counter spray and dish soap to my Spring décor… but how awesome is it that they match!? It’s the little things people.
In the family room (off the kitchen) the fireplace mantel is teeny tiny (ahem, non existent). BUT, I still added a bit of Easter to it.
I displayed a little ceramic bunny and grabbed a light pink candle from my stash. To Easterfy it further I added some pom pom fringe that I had left over from my Christmas Craft Night candle holder craft. Don’t they look like little fluffy bunny tails?
Beside those is a picture of my sister Tanya. She passed away a few years ago so I always like to have her out and smiling at me.
Next to the photo I have another great free Easter printable.
I love these picture frames with the clips. I got them at Real Canadian Superstore a few years ago. The front slides out and I can easily swap out the art inside. I used them in Chace’s room at our last house but I’ve yet to give his room any real personality (Mom guilt – it’s on “the list”) so for now they are up for grabs and have come in handy on my thin mantels.
Beside the bunny print I have a ‘sister’ candle that Tanya gave me.
And, looking up I have some more pom pom trim which I strung up as a whimsical banner. Little bunny tails everywhere!
In the living room we have another fireplace. This one has a larger mantel so I have a bit more flexibility here.
I went pretty simple here too and just used what I had.
On the left I used some white ‘bark’ vases and paired them with a pretty green glass vase/pot.
I framed yet another printable (I’m a sucker for free art).
A pretty (looking and smelling) candle sits beside this print. And I love the lid that came with. Adorable!
Last but not least is another pot/bowl. I love the subtle honey comb detailing on this one.
Another area that got a bit of Easter love is one of the end tables in the living room. I simply added some faux eggs to a glass vase and put them beside my gold tree bark lamp. Because every tree bark lamp needs a vase of fake eggs (obvs).
Back in January I shared how I decorate in the “off season” using our entry as an example. The entry table got a little bowl/platter of these eggs too!
Hippity Hoppin’, Easter’s on its way! Anyone else infused a little Spring or Easter at their place?
Stay in touch and follow along…
When we moved, our old hutch did not fit our new dining area. Our new house has a nook where the cabinet would logically go and our old cabinet was a few inches too wide and had doors that opened out to the side. So, not a good fit – literally.
The hunt was on for a replacement and logically I turned to my good friend Craigslist. This is the tale of how I transformed an old china hutch that was dated and drab into something updated and crisp.
Not to spoil the fun or anything, but this is how it looks now….
bathrooms, bedrooms, dining room, entryway, Family Room, Garden, guest room, Home & Garden, kitchen, Living Room, office, playroom, rec room
Settling in
bathrooms, bedrooms, dining room, entryway, Family Room, Garden, guest room, Home & Garden, kitchen, Living Room, office, playroom, rec room
So this happened
We bought a house. Specifically, this one.
Backing up a bit, we really enjoyed our townhome but it was time for a change. More space, more privacy and NO strata. We wanted to move before Chace got older as we didn’t want to change his little world mid-grade three (he just finished Kindergarten). So, we made the leap and listed our townhome.
The good news is that it sold in a day – with three offers which created a bidding war. The bad news, we didn’t have anywhere to move to! The market in our area dictated this plan of attack as places for sale were going into multiplle offers and if you had “subject to sale of our place” in your offer, you might as well not even bother.
Long story short after a few panic attacks from me and some serious market stalking, we purchased the above home which met most things on our wish list. We did have to compromise on a few things but we ended up with a few bonus things that more than made up for it.
We take possession this Saturday! I couldn’t wait to share with you all though so here are the photos from the listing (as we saw it). I also put together a little floor plan of each level. They won’t be completely accurate as I was going off memory and the specs on the listing sheet, but you will get the idea I’m sure!
Main level:
entry
living room
dining/living room
dining room
kitchen – what will Chef Kev dream up here?
kitchen/family room
family room
(future) playroom!
powder room
laundry
Here is the main floor layout to give you an idea of where these spaces are in relation to one another…
top level:
looking down towards the front entry
master bedroom
master bathroom
the other two bedrooms (Chace’s and a spare – TBD which is which!). We’re going to let Chace choose on moving day.
“Bonus room” – future craft room/office area
top floor bathroom
top floor floorplan…
basement/lower level
Down here is where we encountered one of the ‘compromises’ as mentioned above. Part of the basement is a suite which we were not looking for. However, we decided since we have more than enough space at the moment, we will leave it ‘as is’ for now and renovate in the future to make it our dream recreation room space – complete with wet bar and a bedroom/bathroom on that level. The income from the suite will allow us to do some of the updates a little sooner than we otherwise would have been able to.
First up, the current recreation room (on our side)…
And here is the suite which consists of a living space, kitchen, bedroom and bathroom (I don’t have a photo of the kitchen though).
Here is the baseement floor plan to help you visualize how it all works together…
Last but not least, our backyard. This was another area where we had to compromise. We had dreams of a large backyard but reality told us that the house we wanted, with a big yard, was not in our budget. The fact that this particular house had been nicely updated, was in a great neighbourhood, backed onto a greenbelt and (total bonus) was only a few houses away from the elementary school that Chace will attend made us decide this was the one.
Oh, and did I mentinon that the school is adjacent to a huge park which has an awesome playground and walking trails. We figured our ‘yard’ was steps away so we were covered.
We have big plans for this small space. For the whole house actually. But, we will save and tackle each project as our budget permits and I will happily post about the journey here if you’d like to follow along 🙂
the backyard…
Hello
I'm Elaine. A graphic designer, mommy, wife and blogger. I have trouble sitting still and am always looking for a project. Follow along as I post about life – in a pretty and creative way of course.