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).

So, there you have it! If you need me you can find me unpacking, orgnanizing or skipping down our new street. There’s a new girl in town…

Stay in touch and follow along…

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Our kitchen chairs needed a serious upgrade. The fabric was SO dingy, dirty and stained. Ugh. I have no idea why I don’t have a close up photo of them as I am positive I took one, but you can sort of see what I mean here.

Chace eats his breakfast at this table every morning and the spills and stains that come from a toddler to child have taken their toll on these little chairs. Time for a refresh!

The main thing I wanted here was a fabric that looked like an indoor fabric, but was really an outdoor one. I wanted something that could stand up to the dirt and spills that are inevitable with a five-year-old.

The winner? This amazing outdoor fabric called “Secret Gate – Pewter” from Tonic Living. It’s an awesome gray/cream lattice pattern – now the title makes sense right? I only needed one yard so at $15.95/yd this was an inexpensive upgrade. My favourite kind!

Now, the chairs look like this…

I had never reupholstered anything before but my friend Natalie had, so she came up to help me. It’s not an overly hard process but with the stapling and pulling the fabric taught that is involved, it’s great to have a second set of hands. Natalie’s help was invaluable! She’s got a really good eye too for keeping things straight and uniform.

First, we unscrewed the seats from the chairs. The screws were easily accessible on the bottom.

Then, we draped the fabric to see what layout we liked the best.

After we had decided on one, we used a few T-pins to hold the fabric in place. These will come out later.

Flipping the cushions over, we started with the corners, making sure they were pulled good and tight.

We used a staple gun to secure the fabric to the chair cushion base.

Then we continued around the cushion, pulling the fabric taught and securing it in place with staples.

When we were done, it looked pretty much like this. Not the prettiest ‘finish’ but since no one looks under a chair, I think it’s okay. I may try to finish it off a bit cleaner but to be honest, it’s been this way for a few months now and isn’t bothering me too much.

We removed the T-pins, and then draped the next cushion to match.

T-pinning that in place, we repeated the whole process.

We screwed the finished cushions back on to the chair frames and..

DONE!

I love how the chairs now look updated. The fabric is modern, fresh and fun. And stain resistant!

You would never know it’s an outdoor fabric by looking at it would you?

And it looks great when looking down on it through the glass table top too.

Overall I’m so pleased with how they turned out.

It’s amazing how a simple and inexpensive upgrade can yield such a high-end look. Talk about ‘bang for your buck’!

Have you ever tackled any reupholstering before? How did you finish the bottom of the chair if so? Any experience bringing an outdoor fabric inside?

    

See what I did there? ‘art’ instead of ‘heart’. Ahh… never mind.

But speaking of art, that’s the topic of today’s post!

Not long ago, I shared Chace’s new bedroom dresser that I scored for cheap on Craigslst and refinished with chalk paint. It replaced two dressers that were along that wall. Originally we used the dressers as a diaper change station as well (see that here). A few years ago I created some cute robot art that hung above one of the dressers.

Well, now that Chace is WAY past the diaper stage (ThankYou.ThankYou.ThankYou) and we have a new sheriff dresser in town, the babyish robot art wasn’t quite working anymore.

Hi little guy. Bye little guy.

Hello new gallery wall for my budding five-year-old artist!

I was originally thinking I might put some quirky animal prints up on this wall but when I came across these picture frames last week I quickly changed my focus. Chace comes home with new art daily (which I love) and I had been thinking it would be nice to find a way to feature it. So when I spotted these frames that were made for interchanging art I quickly scooped four of them up.

They open easily at the top and have an affixed bulldog clip to make switching out art really easy (which I will detail below). The frames are from Real Canadian Superstore.

But first I needed to hang them. I knew I wanted to centre them above the dresser so I started by measuring the dresser length: 64″. Then I measured the width of each frame: 11.75″. I had four frames so had a combined frame width of 47″. Subtracting 47″ from 64″ I was left with 17″. I divided that by 5 (I wanted equal spacing between each frame and also on the left and right) and was left with 3.4″.

I grabbed my laser level and aimed it across the wall at a height of 68″. As a general rule the middle of artwork should be about 5′ from the ground. Since my frames are 15″ tall I added half of that height – 7.5″ – to five feet (60″) and then just rounded up half an inch to 68″.

Then I marked the wall based on my math.

To hang them, I used my trusty Command picture hanging strips from 3M which I have blogged my love for in the past (no, this post is not sponsored I am just obsessed with this product). I seriously wish I had invented these. I also removed the screws on the back of the frames so that they would sit flush to the wall.

To easily place the art inside, the frame opens in the front by lifting the top edge which slides out the sheet of plexiglass.

Genius!

Then I had Chace choose four pieces of art and clipped each one in.

The bulldog clip is attached to the back of the frame which makes switching art a really easy process – I don’t even have to take the frame off the wall!

And then I simply hung them all up.

As for what art Chace chose? I’m glad you asked.

First up we have a daycare project which asked Chace what he wanted to be when he grew up. The answer, “a chef’! I guess he was inspired to be like daddy – ChefKev.

Next we have a picture that Chace drew for me. Inspired by his love of the show Cake Boss, Chace drew me a dog cake with a candle in it and a heart. Picture Perfect! That’s how we roll BAYBEE! (that was Buddy talking incase you weren’t sure).

Following that we have a colourful Octopus and some 8’s – a workbook page that Chace brought home from daycare.

And last but not least we have a cute clover. May the luck of the Irish be with us.

As Chace creates new art that he wants to feature, we simply swap one out!

And Chace is pretty proud of his new gallery wall. I’d even go so far to say he ‘arts’ it. See what I did there again?

Any new art creations in your home? Do you have a gallery wall or special spot for displaying children’s art? I think this has seriously given the fridge a run for its money.

You may recall my recent main floor powder room refresher where I took her from chocolate to vanilla…

    

Chace’s bedroom (see it here) is in a bit of a transition. Although I love his current bedroom, he is growing faster than my dog runs when she hears her treat jar open (FAST!) so his needs are changing. And as with most rooms, space is at a premium.

After recently refreshing our family room and kitchen area, our chocolate brown bathroom – located just off the family room- looked ridiculously dark and out of place.