Back to Suburbia (Temporarily)

Unfortunately you read that correctly.  We have temporarily moved back to the suburbs.  Don't worry, we haven't sold our house or anything...but we did kind of rent it out.  You see, one thing I haven't mentioned is that the top floor of our house is a separate apartment that we have rented out since day one.  Our upstairs tenants let us know that after two years, they were purchasing their own house and would be moving out.  We decided that we wanted to get started on renovations upstairs and in the attic, so it would make sense for us to move upstairs and rent out the ground floor.  We began the process of renting out the ground floor and found amazing tenants right away!  Unfortunately, the plans of our upstairs tenants were delayed a bit...which put is in a conundrum.

We decided that since we have a place to move to temporarily (the in-law suite in my parents place where we lived for the first year of our marriage), we would let our upstairs tenants stay a while longer and we would move...twice.  So for two months, we are back in the suburbs....sigh.

The good news is, come fall, we will have a whole new floor of the house to tackle.  We're spending the summer planning some renovation projects, picking paint colours, and refinishing some great pieces of vintage furniture we've picked up.  Still...it was not easy to leave our beautiful ground floor, especially after all the work we put into it.  Now, it's a blank slate for our lovely new tenants:

Yup, we even re-painted the Living and Dining Rooms.  We'd been toying with the idea of an off-white for a while and when out new tenants asked for a lighter colour, we went for it.  We chose Benjamin Moore's OC-46, Halo.

I realized we haven't even had a chance to share the other rooms on the ground floor, so over the next while we'll be sharing the rest of the ground floor tour...even though someone else is living there now :(

In the meantime, we're trying to make the best of life in the 'burbs...going for lots of walks (even though there's nothing interesting to look at) and exploring the area by bike, which is something neither of us have really done before, even though we both grew up in the area.

Sigh...just 8 1/2 more weeks...

La Pièce de Résistance

Last week on Citify I mentioned that we had installed what I consider to be 'La Pièce de Résistance' in our Living Room. Did you spot it? Well, it's the new light fixture. It may sound strange, but finding a light fixture for this room has been a pretty big challenge. You see, there were many requirements that said fixture had to fill:

• it had to be light since there is no electrical box to attach it to (originally there would have been a gas fixture here, it was converted to an electrical fixture later by poking some wires through the centre of the plaster medallion)
• it had to have a small ceiling plate so as to not cover too much of the plaster medallion
• it had to have both an uplight and downlight component (without any uplighting it would cast a shadow on the plaster medallion)
• it had to be just the right scale, not too big / dominating and not too small / wimpy
• it had to complement the light fixture in the nearby Dining Room as they can both be seen together

We spent many a hour scouring stores and the internet to find a light fixture that was just right.  Here are a few of the finalists:

1. Alhambra MES Spherical Suspension Light  2. Cactus Pendant Light  3. Modulo S35 Pendant Lamp

4. Ossy Pendant  5. Propeller Lamp  6. Saucer Criss Cross Lamp

In the end, we chose a Link Suspension Light in American White Wood by LZF - a company that works out of a converted winery on the outskirts of the village of Chiva in the province of Valencia, Spain.

The fixture is made up of Mobius strips piled on top of one another.  This arrangement makes for an incredibly sculptural piece that takes on different forms from every angle it is viewed from.  While the form is decidedly modern, we like the fact that it is made from wood, a natural material.  It gives the light so much warmth and helps it to 'fit in' amongst the many eclectic pieces of our living room.

Installing it was no piece of cake.  In fact, it took my dad and I 3.5 hours and several test installations before we were happy with the final product.  In the absence of a electrical box, we drilled into the no longer active gas pipe for support.  However, this left the ceiling cover plate hanging too low with a gap in between the cover plate and medallion.  Our choice was either to cut the gas pipe off higher, requiring us to also 'chisel' away at the delicate plaster medallion or to improvise.  We chose to improvise:

Thankfully, my Dad saves everything and he had another cover plate that was identical in finish and similar in size to the one that came with the fixture.  We used this to mediate the gap.  Essentially, the final product has a double ceiling plate.

Be honest now, if I hadn't told you that, would you have noticed?

We're quite pleased with the final result.  Lighting is such an important part of space design.  Horrible lighting can make a great space incredibly unpleasant while great lighting can really elevate an already great space into something, well...greater!

-kyle

Charlie's famous...ish

Ok, maybe he's not famous, but he is featured on Desire to Inspire today.  Every Monday this 'Martha Stewart endorsed' blog features 'pets on furniture' and today Charlie is shown seated on the vintage chair in our living room that belonged to my grandmother.  When asked how he felt about his turn in the spotlight, Charlie tilted his head back and forth, wagged his tail, and became distracted by a squirrel outside.

Living and Dining Room...After

As promised, here are some after photos of our Living and Dining Rooms:

So most of the new pieces in this photo are from...you guessed it...Ikea.  Expedit shelves, Mongstad mirror, Gilbert Dining Room chairs (though the colour has since been discontinued), and the Olunda alphabet print (the perfect print for an Interior Designer turned Preschool Teacher...aka, Tessa). (see it before)

Our Dining Room chandelier, purchased from Living Lighting. (see it before)

Though everything around it has changed, the fireplace remains the same...more on that later.  The rug in this photo was from...cringe...this place, but it was a steal at $30!  The painting, lamp, and vase were all from Home Sense (we're clearly still being weaned off of big box stores...sigh) (see it before)

We rescued this couch from the peril of dumpsterdom at Ikea (as it was being discontinued), though we still had to pay for it, it was a great deal!  The painting is a Tessa original...based on one that Ikea used to sell. (see it before)

There's the newest addition to our family.
(see it before)

The bay window with a chaise, also saved from Ikea dumpsterdom.
(see it before)

There you have it.  The Living and Dining Rooms as they look today.  The colours are Benjamin Moore with Boothbay Gray (HC165) on the walls and Wrought Iron (2124-10) above the fireplace. 

As I said before, for now, the rooms are done.  There are a couple longer term things we plan to do, such as refinish the hardwood floors, do something with the fireplace...and Tessa is already thinking of repainting!

-kyle and tessa

Reuse, Refinish, Re-Purpose

We knew when it came to furnishing our house that buying all new furniture just wouldn't cut it.  Not only could we not afford it but placing all those new objects in a space that has evolved over 120 years would rob it of its character and soul.  And so...we have mixed up a few new items with ones that have been Reused, Refinished, and Re-purposed.

See, there are way more than just 3 R's.  In fact, the greenest, most environmentally friendly product is the one that's never made.  Here are a few of my favourite 'vintage' items from our Living and Dining rooms.

Our sideboard has quite a story to tell.  We found him while on a weekend getaway in Ottawa, Ontario.  It was in an antique shop specializing in Scandinavian mid-century modern antiques (I think this one).  After scouring the shop and finding everything was way out of our price range, we headed down to the basement where we uncovered this piece, collecting dust in a corner...for only $300!!  You see, it's made of white oak, not teak like most Scandinavian pieces.  It's also meant to sit on top of a larger sideboard as a hutch (the owner added the legs).  These two factors combined to make the price just right for us.

But how to get it from Ottawa to our house, 500+km away?  Thankfully, the owner of the shop makes frequent trips to Toronto (only 60km away...in case you haven't figured it out, we live in Hamilton!) and agreed to bring it that far during his next trip.  So we met him there...in our compact car a drove it all the way home with it sticking half way out of our trunk!  But we made it and boy do we love this piece!

It's not all about big pieces.  We found this suitcase when Tessa's grandmother was downsizing and getting rid of things.  Man, this suitcase has been around.  It's dented and scratched, but still solid (thanks to its 'four-ply solidon construction'...according to the McBrine Baggage label on it).  Just think of where this suitcase has been and what has it seen!  Now it sits in a corner of our dining room and houses old photo albums.

This Dining room table belonged to Tessa's parents.  We found it in a corner of their basement and claimed it as ours.  Apparently when Tessa's parents were first married, her mom lovingly sanded and refinished it.  When we got our hands on it we painted it a pale blue!  Wood table on wood floor = blah.  Painted table on wood floor = win!  I like the proportions of its slender bulbous legs and how cool is it that it was made by good old Walter and Company in Wabash, Indiana?  Still, it's a bit small for the space.  Stay tuned for our DIY projects post to see how we solved that...

We went through a painting stuff phase (perhaps stemming from the fact that Tessa worked in a paint/interiors store a few years back).  These chairs were another find at Tessa's grandmother's.  This time we went with a high sheen black/blue/grey (depends on the light).  Sturdy chairs.  In fact, I'm sitting on one, RIGHT NOW!

 '
Finally, something we 'aquired' from my side of the family.  This 1960s chair belonged to my grandmother.  And guess what?  It's a pull out.  So if you're ever in town, we've got one super uncomfortable 50 year old pull out twin sized bed (my 8 year old self can attest to this lack of comfort).  In chair form...it's great though.  I'm told my grandmother re-upholstered it at some point, probably in the 1970's.  And who's that perched on it you ask?  Charles Augustus, our schweenie of course - he has excellent taste.

There you have it - our reused, refinished, and re-purposed pieces - each with it's own story to tell.  I'll post some overall pics of these rooms soon so you can see how these vintage pieces are balanced out by newer pieces.

-kyle

Living and Dining Room...Before

I absolutely love the living and dining room in our house.  The rooms have perfect proportions - each is a perfect square with 10' ceilings.  At some point the wall between the two rooms was removed and replaced by a large archway.  While I enjoy the openness and flexibility of this change, I cringe to think of what might have happened to the original pocket doors that I'm almost certain would have inhabited the wall. 

Regardless, these rooms have excellent bones - beautiful plaster crown mouldings, 10" baseboards, original hardwood (that needs refinishing...), and those ceiling medallions.  I won't lie, I've spent a good deal of time lying on the floor just staring at them....imagining the hands that made them...studying their intricate detail...and watching shadows play across them.  Yes indeed...with such lovely bones, this room hasn't needed any extensive renos...though we have made quite a few changes. 

The pictures below show the rooms in their pre-Kyle and Tessa state.  The furnishings and decor belong to the previous owner. 



The Dining Room - mmmm flesh coloured walls and ceiling.  It reminds me of that scene in Garden State...except um, for nudists I guess?  Sorry about that visual everyone...moving on...

 



A detail of Dining Room plaster medallion and light fixture.  The previous owner made sure we were aware that this light fixture (and the one in the living room) is a period appropriate antique.  That may be true...but surely those blue shades are not.  Regardless of 'authenticity', we're not slavish historicists and frankly, the room deserves better.

  

The Living Room - unfortunately the fireplace was rebuilt at some point...and without the detail that is typical in a late 19th century Victorian...we've gone back and forth on whether or not to paint the brick. 



Living Room - look how cleverly the previous owner concealed the awkwardly placed thermostat...can you spot it?



 

Living Room medallion, archway with corbels, Dining Room beyond.



 



I wish we had a better shot of the bay window, but this at least shows some of the great details of the window trim



Just today we installed what I like to call, la pièce de résistance in the Living Room. You'll have to wait and see what it is...but trust me...it's spectacular. Though the rooms (and entire house) are a continual work in progress, for now I'd say that the Living Room and Dining Room are 'done'. Over the next little while, I'll share the details, DIY projects, repurposed/recycled finds, and new objects that have helped make these rooms our own.

-kyle