salvaged bliss

Painted Runner Update

2011-09-30T11:40:00.003-03:00

I painted the runner on the stairs over a year ago and it is holding up really well. There is one chip where we hit a tread as we were hauling a table down from the attic. I didn't put a clear coat over the runner so I can just touch it up with the original paint.

My favorite part about the painted runner is not having to use the vacuum on the stairs, a damp cloth is all you need.

Other people's kitchens

2011-09-30T11:08:00.000-03:00

I want to make these kitchens mine.

Step 1. Hate the room Step 2. Start fixing the room.....1.5 years later finish the room

2011-09-10T15:44:00.002-03:00

This is the awesomeness which was the main floor bedroom of the former Victorian Rose. Pink painted wallpaper, sweet window swags, ugly ledge, a TV nook, I could keep going.

So we started by knocking out the TV nook and turning it into a walk through pantry to the kitchen. Knocking down is the easy part.

I attempted to remove the painted wall paper . After 5 hours chemicals, steam, scoring, tools. nothing worked. I made it no where. I needed a new plan because my fingers were raw from trying to find loose edges.

I started skimming over the textured painted wallpaper with drywall compound, layer upon layer, like icing the largest cake in the world. and the realization that this was going to take forever set in. This is where the extra year came in. The room became a 'hide the junk and close the door' room and we never quite found the motivation to finish off the skimming. Until my brother and his family were scheduled in for a visit this summer. There really is nothing like impending house guests to get your ass in gear. Skimming, sanding, touch ups became my nightly routine until the walls were as smooth as the babies bottoms who were less than a week away from arriving.

Paint selected.

Painting commenced.

The cutest visitors arrive and get to watch some 'kids TV' in comfort.

Now to decorate it... Hopefully we get another motivating visit soon! hint hint.

The Civilized Firepit

2011-07-27T10:32:00.001-03:00

Found a use for the Candelabra project (other than dust collector) from a few years back. Now it just needs a name. The Smokeless Urban Camp Fire... Townie Fire Pit.... ? Perfect for those calm summer nights in the backyard and the best part; your hair won't smell like a camp fire at the end of the night.

O Blissmastree

2010-12-07T14:23:00.002-04:00

The tree is up and looking purdy. And all of the ornaments, snowflakes, tinsel, feather boas are from a super trendy store...you may not know it... *coughcoughdollarcoughstorecough* and *aaaahhahhhh choooodollaramaoooooo*

Excuse me.

Stairway to DustyRose Heaven

2010-09-13T11:32:00.010-03:00

Our hallway makeover is finally complete. The summer has been crazy, so from start to finish it took about two months to get this project done. All of the trim, doors, walls, spindles, risers and railing were painted, and unfortunately, more than a few coats over foot prints on the steps.

Hallway on the day we took possession of the house in April.

Dusty rose stairway to heaven. One of the hazards to your health when you buy a B&B named A Victorian Rose...

We ripped the carpet off before changing the wall colour back in July. When my 3 year old niece saw this she questioned "why did you take the fuzzy off the stairs?" ........."because the fuzzy was buttugly"

The trim was too yellowish-grayish-greenish-barfish, and the railing was too yellowish-orangish-shineyish

A couple of coats of a light grey called Luminarie on the wall, then it was on to the BM Cloud White for the spindles, spindles and more spindles. I darkened the railing with a dark walnut low lustre polyurethane. (4 coats)

Wall colour and cloud white trim on the left.

Started the runner, it's a beige colour to warm up the gray to get a natural sisal look.

Measured out a band because the runner was boring on its own

Finally finished.

Clean and fresh.

***Update: check out how the finish is holding up 1 year later

So that part of the project seemed to take forever, but the other sub project took less than 48 hours from brainwave to operational.

I really like the look of the Moooi string pendant lights. Since I am cheap/poor I would never buy one. So I came up with my own version.

Cheesecloth, Stiffy Stiffener and a pendant light. The idea came from when my mother made a nativity scene in the 80s by draping and stiffening cloth over the molds. I skipped spray painting the shade gold, but the idea was similar.

Picked up a pendant light at good ol' Canadian Tire. Put a call in my brother in-law and offered beer for a wiring job. 30 min later it was up and working.

The big shade fills the hallways high ceilings.

It's a Jungle Out There

2010-06-23T19:25:00.001-03:00

This is the courtyard that we were looking at in March during our final inspection. It hadn't been maintained for about 2 years and it was looking pretty bleak.

A month later we managed to get most of the the dead brush out, but then it was looking more like an overgrown jungle of weeds.

After filling bags and bags of brush, leaves, weeds and other ugly stuff we were left with this!

We spent less than $100 on plants,soil, spray paint, sprinkler and gardening gloves after ruining my nails daily for about a week. All of the furniture, pots, bird houses, benches came with the house, so they just needed sprucing up. Since most of the garden was green we needed some colour, some spray paint on the plastic pots and urns got the splashes we needed.

Trying to get a base for our first garden I started this season with all perennials (and I want the garden to look good next year with less work.) We went with Woolly Thyme, Beacon Silver Spotted Dead Nettle, Periwinkle, Moss Phlox, Pearlwort, Wild Strawberries and Red Creeping Thyme.

Started a vegetable garden in pots this year, and used some old beyond repair Adirondack chairs as their base.

Fence Update: Request will be proposed at Town Council meeting July 13... the never ending process. I hope we still have some money left by then to even build the fence.

Aussie Aussie Aussie

2010-06-10T21:49:00.002-03:00

Ol' Blue is showing her colours for World Cup... the BF would like to paint her Green and Gold but we compromised on the Aussie Flag.

Backyard

2010-05-28T10:05:00.001-03:00

So this is our spectacular backyard....

.... hardly any work needed, except for the 5000lbs of cast iron radiators which have been rusting on the deck since 2003...the door in the dormer to nowhere..the ugliest driveway ever, and no privacy. Albeit it is not a busy street, but there is still no privacy from the few people on the street.

We have put in our application with the town to build a fence but the list of steps involved to get approval to build the fence is longer than the fence itself. Hurray for UNESCO Status... the process involves a "Stamp of Appropriateness" I have yet to see the actual stamp.....Maybe we'll have a fence by 2015.

But pretty sure its going to end up more like this....looks boring but in this photo we are barbecuing naked behind that fence.

Dis and Dat

2010-05-21T16:14:00.000-03:00

Like Dis and Hate Dat. I save pictures from decorating sites that catch my interest. There is usually something in the room that I like, but some parts I hate. Welcome to Dis and Dat.

Like Dis: Vintage Fan
Hate Dat: Gold frames

Glowing Chicken

2010-05-18T14:43:00.001-03:00

So we have our own Seinfeld Episode going on in the master bedroom... no, not the switcharoo... a glowing street light... directly outside our window... very similar strength to the red neon sign which was outside Kramer's apartment.

While it's not a giant glowing chicken it is still annoying..

The solution, black out lining and I found some with white on one side and gray on the other... and the gray worked in the room. jackpot. half the work half the money. The lining was $4 a meter and I needed 22 meters, a few pinched pleats later and we have ourselves darkness.

Best after photo ever?

Ta Da

2010-05-12T17:03:00.000-03:00

After a good cleaning, a few coats of leftover trim paint and less than a meter of fabric from the Salvation Army the spring clean up chairs have been salvaged.

Spring Cleanup!

2010-05-04T08:40:00.000-03:00

Every spring and fall the town has a garbage pick up for large items. This is the towns chance to get rid of crap that's taking up too much space in attics and basements. My hope is that everyone has been watching the 'Hoarders: Buried Alive' marathon on TLC and fear they too may become a hoarder and decide to just throw everything out.

While I'm not totally blatant about checking out what people are throwing out (slowly drive my creepy van from pile to pile in broad day light), I do keep an eye out for gems. And this year I didn't have to travel far. I was able to get two old dining chairs and a small side table with casters from my street. I will be making Young Street's old crap young again.

The Drapist

2010-05-04T08:06:00.002-03:00

The windows in our house, like most Victorian houses are beefy compared to newer builds. These large windows are beautiful, but they have to do their shopping at Big and Tall..... our very own plus size models.

There are drape panels available in the 260cm length, but I am quite fond of my arm and leg so the only other option was to make my own.

Wish me luck.

My Salvaging Mantra

2010-04-26T15:13:00.001-03:00

Last night I was looking through the shelves of books that came with our house, and I came across one that deserved a second look, Furniture Making and Cabinet Work (1949). Lots of great chapters on built in cabinetry, finishing, upholstery and other great tips for furniture making and repairing.

One chapter in particular sparked my interest, Chapter 9 Salvaging Discarded Furniture. The second paragraph sums up salvaging furniture to a tee.

"The following suggestions are offered in the hope of kindling an imaginative interest in the possibilities of successful salvage of whatever discarded furniture may be at hand. Inasmuch as available pieces have already been declared surplus, a boldness of treatment may well pay large dividends, since failure will create no additional waste."

Translation..... go for it

The Accidental Hunt

2010-04-16T11:29:00.002-03:00

To kill time this winter we checked out mls.ca with no real intentions of buying a home. We came across this house.. we were intrigued.

The response from the agent when we asked for a viewing was 'you do know there are four LARGE bathrooms off each room and on the main floor because it was remodeled as a B&B'..... obviously this fact has scared off most potential buyers for over 2 years... still not scared we went for a viewing.

The majority of the house was updated in 2003 and run as a Bed and Breakfast. While we are not the Bed and Breakfast type I could see how we could make it work as residence with a few *tweaks* here and there. Before we went ahead with anything we decided it might be best to check out a few others in our price range to see if the love for Ol' Blue was real.

'Nice, but too small', 'nice, but too traditional' and 'very cool, but no parking or back yard'.

Went with our first choice, and the rest is history.

Welcome to Salvaged Bliss: Home Edition.

Dingy Dresser

2009-07-01T13:01:00.004-03:00

This was a thrift store find/birthday present. It had smooth drawers, solid wood, with a few coats of ugly grimy paint. jackpot.
With the wood in good condition this was a stripping project. Some quality time was spent with scrapers, liquid stripper and sandpaper to get rid of the gross.

With a few coats of BM penetrating stain and two coats of low lustre polyurethane and I have another piece for my bedroom set.

Lamp Post

2009-06-24T09:11:00.013-03:00

I found this little blue lamp at the S.A. for $3. I liked the blue, but hated the gold/brass plated trim. I had read an article awhile back at Style North about stripping the brass plating off yourself and when I saw this lamp I knew it would be a good first experiment.

But the makeover didn't stop there, I needed a new shade. I found this beauty for $2, and an old white sheet which had a subtle pattern on it when held up to the light. The white on white pattern won't compete with the other fabrics in the room or be a boring white shade.

And the winner is....

2009-06-17T09:22:00.005-03:00

Our Dining/Living/Kitchen paint colour has been selected. We are going with Benjamin Moore HC-169 Coventry Gray. Check back for the results.

Primed to Paint

2009-06-16T09:07:00.009-03:00

I've been tempted lately to do a bit of painting in the new apartment. The kitchen-dining-living room in the house was a newer addition to the victorian apartment. The other rooms have crown molding, ceiling medalions and chair rails. The kitchen space is a seperate area with less character, but lots of windows and nice window trim. Unfortunatly this area also comes with the deaded apartment yellowy-white. It's got to go.
I'm leaning towards a gray for the walls. Here are some of the ideas which could work in this space.

Chandelier Transformation

2009-06-15T21:32:00.006-03:00

The lack of overhead lighting in our apartment makes the desire to have a pretty chandelier very appealing....but that lack of overhead wiring makes the prospect too much work for a rental. My recent Sally find was the perfect next project. The wiring was disconnected on the chandelier and looked like it may have been outside for awhile but for $4 it was worth a shot... check out how we are making use of our find.

Clustered Collections of Colour

2009-06-10T20:53:00.008-03:00

In our old kitchen I started a nice little collection of green glass to put some colour in our boring kitchen. The pieces are all random but the colour makes them all work well together.

Easy Breezy Curtains

2009-06-05T23:17:00.006-03:00

1 Thrifted White Twin Sheet $0.99
1 Vintage Floral Sheet $1.99
1 Standard Curtain rod $3.29

Throw in a sewing machine, iron, spray starch, a couple of hours and we have ourselves some airy summer curtains.

Mirror Mirror...Not on the wall

2009-06-04T12:15:00.009-03:00

I have spotted a theme in my thrifting recently...mirrored accessories. A set of mirrored drinking glasses, two mirrored vases and two picture frames with mirrored matting. ~~I'll upload some photos soon of my finds-- and in the meantime~~ here are some other great mirrored accessories out there.

What I've been doing this week....

2009-05-28T08:36:00.013-03:00

The past week has been a nightmare. The noises which we thought were from the neighbours cat turns out to be RATS, and they made their way into our apartment. Panicking that we were stuck in this lease for another 11 months I used my keen negotiating skills (crying to the building manager) to cancel the lease that day.

20 car and truck loads later we have all of our things out of the apartment and moved into my sisters place. We are sleeping on the living room futon with our furniture and clothes piled to the ceiling.... at least it's rat free.

Oh and I forgot to mention. Ratsville is already on the apartment listings ... and they upped the rent! Classy.
On a lighter note at least I now know that I have something in common with a supermodel.

Fanclub

2009-05-22T10:02:00.011-03:00

With the temperature pushing 30 degrees (Celsius)the past few days the memories of months of snow are fading and vague recollections of hot sun and warm nights are returning. To avoid complaining about the welcome warmth it is best to prepare yourself for those sticky nights. Luckily there are some great fans out there to beat the heat without messing with your style but those vintage fans can mess with your fingers, so keep them away from the kiddos.

Midweek Montage: Wartime Posters

2009-05-20T15:00:00.021-03:00

I have always been fascinated with the history and time period of the World Wars. Throughout university my non-business electives were divided up between War History and Oceanography (interesting combo I know). Add in the ~salvaged bliss~ element and imagine my excitement when I first saw the "Keep Calm and Carry On" posters popping up in home decor. I instantly wanted my own, but within months the market was saturated with these colourful re-creations ...so I reluctantly passed on my own.
Even though this KC&CO slogan was rarely used during the war there were other common slogans and sayings from Wartime. I have included other posters which sent messages to the home front and troops and I plan on incorporating some into my own designs.

Posters from British National Archive

Branching Out

2009-05-19T18:40:00.007-03:00

Spring is here and some out door scavenging may be in order. These painted branches look great but can also have some use... unlike a lot of things I bring home. Sticks of Lake Mushamush beware, I'm coming to get you.

photo 1, 2, 3

Hoot Hoot

2009-05-16T22:56:00.005-03:00

Found this little guy at Value Village to watch over the apartment for us when we are out. Nice new addition to the white out wall after a coat of paint.

Antique Maps

2009-05-14T21:45:00.006-03:00

I found some maps on ebay for just 99 cents. They are smaller maps from a Hammonds Atlas printed in 1912. Canada for me and Australia for the BF. With two ugly clearance frames and a quick coat of spray paint, we have ourselves Aussie and Canadian mementos to go along with the Vegemite in the cupboard.

Midweek Montage: Headboards

2009-05-13T17:33:00.006-03:00

After moving into our new apartment our upholstered headboard looks a bit tired. Next to the standard 'antique white' apartment wall colour the fabric looks sad, dreary, depressed, lame... you get the picture. Here is a collection of headboards to inspire a necessary before and after.

Monkey See Monkey Do: Patterned Pillows

2009-05-11T21:52:00.009-03:00

After seeing a few pillows that Sarah Richardson used in her designs I knew I needed some of my own. Victim and results are below.

Telephone Table Transformation

2009-05-10T15:28:00.006-03:00

A cheapo kijiji telephone table ($10) was just what we needed for our front entry way. Foam, fabric, paint (and a little panicking when the paint was still tacky 15 hours after the first coat) a dehumidifier and the heat turned on in May and we have ourselves some salvaged bliss.

Photo of the Day

2009-05-07T22:29:00.004-03:00

Another striped pillow from Sarah Richardson. Must find some fabric this weekend and make some pillow covers, bring on the weekend.

Midweek Montage: Insulators

2009-05-06T16:37:00.001-03:00

I have seen these telegraph insulators (not knowing what they were) around over the years but have just recently picked up the first in my collection. Since then I have noticed these glass beauties still on poles in the area. I would love to have my own window full of them.

Sally Finds

2009-05-04T23:04:00.007-03:00

A quick stop at my friendly neighbourhood Salvation Army was fruitful as usual. The highlights included:

an interior decorating book from 1965, which has some great photos of all kinds of 60's styles.
couple copies of Architectural Digest from the spring of '85.
2 green glass canisters for the kitchen.
Great plaid bag which has a separate lower level to keep not so fresh gym and curling shoes separate.
2 mirrored frames which are going to hang in the bathroom.
and a large gold framed mirror, destination unknown.

White Out Conditions

2009-05-04T22:28:00.001-03:00

Nothing like a can of white paint to bring some uniformity to thrift store finds. A wall of frames can always have new editions to keep the look fresh. Panels of fabric or wallpaper can also be added to the frames to add some colour depending on your mood. Right now I'm sticking with the white.

Curbside Makeover

2009-05-02T12:08:00.012-03:00

Another orphaned piece of furniture that I have adopted, but it was looking a little drab. I stained the arms a darker brown from the previous yellowing oak.

I tore the upholstery off and used it as a pattern to make the new cover out of a metre of damask fabric from the remnants bin. Results are below.

This weeks 'sally' finds

2009-04-30T20:56:00.006-03:00

Lunch time trips to Salvation Army are the highlight of my work week.

This weeks finds include a great brass tree wall hanging, silver cake cover and plate to match our counter top tins, and some more white frames, cute saucers and a tray for the entry way.

Midweek Montage: Geography

2009-04-29T14:30:00.011-03:00

I love finding vintage maps and globes during my thrifting and I've found some others who have used these geographical goodies in their spaces.

links 1 2 3 4

Photo of the Day

2009-04-28T23:19:00.006-03:00

Love the pillow. I think I feel a project coming on. The mitred stripes give the illusion that you could fall right into the pillow.
sarah richardson design

Salvaged Ottoman

2009-04-27T22:36:00.013-03:00

This plaid beauty was pleading for attention curbside. I tried to ignore the screams for help, but the guilt got the best of me and I turned the car around and sheepishly jammed it in the back seat.

All that was needed was some new fabric, tailored corners, and a whole lotta staples.