Showing posts with label moving designz. Show all posts
Showing posts with label moving designz. Show all posts

Friday, December 10, 2010

My Master Sweet...

For todays post I am going to share some before and afters of my new master suite.  Just in case you've been wondering about my sporatic blogging this fall ... wonder no more.

My lately weekend life

I not only moved my business to Charlottetown but I moved too.  From my house to a condo the same week as I was moving the shop/business (call me crazy).  The totally ironic thing about the above image is that all those boxes are stacked in my "old master bedroom" ready to be moved. 



My condo key

Giving me a fresh new start and an amazing decorating opportunity to put my stamp on this brand new empty space! 


This was my new master bedroom, a totally blank slate.  Hmmm .... need to fill with furniture/make pretty.  I have a nice bed and other stuff but my old place had a dressing room with built in closets.  There was no need for a dresser.  In this new place I needed one.  I sensed a DIY project about to happen as my budget was quickly diminishing ...


Enter the antique sideboard I spied at a local second hand shop.  It had great potential, nice curvy lines, plenty of storage and it was in good shape.  It needed a facelift for sure but at $250 I was sold.  


And so ... with Anita's seal of approval (she had to check it out before I bought it) and with Ashley's help (muscles) we dragged it to my storage room at the new condo and had a painting party.


I even ponied up and bought us huge coffees to keep us going ... however... what really got us into it was good music and...


A supply of cold Coors Light, sometimes cold beer just makes everything seem easier.  Wine does too:)


Here's my painting partner and fellow shopgirl Ashley, removing all the old hardware.  She's a trooper!  I'm in the background sanding the dresser in preparation for priming and taking endless pictures.


1 hour later we had the entire dresser sanded and then painted inside and out with a grey primer.

The huge top drawer

No surface was spared as I wanted it to be clean and fresh inside and out.  In fact, after the dresser was completely painted I lined the inside of all of the drawers with white felt. 


After letting the primer cure for 24hrs it was on to the finish colour. 


I chose semi-gloss black for the finish.  Tip - semi gloss is the perfect paint for furniture finishes.  I forgot to mention I could have had it sprayed but at $275 (OMG really?) I declined and decided (budget again) to tackle the project myself with Ashley's help.


Just for fun I thought I would share what my first few nights looked like.  I call it  "college dorm room chic" bed on floor.  Not really chic at all!!! But functional and hey, I had a bed and bedding. 


Enter my finished master suite... 2 months later... done just in time for some Christmas touches.

My colour scheme is white, taupe, black, brown, blue, and cream accented with hot pink.  I like mixing it up... with all my favorite colours. 


I had to have this patterned ottoman from my shop, Moving Designz Home & Cottage.  I've been in love with it for while now.  Accenting my room with hot pink? 

It's a decidedly feminine (princess) room, not hard to tell I'm a single gal.  I don't quite think I could get away with this room otherwise :)  But hey, it's mine so why not?  At least until Prince Charming comes along :)


Table to the left...


Table to the right... with white feather wreath above the bed.  Now that was a great find!


A close up of my bedside table with the lovely carnations(they like last forever) and vase full of pink and silver Christmas bling.

Before view


And my DIY dresser project, here it is with the addition of crystal knob hardware from the shop.  It's the perfect fit!  Total cost with paint and hardware - $475.00.  I still want to add drapes but they will have to wait until the new year.  At least I have real blinds now :)  A fab chandelier would be heavenly too!  Unfortunately there is no electrical outlet for one... drag. 
One last look at the before and after.


I love my "princess" room and sometimes I have to pinch myself to make sure this is real... Bed, bedding, tables, ottoman, accessories, artwork - Moving Designz Home & Cottage. 

Sneak Peek of my livingroom... a white tree for me.

I'll be posting on the rest of my condo next weekend. 


Thanks for reading.  Have a great weekend!
Susan

Friday, August 20, 2010

Toronto Shopping Love

For todays post I am going to share a look at our time in downtown Toronto. 

Anita and I had such an awesome time, from shopping to window shopping, to patios and cocktails el fresco in the beautiful weather, to visiting Chinatown, Kensington Market, Queen St West, The Distillery District, St Lawrence Market, to meeting up with a fellow blogger, to visiting the design district and all the lovely inspiring shops... hello run on sentence.


This was the view outside our hotel window.  Love the giant Canadian Flag!  There is just something about waking up every morning and being reminded that you live in one of the best countries in the world. 


I snapped this pic on Queen West with Toronto's famous CN Tower in the background.  What happens on Queen West... major shopping!



I should have recognized that my Visa was in for a major shake up after seeing these signs.  Yes, indeed this was a SIGN.


My new shoes, one of several pairs I bought... several is the new ten :)


I received an email invite for lunch from Grace at http://gracie-senseandsimplicity.blogspot.com/ .  I was thrilled to meet another Canadian blogger.  This is her and Anita checking out pretty packaging in a chocolate shop at the Distillery District.  Shes amazing, love her.  It's so cool to meet up with someone whose blog you follow!  It's almost like you know them already.


For anyone who thinks Toronto is a concrete jungle... Wrong.  Downtown is full of beautiful parks and flowers.



There are huge flower baskets and parks and trees and secret little courtyards everywhere....


My cafe latte... how delicious does this look?  After a bit of lunch and a hit of caffiene it was off to hit some designer home shops.


Our first stop was Horsefeathers Home in the Distrillery District.  After introducing myself they let me take all the pictures I wanted.  I'll share a couple of my favs now...


Bamboo bar and stools... love! 


This is the most gi-normous basket I have ever seen.  I think I could hide in there.


This shop is very eclectic. Everything from pottery, to French Antiques, to modern furnishings, to seashells...


Rustic plus Bling.


Our next shop was Urban Amish.  Gorgeous shop with fab furniture custom made by the hands of Amish craftspeople.  http://www.urbanamish.ca/about_us.asp


Solid wood everywhere ... NICE.



Next up ... Lighting, Decor, Extrordinaire...


So we're walking by peeking in store windows and that massive white light fixture totally drew us in... I hope you can tell how huge that chandelier is... afterall still using iphone camera.


Amazing!
  We are now at
Klaus by nienkamper   http://klausn.com/


I had to zoom over to check out this spa tub... OMG
And that light fixture.... with the pretty notes.  I think Sarah might shop here :)


The displays and products were an incredible feast for the eyes and senses.  This mobile was ... speechless!


Like have you ever... seen a horse light fixture in your life?  Now you have...


Sexy sofas, stunning artwork 


and more oversized lighting in abundance.
 

This chair... so pretty, LOVE!


The next stop was UpCountry.  http://www.upcountry.com/

I loved it here.  The displays, the furniture, everything...
I saw alot of cross over to our lines of merchandise at Moving Designz Home & Cottage.  However, this showroom was 10 times the size of my little shop.  Each and every room vignette perfectly done.  I need a bigger store!  Been saying that for awhile now... :)


This distressed rustic table look is hot and everywhere.  We saw it at the show and in almost every shop we visited.  Tables with iron bases and rustic wood planks.  Very organic.


Each individual room space had it's own story to tell.  This one was telling me ... what is with that window?  Must go closer to investigate...


Close up.  This has to be one of the most beautiful intriguing things I have ever ... and I mean EVER seen.
This is a frosted window and behind it growing outside on the building are vines.  The sunlight shining through it makes it look totally surreal.  Please send me your comments on this... I am printing and definitely framing this image for my home. 


The sexy diningroom vignette... and another of those windows.


Livingroom vignette ... hey we carry those sofas.  It was the art again that caught me.

 

The salesman who showed us around, Bohdan Chrunciw, went on to tell me this original artwork is painted by a member of the Max Webster band, Terry Watkinson.  Now thats talent!


Another great livingroom vignette.  These spaces are totally liveable.  

 

Still seeing lots of white and chocolate.


And sometimes I have to take a picture ... just because... I like what I see. 



And I liked seeing the beautiful patchwork fields of PEI as we were making our decent into Charlottetown Airport.  Home.


Thanks for reading.  Have a great weekend!
Susan