A DIY day

As inspirational as I find all those DIY shows, I also am huge on instant gratification. But every now and again, I get an urge to build something. And that something generally is from IKEA, which is designed for faux-renovators such as myself.

Today's project: a patio set.

First, size up the job. I can't believe I got that thing into my van!


Commence mise en place. For the purposes of furniture assembly, mise is putting things that look kinda alike together.


First up - the table. Breathtakingly simple, cause it's only six pieces. Win!


And now that I have a table, I can use it for more building. Here's the two-seater bench. That took a little longer, in large part because I made a mistake on step 1 and didn't realize it til step 14.


And the two chairs were a snap. So here's the set!


And just because everything's cuter with collies.


The reason I went to IKEA in the first place is because I had to exchange a too-big microwave for a just-right one at Midland Appliances and they're a tantalizing 2 blocks from IKEA.


In other news, the plumber installed the toilet in the powder room. If a toilet can be cute, this one is kinda cute.


Another cheeky light fixture, this time in the powder room.


And a whimsical pair of sconces will flank the sink.


Tomorrow, the plumber will (hopefully) finish the pedestal sink and maybe hook up the dishwasher and the water line to the fridge. I don't have a firm ETA on the rest, but my first houseguest is coming tomorrow. Nicki, we have booze, ice, and a microwave. I think we can make this work!

I think I am in love with my fridge

It's wrong to be dazzled by shiny stainless steel. I should be better than that. Who cares if it has a kajillion shelves and drawers - it's just an appliance, right? So why do I keep trying to hug my fridge?

I lurve my fridge.



If you look closely, you can see the hug marks I left on my new boyfriend fridge.


The other appliances are here too, and I'm sure I'll be trying to spoon the range, once it's installed. Even with all of the packing film and styrofoam I can tell that it's one sexy range.

I love my new metallic snowball pendant lamp too!


And once I get all the blingy crystals hung on the linear chandelier, I think I'll love it too.


I like how the dining area looks. In fact, I love the whole look of the place. The dark floors, the light cabinets, the shiny stainless - it's like living in Kits, but just a lot father from the beach. :-)


Wick says that I really need to get a life. In lieu of that, I should throw the ball for her.

Cabinets!

Well, the cabinets are mostly in. I can finally envision what the kitchen is going to look like!

This is sort of like a built-in hutch (and booze cabinet):


I've got a lot of storage!




The lighting is being installed Friday. Picture a pretty little pendant lamp over the sink.


The appliances arrive on Monday. Until then, I will have to imagine their stainless steel loveliness:


My favourite part of the kitchen - the open shelving for all my cookbooks!


Tomorrow, the flooring installation starts. It's an engineered oak that should hold up well to dog claws (read: somewhat pre-distressed):


Huh. I think it's going to rain. Poor veggies.


A border collie totem pole. :-)

A gardening update

After a decade of living in condos, I finally have a chance to, um, get my hands dirty. Thank goodness for Lee Valley's nifty nail brush! I am following the garden design methodology of "See it, buy it, plant it". It's a very disciplined way of planning a garden.

One of the gardens in the backyard (graced by Wick):


Rex and some azaleas:


The other garden bed in the backyard:


The front yard garden bed (this needs a lot of work):


Speaking of the front, the door got its first coat of paint. I really like how it's starting to look. A couple more coats and some new hardware and it will look pretty spiffy.


The herb section of the veggie garden:


The middle bed:


The third bed. I'm pretty sure all the things (except for the herbs) have been planted way too early, but it's just so much fun!


The cabinets are about 60% installed. They should finish the job by Monday or Tuesday, and then the flooring guys will do their thing. The first couple coats of paint are done, and the baseboards and casings have been painted (they'll be installed after the floors are laid). Appliances are scheduled to arrive on May 10th. Oh, good gravy, I think it's almost done! Hurrah!

Drywall deployed

Well, it looks like the construction bit is nearing the end and we're heading into the finishing bit! The drywall is in! The drywall is in!




The powder room is very powdery.


The front door project (replacing ugly double doors with nice single door, moving doorway out 3', adding gable roof) looks to be about done. The last bit was the concrete step, which they poured on Friday.


We've selected the colours too. The main colour is called Water Cracker, which is a soft, chalky beige. The trim is Simply White, a, um, fairly simple white. The powder room is a deep chocolate taupe called Estate, and the front door will be Galaxy, a rich aubergine which I think will look nice against all the beige that is the front of my house.

The gardening is coming along too. I have put solar lights (thanks, Rose!) to mark the preferred lie that the dogs should strive to take upon exiting onto the yard. Lou's chosen path is in red, Wick's in blue (good girl!) and Rex's in yellow. Le sigh. The boys like to kick out, while Wick is a straight-up-the-middle kind of girl.


One of my favourite rituals is the too-early-planting of the tomato plants. Introducing the doomed-to-die class of 2010!


Us city folks is too dumb to realize that we is planting our tomatoes upside-down.


The strawberries are almost ready for the crows to eat them.


And the mint is segregated in its own container (thanks, Lisa, for the tip!). Hopefully this will cut down on mojito costs this summer.

Not much to update

Well, the main floor still looks about the same. All of the electrical will be done by the end of this week, and hopefully they will start on the drywall. The cabinets have been made and are just waiting for the house to be ready. :-)

The front door work is almost done. Some siding, a bit of paint, and some stairs and we'll be good to go. Oh, and lights. I get to buy lights.


The siding is almost back on the house. Outdoor lighting has been roughed in. I might even be able to use my patio by summer!


Since I have done absolutely nothing myself to date, I have decided that I am going to do the landscape design. I have no game plan. I have a feeling that, by fall, I will have the whole thing ripped out and re-done by someone who has a clue. Until then, I'm having a good time making weekly trips to the local gardening centers.

Wick, you weren't going to dig in my new garden, were you?


Good girl.


Wick thinks we're going to have to buy a lot more plants to fill the small garden.


I found out that dogs like bone meal. Even a perfect, split-faced dog can be lured to the dark side by bone meal. Here are the boys pretending that they didn't just dig up my newly-planted rose bush.

The green, green grass of home

The lawn is in! My giant sandbox/beach volleyball court/kitty litter box is no longer! Hurrah!

When I bought the house, the lawn looked like this:


Then it got worse.


And then just weird.


But now, it's quite gorgeous.


My soon-to-be-vegetable garden is one of my fave things.


The irrigation system is fully functional now.


Good thing it's programmed to come on at 4:30 a.m. because at least one of my dogs is rather obsessed with sprinklers.








The windows in the front room are in. It's going to be very nice to have all that natural light in the house.


At the front of the house, the new door has been installed. By moving the front door out about 3', the foyer is a lot more open now. I think I'm going to paint the door either a deep burgundy or perhaps an aubergine. It's definitely going to be a bright door, whatever colour I choose!


For reference, it used to look like this:


On the inside, the demo is pretty much done.


The big change is the removal of the wall that separated the kitchen from the dining room. Now the whole area will flow as my giant, gorgeous, perfect kitchen. :-)


What it used to look like:


The dining room area will be moved to the back of the house, where the fireplace is.