a little of this, a little of that
It hasn't been the greatest few months for me. Those who know me personally know that I have been dealing with some health issues that have put fluffing up my new place on the back burner. Well, at least doing any kind of intensive work.
But I haven't let all go astray. I have handled a few minor decorative details and minor projects.
Now in my first entry of my new place I showed you some new curtains that I bought to give some light control in front of my solarium. Discovered one problem though. The curtain rods that I used were the ones that you connect together and the grommets on the curtains kept getting stuck. So thanks to my hesitation in getting rid of some wood IKEA curtain rods I was able to put up something different that wouldn't catch on my grommets (I know, nothing worse than getting your grommets caught on something).
They were just bare wood so to give a nice contrast to the plans that I had for paint in the living room I painted them with Authentic Brown (the colour that I used on my stairway floor in my townhouse), since I have a good 3/4 of a gallon left of that paint.
Helps to bring out the subtle pattern in the curtains too.
Now trying to find suitable curtains for my bedroom has been a pain. I decided on grey and apparently that is a very unusual colour. The other issue was that the curtain length was also unusual. The standard is 84" for most people's windows, but mine are a little taller so I needed 95". I finally spotted a great pair of curtains at Walmart for a great price. A grey weave fabric with a slight sheen. I was able to utilize some curtain rods and brackets I already had and the pre-existing anchors in the walls made putting up the brackets a breeze. Finally after a couple of weeks of feeling like crap I had a chance to get the curtains up. I was looking forward to finally having some darkness in my bedroom (hard to have when you have a retail store across from your home who have lovely, bright parking lot lights). Ah, but not so fast. They were too short. Correction, I bought the right size - had the size that was stated on each package was actually correct, that is. Which it wasn't. Damn. I hunted down the receipt and was all prepared to bring them back the next day. But, crap, that meant starting the search all over again. Wasn't looking forward to that. So I got creative. If I can't get exactly what I need, then maybe I could create it. I went to the fabric store and found some faux suede stretchy fabric for $3.99 a metre and got 1ft of fabric for each curtain. With some fabric tape (cuz I have no talent whatsoever with a sewing machine...don't even have one) I attached the fabric to the bottom of the curtains. The result?
Pretty awesome, eh? I have to say I am very pleased with the results and they look like they came that way. Now I can have the inner curtain drawn for darkness, or open them to reveal my pretty sheer curtains, or open both to let the sunlight shine in. Always think outside the box when it comes to decor. If you can't find what you want, find a way to create it.
Now the final purchase that will bring you up to date wasn't something that I was planning on doing until after I painted the living/dining area. That was to purchase a pendent light for the dining area. But you have to keep your eyes open and be ready to grab a great deal and the perfect light when you see it. I had spotted a great light a few weeks ago down in the Niagara area while on a day trip with a friend. We were checking out a fantastic antique store and I saw this fantastic 1960-70's light. But it was a little out of my price range so I passed it by. Recently I was in a local home decor store just puttering around and I spotted a great find. $50 off and totally within my price range, and the same design as the light in the antique store. Now it's a little oversized in reference to my dining table when the leaves are down, but totally suitable nonetheless. I picked it up and brought it home ready to install it. Mind you...never installed a hard-wired light before. But, hey, that never stopped me before.
It was a struggle, that's for sure. I would highly recommend having someone else around to help with the installation as it is a real pain to try to hold onto a 5lb light while trying to secure the wiring and screw it in place. But I once again got creative and managed to get it done. But, boy, would I love to strangle the fool who makes the final screws that secure the base to the bracket so small! I was swearing like a sailor trying to line up the holes and get those teeny-weeny screws into to holes, while holding the light itself with my other hand. Not so easy (hence the suggestion of having someone there to help). I had to stop and take a break in total frustration and sore arms to try to find a way to get the dang thing up. Thank goodness for my inclination to save spare screws from other projects. I found two screws that were the exact same width but a tad longer and fit into the holes perfectly and were A LOT easier to grab. Finally it was up.
Pretty fabulous, eh?
Ok, it may look a little odd as 4 of the bulbs I purchased from a dollar store and they appear to have an "office fluorescent light" look to them. I'll have to get some alternate lights that glow a little warmer.
And if you're looking real close...you'll see a preview of colours to come. :-)
Next? Paint!...and lots of it.
But I haven't let all go astray. I have handled a few minor decorative details and minor projects.
Now in my first entry of my new place I showed you some new curtains that I bought to give some light control in front of my solarium. Discovered one problem though. The curtain rods that I used were the ones that you connect together and the grommets on the curtains kept getting stuck. So thanks to my hesitation in getting rid of some wood IKEA curtain rods I was able to put up something different that wouldn't catch on my grommets (I know, nothing worse than getting your grommets caught on something).
They were just bare wood so to give a nice contrast to the plans that I had for paint in the living room I painted them with Authentic Brown (the colour that I used on my stairway floor in my townhouse), since I have a good 3/4 of a gallon left of that paint.
Helps to bring out the subtle pattern in the curtains too.
Now trying to find suitable curtains for my bedroom has been a pain. I decided on grey and apparently that is a very unusual colour. The other issue was that the curtain length was also unusual. The standard is 84" for most people's windows, but mine are a little taller so I needed 95". I finally spotted a great pair of curtains at Walmart for a great price. A grey weave fabric with a slight sheen. I was able to utilize some curtain rods and brackets I already had and the pre-existing anchors in the walls made putting up the brackets a breeze. Finally after a couple of weeks of feeling like crap I had a chance to get the curtains up. I was looking forward to finally having some darkness in my bedroom (hard to have when you have a retail store across from your home who have lovely, bright parking lot lights). Ah, but not so fast. They were too short. Correction, I bought the right size - had the size that was stated on each package was actually correct, that is. Which it wasn't. Damn. I hunted down the receipt and was all prepared to bring them back the next day. But, crap, that meant starting the search all over again. Wasn't looking forward to that. So I got creative. If I can't get exactly what I need, then maybe I could create it. I went to the fabric store and found some faux suede stretchy fabric for $3.99 a metre and got 1ft of fabric for each curtain. With some fabric tape (cuz I have no talent whatsoever with a sewing machine...don't even have one) I attached the fabric to the bottom of the curtains. The result?
Pretty awesome, eh? I have to say I am very pleased with the results and they look like they came that way. Now I can have the inner curtain drawn for darkness, or open them to reveal my pretty sheer curtains, or open both to let the sunlight shine in. Always think outside the box when it comes to decor. If you can't find what you want, find a way to create it.
Now the final purchase that will bring you up to date wasn't something that I was planning on doing until after I painted the living/dining area. That was to purchase a pendent light for the dining area. But you have to keep your eyes open and be ready to grab a great deal and the perfect light when you see it. I had spotted a great light a few weeks ago down in the Niagara area while on a day trip with a friend. We were checking out a fantastic antique store and I saw this fantastic 1960-70's light. But it was a little out of my price range so I passed it by. Recently I was in a local home decor store just puttering around and I spotted a great find. $50 off and totally within my price range, and the same design as the light in the antique store. Now it's a little oversized in reference to my dining table when the leaves are down, but totally suitable nonetheless. I picked it up and brought it home ready to install it. Mind you...never installed a hard-wired light before. But, hey, that never stopped me before.
 |
| Layla was more partial to the box it came in |
 |
| a little assembly required, of course |
 |
| the old chandelier...DIE, CHANDELIER, DIE! |
 |
| Red wire...white wire...just make sure you shut the power off first! |
It was a struggle, that's for sure. I would highly recommend having someone else around to help with the installation as it is a real pain to try to hold onto a 5lb light while trying to secure the wiring and screw it in place. But I once again got creative and managed to get it done. But, boy, would I love to strangle the fool who makes the final screws that secure the base to the bracket so small! I was swearing like a sailor trying to line up the holes and get those teeny-weeny screws into to holes, while holding the light itself with my other hand. Not so easy (hence the suggestion of having someone there to help). I had to stop and take a break in total frustration and sore arms to try to find a way to get the dang thing up. Thank goodness for my inclination to save spare screws from other projects. I found two screws that were the exact same width but a tad longer and fit into the holes perfectly and were A LOT easier to grab. Finally it was up.
Pretty fabulous, eh?
Ok, it may look a little odd as 4 of the bulbs I purchased from a dollar store and they appear to have an "office fluorescent light" look to them. I'll have to get some alternate lights that glow a little warmer.
And if you're looking real close...you'll see a preview of colours to come. :-)
Next? Paint!...and lots of it.
Yeah for new lighting!!! I was wondering myself how we will install the light in the dining room-with a ceiling of 16ft! Going to need 2 ladders for that job!
ReplyDeleteCan't wait to see the paint!
April