Striped Ikea Slipcover Reveal

Etsy pillow covers on the way from Pillowmio.

I am so thrilled to hear that others too like the Ektorp collection from Ikea , and I am more thrilled that many of you have taken my advice and purchased a piece or two , especially jazzed that one reader picked up a sofa for $100 on Kijiji or Craigslist and then bought a brand new Ikea slipcover in the store for a steal , this is a great way to save even more money.

My $79.00 bargain price has been trumped by the US economy as the same slip there is $10.00 , ok that is a little bothersome for me but good for you .

The slipcover is a bit bright but after being used it will be toned down in no time , I need some new pillows which I found an Etsy , I found just the covers , which is all I need , what a great deal , I am going to take a break on the stripes for a while , now if I could just find a slipcover artist to re-do my Rowe settee than things would be all fresh and new.

New slipcover for me

Getting a new slipcover is like getting a new sofa , it is LATE but I needed to try it on , get my fix per say , I can go to bed now and sleep peacefully.

What do you think of my new header ?

Back and all went well

I just wanted to say thank you for your good wishes , I appreciate it so much . If the were to diagnose HHT with either of us it is treatable with surgery .


We are back from a very long day in Toronto , we started our day at Ikea had meatball lunch the girls love them too . Found a great deal on a new slipcover for my three seater sofa for $79.00 normally $209.00 so I was thrilled and it is always nice to have a back up .
Saw the meanest mom in the world , something that I am often accused of being, but after the girls witnessed this mom full of hate and anger towards her two young daughter's they saw how lovely a mom I really am , not perfect but not full of hate , I had to stop myself from saying something to her , I thought she might have hurt me if I had.
Oh I even was asked out of the blue for design advice , how funny is that , I helped a woman choose a red chaise for her living room , she didn't even know that I do design work , that totally cracked me up .

We got to the MRI department in the bowels of the hospital , got right in and got right to work , Sophie was nervous so I went in with her , they got her all snug as a bug , and things went very smoothly , I had ear phones , the you tube video really played down the noise that that machine makes , it was so loud , but it was over within 45 minutes , Sophie was relieved to get out and to go home .

For those who are new to the blog , Sophie has shown some symptoms of a disorder called HHT Hereditary Hemorrhagic Telangiectasia , some of the symptoms are severe nose bleeds which she has always had , telangiectasia { little tangles of vessels} which she has one on her lip and VERY common location .
This HHT can cause brain and lung bleeds so they are taking this seriously , both Sophie and I have gone through genetic testing which was inconclusive which is why we are now having MRI and CT scans done , this will give them the best look to see if there are any vessel deformities that can cause bleeds .
That is about it , I will go into my personal experiences with our health care for you who are fearful with the impending possible gov health care system looming.

I will see you tomorrow with my new slipcover .... so excited .

Searching for answers

We are going to be back at the hospital for Sophie to get some more testing done , today it will be an MRI , she is a bit nervous , I would expect her to be a bit nervous, I would be too , anything unknown is somewhat unsettling , we looked at a video and prepared her for loud noise but no pain .

I am really hoping that we come away finding nothing , please keep her in your thoughts.

She is a real trooper , she said she would rather have blood drawn again rather than an MRI , she also has a CT scan in a couple of weeks , but that should be it and we should have the answers .

I am happy to have access to excellent government run health care here in Canada , we are very lucky to have it .

Ikea Slipcovered Sofa's

Click on the image to get a close-up look if you dare.

I get many many emails about my Ikea Ektorp pieces , I know many are skeptical of Ikea items , I am sure we have bought something that seemed like a good idea but turned out to be throw away piece , we had one , an entertainment unit that we had moved three times with us , it was heavy and unsteady and never the same after that , we convinced the purchaser of our last house to keep it and use it as a computer center as we had , we knew it could not sustain another move but was otherwise fine , certainly if we would rather give it away then try to move it .

Anyway back to the sofa's , we started out buying the arm chair of this series when our first daughter was 2 years old , she is now 11 and it is still in great shape although we have needed to buy multiple slipcovers, which is well worth it I think .
You can see just why I am a big fan of these slipcovered and very affordable sofas, the left shows how raggedy and dirty the couch was after a few weeks of kids and dogs abusing it , and the right is after I threw it in the washer and dryer { this one is not cotton or it would have been line dried} , ah there is nothing better than a freshly laundered sofa , it looks and feels just like new , the stains are gone and it is ready for more abuse .
You can certainly call me an Ikea fan , ah heck you can definately call me a fan of all fitted slipcovered furniture.

Look what I found

Don't you just love finding new to you images well while looking for great subway tiles images and I cam across this beautiful kitchen , look at the floors and the cupboards the lights it is all wonderful , doesn't it inspire you . This kitchen is the work of Emily Miller a Dallas designer, this is her kitchen, well isn't she a wonderful designer , I sure think so.

You're welcome !

Tuesday Treats

Enjoy some eye candy.



Isn't this eating area divine , love those blue picture frames.

Great idea for an old door , magnetic chalkboard paint.

I love these soft stripes.

I adore build in beds , they are so charming and whimsical.

I think this would be perfect in Sophie's room .

I am all about this space .

Gorgeous green.

I need your help PLEASE I am Chris and I am a secret disasterholic

I need your help , if everyone bands together maybe we can make this happen , see this is my laundry area it needs and intervention, it is so awful , we have no storage or at least not enough , no wonder I hate doing laundry , I have many times thought of making it better , but it overwhelms me , I do not know where to start nor do I have the funds to make it right , but I have found a solution IKEA is running a makeover contest you can help me by voting for my cause, please vote , it is the most pitiful .http://www.anyspacecanbebeautiful.ca/index.php?spaceID=25 CHRISTIE'S disaster basement is my entry.if you are having trouble finding my awful space it is under workspaces.

I know if all of you who read this post vote for me we can do this together.

Thank you I know I can count on you .

Chris

Water, water and more water also known as rain , this is how much rain I was able to catch that was pouring through my kitchen window , ya think its time for new weather stripping ?, the window co. generously gave me a large amount for $1.13 that is the cheapest thing I have purchased in years , easy fix and its a good thing I switched out the old because we had a few more storms since , its amazing how much rain we are getting this summer , everything is green though , I have not had to water much at all , it sounds like we are not the only one's.

I have been meaning to put this picture up , we saw it while visiting my in laws , funny huh!

Pink with Blue Birds part deux

Don't you just love pompom fringe ...



There we go , I like these photo's a little better .

Pink with blue birds

I had bought a can of Wall Candy some months ago thinking Sophie might like them , as when we looked at some wall vinyl she was very drawn to the birds , well these birds were collecting dust , and I was not in the mood to re-paint a room , it takes time for these moods to set in you see.

Finally it hit , we found the perfect shade to match the back ground of the cages pink buff by Glidden and I got right to work with my little helper Sophie , knocked it off in less than two hours amazingly.

Sophie had such fun placing , with my help , the stickers and smoothing them out , so easy and fast.

I thought to first carry the strings all to the ceiling , but I like the graphic look of the different heights , it looks very cute , these photos don't do it justice , it is a tough room to photograph as it is tiny trust me it is so cute.

I will get some better shots tomorrow , "someone" wouldn't let me make her bed the way I wanted it so there will be better shots coming soon , try Wall Candy I loved it , I am not getting an compensation for my review , although I am open to that ....this is purely a glowing recommendation from little old me .

Bedroom sneak peek

Sneak peek

The kid just wanted to try it out and help , she was pretty good at it to .

Goofing around

Have you met my dogs ? I had a little fun with Photobucket , oh my it is such a great site to play . For those of you who know my dogs , isn't this them? , the little angel girly boy , and the little devil, but actually our little "angel" has been up to no good these days , he has figured out how to jump up on to our kitchen island and sneak left over snacks the kids have left out .

Turns out both my children have inherited the decorating gene because Mason has been on me for a couple of weeks to move her furniture around to new locations or to "make her dream come true" as she put it , she even drew me up some potential floor plans , of course she did, I was drawing floor plans for imaginary houses at 11 years old too. {Ikea floating shelf that I added tacs to , and the little drawer piece is from Ikea as well.}

So I gave in last night , as it was raining again and I was out of projects for the moment. I know the ladder needs painting normally it is not there they just scale their way up the frame , I will put that on my to do list. {The duvet on the bottom bunk is a Hawaiian pattern from PB kids as are the hot pink butterfly pillows.}

After looking at a stack pr PB Teen we were all inspired for some change , there is nothing like a fresh re-arrangement to make you fall in love with a room again , the girls even made the beds this morning , amazing.{The wall paint is Farm Life by Glidden if you are wondering and the pattern is a stencil.}

Here is the earring holder that I had mentioned in an earlier post , it isn't the prettiest thing but it is solving a huge problem , I spray painted it all white as was requested.

I simply made a frame to fit within the closet door and stapled chicken wire to the frame , added a couple of hooks to it for necklaces and spray painted it all white , screwed it to the door and now we have lots of storage for Mason's earring collection and it is all hidden away out of sight.

Now off to make Sophie's dream come true and to try out some Wall Candy , hopefully I can show it to you tomorrow , I have some fresh painting supplies and a big can of "pink buff" paint here I go.

Kitchen cabinet makeover DIY style

Before
After

OMG I finally did it , I have thought for oh 7 years about doing this little DIY project.

I wanted real chicken or poultry wire but apparently our Canadian chickens are huge and we do not therefore carry 1/2 inch chicken wire , poor me. This square wire was a good option for another project that I completed last week , I built Mason a much needed ear ring holder from pine and wire , it probably could hold about 100 pairs of earrings , it is not so pretty , that's why I haven't shown it here .

Back to my door makeover ,

1.I took a spade bit and drilled in the corners of the recessed panel allowing for me to cut out with the jig saw the center panel of wood .

2. I then sanded with my mouse{black and decker palm sander} and smoothed the edges .

3. I needed to paint the raw yet smooth edge with a couple of coats of paint.

4. After I spray painted the wire white I cut out the wire to the correct size with tin snips and then stapled it onto the back of the cabinet door.

5. Voila I have a display cabinet , which I have now styled with some pretty glasses and my striped aqua mixing bowl.

Total cost $7.00 for a quarter of a roll of wire.

Beadboard

My window seat

Velvet and Linen

Cobi Ladner H&H Canada

Linda Banks

Nantucket beadboard

Nantucket beadboard

Nantucket beadboard

Nantucket beadboard

My ceiling

Nantucket beadboard

Click

Nantucket beadboard

I wanted to gather all the beautiful photos of beadboard that inspire me , I wanted to keep them in one place easy to find enjoy and to share and inspire.

I have often opted for wainscoting to save money , as beadboard can be a lot more costly .

There are many options , you can use sheets painted or unpainted ,not my favorite as they are hard to cut and awkward to work with but they are quick , one downside is obvious seams

Mdf sections which have a nice profile but chip easily on the edges when installing ,downside is that they are costly .

My favorite type is real wood ,tongue and groove it is easy to cut and to work with , and for me there is nothing nicer than painted wood beadboard the down side is that they need shellac primer to seal knots but it is well worth the effort to get the end result.

You can use beadboard for accents in stairwells, ceilings and backsplashes or for full walls , it is always a classic and beautiful choice.