Coffered ceiling update day one and two...things are already taking shape

I spent most of Friday moving furniture out of the family room, it sure is nice to have big kids who can help move heavy things like sofa's, girls rock...when Daddy is working late. I ripped out the carpet under padding and tack strips and headed off to the dump all before dinner. Bright and early Saturday morning Todd and I were planning to get started. 

 We headed off to Home Depot for 2x4's and plastic and we picked up some small fold able scaffolding which has turned out invaluable, both of us can get up there and attach all the framing. Working over head is hard work for sure.

 So here we are now it's 8:00 pm and the coffered ceiling grid is framed and blocked , all the three sheets of 5/8" MDF have been cut down to 5.5" strips and a bunch of it has been primed and is ready for sanding and more priming before we can nail it all into place, this is getting so exciting. Placement of the studs and finding all the joists was very time consuming but I think the rest will go quite smoothly.
I'm thinking our arms will be sore in the morning.

My daughter would kill me if she knew I was putting a pic up on my blog of her , so don't tell her Ok, she is growing up into a beautiful young lady we are very proud of the person she is becoming she is a good kid indeed. I just thought she looked so beautiful the other night going to a high school winter dance. How time flies when you have kids, it's sad how fast.
Have a wonderful weekend...

It's happening I'm starting a renovation for Christmas

 I have been planning on getting the floors and ceiling done in this family room for a while now and the time is right. I want it done for Christmas, so this Saturday we will be re-locating all the furniture and then ripping up the carpet after that my husband and I will be attaching the 2x4 framing for the coffers. I am hoping it will warm up some so that ripping MDF won't be complete torture.

 I will then go order the pine flooring and have it delivered, yeah delivery.

I am giving myself 21 days to get it all complete so that I can then get up our Christmas tree just in the nick of time , I will most likely put another tree up maybe in our master bedroom we have done that before and it is lovely to have a tree in the master.
I look forward to how much nicer the family room will be , I will be able to extend our dining table from the kitchen into the family room when the flooring is all the same, it will be perfect.
Coffered ceilings and more dark pine floors I am so excited , I may be laying the floors in a unique way also, why not?
Check in often for tiny updates , they may just be silent updates I warn you as I am going to be a very busy person come December it's a good thing almost all my Christmas shopping is done.

Total love for Target my Haul

 I know we all wanted to get Target here in Canada for a long time I know I sure did. I`m not one to take cross border shopping trips I shop locally call me old fashioned. 

I was pleasantly surprised when Target opened as there was so much to love. I have heard a lot of grumbling and complaining going around from my fellow Canadians that Target here is not like in the US, well we all knew it wouldn`t be exactly the same right. I suppose it all depends on what your looking for. Because I was looking for well priced design, decor and home items which is exactly what I found. From dishes to sheets to small furniture I found so much style and selection which is just what I was looking and hoping for. I thought I would share with you some of the great items I have picked up since Target opened. 

 I will start with my min bar in the dining room , this spot is new since I found this cute tray at Target I loved the wood handles and bronze finish.

 I am really excited to try out my new shaker for Christmas , isn`t it the cutest...I know I love it and $14

 I love kosher salt and I had my eye on this little salt cellar for a while , actually I had put it in my cart on a previous shopping trip but when I got home I was sad to find that is must have not made it out of the cart , but luckily I went back and made sure to bring it home for $3.49 well actually $2.09 is what it rang up as. That is something I just love about Target when you select an clearance item and at the cash it rings up even lower than you had expected. Target prices are great but the sales are amazing and the clearance items are superb.

 Another fabulous clearance score a ceramic rolling pin with a vintage design.

I had to special order two of these wall mount bottle openers for our kitchen back a couple of years ago , so I was pleased to see they had a bronze one with their seasonal bar ware I am going to gift that. 

 I went yesterday to see the selection of holiday gift wrapping and I found these adorable gift boxes for $2.00 I cleared them out.

 Adorable bags on sale for $1.00 these beat dollar stores bags any day.

 I know it`s not a good pic but a while back I spotted this cute feather art piece it was perfect for our entry just what I was looking for and only $19

And don`t forget about the perfect lanterns I found for my living room on sale...good things come to those who wait

And last but not least my long awaited duvet cover.

Well there you have it ...my Target haul It`s not hard to see why I love Target Canada....you will too if you give it a chance and if you don`t like the one near you it may be because of it`s location so check neighboring cities I promise you`ll thank me later.... so what are your favorite purchases from Target Canada.

This was and is not a sponsored post these are my experiences and opinions.

My secret office makeover

 21 months , that is how long we have lived in our current home. For 21 months this room has remain untouched. It has been a room with a desk and computer surrounded by boxes. This was supposed to be a real office for my husband but this project never got started.
I didn't want to get involved as my husband had very definite ideas for his office and  I thought I should just stay out of it so I did, well I did for 21 months. But I saw that nothing was going to happen, my husband is a very busy man who does not have the time that was required to really tackle this room which was  4 1/2 full days,long days.
My husband works in the animation industry which I think explains all the toys.He has been a collector for as long as I have known him since way back when he was in school for animation when we were just babies....20 or so years old.
He went on his annual trip to LA this past week and unknown to him I was planning a big old makeover, a secret makeover. I couldn't look at this mess any longer, he needed a real office a nice place a space for him to be to surround himself with the things he loves. He deserves a nice room to call his own.
Now I was taking a risk doing this , would he be OK with me taking this over ? I wondered if he would be mad???
 But he had a Pinterest board for his office so I took from it what I could to make him a nice office. I thought if I tried my best and did a good job he would be happy.......I really hoped I was right. But I was nervous for him to arrive, would he like it? would he be dissapointed? what would happen who knew! Our youngest was hands on and helped me with decisions but our oldest thought I was making a mistake tackling this, she thought her Dad would be mad...how nervous did that make me, right! But I carried on hoping for the best.

I started by emptying the many many boxes about 12 BIG boxes. I painted the walls flagstone by Martha Stewart , I love this color. I then headed off to Ikea to pick up loads of shelf brackets, simple black wood brackets $2.50 each. I also grabbed two metal locker units this one and this one. $109 and $99 which is amazing , they add so much character and storage. I knew my hubby liked lockers so it was a win. Having a collection of toys meant I didn't have to hold back on color at all. 

 Here is a good before it was so bland , messy and where are all those cool toys? No color no warmth not inviting at all.

 Like I said there were a few boxes and then a few new boxes from my new purchases.

 Those awful sliding closet doors I dislike so much , they were the last ones and they are now gone. Happy dance!
I was going to try building a sliding barn door which Todd wanted but that would mean losing the wall storage to the right and it was needed so much I decided it was best to leave the closet open.I had considered doing built in shelves but opted for this black metal shelf from Lowe's , it was on budget and was so quick to put together , built ins would have taken up to a week to complete and I didn't have that time. The other bonus is that these shelves won't really collect dust and that a big plus. It also fits the industrial edge my husband likes.

Lots of storage room now. I may make some cool wood doors but I am tired and taking a breather for now.

 Makeovers really make a mess of the whole house don't they , dust and messes everywhere.

 Here things were coming along nicely. I tried my best to display all there was but I don't know toys, so I just grouped like items together.

 Box after box of this...

I even hung my husbands Grandmother's cookoo clock , its broken but it is important.

 I know I know grainy photos my phone is my only camera and boy do I ever need a new iphone...

I love these HR Puff N Stuff skate decks they deserved to be displayed so I made a stand for them. This took two tries but I ended up with display ledges from the first fail stand so it was a win win. 

 We have all seen the cool shelves held up by metal pipes ...those pipes are messy I tell you. I dreaded working with them and instead opted to use the pipes to make hooks for display. The pipes at our local store only would have allowed for 6" deep shelves and that wouldn't have worked at all. I really wanted to make sure I incorporated some pipe made accents. Each of those was about $6.00 and he likes them.

So there you have it my top secret hubby office makeover...

So what happened you're wondering...well he came home a little after 1:00 am from his trip where I had left his office door semi open with the lamp on and a big red bow on the door.

He asked me what was with the light on so I just lied and said " I don't know???" He opened the door and it was clear he loved it and was shocked I would say blown away....it was so much fun to give him this gift. He works so very hard and deserves this surprise so much. 

I have only ever seen my husband cry once and that was when he thought our daughter had drown in the tub, long story she was a trickster.... but it was a horrible moment for sure but seeing him choke up while he was seeing his new room made all the stress and hard work so worth it ....big strong men have hearts too thank goodness. 

I am so glad I did this and that it all turned out so well and I'm feeling pretty happy. 

A duvet cover decision...finally

 I really need to get wood floors in this room but the main floor is my first priority. Still so much to do in this house, baby steps.

 I finally found a duvet cover worth buying. I have been looking for a duvet cover since we moved into this house and upgraded to a king sized bed. I did have a duvet cover a plain and simple grey duvet cover but I did want and have been looking for a duvet cover with some pizzazz. It took nearly two years to find it but now I just love it. It is great to add a little warmth with all the cold weather upon us. I found it at my new favorite store Target Canada. It is a Threshold product , how much do you love the Threshold stuff , it may become a problem I like it all so much. The duvet set I bought is called Suzani and it was on sale at $59 so it was a win win.

 I did not realize it had a second pattern on the inside , that side is a lovely sheet quality and the top pattern is a heavy fabric that looks and feels much like linen. I am thoroughly impressed with the quality. The dark gray sheet is from the PC collection from the Superstore our local grocery store. The orange pillow cases are also from Target so nice and soft , I love good basics.

 Maybe this will encourage me to finally choose a paint color for my walls. I think I am going to paint the walls the same color as the bathroom a barely sky glass blue , kinda grey blue it works well with blues and greys and even seafoam. Maybe the blue tables will become black, I am still deciding.

 My cousin and I and my great friend went to a taping of the Steven and Chris show last week, that is always a good fun time. Ok seriously my beautiful tall blonde cousin Sheri is pregnant with her fourth baby here , you can't even tell, look at those legs, ok don't compare them to mine, seriously stop looking... I didn't get those genes.....whine!!!! moving on.

Here is a whole lot of cuteness for you , isn't he cute resting his head on my knees hoping I will share my snack....he is so charming.

I was so excited the other day to pass the 1000 followers mark on Pinterest what a milestone. Follow me here 

I have been registered for the MiB awards for best blog in the design and DIY category , please feel free to stop by and cast your vote for me HERE thanks in advance and as always for stopping by my little blog. 
Have a wonderful day and feel free to say hi if you can. 

Making the most of cabinet space, adding drawers

This is the messy cupboard below our junk drawer where we keep a whole lot of stuff. 

It's always a mess and disorganized , I know. Why do these cabinets have half shelves ? well I guess full shelves would be hard to navigate also.

 I decided to just go ahead and add drawers where drawers should be, behind all the doors with messes hiding behind them. 

 After a few hours building simple pine box drawers and attaching inexpensive 22" slides I had me some useful drawers.$14 a drawer. I used masonite to create the bottom and I added shelf paper , nothing fancy. It was my first time using shelf paper that stuff is annoying. As you can see I drilled holes to make the drawers very easy to access.
My husband was quite surprised to open this cupboard last night to see drawers where he usually sees a big mess.
Now I need to move onto making many more drawers to make the best use of our storage space.

You can add expensive pre-made drawers from your local big box store or you can make your own. It's easy. I didn't router I just made a box and added the bottom and screwed the masonite to the box through the slides. Sp simple.

I needed to add this strapping to install the slides on the hinge side of the cabinet this allows to the drawer to slide out past the hinge. 

 I will add a spice pull out drawer to a skinny cupboard that we use for cookie sheets and such. Oh the extra space we will get in the island food cabinet.

Would you try to install drawers in your cabinets. Here is a great pin on how to install drawer slides http://www.pinterest.com/pin/73113193923169228/ just in case you are inspired

My next big DIY project... Coffered Ceilings

 I have always loved coffered ceilings , they are so beautiful and a gorgeous feature to almost any room.
I added one beam in our last house to separate the smooth ceiling from the bead board covered ceiling in our family room ,check it out here so I know how to get a box beam installed I suppose but I have never tackled a large ceiling nor a grid pattern. It will be a big learning process. I am very excited to get this project going.

 I will be installing 4 beams total that will intersect. The depth of the beams will be 5.5" and 5 1/4" wide framed with crown moulding.

I was mapping out the placement of the beams finding the ceiling joists. I needed to work around the pot lights and the very large oscillating ceiling fan we have installed because that is not coming down , it was not easy to get up there.
I have measured out 53" in from each side of the longest wall and 48" in from the shorter walls. The room is 12' wide by 17' long. This will create one large rectangle in the center and one in each corner of the room.
I will use MDF sheets to make the box beams , I have found a lumber yard locally that sells extra long MDF 24"x161".
Here is the blank slate now.

We just need to move all the furniture out then I need to rip out the carpet and under pad and then get started on the ceiling. this may take a few weeks....wish me luck. After the ceiling is complete I will install the pine flooring and finish that then I will move onto the dining room ceiling and flooring in there.

I will be re-creating this style of coffered ceiling with bead board .

 As for the flooring in that room I want to try something special I have narrowed it down to one of these designs....of course mine will be wider planks 4" and dark stained red pine like the rest of the wood flooring.

For now I am going to focus on the family room to get that done in time for Christmas and if I start on the dining room it will be bonus but I am not putting any pressure on myself at this point.

So hang in there I will be updating along the process but my blog posts may just slow down a little.
Bye bye for now , thanks for stopping by.