The completed Family room tour

I thought that I should take some photos of our completed family room ...that feels so good to say , completed! The kitchen is completed the powder room is completed and now the family room is completed. So many room are just not there yet. But these things takes time. 

 Drapes are linen from Ikea 2 pairs for fullness. The rug is from Home depot and is an 8'x10' synthetic sisal which we love. The fan is from Lowe's.

 I added book cases to the fireplace and added a marble hearth and tile to the surround.

 My daughter Mason and I added the chair rail moulding for her bring your kid to work day. The little side table is from Winners.

 All our soft seating is from the Ikea Ektorp collection. The lamps are from a second hand store. The frames are from Ikea. Most of the pillows I made from Tonic living fabrics.

 The coffered ceiling is my latest project which is the crowning touch this room needed. The coffee table is from Urban Barn.

And of course the 6" pine flooring finished in dark Kona stain and top coated with satin varathane, it is getting worn daily which is all part of the plan.

I hope you like my little tour ...thanks for stopping by.

A little news to share

I wanted to remind you to get prepared to watch an all new season of Canada's Handyman Challenge. 

Tune in January 21st at 10 pm on HGTV  Canada for the season premier. 

I was invited to visit the set this past fall. It was so nice to get a behind the scenes look. A few other bloggers and I were able to sit down with the judges and the host and chat about DIY projects and blogging, it was a lot of fun they were all so nice and charming of course. Sadly my computer crashed recently and I lost all but this photo. 

I was thoroughly impressed with the final challenge, it would have crippled me.  It is amazing what some people are able to accomplish in such a pressure cooker, I don't know how they did it.

You will have to tune in to watch their journey and to see who walks away with the grand prize. 

I wanted to share with you a NEW BLOG you must check out. My dear friend's sister Jenna has just jumped into the blogging world. I think it's a great idea, she is very talented and lucky us she is wanting to share her talents with the world. She transformed her previous home which was lovely but decided to make the move to a new home, which is stunning. Jenna recently purchased an "80's vintage" cottage and she is transforming it room by room, in a very tight timeline they have already made remarkable changes that you have to see, it sure makes me long for a cottage to DIY makeover myself. 

You can see her makeovers of her previous home her current home and her cottage continue to tune in while she shares the journey of transforming both her home and cottage. 

Here are some pics of her work for you to drool over

Enjoy! and then head on over to OAK POINT COTTAGE and see what Jenna has been up to, make sure to say hi and tell her I sent you. 

 It's so gorgeous right?

Honestly I could switch houses in a heart beat....

Check out Jenna's new blog OAK POINT COTTAGE I just love that name also it's perfect. 

Why I would chose marble again in a heart beat

When we were buying this house I knew I would have the opportunity to build and create my dream kitchen and that meant I would choose my dream counter material , Marble Carrera Marble.
I almost fell for the warnings and scare tactics out there that marble is awful and it stains and that it would look awful and etch.... I nearly fell for it. I am so glad I didn't go against my instincts.
I tried to go for the "safe" option and try to get the "look" but I knew after a long time looking that the look a likes just weren't the same.
 Now all that being said my husband hated white and grey marble, it reminded him of the old 70's cheap marble look laminate. But I took him into a local store that had plenty of samples of counter materials quartz and real marble. We looked and felt both the quartz and real marble and that was it, the moment of no return , it was going to be marble for us. My husband said just now "it was the right choice",amen.
One great perk of marble is that it is quite a lot less expensive than quartz, like about half...I mean my dream material and half the cost of faux of course this was the right decision.

I compare my decision to get real marble over a look alike to selecting real wood floors over laminate flooring. After all wood floors are going to get scratched and show wear and tear but I would never spend more $$  to get laminate over wood (well I did have laminate once but the sound of laminate and the look and feel left me wanting more, I know it is better now but it is a personal choice) I personally have no trouble with things having character because I want a beautiful home but not a museum.

 I went with a double thickness edge and a square edge and most importantly a HONED finish. It is so divine I love my marble selection.
Let me also say I cook real food messy things greasy things so this is not a just for show kitchen by any means. I do clean as I go but that was me before.
When I made the decision to go for marble I knew that I would need to top the island with butcher block. I had butcher block in our old house and I knew that was a must have here. A tough durable spot for the messy stuff the colored stuff and the acidic stuff.
Butcher block can be refinished any old time, mine is sealed and we don't cut on it but it is just a safe prep zone for everyone.
I may feel differently about my marble if we didn't have a nice big island for all the messy stuff.

 All these photos are of the kitchen counters 2 years after regular use.
So yes marble is soft and it will mark but over time it will all add a nice patina. I use it differently than say I would laminate but I don't baby it.

 There was once lemon juice accident here early on but it has softened so much it is very difficult to even find it any more. Someone made lemon aid here and there was a ring of lemon juice from the can , it was pretty upsetting at the time but it was my fault as I guess I hadn't explained the no no foods.

 I have heard people mention coffee being a stain concern well not here, there are always little splashes and they don't get cleaned up quickly they dry in or on and I am happy to say they wipe right off. Not one single coffee drip stain remains. Actually there are no stains after 2 years, none what so ever, OH should I have said that , I am asking for trouble now aren't I.

This is what happens when something really bad occurs like a can falls from two shelves above the counter when you open the door and a can comes flying out without any warning. It's what I call a bruise, something hits and a white spot happens and there is a little scrape or divot and it is very upsetting. But it is what it is. It's minor to me. If this is as bad as it gets than I am fine with it and I would choose it again and again. You can sand scratched out with a 600 grit sand paper and re-seal also.

I don't get anything from putting this out there ( not that I wouldn't take some $$ for promoting this product though) but this sealer is I am sure the reason why I love my marble and that it's been a great choice for me. It was recommended by a reputable marble company in Toronto and by our marble manufacturer and I believe it is the only sealer to use on white marble. It needs to be applied 4 times 2 weeks apart and then it is good for 10 years....I have only done it twice so far and it has proven to be amazing. I recommend Meta Creme all the time.

you can check it out here Mete creme

So maybe all the scare tactics are out there due to lack of good quality sealer and the fact that polished marble is and can be tough to live with in a kitchen. I would not recommend polished marble in a kitchen it will look awful in a matter of weeks I have seen it in person and heard it from so many people.

That's my experience having real marble white counters I love them. I hope if you are considering Marble and have been scared about it that this post will help alleviate some of your concerns, I know it would have been helpful when I was making my decision.

Thanks for stopping by.

Happy New Year

Well here we are again at the beginning of a new year with a fresh start ahead for all of us. Lucky me my long awaited Christmas gift from my hubby arrived on New Year's Eve right before we had guests over .

 It's perfect and I couldn't be happier with it. It is an Ashby coffee table from Urban Barn. The whole collection is nice. The table goes perfectly with the chairs I have in my kitchen.

 I love the concealed storage that this coffee table has which can be easily accessed from both sides.

I love the finish, it is so pretty. I am more than happy with my first new purchased coffee table. I am making sure there are lots of coasters available for the kids to use at all times.

I just finished up the Christmas decor clean up. It was only up for 13 days but it feels good to get it all put away, I am feeling good that I didn't put up that second tree after all. Everything is all boxed up and tucked away for the next year. I still need to try to vacuum up a whole lot of sparkles and sequins, that stuff gets every where...

I don't normally make a resolution but this year I promise myself to be healthier and work on shedding my extra weight. I am going to take a well deserved break on home improvements and working on self improvement. I fell off the wagon last year sadly but its time to get back to putting myself on the to do list for good this time.

How was your New Year's Eve , did you make any resolutions?