The Beginnings of a Kitchen

Hot on the heels of hosting our first family dinner, HandyMan and I visited our first kitchen showroom. We went to Aya Kitchens in Woodbridge, a place I've seen advertised in my monthly Canadian House & Home magazines. It was also the place our friends Junebug and Frisco got their fab new kitchen.

As our kitchen is a miniscule 8'x13', we won't have many options on what to do with the space. Here's a few pics of the space in its pre-reno glory.

We'll be gutting the entire room (goodbye floral wallpaper) ourselves so are planning for the demolition in springtime - at least we'll be able to bbq outside for some of our meals. HandyMan warns me that I should be prepared for a few surprises behind these 50-year old walls. As long as I don't find anything like this, I'll be fine.

Stylewise, we'll create a room that is cohesive with the adjacent dining room. Simple shaker style cabinets in white, some glass doors to show off our new wedding dishware, and grey-ish stone countertops are some of the wishlist items. As a Capricorn, "efficiency" and "organization" are my mantras so those ideas need to be translated into a space that is also beautiful, smart and highly functional. I've still got a few months of planning and dreaming... its going to be an exciting ride!

The Law of Inertia & Renovating

With one room of our whole house renovation done, you would think that HandyMan and I would celebrate our little bit of progress, maybe slow down, enjoy the new space for a while. And we have...Mama & Papa Wanderluster and siblings Wanderluster were over for our first formal dinner in the new dining room. While the dining space was perfect, the kitchen, well, was obviously less so.

We struggled to put together a four-course meal in our tiny 8'x13' kitchen. Our oven, literally the width of a cookie sheet, barely made it through the evening. HandyMan and I were stepping on each other all night and we had to constantly shoo our guests out of the kitchen. A shame really, since cooking with family is something I enjoy. Despite the logistical challenges, the meal was a success and our guests enjoyed everything down to the banana and nutella crepe dessert, drizzled with a strawberry grand marnier compote. No sooner had the door shut behind them then HandyMan and I were griping that the kitchen had just moved up in the renovation priority list.

Newton had it right with his Law of Inertia - an object in motion tends to stay in motion. So it is with renovating. One project leads to another project; one fix uncovers many other problems. Not only has the dining room reno amplified how inadequate the kitchen is, but the funky new wallpaper and wainscotting have highlighted how worn out the trims look, how dirty and old the ceiling seems, how unfinished the adjacent living room is. I guess the kitchen isn't the only thing we're adding to the list.

Home Is Where The Heart Is

It's Christmas Day and as I sit here, with my tummy full of good food, opened presents strewn about, lounging around in my warm home, I can't help but be thankful for all that I have. It has been a stupendous year for HandyMan and I - our first book Design City Toronto was published, we sold two condos and bought a house, we hosted Toronto's first Pecha Kucha, spent two weeks in France and Spain, and we got married. There will probably never be a year in our lives quite like this one. But even though the thrills and chills of 2007 are fading, I am just as excited about what lies ahead. I am happy knowing that I have a partner in life who will help me make all my dreams, renovating or otherwise, come true.

Wishing you all joy and happiness in your hearts and homes. Merry Christmas.

Yum

Feeling lazy this Saturday. HandyMan and I decided to start off the holidays right...with a breakfast of French toast topped with strawberries marinated in Grand Marnier, and a side of pineapple cottage cheese.... yuuuuummy!

Wallpaper, you say

Sometimes, in home renovating, you have to take a leap of faith. You can plan and ponder, measure and re-measure, research, contemplate, and consider... and no matter how sure you think you are, sometimes you just have to cross your fingers and hope for the best. That's the best analogy I can give to describe HandyMan's and my foray into the land of wallpaper.

I've always loved wallpaper. Just touching it transports me back to our house in Georgetown, with its 1970's flocked velour damask and fake wood panelling. Nothing makes a room stand out more than wallpaper. And having come from neutral toned condos, sick of the Gluckstein-esque look of everything nowadays, we knew we wanted to rebel against the sea of beige beige beige.

We started safe, venturing into our local Home Depot to check out their selection. We briefly considered a green and white damask in an enlarged pattern, a modern take on this old-world style. After some thought, we found the pattern too fussy, too 2007. We then looked at some larger floral prints. One contender was bold with cream, slate grey, and black florals. On an off-white background, it would contrast (not in a good way) with the white wainscotting so that too was a no go.
Finally, a trip to Metro Wallcoverings brought us the answers we were seeking. We decided on a pattern that was graphic and modern, colourful and young. It is a bold floral that sits somewhere between Asian contemporary and British colonial...perfect!

'Tis The Season

Its our first Christmas in our new home and HandyMan and I couldn't be more excited. The dining room will hopefully be done before the holidays and we can do a proper job of hosting a few parties over the coming weeks.

Wainscotting is in and looks absolutely amazing. Those guys at Craftsman Shutters did a steller job... the plantation shutters in the dining room and living room really add warmth and traditional detail to the house. And their timing couldn't be more perfect! We've just had the biggest snowstorm so far this year and HandyMan was outside 3 times today to shovel the foot of snow that's fallen in the last 24 hours. The shutters are doing a good job of keep the inside nice and toasty, while framing a perfect view of the gentle snow outside.

Being cocooned in the house, we had a chance to get all our Christmas decorations up. The tree went traditional while the dining room went oh-so-mod.