Hooked on Kids' Rooms!

Chloe's room

It's Friday and I've decided to join Julia's Hooked on Fridays blog party. So what I am hooked on? Kid's rooms! Yes, I know that Chloe's room is done and decorated but I just can't help looking at these oh-so-pretty rooms. Plus, there are so many bloggers that are soon to be or have just become parents that there is a plethora of good ideas out there. No longer do you need to settle for wishy-washy pastels and boring baby bedding. Take a look at these rooms:

Making It Lovely - Eleanor's Nursery

Little Green Notebook - The Girls Room

Me and Wee - The Nursery

Urban Grace - The Nursery Diaries

The Estate of Things - Rhoney Design Nursery

Something old, Something new - The Nursery

I really think kids' rooms are the most fun room in the house to decorate. You can be fanciful or frilly, bold or sweet. And once you decorate, you get to do it all over again in a few years!

Blog Party: Before & Afters

Rhoda over at Southern Hospitality is hosting a blog party. This one is all about your best Before & Afters of 2008, and if you know me, I love me a good Before & After! Here's my Top 4:

1. The Kitchen. First up is the biggest project we undertook in 2008. Yes, I know you're probably tired of looking at all the kitchen pictures, but indulge me one more time :) We took the galley kitchen from a drab and dreary 1950's space to a swanky and sparkly bistro look.

Before:

And After:

You can see more pics of the renovation here, here, and here.

2. The Dining Room. So technically, we started on this room in November 2007, but we didn't finish it off, curtains and all, until April 2008 so I'm going to count it ;) In this room, we broke out the new power tools and made the wainscotting as our first DIY project in the house. We got wallpaper and shutters installed to bring the room to life.

Before (with the previous owner's furnishings):

And After:

3. The Deck. This one is still a "work in progress". We built the banquettes this summer and got some cushions made. Hopefully, this summer we'll finish off the space by painting all the woodwork in white, adding railing details, a 'haint' blue ceiling, some drop pendant lights, and breezy gauzy curtains.

Before:

And After:

4. The Office. This room was Boring with a capital B! No architectural features, an off-center window to contend with, and no storage space. A trip to Ikea took care of that. Here's what we came up with.


Before:



And After:



To see the transformation of these rooms, and other spaces in our house, just click on the Label Cloud on the left. I'm off now to go check out all the other bloggers at the party. There is so much inspiration out there!!

House Tour: Oakville Lakefront Home

Julia over at Hooked on Houses is hosting a home tour across the blogosphere. I’ve decided to showcase a beautiful home in Oakville on the shores of Lake Ontario.

Founded in 1827, Oakville is a lakeside city with a small-town feel. Only a 30-minute drive from Toronto, Oakville residents have a higher average household income (perhaps reflective of the many Toronto-company CEO’s who live in the area!) and many of the houses in Old Oakville have a lakefront view like this one. Let’s take a look:

This gorgeous renovated house has 4 bedrooms and 3.5 baths. It boasts beautifully finished bathrooms with traditional details like beadboard and clawfoot tubs. And the kitchen – the kitchen! – so dreamy with white and dark cabinets, granite backsplash, cup pulls, and the satin nickel bridge faucet.

Since the house is currently empty, you can really see the quality in the craftsmanship. Look at the gorgeous oak hardwood floors in the loft space. Leaded pane windows, coffered ceilings, wainscoting…it almost makes me want to ditch my house in the city for this sanctuary in the country. Almost… but I don’t have the $1.75M in my pocket needed to pick up this beauty. Maybe you do??

Can't get enough house tours? Check out these others on the Hooked on Houses tour, or click on Before & After to see pics of my 'always under renovation' house.