Closet of Shame

What is it about the new year that makes me want to purge, organize, refresh and start in a new direction? Or maybe its just the realization that I've lived one more whole year with a nagging problem that makes me say "That's it! No more. Time to do something about this!".

Let me introduce you to my closet of shame:

Uhm, yeah. I admit it, I've been keeping this dirty little secret from you all. This is one part of the front entry makeover you never saw, right? But we all have a few secrets, don't we?

Its not like I haven't tried to keep this mess under control. I've just had a few things working against me.

The layout of this closet renders it almost impossible to keep it neat and tidy. It has an angled door and its too small to put a shoe rack in their properly. Instead of a rod, there are hooks around the perimeter. Now you can see why we end up with piles of coats on hooks and piles of shoes on the floor!

I think seeing all that winter gear stuffed in there helped me reach my boiling point. So one day while the babe was down for a nap, HandyMan and I tore everything out and turned this closet into something more functional and neat.

We started with a good cleaning, some patching, and new quarter round to hide the cable. A few coats of white paint freshened everything up. Then we took the existing Ikea shoerack and cut it down to fit. Now we have a space for those tall winter boots.

We removed all the hooks and added a hanging rod. Coats hang on the right and umbrellas hang on the little area in front of the bumpout to the left. We kept the existing shelf overhead but I added baskets for hats and gloves. Now with the coats hanging properly, I can actually reach the shelf!

On the door, I put this pretty hanger-thingy from HomeSense. Its the perfect spot to put Chloe's little coats.

The kiddo woke from her nap before we were able to finish everything so we'll have to leave installing a wall-mounted shoe rack and some hooks for my bags on the left wall for another day. But for now, its good enough... and I don't have to worry about an avalanche of coats toppling on me anymore!

Do tell, do you have any shameful secrets hiding in your home?

The Entry Way

After having lived with an ugly, yellowed radiator, chopped up baseboards, and a severe lack of storage for the last three years, I can tell you that my day has become 1000x more enjoyable now that I have a clean, organized entryway to come home to.



The entry was one of those neglected areas of our home. When we moved in 3 years ago, we tore out the nasty pink carpet and old radiator cover right away, vowing to quickly turn the entry into a bright and welcoming space. But of course, other things got in the way and we learned to live with the non-functional triangular closet and piled our keys on the windowsill. Isn't it amazing how you can just become immune to certain problem areas in your home?

We did make improvements to the space like installing new lighting, getting a yummy striped stair runner, and replacing the front door and storm door. But without a new radiator cover, the space never felt quite right. And now it does.

HandyMan did a great job building the rad cover. The fresh white paint on the cover and repainted baseboards really brightens up the area. The slim design, which HandyMan fitted around the existing door trim, is functional yet visually doesn't take up much space.

Chloe loves the little built-in cubbies. Everyday we find something new stuffed in there... shoes, socks, animal finger puppets! She's now taken to pulling out her shoes and telling us exactly which ones she wants to wear that day.

And I've finally been able to put up my limited edition Catherine Ledner armadillo photograph in the entryway. I bought the photo years ago with the intention to specifically hang it here. Its been in Chloe's room up till now.

I love how the yellow & grey wallpaper background in the photo picks up on the yellow in the dining room walls and in the kitchen.

HandyMan also took some time to repaint the closet door and baseboards and spraypaint the closet door hardware black to go with the hardware in the rest of the house. Now the entryway looks clean, fresh, organized. I literally walk inside the house now and take a deep relaxing breath when I step inside.

Then...

and now!

Enhancing the Entry

HandyMan has slowly been making covers for each of the radiators in our house. He's been wanting to make the one for the front entry for a long time - we need somewhere handy to throw down some keys or shopping bags!

Using MDF and the Octoperf wood mesh screen that we used for all the other covers, HandyMan built the cover to suit the surroundings. I'm not sure if you noticed, but all the covers have been customized to fit in with the rooms... the one in Chloe's room is a shaker-style to go with the shaker closet doors. The one in the master bedroom is more decorative and has feet and fancy trim. And the one in the dining room has styling similar to the wainscotting.

For the entry, we embellished the design a bit and came up with not only a radiator cover, but also a place to store mail, keys, and little mittens and boots in the winter time. Our entry is small and severely lacking in storage. We have a tiny triangular-shaped front closet and keep our keys in a box on the window ledge so taking a bit of extra space and adding cubbies to the rad cover was one way to make the entry seem more functional and welcoming.


HandyMan trimmed out the cubbies to give them a more finished look. He's still deciding whether to build small pull out boxes to house keys and gloves, or if we can find some premade baskets or trays to fit. We might also drill little holes on the inside of the cubbies to allow hot air from the rad to circulate. It will be a special treat to pull out warm mittens on a cold winter's day!



The top has to be notched out to fit around the existing door trim but other than that, the cover is patched and ready for paint and install! Now if I can just resist the urge to dump stuff and allow things to pile up on the rad cover.

Vintage Doorbell Hardware

There was one part of our new front door that you probably never paid any attention to. Can you spot it?


See that knob on top? That is a vintage doorbell. It makes the most lovely sound so we wanted to keep it when we replaced the door. The problem is that it is so non-descript that nobody recognizes its a doorbell! It's a cheap plastic knob and plate painted to look like metal and we've been wanting to replace it for a while. We hadn't found any suitable replacements though until our recent trip to Artefacts in St. Jacobs.

I wish I had taken a Before photo to show the new hardware covered in layers and layers of old peeling white paint like the old mailbox slot we found. HandyMan has a polishing wheel (seriously, it is the most useful tool!) which he used to strip off all that paint. Beneath it all we found this...


Isn't it pretty? It looks to be cast out of bronze as it has a slight brownish tint. I love how it says "Turn" - there'll be no mistaking that this is a doorbell now!



We debated whether to spraypaint the bronze to match the brushed metal of the other door hardware, but its really hard to get the exact same metal finish. Plus the metal is so darn gorgeous we didn't want to cover it up; its kinda nice having it in its authentic original finish.

And here are my trusty assistants showing you just how nice the doorbell sounds:

On The Run

And FINALLY the carpet runner is in. I say finally because its taken a year and a half to get this thing... we shopped around, we purchased, we waited, the place we purchased from went bankrupt, we waited for our refund, we shopped some more, we finally found it AGAIN at the new place that bought all of the old bankrupt place's inventory, we bought, we waited some more, and its in!!


Which is a good thing because this little one is getting pretty good at clambering up those stairs! Baby gates are going in this weekend so enjoy them in their unblemished state while you can.

A Little Stripe of Satin

When you live on a street where all the houses look the same, where every second house has a black door and a red wreath, sometimes you want your place to stand out a little. And when you have a 7 month old and you've been reading The Cat In The Hat too many times, this is what you come up with :)

- All you need is some red satin ribbon and leftover white paint.
- Lay the ribbon down on a spare piece of plastic or any type of surface that you can get paint on.
- Put three pieces of painters tape side by side on an angle across the ribbon. Remove the second piece of tape. This will expose some of the ribbon which you will paint white.
- Reusing that second piece of tape as a spacer, add more pieces of painters tape until the full length of the ribbon is taped.
- Make sure to press down on the edges of the tape so the paint won't seep underneath.
- Paint all the exposed parts (I did two coats) and remove the painters tape after the paint has dried. You may need to use an exacto knife to get the tape to remove cleanly.

Take your ribbon and loop it through your wreath. You'll notice that the unpainted side of the ribbon is visible on the back side. So that you don't see this, just put a fold in the ribbon so that the unpainted side flips towards the door. Secure the fold to your wreath with a safety pin. Et voila, a Cat In The Hat / candycane striped ribbon.


Another tip: We didn't want to put a nail in our nice new door to hang the wreath, so we secured the ribbon on the top of the door using a thumbtack.

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Wow! Great response to my Cans for Comments post. Day 1's total so far is 25 comments! Woohoo!! Keep the comments coming.

Now That's A Door

Old door:


New door!


Well hello! Welcome! Come on in and stay a while! If doors could talk, that's what our new door would be saying. It was about time we replaced the original front door. The one that you had to slam to close properly and tug with all your might to open. The one with layers and layers of paint, a faux leaded glass window, and a rotting wooden doorstep that I'm sure was an insect super highway for those little bugs that would find their way inside in the summertime.



And in its place we've put a schmancy new door and storm door. Its a traditional style that fits with our house with a leaded glass window and recessed panels. We thought the door would have a smooth finish but it actually has a faux wood look which we quite like! We went with a fiberglass door instead of a metal one since it would stand up better to kicks, hits, and banging by little children :) The storm door will be great to have for our snowy Canadian winters but also fun for Chloe. We've noticed that lots of the neighbours' kids liked to stand at the door and check out what was happening on the street. With the storm door, we can let some sunlight in, allow breezes to flow (the glass can be changed with mesh), and Chloe can see the world outside.



And because we were so excited about our new door, we decided to deck it out in its holiday finery. HandyMan "repotted" our faux topiaries into our cast iron urns. Hopefully they won't keep toppling over now like they did last year. And did you see my coir doormat from Ikea? I love how the pattern echoes the pattern in the glass and the shape of our house numbers. Now all we have to do is get the white trim painted next spring (I'm thinking a taupey grey colour) and the house will be looking brand new.

Waiting

We are getting our new front door installed tomorrow. I can't wait. There's nothing better to add some curb appeal than a nice door, especially for the holidays. Finally I can start decorating and getting our house into the Christmas spirit.

Image from Country Home

On The Run

I've been on the hunt for a carpet runner for our entry stairs for a while now. We found and ordered one back in January but the company went bankrupt (another victim of this global recession) before the rug was delivered so the hunt continues.

I came across these from Dash & Albert - how fun and lovely are they! I love the idea of a fresh, light runner against the dark stair treads. Such a welcoming look when you enter the door. Plus, I think Chloe's little bum will look so cute coming down those stairs when she learns how to manoeuvre them! Is it wrong to pick furnishings based on how well they accessorize your newborn? I get the feeling that things are going to get a bit more bright and colourful around the HandyLuster household? :)