pretty swanky digs

jacqueline

I love wreaths. They are beautiful pieces that celebrate a season and make a personal style statement that's fully your own. They are easy to change up when the mood hits you and easy to display in every room to keep the mood flowing, just like the spirits at your holiday soiree. Simple or fancy, rustic greens or shiny brights, where does your wreath love lie?

alicew

HGTV

lookwhatidid.blogspot.com

Western Living

via smudgetikka.com

via pinterest - source unknown

naptime deocorator

Martha Stewart

via pinterest - original source unknown

via smudgetikka.com

via pinterest - source unknown

At home in Arkansas

via smudgetikka.com

via zsa zsa bellagio

happy weekend!

jackie

Ikea adel kitchen in progress

Here are a few photos of our second kitchen and bathroom in progress. We used the Adel cabinets from Ikea. I personally love these cabinets. They are a classic shaker style in a soft white and the price is amazing at $99 per linear foot. This kitchen is for a basement suite in a house that is being sold so it needs to be done very economically. You might be thinking that marble isn't exactly economical but I found this marble on kijiji for less than $5 a square foot, which is pretty fantastically amazing for a backsplash. The counters are Ikea's numerar white with a stainless steel strip around the edge. These are quite nice for the price as well and they are reversible with white/grey, so if you change your mind by the time you get home from the store then the option is always there. I never change my mind about anything with design. Ask anyone who knows me. It will at least give them a good laugh.

The sink and dishwasher will be going on this wall. We have a stainless steel sink with square corners and a commercial style faucet both purchased for great prices at Costco (I'll post resources when finished). Then I have two floating white shelves from Ikea going on the wall above.

I ended up getting this vanity from Ikea on clearance for $50. I think it's an older style of the Godmorgan series. It has white drawer fronts. I originally wanted to paint the vanity in a grey shade slightly darker than the wall colour, but since we had to keep costs down we ended up keeping the original white/wood. I do love the look of wood with marble so it will still turn out nicely and help keep it from going to feminine, which I sometimes have a tendency to do.

I love the way the bathtub walls and floor turned out. The only thing I would have done differently is to use white subway tile without the beveled edge to keep the look more modern. It was a last minute purchase the night before I found out the tile setter was coming the next day. Either way I think it's still very nice and I am learning many, many valuable lessons (don't be indecisive and procrastinate when buying bathroom wall tile).

bathroom marble ikea godmorgan gray grey owl

So we should be finished in about a week or two so I will post finished pictures along with some resources when we are done. I hope you are having a fantabulous weekend and not fighting the mall crowds or Christmas party consequences too badly. Enjoy your Sunday.

jackie

winter is here....I'll allow it

In my last post I was dreaming of brighter, warmer days while I sat amidst the wonders of winter as snow fell, chimneys smoked, and the thought of never seeing the sun again crossed my mind. The weather has not changed but thankfully the spirit of the season has begun to emerge and remind me of how magical this time of year can be. In as much as I complain about the fluffy white stuff I admit that I love how it's always been a part of my Christmas. As I look through photos that are inspiring me at the moment, I also look outside and realize that the magic of the season really wouldn't be the same for me without that first snowflake. So here I share with you a few photos I came across tonight, as the gates of nostalgia opened up and allowed the snow to happily fly into my world.