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With three young kids in our home, I need to be really mindful about what kinds of furniture we bring into our home and how we can clean and protect it. I’ve had the honour of working with The Brick for just over a year now (you can read my first blog post with them…
We’re building again! And it might not be what you think. Let me introduce to you: Mom’s Lake House. This is a very special project that my hubby, my mom, my dad and myself are embarking on this Fall. We’re building a gorgeous little home on a lake nearby that will have classic Hampton’s beach…
Please welcome guest author Shannon of AKA Design as she shares with us how to decorate our homes on a small budget today. Being a mom of small kids (or big kids for that matter) can be really tricky. The sticky fingerprints (that turn into bigger, stickier fingerprints when they get older), the sleepless nights,…
Cozy. Safe. Relaxed. Happy. These are the words that I hope come to mind when people enter our home. I feel like the job of making our home into a safe haven for my husband, my children and our guests is an important one. As I slowly configure and reconfigure all of the rooms in our…
Fall weather arrived here quite quickly. It’s suddenly really cold! The brisk air definitely makes me feel like decorating our home for Fall, so last week we cozied our porch up a little. Let me show you our porch’s Fall decor, give you some ideas on how you can decorate your outdoor space for Fall, and…
I’m so excited that we’re heading into Fall and that I get to break out all of the rich, jewel toned colours for my crafts and decor! This year, we’re hosting both Thanksgiving and Christmas dinner at our home, so I’m really looking forward to making our house feel festive and cozy for our guests….
It’s still unbelievable to me to think that Little C starts grade 2 this month. What?! She was just a teeny tiny bum-scooting baby a few years ago. As I wrap my head around this, I’m also a little terrified because I’m not the most organized person in the world. At all. I need all…
The main rooms in our guest cottage are finally complete! I am so pleased with this little space, and my guests seem to be quite happy with it too. My parents have been staying here for a little while this summer, and we’re so excited to have them so close by. Let me give you a…
If you lived nearby and wanted to come over to our home for a visit, I’d ask you to please give me a 24 hour warning. Why? I’m a terrible housekeeper. I fully admit it. Our house is always in disarray, and I usually only clean it thoroughly when we’re expecting company or when I’m…
It’s been an absolutely perfect summer so far for gardening in Alberta. Last year was so very dry, and this year we’re getting a generous amount of rain and sunshine. Let me give you a summer garden tour of our little flower and fruit bed in front of our house. You might just get some…
I never thought there’d come a day when I would say that I was in love with a room devoid of any colour, but the time has come. I’ve totally fallen for this newly redecorated living room in our guest cottage and there’s not a bright nor a pastel colour to be seen. Heck, I’ve…
There’s something just so classic and beautiful about using black and white together in decor, isn’t there? I’ve always loved the combo, and I’m really thrilled with how this scheme is turning out in our guest cottage renovation. (In case you missed it, you can read more about how we’re turning the old “garage house” we…
If you live in a smaller home, you’ll know that having a lot of storage options in your house is really important. This is especially true in entryways where things tend to get dropped off and piled up – having a good entry storage system in place is always helpful! But what do you do if…
Well, my muscles have never been this sore, but we finished painting our guest cottage! In case you missed it, we decided to turn the old garage house we lived in before we built into a guest home. My parents will be our first guests this summer, so we have a limited amount of time…
If you tuned into my blog last week, you’ll know that we’re working on a HUGE project right now: turning our old garage house into a guest house! You can read all about that right here. We don’t want to spend a huge amount of money on this renovation, so I’m busting out all of…
When we first bought our acreage 10 years ago, we lived in a small cottage that was converted from a four-bay garage package. It was 880 square feet, and it was small, cozy and perfect for the two of us. When we had our first baby, the “garage house” was still perfect for us. After…
Thank you so much to all of you that linked up your beautiful outdoor décor and DIY ideas to our Outdoor Extravaganza link party last week! In case you missed it, make sure to click here to visit the link party and check out all of the fabulous ideas. Today I’m sharing 12 of my…
Mod Podge is such a fun craft medium to work with. Have you ever tried it? My favourite use for Mod Podge is to attach trim or fabric to objects to give them a unique look. Let me show you how to embellish simple garden containers – like a bucket, vase and watering can –…
Ah, summer evenings on the porch. I always look forward to the special time of day in the warmer months when the kids finally fall asleep, my husband and I finish up our work, and then we sit on the porch to talk and relax together. That cooler evening air is always so refreshing and…
Hi, friends! Today I wanted to give you a little video tour of our front flower & fruit beds and also give you some ideas of what sorts of perennials you can grow in a cold zone like ours (Zone 3). I’m sharing some of my favourite fruit trees, hardy perennial flowers and more hardy…
I wish you all lived near me so that we could grab a latte, head to the city and do some furniture bargain hunting together! It’s one of my most favourite things to do. I love hitting up antique shops, thrift stores, and garage sales to see what sorts of treasures I can find for a…
Sometimes the most fun home decor and design projects are the ones you do for someone else. They stretch your imagination and force you to put your feet in someone else’s shoes – what will they like? What will make them happy and comfortable in this room? The new, ultra modern theater room / man…
Doesn’t it feel good to make someone else’s trash into your own treasure? I love upcycling projects. There’s something so rewarding about reusing items and breathing new life into them. Not only are you being kind to our earth by saving things from the dumpster, but you’re able to get really creative by imagining a…
Just like knowing how to make throw pillow covers and drapes, I think that knowing how to paint a room is a really good essential tool that a DIY decorator should have in their arsenal. A fresh coat of paint makes a world of difference in how a room looks and feels. Do you have…
You know those home renovation projects that take about a BILLION time longer than you planned? And the ones that are a TON harder than you thought they’d be? This powder room makoever in Our DIY House was one of those. It seemed to take me forever, and we experienced a lot of hiccups along…
Building a giant wooden clock has been on my DIY wish list for a long time. When I knew “wood” month for our #12MonthsofDIY challenge was coming up, I had the motivation to finally tackle this project! Today I want to share with you how to make a large reclaimed wooden clock from an electrical…
Welcome to Our DIY House in the Spring! To me, springtime is all about new beginnings and the addition of exciting new bursts of colour and life, so I really wanted to portray that in our home’s decor this year. Today I’m giving you a virtual tour of a few rooms in our house that…
One of the trends I’m absolutely loving this Spring is the use of muted pastel colours in home decor. I’m seeing a lot of blush pinks, seafoam greens and periwinkle blues in both furniture and accessories and it’s so pretty and fresh. I’ve even seen blush pink coloured walls and they’re just so gorgeous! If…
It’s finally happened! My craft room office is clean and tidy enough to share with you. It’s colourful, it’s happy, and it’s a space that I feel comfortable and creative in. Ready to see? Let me give you a tour of my newly organized craft room / home office. I’ll also share with you a…
Bulletin boards are such a handy thing to have around the home – especially in a home office! I had a boring old bulletin board in my craft room office that was begging for a makeover. With the help of some gorgeous fabric from OnlineFabricStore.net, some paint and some brass upholstery tacks, I easily turned…
For Little C’s 7th birthday party (can you believe it… 7 years old?!) last month, we hosted a Sugar Plum Fairy themed party. It was Little C’s idea after we went to see The Nutcracker ballet in December, and I thought it was the sweetest theme ever! Here’s how we decorated for and celebrated her…
This month has been all about organization and the purging and cleaning of my craft room / office. The place is currently a giant mess and I’m determined to get it looking neat and pretty. It feels so good to work in a space that’s organized and styled, don’t you think? I love to create mood…
My office / craft room is a DISASTER. I’ve been slowly chipping away at purging, cleaning and organizing it, and one of my latest projects is a storage wall above my desk. Today I’m sharing with you a fun and functional way to store craft supplies with hanging mason jars.
I’m not the most organized girl on the planet but one thing I DO have under my belt is the completion of a household organization binder or a “family binder” for our home. I put this together last year after I installed our kitchen command center, and let me tell you – it’s SO handy!…
After the Christmas season, we often yank all of our cozy colourful decor down, toss it in boxes, and leave the house bare and stark feeling. I like to keep the coziness of the season evident in my home’s decor after Christmas – without the obvious festive themes. Are you looking for some comfy and…
Christmas is my favourite time of year and I adore decorating our home for the season. This year, I’ve teamed up once again with a fantastic group of Canadian bloggers to share with you our Holiday home tours. Scroll to the bottom of this post to see the line-up for the week – you’ll be…
I’m always trying to create interesting ways to wrap edible Christmas gifts. I think homemade cookies and breads are such an easy and heartfelt gift to give to neighbors and friends, don’t you? Today, I want to share with you a few fun ways to package your Christmas baking gifts this year. Then, scroll to…
Aren’t cupcakes the cutest little treats ever? I’ve always loved them. I make them for every party we have, and I also like giving them as gifts. Here’s a fun way to give a cupcake to a friend this Christmas – in a sweetly labeled mason jar! Once you’re done checking out this easy DIY…
‘Tis the season for whipping out the old sewing machine and plugging away at handmade Christmas gifts! One of my favourite gifts to give is STILL a DIY infinity scarf. They’re so quick to make (about 15 minutes), and it’s a lot of fun to find unique fabrics that will make your recipient happy. I…