Monday, August 25, 2008

a sidebed for a baby (or cat...)


damion left for volleyball camp with our digital camera in tow. that leaves me with no project picture this week. which, really, isn't such a bad thing because i'm ready to throw my window treatment project out the window. so, i wracked my brain about what to show you this week. i think i've dug up almost every project i've ever worked on already!! then i remember my 'cat in the sidebed' picture.

eden slept in our room for the first few months. we had her in the little bassinet on the floor by our bed at first. then, one day, i came across this brilliant idea. a side bed. because we have a platform bed i could make a knock off that i could screw right into the wood of the bed base. although the bottom piece was long enough that when it was slipped under the mattress the weight of the bed kept it pretty securely in place. i made it out of 3/4" plywood. the foam came from the local craft store.


i can't tell you how many times i thanked the designer of this little bed during the 3am feedings (and apologized for ripping off the idea)! it was perfect.

i have a whole series of pictures of my cat, oli, sleeping in eden's things. i think it was his way of adapting to her presence. i have him in her car seat, her bassinet, her little vibrating seat, her sidebed...not her big crib though, sadly oli is too fat to make the jump up and over!

Monday, August 18, 2008

window treatments




i try to keep my home as bright and sunny as possible. for me, that has meant minimal (read, only two in my whole house) window treatments. great in the summer, maybe not the best during a drafty winter. i shouldn't be thinking about winter yet, but we just got a notice from the oil company telling us that our bill is going up by $100 a month this winter! so, i've come up with a window treatment idea that will keep out the drafts and maybe even help heat the place up a bit. while i work away on my prototype i'm showing you the window treatment i currently have in our master bedroom.


i apologize for the terrible picture quality. i should have waited until the sun came over to the front side of the house before taking pictures. they are very dark.


i got the idea for a pulley system type of window treatment from watching an old episode of Home to Go . i took a piece of fabric that i backed with blackout material and wrapped the top and bottom hems around wooden dowels cut to size. i screwed in two eye hooks to the top dowel (through the fabric) and attached rope to each of the two eye hooks. i then threaded the rope through two pulleys that i attached to either side of the top of the window.


it's great. it works just like a pulley - when you pull on the string the curtain goes up and when you let the string go slack the curtain goes down.

the paper laterns on the ceiling have been there for awhile. i love laying in bed and watching them sway to the wind. it probably is time to swap them out for something new, maybe something a bit more colourful. i'll keep my eyes open for new ideas!





Monday, August 11, 2008

swatch storage


i created a place to hang our coats and store our shoes...but, what about the piles of hats, scarves and ever multiplying supply of canvas bags (you know, the ones that you buy for the grocery store but inevidably end up forgetting and having to buy more and then before you know it you wonder why you have so many of these damn bags!)...

so, i created a little storage for all that stuff and managed to hide my washer and dryer a bit from the outside world at the same time - my laundry is in my entrance way.
this storage is my 'signature' white box. yes, i know, i love white boxes! for this one i added a series of 1/2" holes that i placed paint swatches behind to get a gradient look. i added one row of black swatches to help blend in with my big black tree hook.

i hung the whole thing from the ceiling using hooks and threaded 3" stove bolts to hang the boxes from each other.


Monday, August 4, 2008

summertime relaxing


i have been la-zy! part of it has been imposed (my husband is in full swing beach volleyball coaching mode - which doesn't leave a whole lot of time for me to get away and work on my projects) and part of it has just been that i'm loving the summertime. as a canadian, the sunny days are especially precious to me - if you've ever spent 8 months wishing for nice weather you can understand! so, all i have to show for my week away are some photos of the place i have been spending all of my time...my back yard.


one of the great things about living in the country (if you can call 20 minutes outside of the city county!) is not having to worry about what the neighbours think! because i'm pretty sure our neighbours would think we were crazy. i mentioned that my husband was a beach volleyball coach so it may not seem too crazy that we have a regulation sized beach volleyball court in our backyard. add a trampoline, a big fire pit, a hammock and all sorts of space to run and play and you can see why i've chosen to spend more time outside relaxing than inside working!