It's been a while since I've stained and finished anything. I remember the process being really messy, time-consuming and involving a long wait time between steps. No wonder it took me so long to work on another project! When I heard about a product that was a stain and finish in one, and didn't involve messy liquids, I wanted to find out how to get my DIY on with a new project! Here, I'm testing out the Maple finish Minwax Wood Finishing Cloths on a piece of wood, which can be used to hold a ...
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How to Refresh your Front Entry
How much thought do you give to your front entry? Is it seen as just a place to drop your shoes and coats? A welcoming front entrance can make your guests feel warm and at home right away. This works for you and your family, too—a relaxing front entry can do wonders for your mood and as a bonus—can also help you feel organized. Read on for my tips on how to refresh your front entry: ...
Home Organizing: Everything in its Place Thanks to @Rubbermaid All-Access Storage Containers
These Rubbermaid All-Access Storage Containers that I was sent have been helping me stay organized, because I can see everything I'm storing. Starting in one area of the home and removing everything that doesn't belong there or we don't want to have there works well—so long as everything you remove has a place to go. Everything in its place Living in a small space, having a spot for everything is crucial so that your home doesn't end up looking cluttered. In small spaces, hiding places to ...
How to Make Your Own Lavender Linen Spray
I've been using the scent of lavender to help me get to sleep at night for years. Usually, I put a few drops of Lavender Essential Oil on my pillow, but with certain linens, the oil can stain. Plus, the scent is really concentrated in one location. I've seen linen sprays in stores before, but the bottles tend to be quite expensive—considering it is mostly water-based. I've seen bottles of lavender linen spray, in particular for $20 or more! Kind of crazy, right? Well, I got to thinking—how hard ...
Getting Organized: Organizing Your Bags And Purses With 3M Command
Getting organized doesn't have to be a massive undertaking, where you take out everything in your home and put it back in in a much more organized fashion. Every little area you work will help, overall. I started the year with a focus on organizing my bedroom. Other than purses, I have a lot of canvas or other bags around. These bags tend to make their home on the back of my bedroom door, hanging on the back of the handle. Even in a rental place, I'm comfortable hanging things up on the wall, ...
I’m Dreaming of a Condo to Call My Own
It's near the end of the year, and I've been thinking about my future goals lately. At one point, I thought I might be settling down in Calgary and buying a house. This idea kind of excited me, since I've trained as an interior designer, I am naturally very passionate about home décor. I would have loved to fix up my own home, and share with you how to achieve the same look and use some of the same ideas. Well, things don't always work out how we've planned, and my house dreams are far from ...
Seasonal Decor Changes are Made Easy with FLOR Rug Tiles
Though people here like to say that it rains non-stop from October to May, really—Vancouver does have 4 distinct seasons. It's nice to celebrate these changes by changing up the décor just a bit. Nothing too drastic, and nothing too permanent, a quick seasonal change can be done by using a rug. Most rugs take up a lot of room when stored, but not FLOR rug tiles, which stack neatly and come in thousands of combinations of patterns and colours. I used to live in Houston, Texas for a large part ...
New Place Sneak Peek
We've been back in Vancouver for almost 2 months now, and have been pretty slow with decorating our new place. Normally, we'd have boxes and boxes of stuff display and decorate—but we sold or donated everything that wasn't an absolute love of ours. We sold all our furniture, and 95% of our art books are still in Calgary (meaning that we don't have a lot of shelves that need to be filled). What do we have? We have just the best things we had and a few pieces of furniture we purchased–so far, ...
Habitat for Humanity Vancouver Home & Design Show Ultimate Upcycle Challenge
Yesterday, I had the pleasure of meeting the 4 other bloggers who are participating in the Ultimate Upcycle Challenge, at the Habitat for Humanity Greater Vancouver ReStore. Bright and early in the morning, I drove down to the ReStore in South Vancouver to scout out the place for items to repurpose. The Vancouver Home and Design Show this October will be extra exciting to visit this year, because people will be able to see the upcycle submissions at the Habitat for Humanity booth. I'm so happy ...
Essentia Organic Bedsheets Review
We roll up to Essentia Calgary on a clear early spring day. The store is fresh and minimal, and in addition to the lack of excess packaging, signs, and junkage—one of the first things I notice is the lack of smell. I breathe in deeply, and smell only air moist with melting snow—and a faint whiff of cotton. It's a moment I've been waiting for for a while. I've been curious about Essentia since I read a story in the Globe and Mail last year—as Tazim mentioned in yesterday's post—they make all ...