More Appartment Updating: Doors and Kitchen

My previous post showed off the bathroom renovation of our duplex apartment. This was not the only updating completed. We also replaced the plain hollow-core wood doors with more modern white detailed doors and added a french door at the entrance. Being the bad blogger that I am, I didn't take before pictures! What was I thinking! I only have a picture of the doors once they were in my garage. So you'll have to use your imagination to visualize what it looked like before with these doors:

And this is what it now looks like:

 The apartment looks so much more modern and bright! I'm so happy with the result and, needless to say, so is the tenant:)

Since I began this blog I've had the intention of writing about the kitchen renovation in the apartment that took place over four years ago. This was not a planned renovation but the pictures below reveals why it was undertaken:

A FIRE!

Horrible isn't it! But luckily the damage was limited and no one was injured. I remember coming home from teaching a night class and seeing my tenants in my living room with my husband. I said " Oh, it's a party!" My tenant responded "Oh, it's definitely not a party. We had a fire!" Let me tell you that that wiped the smile off my face pretty quickly.
We were told about a place called Armoire à Super Prix that builds custom kitchen at an affordable price and fast. So in a little over a week the fire was behind us. Here are some pictures of the kitchen but please keep in mind that these were taken during the bathroom renovation period so it's a little messy. We all know what it's like to live through a renovation.

And so that's it for the renovating of the apartment! 

Smiles,
Nancy

Another Bathroom Reno! Oh Boy!!

So I did it again! I took a hiatus from blogging for a little bit- actually months! Oh, how time flies! But this doesn't mean I haven't been dreaming, building and styling:) Many projects have been completed and many are, as always, pending. The largest and most significant project was a complete gut and rebuilding of my tenants bathroom. This was the 3rd bathroom renovation in five years- and the last for a long, long while! When my tenant kindly asked me in early December if we could renovated the bathroom my immediate response was a diplomatically delivered "No". We had no intention of renovating the tenants bathroom, even though we knew it was extremely dated and overdue. But then I thought about it, went to see the bathroom and I gave in to her request. The bathroom was so nasty- I wouldn't want to live with it and I don't want to be a slumlord. So hear are the pics of the before:

 
 Notice that the blue tile on the floor, presumably from the 90s, clashes soooo horribly with the color of the wall tile. Also, the vanity was in such bad shape from fifty years of wear and tear. The bath area had been covered with a bath-fitter, probably also from the 90s, but it to had done its time. And so out went everything and this is what it looked like:

 

And by the end of all the work here was the result:
 

A few tips for Montrealers looking to renovate: 1. We got the porcelain tile at a Tilmar for an amazing price, less than 1/3 of the original price. They have a small room off of the showroom where you'll find leftover tile stock at great prices. But you have to ask a salesman to take you to it because it's not visible from the showroom. 2. We hired a FANTASTIC company to undertake the bathroom renovation. I've never mentioned any company on this blog but I feel that these guys deserve a great deal of praise. The company is called Renovation Final Finish.
Here is the review I wrote about them on the Handycanadian website: "These guys are GREAT! My husband and I hired Benjamin and his team to renovate our tenant's bathroom and we were both extremely satisfied- this is no small feat!!! The woman's perspective: What I most appreciated was that we were consulted on tons of little details such as tile patters, tile baseboard height, placement of towel rack, etc. that resulted in the work being completed exactly to our taste. The man's perspective: What my husband appreciated most was that they went the extra mile by re-framing flimsy walls, insulating the exterior wall, leveling the floor, insulating the duct for the fan, etc. The renovation required completely gutting the bathroom so as to take it from the 1960s to the 21st century. The work was meticulously completed in just over two weeks. After having worked with many "questionable" contractors in the past, Final Finish was like a breath of fresh air! From the very start the team was timely, organized, considerate and extremely knowledgeable. We can therefore recommend Renovation Final Finish without hesitation and look forward to hiring them for our future projects."

Smiles,
Nancy

The laundry room is done- almost!

Like many other projects in our home, the laundry room was put on the back burner while we worked on more important projects- i.e. the wine cellar, walk-in closet, etc! Yes, our priorities were (are) all mixed up:)

The gutting of what would become a laundry room began after our basement flooded during a strong rainstorm in the summer of 2008. It then remained in that state until we sloooowly started putting it back together piece by piece in 2010 until 2012.

I unfortunately can't find the flood pictures which would give you a good idea of what the room actually looked like. Here is a description: The room was originally part of the garage but was separated to create a laundry/work space, the walls were shiny varnished wood paneling, the ceiling was stuccoed, the flood was covered in blue, black and white mosaic tile, one wall had a bathtub held in place by a bed of cement (Yes, a tub!), the washer was in one corner of the room while the dryer was on the other corner about 17 feet away, and there were countless exposed electrical wires hanging from the ceiling. Maybe it's better I don't have before pictures since it may cause nightmares!

The original room was divided in two so as to create a laundry room and a playroom. The laundry room is small but it works.

The room is now almost done. Here are some pictures:

  This side of the room is used for storing laundry supplies but also the outdoor spa products (hence the beach towels) and craft supplies.
Cabinetry: $400 at Home Depot
Stool: $18 at Zone on St. Denis Boul.
Clock: $10 at Home Sense
Rug: $19 at Ikea
Looking for a mate sign- DIY

Here is the actual laundry side of the room:

The baskets are from the dollar store ($2 for the large baskets and $1 for the small ones). Much less expensive than any of the other options I looked at. The floor is the original tile that we decided to keep. The artwork is from Home Sense ($34). I find it kind of kitsch but fun- a great option for a laundry room.

The room is bright and cheery. I decide to go with this look after purchasing the clock. I figured that since there was no window in the room, why not brighten it up with color. The rest of the house has a mature and sophisticated character so this was a great place to have fun.

What's left to do:
Caulk and paint the crown molding
Install the baseboards around the cabinets
Install the door into the room
Install a light fixture

One day, soon I hope, it will be complete!

 Smiles,
Nancy

Landscaping part 3: The Reveal

As previously mentioned, we had no intention of re-doing the pavers when we first bought our home (See part 1 of landscaping). That was, of course, until it all started sinking, tilting and simply looking horrible. In an effort to save some money we decided to keep the original pavers in the front of the house. But a little change was done by adding a border of new cobblestone-like pavers along the edges.

Here is the before and after:

You can see the retaining wall tilting in the before picture and the straight wall in the after picture. Also check out the add border- I find it calms the busyness of the pavers. Also notice that the driveway on the left side of the image is paved in the original pavers. Since it did not need repairing it only made sense to keep the original pavers in the front of the house so as to not have two different patterns.

Close up. Now if only I could get the city to fix the sidewalk!

The walkway on the side of the house was changed to the new cobblestone-like pavers. This is why we added the border around the front part of the house, we wanted the two types of pavers to blend. And of course, the great part is that the slope is perfect- no water accumulation along the foundation walls.

Another change was the addition of a black iron fence. I love the way it looks!

As for the backyard, we decided to get rid of the outdoor storage shed- I sold it on Kijiji. The yard looked so much bigger without it! We wanted a place to chill and the shed just took up too much precious space.

The yard went from this:

To this. Look at all the extra space without the shed!

To this:

See other landscaping posts: Part 1, Part 2


 Smiles,
Nancy

Landscaping: getting it done - part 2

The freeze and thaw experienced during Montreal winters means that there is lots of movement in outdoor landscaping. This also means that when laying pavers, the excavating and compacting is key to ensure that you won't have to redo your landscaping the very next year (I've seen this happen- what a mess!!).

As with any renovation, it's important to check on the progress. Here I am (9 months pregnant) verifying the work. The workers were extra nice to me but I think it's because they feared I'd go into labour if stressed.

In our climate it is necessary to excavate at least 12 inches (approximately 3 inches for the pavers and the rest is for rock and gravel).

Excavating for the walkway: 

Check out that belly!

Excavating for the backyard tanning pad:

Once the excavation was done, 2/3 of the area was filled with 3/4 inch crushed stone and compacted with a plate compactor. Gravel was then added on top of the 3/4 inch stone and also compacted. Tip: the compacting is done when you can walk on the gravel without causing an indentation.  The surface must be slightly sloped (3/16" per foot) away from the house for water drainage.

Here is the backyard pad filled with gravel but not yet compacted:

 Check back soon for the final reveal. It's a huge improvement from the before (See the before post)

Smiles,
Nancy

Landscaping Project: The Before- part 1

When we purchased out home the interlocking pavers were at least 15 years old but in really great shape. The slope and water drainage was perfect and the retaining wall was perfectly straight. Tony and figured that this would save us a few thousands of dollars in landscaping. But for some funny(!?!) reason within the first year of home ownership the pavers and retaining wall started moving and sloping! As if it was just waiting for us to arrive to start falling apart.
Because of the cost, we just kept putting this work off. But finally, five years later, we decided to bite the bullet and get the landscaping done. The pooling of water (and freezing during the winter) around the foundation of the house is a no-no. We didn't want to end up with foundation problems- a common problem in Montreal.

Here are some pictures of the before:

The sloping retaining wall:

The wall gets worse after every winter due to freeze and thaw.


Walkway sloping towards the house:

The grey section at the bottom edge of the foundation wall on the left side of the image is where the pavers should be. They sloped approximately 2 1/2 inches.


The pavers are old but I actually don't mind the pattern. In addition, my driveway is paved with these pavers and it's in great condition. So in an effort to save some money I decided to reuse the existing pavers. The contractor tried to convince us to just change to new pavers, driveway included, but to no avail.

We also decided to complete the backyard by adding a paved pad near the spa- a perfect tanning location.

Old entrance into the backyard:

Here is the drawing I gave the contractor:
 

This is a photocopy of the house plans. I just drew in the paver section around the house and the backyard indicating the instructions relating to the size and which pavers to use.

The contractor laughed at me when I gave him the above sheet but at least he knew exactly what I wanted.

I'll post the after pictures very soon.

Smiles,
Nancy

Sweet little dreams: gender neutral nursery

Because we did not want to know the sex of the baby while pregnant the nursery decor had to remain gender neutral. In a previous post I presented the fabric which influenced the rest of the decor- pale blues and greens, with pops of bright orange.

I wanted to keep it calm and serene, not too over the top babyish. That being said I did want it to clearly be a baby's room but perhaps a classy baby:)

So here it is:    

 

I love the pattern created by the star light.

 The bedding, drapery and change table accessories were made by my mother.

The framed parrot is actually needle point my mother made in the 1960s back in Portugal. Th colors work perfectly in the nursery.

 The diaper bag is held up by an owl hook- so cute!
 The metal pacifier was welded by my father-in-law for the birth of his first daughter.