Summer finds: chest of drawers and mirror

I'd been searching for a chest of drawers for my living room for some time and finally found one I liked on Kijiji. The chest was being sold by a dealer at the Faubourg Des Antiquités - 15739 de la Caserne, Sainte-Genvieve. The Faubourg is an indoor flea market with a good number of interesting furniture pieces- I do recommend it.

Here's the chest:

and a close up:

Check out the tiger-y wood... grrrrr! 

 I love the way it looks in the room. It has such presence. Much better than before when I only had a tiny end table that was barely visible between the two couches as in the image below.

I hesitated to buy it because under the bright florescent lights at the market it looked really damaged and scratched. But once I cleaned it with some Orange Glow and got it into my living room it looked so rich and the scratches are barely noticeable. Don't underestimate the power of Orange Glow!

 

Some things to keep in mind when buying old furniture:

1. Make sure the piece is solid, meaning the legs are strong.

2. Open and close the drawers to make sure they open and close properly.

3. Check that the wood hasn't been eaten away by bugs- you don't want to bring extra friends into your home. The best way to look for this is by taking out the drawers and examining the interior of both the drawers and the furniture piece itself.

In my case, the chest passed the test so it came home with me.

 

Initially I wanted a painted chest and looked into getting a really damaged piece that I could paint. The inspiration for a painted piece came after I saw this chest by Miss Mustard Seed. I was obsessed with it all summer- love it! There is also this huge trend in blog land with chalk paint furniture and so many of them are just beautiful. But I must admit that as much as I want to be a painted furniture girl, I kept being drawn back to wood.  

Source: google.ca via Dream it..build it..style it! on Pinterest

 

 

Also, the chest came with a mirror that I didn't want (tried to negotiate the chest without the mirror- didn't work) but then discovered that it looks great on my fireplace mantel. I like the curved top part against all the straight lines of the fireplace. So it all worked out in the end.

I paid $200 for both pieces. Not a steal but not too bad either.

Have a restful Labor Day,

Nancy 

 

linking to Between naps on the porch and other link parties on my link party page

Help a friend out: living room

On Monday I introduced you to a good friend Lena who asked me to help her out with some decorating ideas for her dining room, living room and bedroom.
You can check out the suggestions for her dining room here, and today we'll be looking at her living room.
Here is an image of how the space currently looks:

There are a ton of great features in this room: the window lets in a lot of light and is nicely situated, I like the light paint color, the crown molding and the wood floor. Lena mentioned that she wanted to get rid of the brown drapery and I think she is on the right track.

Suggestions: I'd like to see a brighter color, yet still light, used for the drapery. I am thinking in the blueish or greenish tone. I think a solid color would work best since the drapery cut off from view by the couch.

Here are some inspiration images. You'll notice that the paint or furniture colors are reminiscent of what Lena have in her space:

Source: decorpad.com via Nancy on Pinterest

Source: omurtlak5.bloguez.com via Nancy on Pinterest

Source: omurtlak5.bloguez.com via Nancy on Pinterest

Source: eclecticrevisited.wordpress.com via Nancy on Pinterest

Once you've selected your drapery color, you'll need some brighter colored decorative pillows for your couch. You already have the pillows so simply buying some pillow covers will do the trick. The pillows are where you can have fun with pattern and color.

Some suggestions:

Available at Iconic pillow on Etsy shop

Available at Pillow top and More Etsy shop

Available at theTurquoise Iris Etsy Shop

Also, you have those two pictures on the wall of the fireplace but I'd prefer to see them on the right side of the window and you can even add another two pictures to make a large square of four pictures. I'm sure you could easily find pictures of your baby boy to display:)

Where you currently have the two pictures I think you can go with a collection of small round mirrors.

Here is an example of what I am thinking:

Source: furnitureonnet.com via Nancy on Pinterest

The store Zone on St. Denis boul. has some great looking small round silver framed mirrors that would work well in your space.

Now for the fireplace:
Lena mentioned she thinks her fireplace looks unfinished and I kind of agree with her.

Here are some inspiration images for a fireplace surround:

Source: google.ca via Nancy on Pinterest

Source: housetohome.co.uk via Nancy on Pinterest

These two above images are simple and sleek. The following is a little more classic.

Source: elyounes.com via Nancy on Pinterest

You can find some ready made fireplace surrounds at any local hardware store. I also believe that Langevin Forest has some options. Otherwise, if you have a handy person in your entourage, a beautiful surround can be created by simply buying the moldings and cutting them to size.

Another concern Lena had was about her shelving unit in the corner of the room.

The shelf is dark and I think lining the back of the shelves with some decorative paper or painting it the same color as your walls or one of the colors in the fabric for your decorative pillows would really brighten it up. Also, collect the books together into larger piles and then place a decorative light-colored item on the other side. Another idea would be to purchase some pretty decorative baskets and then collect your books into the baskets in the shelf. This would create a sense of uniformity and is simpler than trying to make a shelf appear neat. The collection of vases is very pretty!

Hope this helps!

Lena and I would love to here your comments and suggestions.



 

Living room renovation complete- the reveal

Hello, hello, hello! Hope everyone is enjoying the beautiful summer weather.


At the start of the week I posted about our living room renovation. It was the second project we undertook and, with everything we had going on in our lives at the time (wedding plans, working on my Ph.D and, of course, work) it was probably one of the most challenging projects. Because it was a total gut of a large room in the home and we were new to the renovation world, we found ourselves overwhelmed! All the renovators out there know that little complication always show up, that time lines have no real significance, that budgets are meant to be thrown out the window, etc. But when your new at it, it's frustrating! 
At this stage in the renovation game (4 years in), I'm much better with all the challenges that appear along the way. One thing I keep in mind is that in the long run, it's always worth it. Also, all the little things that caused you to break out in tears or screams will actually make for good comedy once the project is over.


And after my rant, here are the after pictures of our living room:

We love the way the floors turned out. The color variations in cherry wood are just beautiful. The couches were hand-me downs from my brother. I'd prefer a darker color, but when its free you don't complain. You'll also notice from the before pictures below that the fireplace insert was spay painted black. If you plan on doing this, you must use spray paint made for fireplaces. The paint has to be able to withstand high heat. The light fixtures above the fireplace are the originals. I also sprayed them black (I know, I'm obsessed with spraying things black!) but I can't decide if I like them or not. I keep looking for alternatives but haven't yet found any I love.

The wall art is a reproduction of an Illustrated London News image from 1933. You can also see the train-station clock hanging on the wall.

View into the living room from the old kitchen. I am on the hunt for an area rug, but can't seem to decide on a style

View of our coffee bar. This is where we sit and have coffee every morning before work. I love this spot.

The bar, again.

Even our 17 year old cat Fonzi hangs out at the bar. He just waits to be served his milk. Cats can be so demanding!

Now, here are some reminders of what the room looked like before the renovation:

The fireplace remained more or less the same. The stone is stunning so I wanted to keep it. Everything else had to go.

View into the living room.

Entrance into the old kitchen

The bar

Let me know what you think. It still needs some decor so any ideas are appreciated.

Enjoy the beautiful day!


Nancy


See other posts about the living room transformation:
The before and the demolition  
Getting it done and choices 





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