I have endured my fair share of poorly designed kitchens over the years, thanks to my student and intern days (haven’t we all?) And although thinking back on those times, when all I had was a hot plate and a meager toaster oven to get me through the evening meal, is enough to make anyone shudder, I prefer to think of those culinary challenges as something of a rite of passage. Nowadays I have a deep appreciation for beautiful kitchen craftsmanship; an appreciation that would never have been nurtured had I grown up in college with fabulous kitchen design at every turn. That’s why this week the Style at Home team and I are focusing our Pinterest perusing upon kitchen-themed boards that are so pretty the sheer sight of them will inspire you to create mouth-watering dishes, experiment with spices and dirty every pan in your cupboards.
Keep reading to discover who these boards belong to and bon appetit!
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{ Archive for the ‘Kitchen & Bath’ Category }
The best renovations in my mind, are those are done for the joy of updating – you can take your time picking finishes, gather information, talk ideas. The flip side are the renovations that happen due to necessity – like appliances dying, leaks, a wall falling apart. If you read our blog, you may have followed as we’ve renovated our house, thankfully, out of the pure joy of renovation, but we’re now we’re being faced with two rooms that sadly are on the brink of becoming ticking time bombs … and, they happen to be two of the most expensive rooms to renovate. Our kitchen and our master bathroom.
Thankfully we’re not at the stage yet where we need to renovate, but it’s close enough to that time that it’s best to start talking ideas. I thought I would show you my mood board for our master bathroom.
Alessi has always been a wonderful resource for stunningly sleek designer kitchenware. Their Fall/Winter 2011 collection is no different. From beautiful stainless steel baskets, to small kitchen tools for everyday use, to vases and flatware, the collection is a real gem and has a wonderful timeless feel.
Here a few of my favourite items from Alessi’s 2011 product line.
our facebook readers share their best bathroom cleaning tips
- by Natalie Bahadur
- Sep 14, 2011
- Comments
{photo via: West Elm}
I don’t know about you, but cleaning the bathroom is my least favourite chore. It’s a job I need to constantly stay on top of and no matter how diligent I am, it always seems to need work. (The biggest drag is my dark hair on my white tile floors. Ew.) My best tip for keeping my bathroom clean is to wipe the shower down after every use. I keep a squeegee on the ledge in my shower and remove all the excess water after every shower, then do a quick wipe with a towel. This not only keeps the shower looking good until cleaning day, it’s a small investment of my time that will keep the grout in the shower clean in the long run. I’ve got small subway tiles in my shower so there’s lots of grout that cannot be ignored. Wiping the shower down daily prevents the grout from becoming grimy.
We asked our Facebook readers for their best tips for keeping the bathroom clean. “Please people, do share! I hate to clean the bathroom,” says Kellie. So – here’s what our readers had to say:
What do you think? Is wallpaper in the kitchen a do or a don’t?
Kitchen Utensils with Ovals in Teal, Salmon & Lime on White (KB8583) from Bistro 750 by York Wallcoverings, $42.99 per single roll; yorkwall.com or 1-800-375-9675.
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Who doesn’t want to add a little luxury to their every day life?
Whether you enjoy an early morning cappuccino, a delicious panini lunch or a fresh batch of french fries, De’Longhi has you covered. Consider these five fabulous luxe appliances an investment because they are chic, top of the line, and simply make your life easier.
In just over a year, I’ve overhauled every room in my historic condo – every room except for the bathroom, that is. I’ve been putting off the looming “reno” for as long as possible. Though it’s often the smallest room in the house, the bathroom can take a mighty bite into one’s design and decor budget. Having already tackled a kitchen reno this year, I’m not quite ready to eat the costs of another major home project.
If you’ve been following along with the tales of my renovations, you know that I’ve been tackling my one-bedroom condo one room at a time. After completing my bathroom renovation, I think it was just a matter of time before my eyes wandered on over to the kitchen. Though I’d recently made some changes in the kitchen, it wasn’t perfect and that backsplash still caused me anxiety. Let me walk you through it:
OK, this is what the backsplash looked like when I first moved into my condo eight years ago:
The lobster, the tomato … is that beer in a Champagne flute? I just couldn’t handle it but you know how it goes … you get settled into your home and before you know it, eight years have passed and you’re still rooming with a lobster.
Once I’d renovated the bathroom and updated my living room, it was really time to do something about the backsplash. Because funds were limited, my amazing and talented designer Lisa Canning encouraged me to paint the existing backsplash. It was a quick and easy job and really did make a difference; at least I wouldn’t have to look at those lobsters any more. Problem: I took a shortcut (never a good idea!) and painted around my existing stove. I know, I know – I should have moved it but it was too heavy for me so I did the best job I could. But when I got around to replacing my appliances, the new stove was lower than the old, thus exposing the shortcut.
So I suppose it was inevitable that I’d have to rip the whole thing out and start from scratch, which I finally got around to a few weeks ago! And, as many of you probably know, once you start one job, it tends to snowball. My contractor convinced me to replace the countertop at the same time. “Once you put the backsplash in, you can’t replace the countertop without damaging the tiles,” he said. Before I knew it, the countertop was off and out and the real fun was about to begin!
Off I went to Home Depot to choose my backsplash tile. The choice was a no-brainer. I LOVED this tile and knew it would look great with my white cabinets:
This Marble Mosaic tile (Home Depot, $19.99/sheet) is beautiful and looks wonderful contrasted against the dark countertop I selected. The Home Depot sales associate was so helpful, not only helping me to choose my tile, but making sure I knew exactly what kind of mortar and grout I’d need, and pointing out which sealant should be used following installation. He gave me step-by-step instructions, which I listened to carefully, then imparted to my contractor.
Finally! My kitchen looks polished and complete – no lobsters and no amateur paint job peeking out from behind the stove. After all these years, it still takes me by surprise when I walk into the kitchen and see it looking so … finished. There’s nothing more to be done in there now and it feels (and looks!) great. It was really worth the wait.
What around-the-house task do you keep putting off?
It took just two weeks to transform my bathroom from a tired old space into one that’s fresh, clean and so much more modern. Not bad, eh? While most people will tell you that a renovation of any kind can be an enormous headache, complete with missed deadlines and unforeseen problems, mine, I’m lucky to say, moved along smoothly and quickly. The installation team from Home Depot was amazing and the quality of their work is visible even to the most untrained eye. I’m so thrilled with the results and am excited to start using my new bathroom. Here are some more photos:
If you’ve been following along with my story of this bathroom renovation, then you know that the marble for the shower ledge was the only real hold-up I encountered. But once the custom cut marble arrived and was installed, it was the perfect finishing touch. We installed the ledge because the standard size of new tubs is shorter than my original tub. But it’s a nice feature and provides storage for accessories, shampoo bottles, etc. The 3-inch by 6-inch subway tile from Home Depot is one of the most inexpensive tile options you can find and I love the clean, modern look.
These apothecary accessories (stoneware with silver-plated trim) from Canadian Tire are the perfect match for my bathroom. At $12.99 apiece, they’re also the perfect price!
Accessories like this mirror (HomeSense, $23) and painting (Home Outfitters, $39.99 were inexpensive finds. I opted for a glass vessel sink from Home Depot ($69). The paint colour (Elusive Blue, Olympic Paints) adds a soft, restful and feminine touch to the space.
I chose a simple white shower curtain with grosgrain ribbon detailing from the Gluckstein Home collection (Home Outfitters, $39.99) and the small medicine cabinet (Home Depot, $89) provides hidden and much-needed storage in my small bathroom.
Instead of boring old shower curtain rings, I chose brushed stainless steel rings (Home Outfitters, $22.99) that look like oversized buttons. It’s a small detail that adds some visual interest to the shower curtain. I also opted for a curved shower curtain rod that makes my tub feel three times larger than it is. It’s nice not to have my shower curtain pawing at me when I’m taking a shower and I highly recommend trying one in your bathroom!
Click here to check out the before pictures. What do you think of the transformation?
I finally got the call today: The missing piece of marble for the ledge in my shower is being installed as we speak! It’s only been two weeks since my bathroom renovation began (though it feels longer) and once that final piece is in, the renovation itself will be complete. Which means … I get to start choosing accessories to dress up my space!
To start, I’ve chosen these stoneware accessories with silver-plated trim from Canadian Tire.
Apothecary Tumbler, $12.99, canadiantire.ca
Apothecary soap dish, $12.99, canadiantire.ca
There’s a full line of matching products from this pretty Paris-inspired line, including a waste basket, toothbrush holder and lotion pump. I love the vintage hotel-chic flavour of these pieces and love the price points!”
What do you think? Good start?
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