Ever wonder if it’s possible to renovate an entire room in just one night?
Well, a group of volunteers, along with HGTV’s own interior design, Lisa Canning, and contractor, Christian Pavey, proved it’s possible!
This handy team joined with Jergens to makeover the Toronto YWCA Women’s Housing community room overnight. And just to give you an idea of the challenge they were faced with, here’s the “before”:
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.
I love a good restoration project. Life at Style at Home means you’re always thinking of ways to renovate and DIY your home to make it that much more beautiful and fab. But what about your community?
Think about your neighbourhood. Do you ever pass a community service or historic building that could use a little TLC? Benjamin Moore has. And they’re doing something about it.
Exterior of the Boat and Heritage Centre in Muskoka, ON.
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I don’t know if any of you have ever been in this position but the past few years have been tough ones for me and my family. My father passed away in March 2009 and it’s been a long and difficult journey of recovery and healing. Overcoming the overwhelming grief has not been easy and now, two and a half years later, we’re still struggling to understand and accept.
But life has a way of pulling you along, even when what you want most in the world is just to stand still. My mother has finally reached the point where she is ready to sell our family home and move into a smaller, more manageable space. We finally found a condo that was perfect for her – large and spacious with an incredible ravine view. The size and layout of the space were ideal but the decor – not so much. We decided to take the condo anyway, and renovate it from top to bottom to turn it into a space that she’d love for the years to come.
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Well, I was hoping to have more of an update on the state of my bathroom renovation but alas, the missing piece of marble is holding things up. But, I have made a decision on the sink situation.
Despite advice from readers like you, I opted for the glass vessel sink. And despite the fact that, as many of you pointed out, it’ll be trickier to keep this sink clean (versus the white porcelain option I’d been considering), I like it better and do hereby promise to keep it clean at all times!
I like the simplicity of it and its trueness to the origin of the vessel sink, which dates centuries back to China, when basins like this were used before indoor plumbing. This 16-inch vessel sink from Home Depot was just $69 and fits perfectly on the vanity in my small space. I can’t wait to show you all the final photos but it all depends on the custom cut piece of marble that’s needed for the shower ledge.
Until the marble arrives, I’m going to busy myself with shopping for the decorative accents!
Welcome to day one of my bathroom renovation! The demolition began yesterday and I returned home to find everything … GONE! Here’s what my bathroom looks like today:
Yikes!
The wall-to-wall mirror is gone, as are the sink and vanity. Can’t say I’m sad to see ‘em go.
Adios, bathtub!
I found this drawing behind the tile on the shower wall. I’ve heard tons of stories about the things people have found behind walls and underneath floors when doing a renovation. Have you ever found anything interesting? A friend of mine found well preserved newspapers from the 1920s when she renovated her house.
I have to hand it to the installation crew from Home Depot. I’m so pleased with the way they’ve been treating my home. They put up plastic coverings in all the right places and have kept the mess contained to the bathroom. We’ve all heard horror stories about renovations gone wrong, so it was nice to start things off on the right foot. Thanks, guys! I really appreciate it.
What is your blog all about?
We strive to bring readers motivation and inspiration to live organized, simplified, green lives. I believe our homes can be simple and beautiful all while being eco-friendly and functional.
What do you do for a living?
I am a full time homemaker/ housewife/ domestic engineer! When we got married we made the decision to have one person working and one person at home, so for the last 5 years I’ve been a stay-at-home wife. I bake and clean and organize all day and I couldn’t imagine anything better for me. But, if I had to pick a dream job I would love to style closets for magazine photo shoots {not rooms, just closets}. I love the look of a well organized closet.
Dining space in Ashli's former townhouse, the original Maillardville Manor
If money were no object, what one item would you buy for your home?
I would buy the Paula Dean rectangle dining table with ladder-back side chairs and two big upholstered wing chairs at the head of the table — swoon!
Describe your home in 6 words or less.
Simple, organized, easy peasy.
Where do you shop for items for your home?
HomeSense — I could probably furnish an entire house from that store. I love Ikea, but I have a rule: no more then two items in a room can be from Ikea. It’s too easy to do a one stop shop there and have a room that looks like an ad for the store. I also like second-hand stores and Target — so happy they are coming to Canada!
The library nook in Ashli's new home
What has been your favourite post?
My tablecloth curtains or pebble boot tray, I can’t pick one — don’t make me choose!
What song, movie or soundtrack sums up your life?
Would saying Titanic be too dramatic? Just kidding! I would have to say the song that sums up my life, right now at least, would be Alright by Darius Rucker.
What has been your fave find under $50?
I found a church pew on Craigslist, painted it white and used it as a dining room bench for a few years. I loved it!
P.S. Interested in having your blog featured? E-mail us at blog@styleathome.com
As I mentioned a couple of weeks ago, the makeover on my condo is complete! Now that I’ve really had a chance to live in my new space, designed by Lisa Canning, I can say that I absolutely love all the new elements. I’m particularly fond of the details – like the chandelier from The Shopping Channel and the luxurious drapery from InVu Drapery. Candles and cushions are pretty accents and the result is a beautiful space that’s just perfect for me. NOW: Watch the video and see how the whole transformation came together from start to finish. I’d love to know what you think! Leave a comment and share your thoughts!
It’s hard to imagine that you can get this excited about cabinet doors but what can I say? Tim Welsby of Beresford Inc. did such an amazing job on my kitchen cabinets that I feel like I got a full-blown kitchen renovation for a fraction of the cost. Instead of replacing my cabinets, Tim came to my place and removed the doors and drawers and lacquered them white. What a transformation! He returned on Friday to reinstall all the doors. He took so much care with his work, and took the time to fiddle with each door to make sure that they were sitting just right. He even screwed on the new hardware for me. His work and attention to detail are exemplary and I couldn’t be more thrilled with the results. I definitely recommend this option to anyone who wants to update their kitchen but can’t afford a major reno.
Here’s Tim reinstalling the new cabinet doors.
You’ll have to stay tuned to see the ‘after’ shots of my condo makeover!
It’s amazing how things snowball when you start a renovation. What began as a small and manageable project quickly became an undertaking that was going to cost a lot more time and money than I’d budgeted for. But not everything has to dig a too-deep hole into the ol’ pocket. Not if you’re willing to try something new and put a little elbow grease into it.
For a long time now, I’ve wanted to replace my backsplash. (The current one is just plain white, but there are six tiles that have this strange vignette of lobsters, potatoes and a glass of wine. Seriously. I can’t make this stuff up.) So, these six tiles have irked me to no end and finally, as we embarked on this condo makeover, it was time to kiss those lousy lobsters goodbye.
I was thrilled at the idea of putting up new tiles (I love the look of 1-inch by 1-inch glass tiles), but as my expenses continued to inflate beyond the limits of my budget, my designer Lisa suggested I paint the tiles. Paint them? To say I was skeptical is to put it mildly. But eventually, Lisa’s can-do, no-problem, just-do-it attitude rubbed off on me. She picked up the primer and the paint I’d need and I set about the task (OK, I was still a little skeptical … )
I scrubbed the tiles well to remove any film, dirt, grease and grime. Then I sanded them lightly, followed by a coat of primer. Today, I began painting them.
Take a look at this in-progress shot below. It’s not looking too bad – here’s hoping it looks fantastic by the time I’m done! So instead of spending about $600 on tiles, we’ve updated the backsplash for about $30 (the cost of the materials) and a little bit of work.
Médias Transcontinental
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