Wednesday, March 31, 2010

Beautiful Toile

i have had a love affair with toile for years. i brought these chairs with me when i moved here from Ontario. i could not part with them.
i have always enjoyed going to the fabric store. it's pure eye candy for me. when i found this fabric i had to have it even though i had no idea what i was going to do with it. one day i was looking at my old china hutch wondering what to do with the inside. it was a little on the rough side. debating on whether or not to paint it i remembered this lovely fabric. i tacked it inside and once i put my china i could not believe how beautiful it looked.








these are vintage toile curtains that i have hung up in my son's room.




i never tire of toile it is so classic. i am always on the look out for different scenes and colours
thanks for visiting...





Monday, March 29, 2010

Making the Kitchen pretty!

After three months of living in our little rental home I decided I had enough of the dirty green walls and fake tile wallpaper. I can transform this I said. It will be nothing I told my husband. Well I started peeling the vinyl paper off the wall and before I knew it I was pulling off another layer of painted over old paper. As I continued to peel I came to the back board. Things were starting to get ugly. This was not going well and I was starting something that was going to be more work and money than I planned. How was I going to fix this mess the easiest and cheapest way possible? Things always seem to have a way of working out in the funniest ways.
Did I mention my mother in law is the queen of thirfting? Honestly I could not believe my luck. She had stashed away two double rolls of simple green paper!! She paid exactly two dollars a roll! After spending two days painting she came over and helped me put up the paper. It looks fresh and wonderful. I still can't believe it! The back board under the painted paper. The fake vinyl tile. Isn't it horrid?







The pretty paper next to my lovely curtains.










The cupboards are old but at least they are white.






My very old paragon sweet pea lunch plates now stand out over the stove.









































I was so happy to hang my beautiful pink curtains. Unfortunately I can't take down the ugly mini blinds so I just pull them all the way up during the day.























Now all I need to add is a drippy chandelier...hmm... I wonder if my husband
would go for it?














Thursday, March 25, 2010

Memories of a beach house...

When we were building our home in Ridgeway , Ontario we had the pleasure of renting this beautiful beach house in Crystal Beach which is right on Lake Erie. The home is in the Crystal Beach Yacht Club which is a gated community of beach homes. These are not your average little cottages. They are gorgerous mini summer estates that are mostly owned by U.S. citizens. Our beach home is owned by a lovely family from Atlanta and the woman is a interior designer.





If you notice the chandelier is made of tiny sea shells.




Take a look at the iron palm tree lamps. There is a real beach theme in this house.




This was the guest bedroom which has its own balcony facing the street.




The homes are all in pastel colours. Very much like Florida.


































This was a sunroom off the master bedroom that looked out to Lake Erie. When you sat on the couch it looked like you were over top of the water. This was our favourite room. I did alot of reading here.









Look at this gorgerous mirror! And her window treatments where so whimsy.











I felt like a princess while staying here. It was a great experience and everyday felt like
I was on vacation.
Hope you enjoyed the tour!
Pamela












Monday, March 22, 2010

Old Farm Garden Stone

Today I visited Old Farm Garden Stone an outdoor garden shop which specializes in fountains, statuary and planters. Located in Koksilah, British Columbia just south of Duncan.








Very graceful fountains...

















This has to be the most beautiful garden shop I have ever seen. It's romantic and enchanting with a very old world feel. Even though the shop runs parallel with the TransCanada Highway I immediately felt a calmness as I walked around the statutes listening to the water flowing through all the fountains.








Artistic statues like something you would see in Italy. True art everywhere.

















Being a leo myself I love this lion. So majestic and graceful.











There is so much to choose from. Urns, birdbaths to entice songbirds to your yard.Elegant stone benches.
I love everything in this shop.











If your yard, deck or garden is looking a little dull stop in at Old Farm Garden Stone and I'm sure you'll find something to inspire you.

Happy Gardening !

Saturday, March 20, 2010

A new blog to share ...Wading in the Sea...

I just wanted to introduce my other new blog to all of you it is called Wading in the Sea. It is all about my new life on Vancouver Island. Hope you get a chance to visit sometime and enjoy it as well.
The link is http://wadinginthesea.blogspot.com
Have a wonderful weekend ! I am still recovering from my trip to DisneyLand!!
Pamela xo

Saturday, March 13, 2010

Memories of an old Reno

We used to live in Niagara Falls, Ontario. This is the house we lived in for ten years. It was your typical 1950's box. No charm or character. Over the years we made alot changes. We replaced all the windows and doors and added alot of antique looking fixtures. This is a picture of my son Sam sitting on the porch that I painted with all heritage colours. I love this picture. He was only five years old here.



The front hall closet never had a door so I sewed a curtain out of pretty yellow material. We replaced the front door with this leaded window door.
Alot of work went into this bathroom. My husband tiled the floor and installed this great vanity with a granite top. This was a great find from HomeSense.
We had a beautiful view from the master bedroom to the backyard. Here you see more shots of the deck.


My husband build this great deck off the back of the home. We used it all the time it became another living space for us. In the dining room we removed a window and replaced it with a french door to access the deck.
This harvest table and chairs was a great find for me. I came across it just before we were to install the french door.
We are off tomorrow to take our son Sam to Disney Land. He has been waiting a long time for this trip. It should be so much fun!
Have a wonderful weekend everyone! Pamela