The new carpet for the nursery is here! Now we get to start on all the fun stuff, like decorating. We still need to figure out what we are going to to do with the closet. Right now it only has two build in shelves spaced wide a part. We could either leave it the way it is, and use the closet for large items. Then we would need to buy a set of drawers for the room. Or we could rip out the shelves and make the closet into build in unit with drawers and places to hang clothes etc. Lots to think about. Let the brain storming begin! In the meantime we have the crib and our funky painted shelf. It's finally starting to come together, very exciting!

I came across this artist, Bernard Pras, and I just had to share. These pieces are amazing! You can see more here if you are interested. From the front the pieces look like paintings, but from the side you can see it's all kinds of stuff jumbled together that create the image you see when viewing from the front. It's just incredible! I couldn't find too much information about the process of the pieces themselves, but I found this short video that shows how the piece would look if you were to walk around it. Take a look! 

Last Thursday was my official birthday, and this past weekend we hosted a birthday / house warming party. I know it's crazy to have a house warming party after we have almost lived in the house for a year, but there were still people that attended that hadn't seen the house, so it all worked out. We had tons of food, including these little Caprese Salad Bites I made up. So simple and so delicious. We played lots of fun games, and got to catch up with old friends. Overall, it was a great time!

So easy! 

• Fresh Baguette
• Buffalo Mozzarella
• Fresh Basil Leaves
• Cherry Tomatos

Then pile them up together with a tooth pick and enjoy! Instant party food!

I also got another special birthday treat! I was taken out by a good friend for tea and scones. So relaxing, and lots of fun. There is a really cute place up in Markham that is decorated like an old english tea room. They have a huge menu of teas and yummy treats to go with your pot of tea. You can also stop in just to buy loose leaf tea as well. If you are ever up in Markham visit The Old Curiosity Tea Shop. 

It's painted! We finished the painting step of the shelf for the baby's room. Once we bring it up to the nursery it will be laid down lengthwise along one wall. I'm still deciding if I want to add feet to the bottom, I think I will have to see it in the space first. 

We started by taking the shelf a part for easy rolling. Then we sanded each piece down, so the paint would stick easier, and then applied a layer of primer. After we let that dry we started painting the orange layer followed by the purple. Now we are just going to let it sit for a few weeks to make sure the paint is really hard to prevent chipping. It's very bright, but I think it will look great in the nursery. 

I'm loving these amazing benches, which come in all kinds of colours. They are designed by True Design in Italy. Definitely a conversation starter! 

From the designers: 
True Design (just made in Italy)

True Design is the brainchild of two young men
grown up in the pursuit of modernity.
For them "modern" is, first of all, going beyond fashion
by overtaking those signs
that too quickly change fron innovative into conventional.

Inspired by the dynamic forms of biogenetics, the modular bench DNA consists in a unique construction assembly which is created by a single section of curved plywood, that is mirrored in design to create multiple seating configurations. The result of this system, is a captivating piece of furniture, shaped after the helix form, in which each completed section creates an individual seat for the user creating comfort in a public space.

We finished installing the new tiles for the fireplace this week. I love the vertical lines, and how they match the mantel. We actually used left over tiles my father had from a previous project he did in my parents place. They worked perfectly for us. 

First, we had to remove the old tiles and glue with a chisel. Then spread a thick layer of fresh glue and carefully placed the tiles down with spacers to keep consistent spacing. 

It took us forever to choose a design we liked with the pieces of tiles we had. We kept coming up with endless design possibilities. Eventually we found one that we all loved! I'm so happy with this design. I like the striking vertical lines that lead the eye up to the mantel (and eventually to the great art piece that will sit there). 

After letting the glue dry for about a week, as it was very thick, we added the grout. The process was fairly straight forward. Just apply the grout making sure to press lots into all the cracks. Then wash the excess away with a sponge. Overall, I'm extremely happy with the results, so much better than the blue/pink tiles that were there before! 

PABLO, a fresh-baked cheese tarts store in Yokohama, Japan, was designed by RONDO. I love the neat curves of the building and the natural use of plant life in the vertical gardens. See more at Contemporist. 

Project Description:
The fresh-baked cheese tarts store “PABLO” opened their new store in Hyogo area following Umeda & Shinsaibashi in Osaka and Shibya in Tokyo. We have continued to support their store expansion throughout the country.

This time, they first had a function of eat-in café space with a food retail store. The store serves fresh-baked cheese tarts on site. The point of design is, like their other stores, to stage the process of making tarts: churning, baking, stamping, finishing, wrapping, and serving.

We investigated a catchy and design-conscious guidepath plan with a taste of entertainment so that customers standing in the queue can see and enjoy the making process in order. We created curve lines again that are the characteristics of “PABLO” store.

We got up to lots of house projects this weekend. My father came up again to give us a hand with the never ending list of things we want to get done before baby, also known as BB. One of the major purchases of the weekend was a new fancy table saw! It took us a long while to put it all together, but it should be great for future projects, and for getting the living room shelves made more quickly. Very exciting, real power tools!

We also managed to get the old carpet out of the nursery, and have ordered a new one. Should be coming in a couple of weeks. Then we can focus the fun part of the nursery, decorating! 

The guys took out the tiles in front of the fireplace, that we will replace with a more modern design. Can't wait to see it all finished! Meanwhile, I took a part the shelving unit we are going to use in the nursery and started painting. Overall I very productive and busy weekend. We had lots of fun too! There will be more finished project posts very soon!

We have finally started in on the nursery! Big plans ahead! First step was to remove the white bookcases. Of course the wall behind has not been painted. We decided to keep the colour that we had painted it for my office, as it's a nice neutral, calming colour. 

Step two was to fix up the walls and paint the rest of the room. Then we are going to remove the carpet and get a new one installed. The current carpet is really stained and old. We thought it would be nice to have a fresh one seeing as the baby will probably play on the floor.

Lots still to think about in terms of furniture for the room. However, we have this shelf sitting in our office downstairs that we are not using. I'm thinking of painting it some fun colours, and using it in the nursery for books and toys. I plan to lay it down lengthwise so it's easy for baby to reach, and maybe even add some feet to the bottom.

I'm thinking of using some nice bright colours, one for the outside frame and the other for the shelves. Here are a couple paint chips I'm looking at below. The orange is Behr Tart Orange and the purple is Behr Just A Fairytale. Can't wait to get started!

Check out this amazing renovation of a 1920s house in Australia. It's amazing what you can do, and add on to, an original structure to make it something entirely new. See more photos at Contemporist! 

Project Description:
Situated in Kensington, Sydney, this project worked within an existing first floor addition to a 1920s bungalow. Preserving the existing building envelope, the ground floor and first floor were tranformed to provide additional bedrooms and a versatile social area with Kitchen, Living and Dining opening up to a new outdoor entertaining area. The private bedroom spaces were placed within the reworked first floor, with the addition of fixed windows to the Northern facade dramatically improving the natural light withtin the dwelling.