I can't believe it, but half the shelves beside the fireplace are up! Do you remember that project we started, so, so long ago. I'm so glad we took the time to do it right because they look great. I had way too much fun putting all my long lost things back on display. It makes the room so much cozier, and less barn like. I can't wait to get the other side done (and hopefully it won't take another year to do).

Above are the "envelopes" that we created to go over a support system, making the shelves easy to remove. In the photo they are all put together and sanded, right before the stain was applied. 

These are the wall mounted supports that the shelf envelopes would then slide overtop. Each one is drilled into the studs in both the wall and the fireplace making the shelves super sturdy. 

Here we are sliding the shelf envelope onto the supports. They fit perfectly, so there is no need to attach the shelf to the support system; it's not going anywhere.

From the side you can see all the lengths and neat angles of the shelves. We wanted to design something unique, and I think we have accomplished it. Can't wait to get the other side up on the wall.

Check out this remodel of a 1980s house in Israel. The architects, Shachar Rozenfeld Architects, have taken out a lot of the curving windows and brightened it up with bigger glass walls and sliding doors. This makes the new living/dinning area more open, with an easy transition to the outside patio. See more of the transformation at Contemporist. 

Check out this house remodel in Oakland, California. It was created by Baran Studio. Lots more photos here. I really like the new front and back decks that were added.

Project Description:
The existing Spanish Style house had been modified ad-hoc (not to mention illegally) over the years with little attention to the net effect. As with many of the transformations we design, we took the existing conditions and capitalized on the best features of the house.

It's finished (for the most part)! It has taken us weeks to get this done, mostly because there has not been much time to work on it. I'm loving the new vanity we created. So simple, yet very modern. It was created by sawing a piece of pine to size and staining it! Here is all about our process. 

First step was to rip out everything we didn't want in the bathroom anymore. This included the mirror, towel rack, toilet paper holder, all art, lighting, and of course the sink and vanity. After all of that was out we cut open the wall, where the plumbing was, in order to be able to move the pipes for the new floating vanity. 

We marked out in pencil on the wall where the sink would sit, so that we knew where the new pipes would have to be placed. Then my father helped us cut out the old plumbing, and inset the pipes in the right spots for the new sink. This included sawing out the old pipes and soldering the new ones in place. 

Under the old vanity was simply the subfloor, so we needed to put tile down. Luckily we found a few extra tiles under our stairs to use for this corner. These are not my favourite tiles, but as they continue out into the kitchen we will keep them for now, and perhaps replace them all one day. We also ended up using the grout we had bought for our fireplace project, so it didn't cost us anything. The tiles needed to be cut to fit along the sides, then we added a layer of glue to the floor and spaced out each tile. The glue took about 48 hours to dry. Once dry we added the grout, washed down the floor, and waited for that to harden. 

We also had to replace the baseboard where the vanity was. Which consisted of painting it with a coat of primer and then a coat of white paint before they were on the wall. Then we nailed them to the wall, covered the nails with compound, and then added the last layer of white paint. 

Next we created a support structure for the sink to sit on out of wood. We screwed the wood supports into the wall studs and added brackets to the outer corners. Then we added a cross support (as seen in the third photo above) for help as the sink was really heavy. The sink then just simply sits on top of the supports. We actually ended up gluing the back of the sink to the wall, as well to keep it in place, using silicone chalking. 

Next we had to finish connecting the plumbing to the new sink, and then replace the dry wall. 

Next we took down the old lighting and added the black track lighting seen above. We also repaired all the walls with compound and painted!

We new vanity is simply two pieces of pine cut to size and then sanded and stained. They butt up against each other at the corner of the sink and are simply screwed into the support system we created. Simplistic, yet modern! Last step for the sink was to add a boarder of silicone chalking between the sink and the wall. 

After everything else was up we then added the towel rack, toilet paper holder, and art! We also took the mirror that was there originally, turned it on it's side, and added small mirror clips to hold it up.

I'm so happy with the results! A new, fresh powder room, all done without too many huge changes. One more thing I would like to do in the future is paint large horizontal stripes across the wall that holds the towel rack. Maybe in a soft silver/grey. Still trying to convince Jeff of that one, but that wall definitely needs something. Overall we are very excited for the new powder room!

We have got the sink in and all the plumbing changed out to accommodate the new vanity. And we have painted! It's very dark and blue, but I think it's going to work well. The vanity still needs to be built and lighting to be done. Hopefully we will get to it this weekend. Lots more details on the plumbing replacement next week. For now, here is the before and after of the paint and new sink!

We managed to get one wall painted in our great room. It's going to be a lot of time and work to finish the room, but for now the wall that the shelves will go on is finished. It took almost as long, as it did to pick out the colour to use! We ended up choosing Behr Sculptors Clay, as seen below. 

The colour is a grey with a bit of brown in it. As a result the effect makes the room feel a lot warmer and finished than the plain white. I can't wait to see how the whole room will look! However, that will probably have to wait until the new year. I'm really happy with it! It's always hard to pick a colour that will be in a large space and has to match many things. I think this time we have done well!

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!

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. 

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! 

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.