A modern grey sofa can be the most amazing piece of furniture for your living space. Why? Because it’s neutral, hides dirt and will last you many years through many design trends. Grey sofas aren’t boring or… Read More »Why You Should Buy A Grey Sofa
Here on the West Coast, Spring has definitely sprung. The cherry blossoms are out, along with the magnolias. The air feels fresh and the other day I may have worn canvas shoes without socks! The… Read More »Spring Decor Inspiration
Exciting news! Our loft apartment is featured on Design*Sponge. The last few weeks I’ve been taking photos of our place, learning very quickly that interior photography is damn hard! I shared some of my initial shots… Read More »Our Loft Apartment is Featured on Design*Sponge
So it seems that the best time of year to find furniture is in the Spring and Summer, because people tend to just put stuff out in the back alley or take things to the… Read More »New Project: Vintage Mid Century Cabinet
Not too long ago we upgraded from my old queen size bed to a king size. It was a big change, but necessary because my mattress was old and there was a big sale so we got a really good deal. We opted to get the box spring that comes with the mattress because my old IKEA frame would be too small and it was falling apart. We then decided to just get one of those cheap metal frames that come with the mattresses because we didn’t know what else to do at the time and we had zero budget. I immediately missed the under bed storage we had from our previous bed frame, so we made some wood boxes and attached low profile caster wheels to roll under our bed. It’s not aesthetically beautiful, but it’s super functional.
I’m actually kind of embarrassed to show this photo with the ugly box spring showing, but it’s reality. Maybe just focus on the pretty night stand and lamp instead, haha.
We still don’t have the budget to change things, so we’ll likely just put a cover on the box spring and have it that way for a few more years, but that doesn’t mean I can’t dream, right?
I’m a big fan of a Japanese style bed that has interlocking joints so there’s very little need for screw or nails. These beds are commonly known as tatami mat beds, because there’s usually an option to sleep right on a tatami mat rather than a mattress. The first example below shows what I’m talking about, note the wood joins at each leg post.
I recently took some photos of a luxury bathroom renovation here in Vancouver, British Columbia. It may not be my personal style, but you can’t help but love the finishes in this space. The mix of traditional elements and slick modern design somehow fits together in perfect harmony. The soft pastels in the tile and wall colour contrast with the dark marble floors. I’m seriously obsessing over the floors, they have so much impact in the space, they ground the airiness of the pastel colours and bring in a bit of a masculine feature into a very feminine space creating a sense of balance. It all goes perfectly with the polished shower and vanity fixtures.
Below I’ve broken down the elements of this bathroom if you’re in the market for a renovation, or just very curious.
Lately Ikea has really been doing it right. There’s been so many really great items that don’t have that typical Ikea look and feel. You know what I’m talking about, the products that everyone buys, the… Read More »Ikea Love: products that don’t look like they’re from Ikea
After doing renovations to our apartment and being on a super rushed timeline in the process, I occasionally have regrets about certain decisions we made in terms of design. Don’t get me wrong, I really… Read More »Using Black in Your Bathroom
Today I’m sharing some hardware and fixture inspiration that came to me after a visit to the Interior Design Show West this past weekend. There were so many great brands and some new ones I hadn’t… Read More »Hardware and Fixture Inspiration
A while back I refinished a junky white box into a modern mid century style night stand. I ended up keeping it for myself. Ever since then, Andrew has been looking for a vintage night stand to match mine. You could say he had night stand envy.
Here’s the piece we were matching it with, you can read more about this before and after over here
So we were on the lookout for something that had similar bones. We recently found this little guy:
This piece was frumpy, especially with that hardware, super short legs and cream paint. We wanted to give it a modern facelift. Right away we ripped off the drawer front, because we knew it was plywood and we wanted a nice wood front to match the other project I did. We went to the hardware store and got them to cut a piece of 1/4 inch maple veneer to size. If you ask your local hardware store very nicely, they won’t charge you for cuts. Well at least that’s what the awesome guys at Windsor Plywood did for us! I think it was because I smiled ever so nicely at the guy. It only cost about $13 for the drawer front and we have so much leftover wood for another project, but I’ve already decided I’m going to keep the thin sheet of veneer to use as a photo backdrop for now.
We brought it home and glued and clamped it to the drawer face. We just used regular wood glue and heavy duty clamps. It sat clamped for about a day. Once it was dry we applied several coats of danish oil and drilled holes for a modern drawer pull.
You’ll also notice we switched out the legs to give it more height so it would work better as a night stand and so it matched the other piece I did. You can find legs like this at Home Depot, but we got ours at a garage sale for pretty much nothing.
The entire piece was primed using CIL Smart3 Primer and the final coat was Benjamin Moore Advance in Tropicana Cabana and Snowfall White.
Here’s the final result of our modern vintage night stand:
Read More »Before and After: Vintage Night Stand
Oh my gosh, this vintage dresser was a challenge. It was basically ready for the trash, broken drawers, a chipped top edge, water damage and many other chips and scratches. As usual, I saw the beauty… Read More »Before and After: Vintage Dresser Junky to Funky
Another painted vintage dresser project completed. This one was literally a beast that was turned into a beauty. It had a horrible faux wood grain finish and tons of chips and since it was made… Read More »Before and After: Painted Vintage Dresser
