ewan's nursery

Thomas and Hannah have a knack for creating super-great rooms for their kids. Ewan's nursery is the fourth space they have customized and each room has been cool, unique, creative, and totally 'them'. It's a tough trick to pull off - to put your own stamp on a space like that. If that's not enough, they manage to do it without spending a fortune. Part of that of course, is the diy factor. But their creativity and attention to quality just wrap it all in a practically perfect package. I wish you could stand in the room - it is just so cool. Please pardon the pics. I did my best :) but I really haven't done the room justice.

One wall is painted with black chalkboard paint, the others are perfectly white. Thomas doodled the graffiti-esque street scene and they hung one of Mark's paintings in the middle of the scene. Supa-cool. The dresser (IKEA) previously lived in Theo's nursery where it wore a natural raw wood finish that was perfect for the outdoor/mountain theme. Now just the drawers are painted a fantastic yellow that 'makes' the room. There is a comfy black wool-covered chair in the corner for middle of the night feeds with a wire basket of diaper changing essentials close at hand. Hannah's clever sister Beth embroidered the amazing-cool Northern hemisphere sky chart that records the stars for the month Ewan was born. (That may be my favourite personal touch - I wish I had one for each of my own kids!) Jonathon sent the wooden caterpillar from Vancouver. Hannah made the nifty mobile out of twigs that she collected, painted, and balanced - her own brilliant idea. (If you have never tried to balance a mobile you will not appreciate how tricky and potentially hair-pulling a feat that can be.) Although the mobile is simple it is the perfect touch of colour and movement. The submarine print is an etsy find that suggested the color direction for the room. And finally, Thomas repurposed and retrofitted the light fixture. It was a find from the demo of  a local high school. So clever. And all so cool.

A Blank Canvas

The marriage is safe! Not only did we weather the test of three days spent painting together but I am very well-satisfied with the result. (Actually, I love it!) It was a heckuvalotta work though, way more than I naively anticipated. All the windows that let in the beautiful light, the built-in cabinets, the volume in the stairwell and entry....enough challenges to satisfy even the most ambitious amateur painter. Now I have a beautiful - and currently very - blank canvas. What to put where? (and can I really put a hole in those beautiful white walls?!) 

(I promise more pictures of the after but since I am a little vain, only after I finish the finishing touches - which may be a week or two. Life must go on and is totally oblivious to my decorating desires.)

Nerves

Tomorrow we are painting and I am nervous. I have been thinking about doing this for a year and I think it is going to be great. But what if it is a disaster?

When we built this house 8 years ago, I chose the perfect grey. It is warm, a bit moody, and looks good in every light. I have loved the colour and still do (hence the hesitation) but the walls have seen a lot of life and could use a little love, so if we are going to the work and expense of painting it seems like a good time to make a change. Plus, aside from the 8 years here, the colour is not much different than the grey I used in the house before this (5 years). Maybe time .... but this is an open concept house so it is all or nothing. 


Wish me luck! .... 'cuz if it is a disaster, I am going to have to pretend it's great - or find another husband ;)


(Photos by Eden Lang )

The Nursery at Merin's House - Before and After

Before (obviously during demolition - the previous glory of the room was, sadly, not recorded)

Before there was a pregnancy this room was "the baby's room".  Every choice, from paint to pictures, was made with joy and anticipation. It was a huge pleasure and privilege to help Merin prepare this space for  her very much desired baby. Before Ysa's birth, we were not aware of  her gender. That meant all the choices were made so that either "color" of baby - pink or blue - would be comfortable here; we would just tweak things by adding vintage metal trucks or tutus and bows after the big reveal.  Merin wanted a room that would be a reflection of not only her taste and style but also comfort and love. The budget was tiny but that just makes the challenge a lot more fun. 

When the house was purchased there was clean but worn broadloom covering the oak flooring. We stripped off two layers of wallpaper and found evidence of two previous paint colors under that! There was an unattractive home-made* looking desk mounted (most unfortunately) very securely to the wall. This room was ever so tired and dark. So off with the wallpaper, out with the carpeting, and on with the fun.

We chose a very soft, warm grey for the walls. The floors were refinished a dark nutmeg color (as throughout the house) and Jonathon contributed the sheepskin rug that I had pieced together for him (by hand! ) from individual sheepskins several years ago. On a trip to the flea market we found the super-fantastic vintage rocking horse and knew it was meant for this baby's room - the original blue paint was perfect. I had made the linen drapes for our apartment in Tokyo and when they were spiffed up by adding a wide band of striped yellow, grey and black fabric to the bottom they were perfect here as well. 

The pictures are actually vintage children's books from the 1950's. The format is the same as a comic book and the illustrations were so delightful that we wanted to use them as art. Off to Ikea for Ribba frames, down to my stash for some great textured paper from Korea (the paper looks like matelasse - with a lovely 3D texture - perfect again!), a little measuring and cutting and our masterpieces were done. 

Merin's teddy bear collection was retrieved from the wooden box of her childhood treasures - saved for this very time. (The flowered bear in the crate was made from a curtain that hung in Merin's great-grandmother's home and wears a collar made of a hand-crocheted doily that the same grandmother made, the little white bear on the shelf was made by her Aunt Shan.) Jonathon was recruited to do the design for the vinyl lettering on the roller blind and the wall above the dressers. A little more primping and....Ta da! Finito!

A lovely little room to welcome a sweet baby in this happy home. Not long used but Merin loved it and loved every moment of preparing it for Ysa. Happily, Ysa still sleeps in the same crib, with the same quilts her momma made, surrounded by the same nursery rhyme quotes, framed books and teddy bears. Just in a different house. But still a happy home - filled and overflowing with love. Sweet, lucky baby.

photos courtesy of eden lang pictures with the exception of the 4th (obviously iPhone pic) Thanks once again Eden!

* I am not opposed in any way to DIY - I just prefer things to look hand-crafted rather than home-made! Big difference.

Gabby Draws

Gabrielle Letourneau is a young woman of incredible talent and intelligence. She is the rare combination of artistic and creative ability and a really sharp mathematical mind - the whole right brain/left brain thing in balance and really heavy on both sides at that! She is also my niece so I am lucky to have a piece of her work in my home (the chair - a story for another day). I have watched her skill develop as she has grown and I am truly in awe. In an extended family that is pretty loaded with creative ability she really stands out. 


This last Christmas I commissioned  her to do a sketch of the wedding dress that I designed and made for Eden, as my gift to Eden. In the end it was much more than a sketch, it is a beautiful pencil drawing with intricate detail, a special piece of art that both Eden and I love. 

The drawing is large (27x40 inches) and done on vellum. It is cool and fantastic, just like Eden - and Gabby!

This reproduction drawing of the Degas dancers was a birthday gift that Gabby did for Merin's 18th birthday. Merin loved it and hung it on the gallery wall in the living room of the lovely little home she shared with Mike.

Thanks Gabby. 

Kitchen 'Rehab' at Merin's

With lots of assets (great curb-appeal, location, space and potential) this little house had a few less desirables. The most obvious of which was the kitchen.

It was, to not put too fine a point on it, a disaster.  Totally unworkable from a current perspective. And that isn't even getting into that it was just ugly. The cabinets were too small and too few.The layout impractical. The counter space was almost non-existent. And  ugly! How about the faux brick combined with the dark faux wood paneling? As we 'excavated' we discovered three different layers of laminate on the counter, two layers of vinyl flooring over top of the original linoleum tile and yes, two layers of wallpaper along with evidence of 3 separate color schemes in paint that was revealed as we worked. Wow! The original owners really liked to redecorate. (and who am I to knock that?!)

For the better part of the year that Mike and Merin owned the house the kitchen looked like it does above. At the end of May - a month before little Ysa was due - they pulled everything out right back to the studs. So there was nothing - no water, no counter - not even the vinyl flooring. The hope was to have the kitchen in and finished by the end of the summer. It was a challenge for the end of a pregnancy and even more so for a new mom but Merin was willing to do it and  looked forward with excitment to the finished and functional kitchen.

Merin and I spent many hours brainstorming ideas, drawing the plan, shopping for finishes and fixtures. It was my idea of great fun. It also put me in the unique position of being able to execute the plan after the accident - to know that I could finish it so that the kitchen looked just like she wanted it to. I did. And it does. It is, I think, pretty fantastic.

Now there is a very functional, large, deep single bowl sink to replace the shallow and entirely frustrating itty bitty sink. And the dishwasher we found is a huge upgrade over the old portable. We chose to install the shelf instead of upper cabinets. It kept the kitchen much more open and is a younger, hipper look. The countertop is Richlite, a material that is fantastic. It will not burn or stain, is more forgiving than stone if things are dropped on it and has a softer, warmer appearance. 

We mounted upper cabinets on the wall under the windows. This addressed several issues - the baseboard radiant heating that could not be moved, the need for more storage, as well as the need for countertop. Brilliant solution. I like the way it 'floats' - visually light and open. (Merin and I had planned to paint the space between the windows with blackboard paint - a great graphic hit -but since the house is no longer for them but resale that was deemed a potential hazard. I still thought it would be amazing. Oh well.)

The new ceramic tile floor is practical and, in my opinion, cool-ly graphic. The kitchen light fixture was original as is the lovely chandelier over the table. We thought it was fun to keep that bit of history - and, after shopping, we really liked them.

Merin would have been beyond thrilled with the result, the product of all the dreaming, working, and sacrifice of convenience. I have felt comforted (although at times it was very hard) as I have had the opportunity to do this for her. For me it has been important. I wish she could have used this kitchen but she was so happy here in this little house of love and dreams even without it. I remind myself that it doesn't matter so much where we live but how we live. I can be grateful and therefore happy or I can not. I choose. Every day. I can honor her memory by choosing well.

It is a very good kitchen. Sweet, practical, beautiful, cool - perfectly Merin.

I know that most of  you have likely seen many of these pictures from Eden's blog but since I was so intimately involved in the process of getting to the "After" stage, and since who doesn't love to see the "Before"s, this is my offering.

I acknowledge all the hours of help and work contributed by Merin's brothers, father and uncles, they selflessly gave many,many hours doing work that was not fun. It was a gift of love.

All after photos are courtesy of edenlangpictures. Thanks so much Eden for your beautiful work.