Makeover - episode III

Well, I did it. Half way through I seriously questioned the rationale for doing it, but, I did it! I painted the armoire black. Well, it's not really black it's Benjamin Moore Black Jack which is a charcoal grey but after testing a number of blacks, including Soot and Baby Seal, I settled on Black Jack. I'm pleased with how it turned out. I'm really trying to move away from the woodsy/cabin look but I didn't want to get rid of the TV armoire because it's solid wood - and so much of what you buy these days is not - I just didn't want that huge block of woodgrain sitting in the living room any more!

BEFORE(above) AFTER(below)

I had bought some simple black iron pull rings for the cupboard doors but when I attached them they looked so blah! Then I remembered that I had bought these simple tin rosettes about 10 years ago - and voila, I love them. They are fun and young and a total contract to the slick black surface. This is part 3 of the makeover - if you'd like to follow along - click here! Next up is new art and light fixtures - then the house gets painted - woot!

The Makeover - Episode II

So off we went to Kelowna on Friday to pick up the sofa and love seat that we found last weekend. I'm so glad I still loved it when I saw it for only the 2nd time. We loaded it onto Doug's truck and got home, after the 4hr drive, at 9pm on Saturday. It was a very hot evening but we hauled the old furniture out to the carport and hauled the new furniture in. I love it and I think it's a great start to the makeover. I picked up four, nice, feather filled pillows from Homesense in a graphic, black and white design - keeping in mind that the plan is to paint the armoire a soft matte black.

So below is a photograph I took yesterday morning and the last picture is after I have Photoshopped a black armoire and different wall art into the shot. I think that with some more editing of the 'country'accessories and new white walls it's going to come together quite quickly. I am realizing as i go through this process that though I crave a slick urban look it really doesn't suit our house or our location so I think I will call it 'eclectic modern' - or 'urban country' when I am finished!

Thanks so much to all of you who have sent me your great ideas and inspiring links - it has helped so much! I love getting them!

The Makeover - progress

As you know my goal is to brighten up the main floor of the house with all white walls and trim and more colour in the furnishings and accessories. Right now we have various boring shades of beige, grey and taupe throughout the house. Our sofa, chair and ottoman are dull sage green corduroy.

So this weekend(when I was visiting my folks in Kelowna) we stumbled on a leather set that we really like. Here it is. It's the colour that caught my eye(and apparently the reason that the set is discounted to half price!) It's quite orange brown(almost an Hermes orange) - I love it. It's also quite big(sofa is more than 7' long) I wasn't particularly looking for leather but all other upholstered sofas were very boxy, modern and covered with very masculine, grey, suiting type fabric - not my style at all.

I think that this set will be a great start to our new space. I also found a large 6 x 9 ft white shag rug to go with it - perfect. Note the black cupboards in this picture? I'm thinking that our big TV armoire may end up with a distressed black finish with very bright coloured framed art on either side.

So orange sofas, white shag rug, black armoire + bright coloured art .

A good start I'd say!

New sofas above at the showroom. Here's what I'm thinking of for the armoire - below.

White shag rug on our medium brown teak floors - mmmmmmm!

I've always really liked this Feist poster - might be the perfect spot for it next to the black armoire - lots of orange and black in it.

Inspiration - interiors

Simply stunning interiors from Anna Malin - so much inspiration on this website for my new whiter space - talking about which, we are going to go and check out new furniture this weekend - I am going with an open mind - well, to a point! Do you think this first cupboard is painted black? I was thinking more like a deep blue black - I think this could be a great alternative to painting the big armoire in the living room Spanish red.

Makeover - episode I

This is going to be the first of many posts featuring our pending living room makeover.

The commitment has been made and we are painting the whole place white - probably around the end of July. And, may I say, it's about time! Here are some before pictures. We live in the mountains, as you probably know, and it's all too easy to fall into a 'lodge' look whether you like it or not. We also live right next to the lake so I like to add vintage lake props into the decorating. But it's time to update the look and bring some fresh color back into our home.

The living space is very open plan. It flows into the kitchen. dining and hall area - even the stairwell. I'm excited to redecorate. We don't have a huge budget but I think we will replace the sofa, chair and ottoman, lighting, rugs and art. I was thinking about the new brighter and more colourful decorating plan and wondered what we can do with the TV armoire. It's a big piece of solid wood furniture. I don't want to give it up but we have agreed it can be painted. I'm excited to do this. We have a big green vintage cupboard in the entry that will look way better against a white wall so I'd like to paint the armoire a cool colour. Keep in mind I do not want a shabby chic look - I think the red example below would be a great choice or a a grey/green. What do you think?

The armoire in question - above.

The green cupboard in entryway(above) - this is a very tall piece, 5'5" tall.

The last blue cupboard is from House and Home, the others are from Pottery Barn, small red cupboard from Eco Furniture and the red Spanish armoire is from Haunt !

Happy Friday!

Have a wonderful weekend. Thank you for visiting The Cafe this week. I hope I inspired you to put your best creative foot forward this weekend. Thanks to all who became fans of our new Cartolina Facebook page this week. And for all of you who were wondering - yes, the white makeover has been approved by 'the management' and you can look forward to some obsessive decorating posts around the end of July - now there's something to look forward to ;-) See you Monday!

Loved these as soon as I laid eyes on them this morning at Delaney Gates. Confetti paper chains by Kristina Marie.