Outdoor Living Inspiration

This time of year (especially with the weather we have had) always starts me thinking about my outdoor spaces and what I could do with them this year. Here are some inspirational pics I came across.

I love outdoor pillows...

... and outdoor dining areas...

...and outdoor lounging areas...

...and everything else you can come up with.

New Dock

My husband Stuart and I have spent our long weekend (and the better part of our vacation) building a new dock. Here are the pictures documenting our progress.

First- The before picture...

Day 1- Today we built the platform frame which was more work then we imagined...

Day 2- Today we (well Stuart) began by hand mixing 12 bags of concrete for the slab at the shore where the ramp will be attached. The rest of the day was spent bracing the platform and building the ramp.

Day 3- Today we hinged the ramp to the platform, put the ramp in the water and put the deck boards on and finished the day by using two lawn tractors (ours and our neighbors) to drag the platform down to the water.

Day 4- After a good nights sleep Stuart came up with a plan to get the platform in the water using just the two of us and a winch. Finished finally!!!

Well worth the work... now onto rocking the shore.

Kimberly Seldon's Designer Market

Jenn and I recently attended the Designer Market at the Distillery Historic District. Here are some of the pictures I took of the event. FYI- Well worth a girls weekend in T.O.

Front Yard- Before & After

I am finally at a place where I think I can start putting up the before and after photos of our house. Not everything is finished yet but some things are.

The first area I will show is the front exterior of the house.

Before

After- Basically we got rid of the 1970's style planter that edged the non-existent garden and removed the aluminum siding to expose the wood siding that was underneath. We painted the original siding on the main house and sided and painted the garage to match.

How Changing a Few Key Elements Can Drastically Change a Room

Below are 2 storyboards that I made up for a friends living room. She initially wanted red as her accent colour but more recently suggested that she might like to consider other colours. By providing a neutral background, the look of the room can completely change by simply replacing a few key elements. Even I was surprised how little it took to transform the space.

The first (and my personal favorite) uses a chair as the inspiration for the accent colour red. All other furniture pieces in the room are neutral colours including beige, black, brown and antique white. The only hits of red come from the pillows, curtains and chair.

The second, again, uses a chair as the inspiration for the accent colour light blue. All other furniture pieces in the room have not changed. The only pieces that I have changed for this room are the pillows, curtains and chair.