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We have new neighbors!

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Our neighbors finally sold their home a couple of months ago and they moved out this past Thursday and Friday. I really didn’t think they’d manage to sell their home since they had the price so high – very high considering they hadn’t done anything to the home and I’ve just found out that the kitchen doesn’t even have a stove! No wonder they were always using their deep fryer on their side of the enclosed back porch. Geez!

Anyway, the new neighbors came by on Saturday and we met them. Well, Chris talked to the husband a few times, and he and I both spoke with the wife. From what we can tell they seem like a really nice couple.

They’ve decided to do a bit of work around the home before they move in and don’t plan to fully move in until the beginning of July. We didn’t ask, but I suspect that they are currently living in an apartment. When we bought our house we kept our apartment for an extra month as well (cashed in on that first and last and as a result didn’t pay rent for that last month) as we did work around our home.

Apparently our area is quite hot in the Real Estate market. Our new neighbor told me that her agent and all their friends said this was really an up and coming area. Cool .. No wonder there are so many houses going up for sale and new people moving in so often lately! We might have to hang theater rope to keep the potential buyers at bay!

The new neighbor – the man – plays in a band so I’m sure he and Chris will end up getting together to jam. Both are guitar players.

As I said I only met the new lady of the house once, but she seemed very nice, down to earth and I have a feeling we’ll get along quite well.





Trying to work up the energy …

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I’m lying on the couch watching the hockey game that I mentioned in my last post, Brantford’s winning BTW, and I’m trying to work up the energy to go outside and plant the plants I purchased a week and a half ago in my front garden.

I’m not feeling so hot today so it’s easy to just lie here and say I’ll do it tomorrow, but those plants (bare roots and bulbs) won’t last much longer. I’d better go out there.

As I sit on the couch I’ve been looking at the chandelier that we put up in the dining room … I swear when we finally finish putting in the tin ceiling, a drawn out reno project, I’ll be looking at chandeliers. I don’t think blue lighting will go all that well once we’re done the living room dining room renovation.

Ok, enough procrastinating … it’s off to the garden I go!

Time to start getting things done around the home

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I’m so happy that spring has finally arrived! The snow is melting and some of my garden plants are starting to show up! Yeahhhh!

Now my thoughts are filled with gardening tasks. Well, they are also filled with thoughts of all the things we need to do around the home like finish our living room dining room reno so we can get started on our bathroom renovation. I suppose that sometime soon we’ll have to go out and take a look at bathroom vanities and other items we’ll need for that project.

Do you ever getting thinking about things that you need to do so much that you start dreaming about it too? I do. Lately my dreams are filled with me digging in the garden or painting walls. Figures it’s not something more exciting!

Beautiful interior wood doors for your home

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I believe that one day I’ll be able to say that we’ve completely renovated just about every inch of our home. I’ve made plans for each area and completed a number of major renovations so far, however it will still likely be a few years before I can make my claim.

One of the areas I’ve yet to address are interior and exterior doors. Our home was built in 1927 and I believe all of the interior doors are the original doors – complete with ancient hardware. Needless to say, doors that are 81 years old tend to have several coats of paint and a number of dings in them! As much as I like our doors I think we might replace a few of them. The rest I’ll try to refinish.

If you happen to be revamping or renovating your home you might want to take a look at the selection of Interior Wood Doors at Hardwood Door & Bevel.

Not only does Hardwood Door & and Bevel have a wide selection of beautifully designed interior and exterior hardwood doors, wrought iron doors, French doors, bevels, windows and hardware they will also create a custom door for you if you need a very specific height or width or have a custom design in mind.

As I said our house was built in the 1920’s and the interior and entry doors are narrower than those in more modern homes. We might well have to get a custom door ourselves, or at the very least trim to sides of a pre-made door.

I spent some time on the site looking over the various styles of doors which range from hardwood doors of Oak, Maple, Mahogany, Cherry and distressed Alder to wrought iron and Rio Tuscany doors, solid MDF doors and various collections listed by brand and or style of door and I was pleased with the designs.

I also took a look at some of the custom doors that they’ve created and in a word they are gorgeous. Seriously. If you need a new door or believe that you might want to have a custom made door in the future do take the time to visit the site and bookmark it. I think you’ll be as pleased with the selection as I was!

Kitchen planning and Kitchen designs

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Ever since we became home owners nearly 7 years ago my husband and I have been slowly renovating our home.

We’ve done everything from knocking down walls to open up and connect rooms, tore out all the carpeting, sanded and varnished the hardwood floors on the main level and upstairs, renovated the master bedroom and one of our spare bedrooms, put in a skylight (that leaks!) and renovated the living room dining room area. Oh yes, we also landscaped the front and backyards too!

We’re slowly losing steam as we go. In fact our living room dining room reno isn’t quite finished! I’m afraid that we might never get around to finishing our basement, the upstairs bathroom and perhaps the kitchen.

If we can afford it we might hire professionals to do one of our renovation jobs.

As daunting as our do it yourself renovation projects might seem I think the project I’d most likely leave to the professionals would be the kitchen. The kitchen is where family and visitors alike tend to gather, and as anyone who’s purchased or sold a home knows, having a modernized kitchen is very important. In fact, it’s so important it can make or break a sale! I believe bathrooms are next on the list of deal makers and breakers.

Considering that I’ve always got a renovation project on the go and others to plan I tend to visit interior design related websites. I like to stay current as to what the design trends are and which products are being used to create spectacular looking rooms.

One of the sites that I’ve visited recently is EWKitchens.com. The company is based in Michigan and they’ve been in business since 1947. The company has evolved over the years from being Michigan’s largest cabinet supplier to full service kitchen planners, designer and distributor. I believe they have three showrooms in Michigan.

If you are in the area and are planning a kitchen renovation it would certainly be in your interest to contact them and talk with one of their kitchen planners or Kitchen Designers. You can discuss your concept of an ideal kitchen design with them as they specialize in assisting clients with the planning and installation of luxury kitchens.

I’m in Canada so it’s not likely I’ll use their services myself, but I’ve gained some ideas and knowledge from their site if in the event that I ever choose to hire a professional to renovate our small kitchen. In the resource section I found three very helpful articles. The articles discuss everything from What every homeowner needs to know when selecting a kitchen designer, important questions to ask your kitchen designer, and reasons why everyone can afford a luxury kitchen.

I found the last article very helpful as it discussed the importance of setting a budget and then choosing quality products within your price range in order to achieve a luxury kitchen. After all, luxury doesn’t necessarily mean most expensive.

I spent quite a bit of time browsing through their photo galleries. There are four photo galleries to choose from which highlight classic kitchen styles, contemporary kitchens and the blending of the two styles to create unique designs. There are also photos of wet bars, and walk in pantries for those of you with enough space to add such features. I’m sure you’ll get quite a few new ideas after you’ve browsed their photo galleries.

If you live in Michigan or in a nearby State and you’re thinking of renovating your kitchen contact EW Kitchens and talk with one of the members of their design team.

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