Making our Home OURS

I was inspired by folks at Urban Compass, a fantastic site that helps people find a space of their own, to share my experience putting our personal touch on our first home. Their primary location is in New York City, and they focus on apartments and houses matched to an individual's personality.

When we bought our home in 2006, it was everything we could have hoped for:  Great neighbourhood, on the bus route, close to schools, and the "perfect size" (for us).  We even loved the way the previous owners had decorated it.  Despite all of that, we wanted to make the house "our own" rather than feeling like we were living in someone else's house.

After moving all of our things in the house, we decided to start by changing the kitchen and the bathroom.  Not that there was anything particularly wrong with them, but we decided these would be our first "personal touches" for the house.

The kitchen had laminate counter-tops.  These weren't the "new school" laminate which can be quite nice, this was the old laminate, that fit in with the original cabinets.  And given that our house was build in the early 1960s, we figured it needed some updating.  We also decided to take out the single sink, and put in a double sink.  Although it would take away some counter space, I always liked being able to put my dishes in another sink to dry after washing them.  We put a dark marble tile for the counter-top, a ceramic tile backsplash and the new double sink.  Not a complete kitchen renovation, but enough to make it look a little different.

Our big renovation came in the bathroom.  The previous owners had painted the bathroom a bright sunshine yellow, and had acrylic pieces for the walls and covering the bathtub.  Again, nothing particularly wrong with it, it was bright and cheery, we just wanted to put our own personal spin on it.

To change the bathroom, we painted the walls grey, and put in a new tub, sink and toilet, and surrounded the tub with white tile (with dark grout).  We also put up a new mirror to compliment the new colours.  This was my favourite change to the house.

Our most recent change came just a couple months ago when we pulled up carpet in our basement and put down laminate flooring and added a cozy couch and now it's a comfortable TV room.  It was a finished basement when we bought the house, but now, it has our personal touch.

Now, with these changes, our home feels like our own.  We'll be making even more changes this summer including painting the kitchen and residing the house, and putting in new windows!

Not all of our renovations went according to plan, and in some cases, didn't even go according to budget.  We've had contractors not show up, and we've had fixtures and supplies not work properly, but it's all part of the experience.

Putting your own touch on your space doesn't have to be as extensive as our bathroom renovation.  in some cases just a coat of paint, or some different artwork can change the whole feel of a room.  As we do more changes in our house over the upcoming year, I hope to share our experience and tips with you.

Have you done any changes in your own house or apartment to make it your own?  Share your experiences in the comments below.

Home-made Christmas Presents

I'm a believer in gifts from the heart.  That doesn't mean I don't buy gifts sometimes that are not meaningful, but I do think that gifts given with lots of thought put in them are particularly special.  It was with this thought in mind that my daughter and I worked on a special gift project for some people in our family.  I will apologize now for the lack of photos, but given that these gifts are for Christmas, I didn't want to give too much away.  Some of the readers of this post may be receiving these gifts.

We decided to make a personalized mug.  I've seen this craft shared a number of times on social media, but I was a little skeptical as to how well it would work, but we decided to give it a try.  I bought a couple mugs at the local dollar store, and we went home to get started.

Supplies needed:

- Mug

- permanent markers

- Oven

When it comes to the markers, I hear that the oil based ones are best.  I just bought standard "permanent" sharpies.

Step 1: I really wanted my daughter to be the creator of the art work, so I put down a plastic place-mat in case the marker didn't stay on the mug.

Step 2: Wash the mug really well.  Any residue on the mug may affect how well the marker stays on the mug.  Make sure the mug is completely dry before moving on to the next step.

Step 3: Create!  We had lots of different coloured markers, and my daughter particularly liked the silver and gold markers.  She decided what the picture would be and did the drawing all herself.

Step 4: Put in the oven at 350 degrees for approximately 20 minutes.

Step 5: Allow to completely cool before use (or wrapping).

The mug will NOT be dishwasher safe and need to be washed by hand with care.  I did test the mug when it cooled and even when I rubbed with great force, the image didn't come off, but I've heard others say that there's did.  I suggest testing the durability of your image before gifting it.

I may post a follow up picture AFTER Christmas once these gifts have been opened, but I won't do it now at a risk of ruining the surprise.  

Have you done this craft before?  What was your experience?  Share in the comments below. 

Home Renos Terrify Me

Ok, ok.... I know... you read the title of this post and think "I thought she said she was going to post about Reality TV most of the time".  Yes... I did say that.  However, I tried... I really tried... to watch the Bachelorette last night.  It was my fourth episode... and... I just couldn't make it through.  I usually love that show... and the Bachelor (and Bachelor Pad.... etc, etc), but this season just makes me want to... sleep.  So I did.   But, I wanted to blog anyway, so I decided to blog about some "real life stuff"... and I see by my survey feedback that some people enjoy those kinds of posts anyway... so win-win!  And for those who don't like these kinds of posts... I hope you entered my contest, by way of survey, because you get to give feedback on the blog, and be entered to win a coffee gift card and donation to charity of your choice!  Another win-win!  I'm full of them today!  Well.. full of something anyway....

On to today's topic.  Renovations.  I hate them.  Don't get me wrong... I love the finished product.  I just hate the process.  If there was an easy and cost effective way for me to hire someone to do renovations, go on vacation, and come back to the finished produce, I would do it.  But, I am not a millionaire, so I muddle through.

We have renovated the kitchen and bathroom in our house.  The kitchen wasn't so bad, because we only did the sink and countertop.  Not bad.  The bathroom on the other hand...  a project that was to take a weekend wound up taking a week and a half.  What's so bad about that?  We only have one bathroom.  So this ended up in us moving out of the house temporarily.  Our plumber was frequently called away to other "emergencies" so that was the majority of the delay. 

The other thing I hate about renovations?  Going over budget.  I am the budgeter in our family, so I can be a bit of a fanatic about money.  We went over budget in both of our last renovations.

On tap this summer?  An overhaul of our garden/flower beds and.... (drumroll please)... windows, siding and doors.  Yikes.  Huge. 

Because the prospect of these renovations terrify me, I've decided to chronicle these renos through the blog.  Maybe this can be a learning experience for our next renovation project, or for anyone reading this blog. 

I'll start blogging about the progress of our renos later this week.  I just I thought I would post today to build the anticipation... did it work?  I'll post a little "before picture" to help you visualize:

Want to give some feedback?  Provide your own "horror story" or reno success?  Post in the comments below!

And if you haven't entered my contest yet, it closes tomorrow at 12:00 PM Atlantic.
http://overtiredmama.blogspot.ca/2014/05/some-changes-are-coming.html