Finally! Finally! My MCAT has passed! It was four hours of brain activity, sooo exhausting after almost five months of studying with baby in toe. I am so relieved. After I was done, the questions seemed like a blur. I’ve been trying to get my mind off of it. It’s not easy to forget because they do not release the grades for another month but the fact that the hubby is back to work and I’m on full mommy duty is a great past –time. On the weekend, I was mostly busy renovating three bathrooms on this new project that I took on. So excited for the reveal. More details on this later this week.
Today I wanted to invite you into my abode. Mainly my dining room. I love accent walls and so when I had to decide what I could use to distinguish my dining room from my open concept living room, I knew that an accent wall was my answer. We put the Board and Batten treatment in during December 2009. It took us about a day and half to complete, not too bad.It was mainly mdf molding that we laid out on a grid pattern to our satisfaction. We added three long panels through the middle because the previous wall hangings were the perfect fit. The current feature is something fun and different that I picked up from HomeSense during their fantastic year end sale. Clearance! Clearance! for 10$!! Sorry I do not have process pictures of the Board and Batten. As I mentioned we completed this wall well before I had a website.
The extended bar has always been puzzling for my tastes. I have never found this option useful. In fact, in any future homes, I would opt out of this option. Couple this with limited space in our condo, we needed to use this space efficiently. I suggested we add a sideboard that fits perfectly underneath. We scoured the city to find a narrow and tall sideboard, all to no avail. I saw some beautiful sideboards some way beyond our price range but none that fit our specs. We looked into custom builds, just to see how much it would cost. My hubbie approached one particular cabinet maker within our city who gave us a quote of 250$ which was reasonable by my standards for a quality piece. This was before I learned that you can score some great deals on Kijiji. We went ahead with the custom build. I designed it and the carpenter built it. At the end, it didn't cost as much as you think. We got lucky or unlucky depends on how you look at it. Pro: The carpenter who put it together charged us only 50$.
Con: The legs are mainly there for show, they are quite flimsy. Its actually screwed into the kitchen island. The drawers are half broken and the top is unfinished.
But its attractive and much more affordable than the 250$ we were quoted. It mainly holds party dishware.
After a lot of fearless dining room chair searching, we furnished the space with the Flower Chair from Urban Barn. I love these chairs. Their shape is timeless and they are simple but with flair. They have a modern look but with a slight traditional feel. They are perfect for us! These chairs have a tweed-like fabric in a taupe ginger colour.
The round pedestal table was bought from a moving sale and we cleaned the top mainly to find that it was in very good shape. It has gotten worse over time obviously, with water marks and scratches but we plan to refinish it someday soon.
The light fixture was a builder-grade fixture but we exchanged it with the new drum shade, crystal drops chandelier. This was another HomeSense purchase. I feel that it is the perfect mix between masculinity and femininity. The crystal drops are delicate and sparkly which are juxtaposed with the masculine white drum shade and gunmetal grey of the fixture. A perfect balance for this room.
Well there it is, our dining room, hopefully soon we can give you a tour of the living room and you can see how the accent wall really distinguishes the dining room from the living room. I have an emotional attachment to this accent wall because it was the hubbie and my first real DIY project together. DIYs of any sort are special, not just because they are affordable but also because whenever you look at something that you have created, you feel satisfaction and accomplishment. It's such an appreciation for your own hardwork. I wouldn't change a thing.
Well there it is, our dining room, hopefully soon we can give you a tour of the living room and you can see how the accent wall really distinguishes the dining room from the living room. I have an emotional attachment to this accent wall because it was the hubbie and my first real DIY project together. DIYs of any sort are special, not just because they are affordable but also because whenever you look at something that you have created, you feel satisfaction and accomplishment. It's such an appreciation for your own hardwork. I wouldn't change a thing.
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