before & after // our farmhouse kitchen (updated!)

"Season everything with love."
- Author unknown

Our plans for a kitchen make over were not supposed to be for a while, not this year at least. After the first few hours passed in the house, our talented friend started priming the ceiling, crown moulding, trim and wainscoting - all brown/green before. Our sister in law aided in taking down the wallpaper a few days later and we discovered the walls had been painted, painted some more, wallpaper and painted over again.

Gable Oaks has both drywall and plaster walls. The kitchen is plaster. We absolutely love it as the plaster in the house was done so well. While house hunting, we really learnt the difference between a good plaster job and a poor one. Looking back on our house hunting chapter I remember one house that needed part of the basement to be filled to the brim with sand every once and a while to keep pressure on the walls...so they wouldn't cave in...really glad we walked away from that one, but we did learn a lot about century homes from the process.

Our house has had many owners in it's past and after years and years of painting, settling and (lately) removing wallpaper, there were some cracks to be repaired. The top plaster was a bit uneven so mudding and sanding was much needed to finish the walls to the way we wanted them.

I started out with basic polyfill in the small holes and hairlines cracks. Mitch took over after that with many mudding/sanding routines to make the walls even. Our good friend taught him the process and advised us of what products to use. After that was complete, we finished priming the walls and painted the wainscoting, crown moulding, doors, door frames and trim a brilliant semi-gloss white. We also replaced the glass in the California lighting from yellow to clear. 

The finish product. We love white accents, so all of our trim and door frames pop. There are many outlets and light switches so we chose to accent them rather than hide them. We added fresh white outlet covers and changed the receptacles (switches) from black to white. The colour for the room is Crystal Blue by Benjamin Moore. We also added a simple Edison bulb pendant lamp that has some farm house charm.

Before

Renovation

After

spring cleaning

“Spring is the time of plans and projects.” 
- Leo Tolstoy, Anna Karenina

We are amazed at the transformation already for only being here a month. This weekend we decided to get right to spring cleaning for some curb appeal! We raked all the leaves from the gardens and wood storage area. The little white siding addition in the photos below is where we stack our wood and it is also an entrance into the kitchen. We replaced the broken window and took town the boards covering it. It lets so much light in the kitchen now. We cleaned up all the wood chips and decided to chop wood elsewhere to keep it tidy. 

our new addition // bowen

"Dogs have given us their absolute all. We are the centre of their universe. We are the focus of their love and faith and trust. It is without a doubt the best deal man has ever made"
- Roger Caras

Meet Bowen. He is a Treeing Walker Hound/Coon Hound/Collie. He is pinto in colour and is an absolute sweetheart.  He was at the Georgian Triangle Humane Society since shortly after birth on December 29, 2014. He had six siblings! He was the last one to be adopted and lived there for three months. We applied to adopt him, had a meet and greet and an interview. After a very long 24 hours of waiting and two other applications in on him, we got the call! We are so thankful that we were chosen to adopt this little man. We have the space, the time and the love so why hold that back! 

We are so impressed by the Georgian Triangle Humane Society and their staff. Everyone is fantastic and there are SO many kittens to be adopted! There are a few dogs too who need loving homes so please check out their website --> http://gths.ca

before & after // guest bedroom & music room (updated!)

"All, everything that I understand, I only understand because I love."

 — Leo Tolstoy

The guest bedroom is one of two. It is at the front of the house and features character ceilings, and a shabby antique feel. We chose "Palladian Blue" by Benjamin Moore for the room and used corals and light oranges as contrast colours. We have yet to put some artwork up which will be a surprise to our best friends who stay there at least once a week (stay tuned). The black iron bed suits the room and the colour of the floors tie everything in perfectly. The music room was a light beige colour before which was replaced by "Antique Jade" by Benjamin Moore. It is a fantastic colour that is so calming. My husband always wanted a room of his own to play and write music, so here it is! 

Guest Bedroom

Music Room

first week renovations

“A goal without a plan is just a wish.”
- Antoine de Saint-Exupéry

Our first week at Gable Oaks has been busy, fantastic and believe it or not, non stressful. God has blessed us with peace over this place for sure. Our incredible friends have been most helpful and stayed with us the first and second night. It was nice to have people in the house over night to help us get used to it's sounds...or lack there of! It was the ice machine in the fridge that got me the first night.  

So far we have been doing a lot of cleaning and organising, painted the bedroom closet doors white, hall closet door white and bathroom shelves white. They were all primed, off colour and stained before. The guest bedroom is complete as well as the master bedroom. The dining room is painted and in need of a hutch! We didn't expect to be doing any kitchen renovations but it turns out, our ceiling, lighting, wainscoting, crown moulding and trim is all painted white! It was so dark in there before. Along with that, we took down the painted over wallpaper, and have been filling in holes and cracks that have been neglected and covered over. We will be painting in there soon, and the kitchen will be done! Eventually we will upgrade the counter top and back splash but until then, it is very bright, updated and has a country cottage feel to it. The other major task we completed was removing the bright orange carpet in the upstairs hall exposing original hard wood that extends into all bedrooms. The bedroom floors are all refinished, so only the master and hallway remain. 

Our shed, which is original to the home, is over 130 years old and still standing. It used to be used to keep horses, and then bees for many years. It has been called the Bee Barn or Bee Shed by a few of the previous owners, so we will carry that on. It holds so many rustic treasures. There is a lot of barn wood, old windows, barn doors and old tools. 

Photo Credit: Samantha Erin Photography

We also applied for natural gas and got spray foam and concrete quotes. We will be spray foaming in the basement and attic this year as well as pouring concrete in our earth floor basement which will aid in efficiency, dampness, cleanliness and TLC! 

moving into gable oaks

“I give you this to take with you: nothing remains as it was. If you know this, you can
begin again, with pure joy in the uprooting.” 
- Judith Minty

This past weekend, my husband and I moved into our century home which we named Gable Oaks. Every century home deserves a name, and this one really stuck. There are two gabled ends on the house as well as many white oak trees on the property, hence the name. 

This weekend our family and best friends helped us move to the other side of Oro Medonte. In only three days and with the help of our friends, the dining room was painted a bright pale yellow (from brown), the trim, crown moulding, California lighting and wainscoting in the kitchen was painted white and the wallpaper was taken down. Our master bedroom (now a light gray) and guest bedroom (an antique blue) was painted as well. The carpet in the upstairs hall was taken up, now exposing beautiful original hardwood that we will refinish. 

Photo Credit: Samantha Erin Photography

Photo Credit: Samantha Erin Photography

Photo Credit: Samantha Erin Photography

Photo Credit: Samantha Erin Photography

our little man

"My little dog - a heartbeat at my feet."

- Edith Wharton

As many of you know, our dog Cooper is our whole life. He truly is like that of a toddler most days...although he has outgrown most of the terrible two's stigmas. He will be three years of age this August 10th. He brings our family so much joy and laughter. The "novelty" of having a puppy has never once worn off. I find it funny how people say it will...to each their own for sure. This little man will always be at the centre of our hearts. He is a one of a kind Beagle who loves to be off leash, will never let us out of site, and adores his frogs. He is well known to many from our countless photos of him on social media (trust me he loves the attention). Beagles are a breed full of such character and personality, I highly recommend them! 

twenty days left

"The future is exciting!"

Time is flying by. I am really glad we chose a longer closing date, it's the kind act to do if the sellers have a lot of things to pack, plus, we are not in a rush as we are not selling a house. This time has given us the ability to step back and plan, budget renovations properly, pick paint colours for rooms we are painting right away, and more. I have said this before, but God whispered to my heart this past year, "March". So March 6th seemed like the perfect closing date. After all, (we are learning this more and more each day) - His timing is the best timing. I am thankful He made it obvious to us that the other homes we looked at were not the right ones. Our prayer for this house-hunting journey was, "God, make it obvious to us if this is not the right decision"... and boy did He ever. There was one house, this past July, that seemed perfect. It was above our budget but had everything we wanted. We knew how important it was to stay within budget and even below, but we still put in an offer. I am thankful the seller was not willing to budge on the price and the deal fell through, but at the time when we walked away from it, it brought a lot of tears. When it finally sold a month later, it brought more tears, but also a sigh of relief. After that experience, God made it very real to us, how important it is to stay within budget and to not let the emotions of buying a home get in the way of our values.

Anyways...back to twenty days from now. We are blessed to have our best friends and family helping us move and tackle some tasks. There is a lovely orange carpet upstairs that will be coming out on that Friday. There is hardwood underneath it that looks to be painted white, so we will be bringing that back to life. We are also painting the dining room, master bedroom, guest bedroom, music room and kitchen ceiling and wainscoting. We will be using Benjamin Moore paints, and here are the colours we have chosen...

Dining Room - "Moonlight Natura"
Master Bedroom - "Whitman Gray" 
Guest Bedroom - "Palladian Blue"
Music Room and Spare Room - "Antique Jade"
* The kitchen trim, crown moulding, ceiling and wainscoting will be a basic white.