The Bathroom Reveal

If you follow me on instagram then you may already know that we have been renovating

our ensuite bathroom for the last year 6 months few months.

Somehow, and I'm not sure why, we always seem to secure a contractor right before Christmas.

And then, the entire process always ends up taking far, far longer than it should.

To give you some perspective (and appreciation surrounding the renovation)  know that I used to call this the "Tony Soprano bathroom".
Picture beige marble from floor to ceiling.
Intricate tumbled stone cornice molding with what I think was a wave pattern on it.
Gold fixtures WITH crystal knobs everywhere.
A step-in jacuzzi tub that could hold our entire family. and yours.
And what might have been the worst shower in history.

Now, it's minimal + modern, with clean lines.
And somehow, seems to get more sunlight than before.
With that monstrosity of a tub gone, it's given us so much more room - it doesn't even look like the same space.
And we love it.

Home Tour : Living Room featuring Kleenex Everyday Essentials

As promised, I am finally getting around to completing the rest of my home tour.
See previous entries here {one // two // three // four // five}
In my own defense, we have been semi-renovating and redecorating which is always time consuming. 
Deciding on pieces, ensuring they work with what you already have in place and don't want to change can always be a challenge. 
This room alongside many others is still a work in progress but the new furniture is officially in and we couldn't be more excited! 
The upholstery fabrics you see are both custom, meaning we never got to see them on an actual piece before. Always scary, especially when you are adding design elements {in this case, the crystal buttons} that were not on the piece before.
I'm sincerely thrilled with how they both turned out and although I wasn't sure how my existing curtains would work with the color scheme, I'm actually very pleased. 

Did you notice the super fun Kleenex® Expressions tissue box?
I chose to incorporate the fun lime green as it fit so well with the subtle green in the throw pillows and armchair. 
I love the fact that guests have this often forgotten necessity at their disposable, but that it doesn't interfere with the overall design aesthetic at all. 

The Kleenex brand will celebrate 90 years in 2014 and plans to celebrate in Style with these newly designed Kleenex® Expressions Tissues - All the softness you expect from Kleenex® tissues with unique box designs to help decorate any room. In stores March 17th.

I look forward to sharing the rest of the main floor with you in the coming weeks. And, be sure to look out for more Kleenex® Expressions tissue goodness. Can't wait to show off all the pretty designs. 

Disclosure: This post was brought to you by Kleenex via Glam Media Canada.  The opinions expressed herein are those of the author and are not indicative of the opinions or positions of Kleenex.

Home Tour : The Heart of the Home

If I could do things over, and was just buying a home today for the very first time? I would focus on such different things.

First off, the kitchen. 

We fell {well, mostly me} head over heels in love with ours when we first saw the house. 

I didn't focus on important things like say, counter/prep space or cupboard storage.

I, like most women, got caught up in the emotional part of it. 

Look how pretty it all looks! 

Look at the color! The back splash! 

Needless to say, I still love it. 

But try to get more than two people in the work area and it's all bad. 
Probably why I prefer to cook solo. 

Secondly, closet space.

I know that doesn't have anything to do with a kitchen. 

But since we're talking heart of the home and where you spend most of your time?

The kitchen is first and {ahem} the closet is a close second.

Winner of the $1000 visa gc has been chosen and will be announced here soon! 
So exciting.

Home Tour : Where the Magic Happens

I have always wanted to say that.

So there.
Le master bedroom. 

Basically, the space is a large rectangle with a hallway at the back (to the left of the large chair) that leads to the walk-in closet on one side and the ensuite bathroom on the other.
 It is definitely the weakest room in the house as it relates to both layout and closet space. That said, we did our best to maximize the space and where it lacked, we compromised, read: we created a secondary closet {or rather my father did} in the basement and use it to store our off-season wardrobes. 
Not ideal but definitely manageable. 

You can't see them in these photos but there are 2 chandeliers in the space. The lighting against the blue.gray paint creates a super warm atmosphere.
I will say, if you are looking to re-paint your own or a guest bedroom, I would highly recommend this tone.You can't help but feel relaxed when you enter.
Might be why I so enjoy an afternoon nap. 

See the rest of my home tour here {one, two, three}

Home Tour : The Original Baby's Girls Space

I'll start by telling you that Izzy is desperately trying to talk us into changing the paint color in her room. Also know that we spent what I think is a small fortune to have it painted this way and that it's not happening anytime soon. 

Before we made the change to this "older girl's" room, her room was even "pinker" than this. Full of princess this and that.

It was time for it to go and since then, we have begun to slowly incorporate more chocolate brown into the mix and add touches of different things she likes to truly make it her own.

I'm having the window seat pillow re-upholstered {all by nana} as we speak and am hoping to find a complimentary fabric for the curtains this week. 
I'm thinking tie-backs on either side of the bay window vs just a valance which is what was there before but we'll see. 
Can I just say I wish there were a Pottery Barn Teen nearby? 
and can I also say a huge thank you to my MIL who brought home all of my online shopping at said store from Florida for me? 

to see the rest of my little home tour:
one and two

Home Tour : Ava's Nursery

By far, my favorite room in the house {and each previous house} has always been the nursery.

There is something so calming about the space.

Even before the little ones were born, I remember spending so much time in their rooms
 just rocking. And dreaming.

Her room came together with a lot of love. 
Her papa (my father) did all of the bead board work himself and it turned out just as I imagined it would. 
It makes me happy whenever I look at it.

Sweet Dreams.