Front door revamp

We finally bit the bullet and bought new windows and doors. This was something that we desperately needed to do. Our old windows were so drafty and 100% impossible to clean. We even had a wasp nest built in the gap between the storm window and the inside pane in our master bedroom. Nice! Also, our front door wouldn't stay closed in the winter and it wouldn't close at all in the summer when the humidity caused the wood to expand.

The front door arrived unfinished, meaning it was white and boring. I had mentioned in this post that we were planning to paint the exterior of the house last summer and I used the Benjamin Moore Room Visualizer to play with colours for the brick, trim and door. I will be posting pictures of the final product once we finish a second coat on the porch (yes, things take that long around here). In the meantime, here's a shot of our sunny front door.

Turns out painting your front door yellow isn't as straightforward as other colours. Apparently it's more prone to fading. We ended up having to use this paint rather than having something custom-mixed. But for $14 I'm not complaining. I love the colour and it's held up really well through the horrible, wet, snowy winter we've had.

I'm sure feelings are mixed in the neighbourhood. Some people might find it a bit bold, but I love it. I think it's cheerful and uplifting. What do you think? Could you handle such a bold colour? I have new house number and porch light that will be installed in the next few weeks so you can expect more photos soon.

Ikea Stokholm rug

I've been doing some redecorating at home lately and one of the bigger changes I wanted to make was our living room rug. I bought a wool rug when I rented my first apartment in my 20's on a whim. I'd never seen it in person, couldn't return it, and was spending more money than I could afford at the time, but I'd seen it in a magazine and decided I had to have it. Many years later, the rug is still kicking, but it's now living its golden years in the basement.

I really wanted our living room to be youthful and feel energetic and modern, but we have a lot of antiques that I was in no way prepared to part with, so there had to be some balance between the really old and the really new.

I've always love the Ikea Stockholm rug but never really considered it for our space, but after looking at it for a while in the store and online, I decided to give it a try.

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It's a bold pattern for sure, but I love how it brings some life and energy to the room. And I think it looks fantastic with a mix of antiques and modern furniture.

Tell me, do you like a statement rug or are you more interested in keeping things simple underfoot and bringing life to a room in other ways? I'd love to know.

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The year of less stuff

I've come to the realization that I am a prisoner to our stuff. Not to sound too dramatic, but our stuff overwhelms me. In the morning, as the clutter starts to build I figure that it's no big deal. Once the kids are asleep I'll deal with it. And I'll shower. And blog.  And I'll do all the accounting for my business. And I'll make lunches for the next morning. Problem is, the little critters never seem to go to bed early enough for me to tackle half - nay, a quarter - of what I set out to do, and I'm exhausted by the time they're asleep. Tell me you also have this problem! I can't be alone!

I've purged in the past. I thought these episodes of clutter-ridding were helping us establish a more organized home. But it was never enough. We have too much.

My house isn't tiny (not like these), but it's a downtown semi-detached with an open concept main floor. I love my house, but my living/dining room doubles as our playroom, eating space and home office and there is stuff everywhere. We also like to hang out in the living room in the evening and sip wine and watch whatever we're binge watching that week. I hate seeing all the junk everywhere and I find it incredibly hard to relax.

I saw an excerpt for The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up by Marie Kondo recently and was intrigued by a few of the quotes. Have you heard of it? Apparently it's been on the NY Times best seller list for a while now, and the author is THE tidying expert in Japan. I picked it up recently and read it very quickly (if you're considering it, it's a very easy, quick read), and it has inspired me.

This is my hallway after 2 days of spending a few hours getting rid of, as Marie Kondo put is, things that do not bring me joy. And I'm not even close to being done. We're breathing better already. Stay tuned for more. Way more!