Switching out the Lights - Making a Rental Feel Like Home

With Labour Day over, it feels like the summer is coming to a close (although, full disclosure, I'm heading to a cottage for the week to try and stretch out every last bit of summer fun I can). While feeling sad about summer ending (it's been such a blast!), I'm also accompanied by that old, familiar September feeling of wanting to renew my energy and pour my efforts into work and progress. So here I am, writing a post. 

I recently (okay, not that recently...in January - eek time flies!) wrote an article for Flare.com outlying 10 Ways to Turn Your Rental into a Real Home.  One of my top tips is to change out your light fixtures. Let's be honest, Light fixtures in apartments are notoriously bad (hello boob lights!) and this is a pretty easy fix.

The fixture over my dining table actually wasn't horrible (although it was quite dirty) but wasn't right for the rest of my decor. It has more of a mid-century vibe, and my furnishings, and the bones of the apartment itself, are much more traditional. 

Before:

While out antiquing at the Aberfoyle Flea Market last summer, I came across this vintage brass and crystal chandelier that I knew would look perfect in the space. After a good cleaning, it was ready to be hung.

After:

Tip: Chandeliers should hang about 30" above your dining table.

I also switched out the ceiling fan in my living room. Although it provided a nice cool breeze, it was an eyesore, especially since it reflected double in the large mirror over my fireplace. The vintage wheat sheaf chandelier (found for me at the St. Lawrence market by my friend Tim of Design Maze Tim) is the perfect scale and adds texture and interest to the room.

Before:

After:

I often find people neglecting the power of attractive lighting - it's too often an afterthought rather than a showpiece. Good lighting really makes a room feel complete from top to bottom. Keep the original fixtures in a rental to reinstall when you move out, and take your new, attractive lighting with you to your next place!

To read the rest of my tips for Making a Rental Feel like Home, check out my article with Flare.com here!

xox

Fireplace Facelift: A Rental Friendly 'Marble' Makeover

One of the things that I knew I wanted to change in my rental was the yellow tile surrounding my fireplace. I'll admit that once I moved in, the yellow tiles grew on me. They were more charming than I originally guessed, but I still felt that they weren't in keeping with my overall style and vision for the space. A couple of them were also cracked. (And yes, the ceiling fan is another thing I'd like to change!)

The tricky thing is that this is a rental unit, so I have to be realistic about what I can change and what I have to live with. I want to retile my kitchen backsplash eventually, so I'm saving the 'ask the landlord' question for that. Furthermore, I wanted marble and I know that it's not in the budget, and investing a lot of money into a rental doesn't make sense for me.

What I really needed was a rental friendly, non-permanent, easy, no-hassle, and inexpensive solution.

And that's when it donned on me, what about something I can peel and stick? So that's exactly what I did! I ordered up this amazing contact paper from my friends over at Design Your Wall, and went to work. A quick note about this contact paper. It is SO thick and durable, some of the tiles I had to unpeel and restick over ten times to get it just right, and the paper didn't rip, crinkle, or lose its stick. It really feels almost more like vinyl than paper. It is even wipeable! The pattern is also extremely realistic. 

The contact paper comes with a great grid on the back, so it makes it really easy to cut straight lines.

Next, just peel and stick! (and swear and get frustrated and almost give up). I'll be honest, I found this part difficult because part of my tiles are in behind the copper insert, so to peel and stick while getting it in behind there was very tricky. Thank goodness I could peel up and restick so many times!

I used the small triangle to help smooth out any air bubbles as I went. You should also make sure that your tiles are clean and dry before sticking.

I used the utility knife to reveal grout the small grout lines if the paper was covering it.

And voila! I can't believe how great this project turned out. I still need to add some caulking around the perimeter just to hide some of the pre-existing gaps, but I am loving the transformation! This really was the perfect solution! I don't think you can tell that it is paper at all unless you get really close. A big thank you to Design Your Wall for such an amazing product!

Now I'm thinking about what else I can marble-ize!

xox

New Apartment Part 1: The BEFORE pics & tour

Hi loves! 

If you follow me on instagram, then you know that my apartment is no longer empty and that I'm settling in quite nicely, but I wanted to share some quick snaps of the place before I had all my things moved in, and before I painted every wall, ceiling, trim, door, etc. to give a full idea of what it looked like in the beginning. It's hard to tell in the pictures, but the walls were a light tan colour and the trim was a yellowy-cream.

^ This picture really captures all of the main things that made me fall in love with this place. The original hardwood floors (with that lovely inlay detail around the hearth), a gorgeous fireplace and mantle, picture frame mouldings, big baseboards and crown mouldings, and high ceilings. The space also has really great natural light.

 ^ Here is another view of the family room with a peek into the dining nook. Some of my furniture is sneaking its way in by this point. Here you can see the charm of the rads, and more moulding details. There is a big spot on the original wood floors, but luckily my area rug covers it now. This also gives you a better idea of the dingy wall and ceiling colour. The small kitchen is behind the wall to the right of the photo.

^You can see the front door and front closet in this picture. Off that hallway is my bedroom and the bathroom. I love the big opening that leads from the hall to the main living space! I need a solution for the ceiling fan...

^Another look at the hall with a sneak peek into the bedroom.

^The bedroom, which is surprisingly big! Sadly I had to sleep on the sofa for 5 nights until my new mattress got delivered. Well worth it to have a queen bed though!

^Good news! The closet is a great size! Not as big as the lovely walk-in at my old studio apartment, but still a huge amount of storage (there is a big shelf on the left side that you can't really see here) and nicely set up with a closet organizer.

^The remainder of the hall. 2 small storage closets on the right and a door to the washroom at the end.

^My sweet little washroom with amazing floor tile. I apologize that the toilet lid is up. I was also testing some wall colours by this point.

^The dining nook, which is a great size. It's open to the kitchen. M. was filming a cover video here that day, which explains all of the music gear. You can check it out on his youtube channel here.

^ Okay yes, my kitchen has terrible purple tile floors and backsplash..but other than that it is really great. I love the appliances, (and there is a dishwasher!!! Major bonus), there is tonnes of storage and a nice window. I'd love to replace at least the backsplash...I'd only need about 20 sq.ft. and I don't think it would be too hard. Ideally I would do the floor as well, but that seems like a big job and I'm not sure my landlord would go for it. Maybe a nice little kilim rug in here instead? Does anyone have any advice on rental kitchens?

^This is the last shot before getting to work painting (it took about 5 days to paint pretty much every paintable surface). 

Hopefully from these pics you can see what I saw when I first looked at the space: Serious Potential.
I can't wait to show you the progress I've made already! Stay Tuned.

xox

My Walk In Closet Makeover Reveal

Well ladies (and gents, if you're out there), my $100 closet makeover is complete! I managed to add organization and some prettiness with some easy and affordable solutions. I scaled back my original plan considerably (like my idea about painting it blush...which I still think would have been beautiful), but the end result is glamorous and most importantly, functional. Mostly I used things I already had around my apartment for decor, like the sheepskin rug, art, chair and decorative touches. The money went to a new hamper, all matching hangers, some storage boxes and a can of gold spray paint.

Let's just take a look at the before...My laundry hamper had broken and the whole thing is generally a disaster. My mother would be ashamed....I'm ashamed!

And now the incomparably better afters:

It really is the closet of my dreams! Tomorrow I will be going over the changes I made in more detail, as well as sharing sources and looking at the other side of my closet which is less glamorous than this side (needs to house cleaning supplies, etc.) but is neat and organized!

I can't wait to hear what you all think!
xox

New Leopard Pillow

Many of you probably already know that I've been eyeing this pillow forever. Every once in a while for the past year and a half, it will come up in one of my posts. The other day, in light of some exciting news (secret for now!) I decided it was time to treat myself! I ended up getting it from this etsy seller, whose price was the best that I could find! I am so happy with it, I think it gives my room the final pattern that it was missing. 

After I posted this photo on instagram, I knew the room needed it, the combination really spoke to me:

Here are some more shots of my living space now!:

Have you treated yourself to anything lately? You deserve it!

xox