‘Mac’s’ Possession Appearance

December 1st, the day that our second house, officially became ours!

We are so thankful to the Lord for opening up this opportunity for us and those who supported us getting here ๐Ÿ’•๐Ÿš๐Ÿ› โœ”๏ธ

Before ‘Mac’ was ours, we actually helped the previous owner get rid of some things, after I got to go through and pick out things Iโ€™d like left, if he was no longer interested in owning them ๐Ÿ˜‰๐Ÿ‘๐Ÿป

Mike took multiple truck boxes and half cabs, full of throw away items to the dump, before I went over and helped fill up another.

Three loads later and the living room and guest room were emptier than before no doubt, but still no where near being empty๐Ÿ˜ฌ๐Ÿ™ˆ

So, now I will show you what you may have been seeing peeks of on my and my husbands Instagrams…the full โ€˜Beforeโ€™ tour ๐Ÿ˜

The previous owner of the house, had lived there his whole life, along with his wife, until she became sick and passed away.
Thus leaving him by himself and everything just majorly got away from him.
He has already told us he hopes to see the house once we are done with it, because he believes we will do some big things.
I sure hope so ๐Ÿ˜‰๐Ÿ‘๐Ÿป

– Viewer digression is advised if states of unsanitary living cause distress – Continue reading “‘Mac’s’ Possession Appearance”

The Mac Makeover

Come the time to renew my blogs payment, I hesitated.

Was it worth it? I wasnโ€™t writing much anymore and I didnโ€™t feel inspired to begin a new genre of… anything.
Then I talked myself into it and you know something must mean a bit to me, if Iโ€™m willing to spend a bigger then average sum of money on it ๐Ÿ˜‰

Weeks later, an opportunity arose which in future times, would give an over abundance of material which would be worth writing down!

The time has come to announce the next โ€˜projectโ€™ of Mike and Jess.
Continue reading “The Mac Makeover”

How We Now ‘Dine Well’ – A Kitchen Transformation

Itโ€™s been so long since I wrote a blog post pertaining to the house and itโ€™s makeover, I hardly know where to begin!

 

For starters, Iโ€™ll tell you what room it is ๐Ÿ˜‰

The most important part of a house aside from the loo…. the kitchen! ๐Ÿ˜„

 

 

When we bought the place back in spring of 2017, this is how it looked.

 

 

Oddly raised counters, strange built-in shelf type thing to kind of-but not really hide a pipe, fridge sticking out, no dining area and an unfinished, closet like space with a sagging door (door not pictured).

 

Everything was torn out. I mean everything.

 

 

The electrical was redone and Mike couldnโ€™t stand the uneven floors or ceilings so it was all taken down to the bones… and even some of those got replaced ๐Ÿคช

 

Maybe this picture above is the point where I should have felt some deep concern?ย ๐Ÿ˜‰

 

Mom had saved her old kitchen cupboards and we painted them.
Taking them from a yellowed I believe whatโ€™s called, โ€˜almondโ€™ to fresh white and so far they’ve held up very well.

 

 

Giving the fronts a light sanding before using a heavy duty all-surface paint and a gold spray paint for the also sanded, wooden handles.

 

We bought our faux marble countertop from Rona and just in time it would seem because a few months later when trying to figure out what to create our island out of, we found out theyโ€™d discontinued it.

 

It took a long time to figure out a kitchen island.
Mostly because I couldnโ€™t decide on all the different factors ๐Ÿคช
Size, style, top, sides etc.
We wanted it to be comfortably large enough but not so big that it hindered movement and opening of the fridge and stove.

As I mentioned, our countertop had been discontinued and because it would be a custom shape with multiple finished sides, the price wasnโ€™t the happiest number weโ€™d ever heard.

I donโ€™t like working on wood countertops so that was a no and Mike had to rap his head around figuring out a process to make a cement top, that would be light enough.

I wanted it closed off in the middle, he wanted it open… Itโ€™s closed ๐Ÿ˜œ๐Ÿ‘Œ๐Ÿป

He made one top and it turned out to be super heavy but he learned a bit and then dove right into making a second.
He put two packs of white cement dye in as well, as I wanted a lighter color rather thanย darker.

 

(Nephews much required assistace๐Ÿ˜‰)

Speaking of โ€˜doing again,โ€™ the other great aspect of the concrete top is the cost. Or lack of ๐Ÿ˜
I know not everyone has the products, space or time available to create their own top like Mike did but IF, than itโ€™s a fraction of the cost and if the quality decreases with time and ware, another can be made no problem.
The estimated cost for a custom cut, faux marble piece, with sides that wouldnโ€™t even be an exact match to our existing, was around $600.
The concrete project? $80.

 

We bought two antique style doors from our local antique store and used those to create the base for our island.

 

 

Iโ€™d thought Iโ€™d have to paint them white or grey but once it was done, we kind of loved it how it was and it tied in the colors from the pantry door and trunks we had in other parts of the house, perfectly.

 

 

The pantry door was found at the local re-store and I white washed it, only to hate it and sand it all off back to how it was and then we frosted the glass ourselves using a simple frosting spray we purchased from Michael’s โ˜บ๏ธ

 

 

 

Mike searched the webs for a gold sink tap for me and found one for $100 from China ๐Ÿ‘Œ๐Ÿปย (Later, I did find out Ikea also carries one if we ever need one again, with a slightly easier finding process ๐Ÿ˜œ)

Our black granite sink was a ‘brand new-in the box’ kijiji find!

The house came with a working fridge and stove, which we happily installed back into the space.
The fridge going into a special, built-in area Mike had thought upย ๐Ÿ‘Œ๐Ÿป

We found our kitchen light fixture at the same wholesale store weโ€™d found our entry fixture and it worked well because I didnโ€™t want a distracting light but Mike wanted a bit of a lower one, thus, glass.
BUT, itโ€™s imperfect glass,so it doesnโ€™t show grit and grime at allllll like most glass lights

The newest kitchen enhancement is the shelves, which I envisioned a rather specific way as I wanted them to tie in the island and Mike executed the vision splendidly, after some verbal pushing from me, as he is possibly getting tired of my ideas๐Ÿ˜œ

The brackets for said shelves are from Ikea, just plain wooden ones painted gold, as we couldn’t find any gold bracket sets that weren’t ridiculously expensive in this neck of the woods.

 

I’m sure there is much more I could write and explain about the entire process and how everything came about but let’s be real, we really just want the ‘after’ photosย ๐Ÿ˜œ

So, there you have it, the kitchen, a written tour through the heart of our home, so to speak… now scroll down to view itย ๐Ÿ˜‰

 

Starting with some before and after side by sides to help let the complete renovation really sink in…

 

 

 

I know right?!ย โ˜บ๏ธ

 

 

 

The art piece was purchased at Winners and we both loved how it depicted Paris from a different view than usual and once you’ve traveled to a popular place together, it doesn’t seem so cliche to have a picture of it in your homeย ๐Ÿ˜œ

 

 

 

 

 

Matching pitcher and glasses are from Superstore, the totally frivolous, special occasion style glassware was just purchased at Home Sense and the bowls are Pioneer Woman brand, purchased at Walmart. The pink vase was brought over from Holland so good luck with getting your hands on oneย ๐Ÿ˜œ

 

 

 

Our barstools are from Wayfair.ca

 

 

The end results and the end of this post…

I may try to create a small video of the space later on, but to do that, I needed more than my own two hands and Mikes were covered in concrete when I went to begin and now I have no desire to prolong the posting of this spaces outcome :p

 

 

If you have any questions about the process or where something is from, just ask ! ๐Ÿ™‚

 

 

Heading Upstairs – Staircase Unveiling

The staircase, a spot small enough, you may think it doesnโ€™t require a โ€˜revealโ€™ all of its own… but in this instance, I believe it does ๐Ÿ˜œ

 


 

The few stair rails that were there, were removed, so things could be more easily moved up and down and they never got put back… eventually a stair rail attached to the wall will go up, we just havenโ€™t found one/been that concerned with it as of yet.

 

 


Mike ripped out the odd, built out ceiling, covered in the same cedar planks that had been in the bedrooms, so he could walk upstairs without having to duck ย ๐Ÿ˜œ
It was a really odd โ€˜featureโ€™ as behind it was just open, yet unusable space… so to take it away and finish the ceiling on the same angles as the rest of the upstairs walls, made for a much more open, spacious feeling.

 

The grippy strips stuck on each step for traction, were removed and then the stairs sanded.

 


 

I love the artwork that meets the eye every time we walk downstairs… I still canโ€™t find the name of the lady who painted it, but we bought it at the ‘Everything Country Sale’, the spring we moved here.

 

 

 


 

The first thing youโ€™ll see at the top of the stairs, is a little, handmade door Michiel crafted, as a cover for the attic crawl space behind the walls.
I donโ€™t like children much but I do like child like things ๐Ÿคช

 

 

Note the adult sized door to the left, for size reference .

 


 

I originally assumed Iโ€™d be painting the stairs, either white or an accent color but after they were sanded and seen with the new white wall as and grey trim, I liked the rougher look.

Mike still isn’t totally convinced ๐Ÿ˜‰

Keeping them โ€˜originalโ€™ was kind of fun too, as the stairs themselves are the only thing we didnโ€™t rip out and/or replace in the entire house pretty much ๐Ÿคช

 


 

I think the geometric light we bought in Italy, accents the whole space perfectly ๐Ÿ˜‰๐Ÿ‘Œ๐Ÿป๐Ÿ’•

 

Now, that part of the house is clean, eye-pleasing area… and no longer a head hitting one ๐Ÿ˜‰

A Jem Moment Of Epic Proportions๐Ÿ˜ฑ๐Ÿคฉ๐Ÿ‘๐Ÿป๐Ÿ 

Sooo I just re-read my last house update and my goodness has it ever changed since then!๐Ÿ˜ฑ๐Ÿ˜„

 

I know I’ve updated a little here and there about the process and specific things that were being worked on so you all aren’t totally clueless thankfully, but prepare yourself for a longer read and mind boggling transformation, non the less ๐Ÿ˜…

 

The last official writing about the house was when we had just finished demo and the bathroom was getting nearer completion and drywall was beginning ๐Ÿ˜ณ

Now, it is a completely renovated and pretty much totally finished project ๐Ÿ˜ฑ

Where to begin ๐Ÿค”

Iโ€™ll be showing BEFORE and AFTER pictures side by side, to allow you to see how it has truly changed ๐Ÿ˜ฑ

Continue reading “A Jem Moment Of Epic Proportions๐Ÿ˜ฑ๐Ÿคฉ๐Ÿ‘๐Ÿป๐Ÿ ”

Take Me Out To The Ball Game

Thursday June 15th –

 

 

Not long after waking up I sat down to add in detail to the living room sketch I began the evening before.

By the time I finished that it was lunch time, Mom having made us some gourmet Kraft dinner with turkey lunch meat cut up and added in for some protein value ๐Ÿ˜œ

I was starving so the first bite was delicious, the second average and by the third… I was realizing Kraft dinner tastes a lot better as a child๐Ÿ˜œ

Mom had the nieces graduation to attend but I deemed it okay to miss, as I didn’t feel like she’d find my presence necessary ๐Ÿ˜

Instead I stayed back and worked on supper.

Attempting to make a similar sauce to one we liked in Germany but failing and instead having a normal, spaghetti and meatball meal… and not the creamy mozza and tomato sauce it should have been.

After that sauce was made I went to our place in town to finally sand the vanity ๐Ÿ˜ฌ Continue reading “Take Me Out To The Ball Game”

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