Wallpaper at 2Modern

I adore wallpaper. I am determined to wallpaper at least one space in my house, probably a bathroom (or both). Turns out 2Modern carries wallpaper from designers such as Fern Living, Graham & Brown and Olli & Lime. When it's time for me to renovate my bathrooms, how would I ever be able to choose one??!! Here are some of my favourites.

Final kitchen design

I am blogging my entire kitchen renovation from start to finish! Greentea Design has provided me with their solid wood kitchen cabinets, and I'm taking care of the rest.

If you'd like to be brought up to date, check out my kitchen remodel blog for an archive of previous posts. This post I will show you the layout I went with, what cabinets I chose, and some 3D sketches of my new kitchen.

Initially I was concerned about what layout to choose because of the expense of changing windows and sealing up doors etc., but in the end I decided to spend the money on changes like these in order to have the kitchen I really want. It turned out not to be not as big of an expense as I thought, as I've gotten a quote from my contractor for all the work he needs to do to prepare for the cabinets and I did not have a heart attack. :) So I decided to make the window smaller, seal up the door and knock the wall to the living room down. The following photo was my next layout idea.

This was modified slightly for the final design because Greentea's cabinets are not really designed for corners, so the corner sink had to be moved and since I love kitchen sinks under a window, I decided to go for that. Here are some of the first 3D layout designs that Mike at Greentea created for me. I LOVE technology, and the fact that I get to see exactly what my kitchen will look like. He did several different angles as well which gives a clearer idea of the space I'm working with.

More of this post HERE

Don't let the cute pink cabinets fool you

So I’ve shown you all my horrible to slightly less horrible kitchen that I will be renovating, and next I thought I’d show you the layout ideas I had for the new kitchen. Here’s a photo to recap what the kitchen looks like currently:

I’ve done a rough drawing of the layout to make it clearer where everything is located. (Sorry but I don't know how to use software to do this so you'll have to bear with my lovely drawings).

As you can see, this kitchen is really REALLY badly designed. Or not designed as I see it. And the craftsmanship everywhere is AWFUL. The cabinets are made of solid wood (MDF?) – so the drawers are heavy and are a total pain to open and close. Half of the magnet latches to keep the doors closed are missing. The little built-in china cupboard with glass doors got a serious chuckle from my contractor. He thinks they are bi-fold closet doors made into cabinet doors. The island was made with scraps of tongue and groove paneling and bits of trim, and was initially left unpainted/unstained. There was an ugly square table that was built at the end of the island that I ripped off and tossed the day I moved in, that came with 2 cheap wooden chairs that I also tossed. The cabinet over the island is a pain to get into because you have to lean over the island to see into it. So that’s the cabinets in a nutshell.

For more gory details, check out the rest of this post HERE.

ducduc @2Modern

I was just perusing 2Modern's site and came across a company that was unfamiliar to me, called ducduc. Am I ever glad I discovered them! They have the most fabulous modern furniture, mostly for kids and babies. Any soon-to-be parent (or anyone as they also carry some adult furniture) with a modern aesthetic needs to go have look. And they have so many colour options and fabric options like Marimekko and Knoll.

"ducduc is a collaborative design house based in new york city, designing lifestyle furniture utilizing four core principles: quality, environment, community, and design. All ducduc pieces are hand-made by expert craftsmen. Their hardwoods come from local, sustainably managed forests in New England and they use only non-toxic, pollutant free finishes. They own their factory in Connecticut, assuring that everything is made-here, and allowing ducduc to minimize both their waste and carbon emissions. All ducduc pieces are timeless and versatile, letting you express your own creativity and style throughout your home and into your child's rooms."

The journey begins...

A little while ago I hinted that I had a big project I was working on. Well, I thought it was about time to let you all in on it. Several months ago Jo and I were contacted by Mike at Greentea Design who was interested in an ad on the blog. I was stoked about this because I had seen their timber, Asian-style kitchen cabinets before and thought they were fantastic. I thought about how horrible my existing kitchen was and a lightbulb went off – why not see if they’d sponsor a kitchen reno project? And what do you know – they went for it!!! They agreed to supply me with the cabinets I needed, and in return I would blog about my kitchen renovation (most of which will be included on a new blog) from planning down to the finished product. A pretty decent tradeoff considering this is what I was working with:

(I had to use an old photo here because I know some of you will be sad to see the kitchen as it is now go in the dumpster).

For more of this post, click here.