September 20, 2012

Store Love - Uniquities Architectural Antiques & Salvage

I had the chance to stop by Uniquities (Bay 2, 2501 Alyth Rd. SE) today and I was a smitten kitten. It reminds me a bit of The Door Store in Toronto but stocks significantly larger pieces of furniture.  The owners travel to Europe four times a year and bring back huge shipments of architectural salvage, furniture, lighting and an assortment of unique accessories.  Uniquities also got the seal of approval from Tommy Smythe in the August 2012 issue of House and Home.


 

September 07, 2012

Front porch makeover

I was very lucky to have my Mom stay with me for a week to help me set-up my new place.  She had suggested staining the cedar front porch and fence so I invited her for a visit and told her to pack a paintbrush!

A lot of people like the patina of aging cedar and I do as well but with the Calgary climate it was really beginning to dry out (and the home inspector had noted in his report that it needed to be oiled/stained).  My Mom and I decided to use Behr's Solid Color Weatherproofing Wood Stain in Stonehedge - SC-125 on the porch and fence.


After seeing the stain on the front porch, we then decided that it would be nice to stain the deck as well.  We went with Behr's Semi-Transparent Weatherproofing Wood Stain in Slate - ST-102.

Here are the before shots:

You can see that the railings, etc. hadn't faded evenly
And now for the after shots:
The darken tones have definitely added a more modern feel to the porch

The grey works really well with the colour of the existing siding


The semi-transparent stain is much lighter than the images from Behr


New Muskoka chairs were also added with outdoor fabric cushions made by my Mom

Lovely little flea market stool/table crafted by my Mom
Front porches aren't very common in Calgary and I'm really looking forward to using this great space.

September 06, 2012

Store Love - Cozy Cottage Interiors

Was out and about running errands the other day and popped into Cozy Cottage Interiors (Heritage Hill Shopping Centre - #162-8228 Macleod Tr. S.E.).  They specialize in cottage and country decor which might not be to everyone's taste but the store also includes lots of great vintage finds that would suit someone interested in industrial and/or really eclectic pieces.
Vintage canvas bag, bait box and tool box 
Vintage ice skates and rustic towel racks
Brightly painted Muskoka chairs
Vintage bottles and medicine cabinets
Vintage stove and wire bottle racks 
Two industrial tables with adjustable legs 
Doors, windows and mirrors 
Bed converted into a bench 
Front entrance includes the wire from an old mattress suspended with little white lights 
Display at the front entrance

September 01, 2012

Starting to feel like Fall

The apples on my parents' tree are ready to be picked and the mornings are beginning to feel crisp.  Now that my front porch is getting stained, I'm starting to think about how I'll start decorating it for Fall and the first thing I need is a great new wreath.  A few etsy finds include:

via LaLaMoewsBows
via Elegant Holidays
via forevermore1
via Elegant Holidays
via EmbellishedLiving
via Casabellawreaths
via weirdlittleworld
via twoinspireyou