Not even a week after we got the pictures of the installed cabinetry, trim, and railing we got even more pictures showing things tidied up and with counter tops installed.  I think our salesperson, Courtenay read my mind, showing me exactly what I’d been wondering about.

Hello, sunny laundry room.  I am seriously counting down the days until you an I get very well acquainted.

Countertops installed!  We didn’t want to pay the significant cost of a stone countertop at this point in our lives, so I picked the best looking laminate I could find.  And I think my faux Cararra marble looks pretty decent in these pictures!

Pantry shelves installed!

A close-up of the hardware.

I am seriously loving that kitchen.

All of our interior doors, ready to go! (The back ones are a charcoal grey, and the front one matches the island and will go on the pantry.)

Stacks of flooring!  Can’t wait to see it!

(Pictures from Warman Homes)

We visited the house once the drywall was complete and I was itching to see what it would look like with cabinetry.  I’d been especially picky about the kitchen, and I was nervous, hoping it would be what I wanted it to be.  I didn’t have to wait long.  A few weeks later we got pictures of the carpentry progress:

Our railing was installed (perfect!) and the window and door trim was up and painted!

Our laundry room cabinets were in place!  Looking good!  I’m already imagining the open shelves we’ll put above…

The ensuite vanity looked perfect, and I was glad to see the scale of the hardware on the cabinets.

But the pictures that elicited squeals of delight:  That pretty ole’ kitchen:

Oh yes.

That is what I had pictured in my head.  I can’t wait to cook in there.  But also, I never want to get that place dirty.  Ha ha.  Dilemma.

(Pictures from Warman Homes)

I’ve been posting pictures of our house-building progress… but partly to build suspense (dah dah DAAAAH!!!), and partly to get back to more pretty/less construction-y stuff, today we’re taking a break to share my direction for the dining room design.  It has a long weird side story about giant gold French-ish dining chairs owned by an Iranian mafia family in Saskatoon, which you can choose to read or not.  

Also, I refer a little bit to the kitchen design, which you can read about here.

For many moons I’ve had a pretty clear idea of what I wanted for our dining room.  It went a little something like this:

As I perused my inspiration pictures it became surprisingly formulaic: big, rustic farm table + drippy chandelier + Louis chairs.  Over Christmas we ordered the Norden table from IKEA.  Sean and I both love it, and it fits the simple farmhouse look I wanted.  The chandelier pictured above is, in fact, the chandelier we are having installed in the house.  But the chairs… there’s a story there…

SIDE STORY ABOUT THE CHAIRS:

I adore Louis chairs.  I hunted for some Louis-esque dining chairs for months and months.  I convinced Sean that this was what he wanted too.  Then finally one day I found a dining set with some oval back Louis-ish chairs.  They were a bit more ornate than the chair pictured above, not to mention they had gold-leafed frames and gold damask fabric.  A bit over the top.  But I figured with some neutral upholstery and a fresh lick of paint they’d be tamed.  I convinced Sean that these were THE chairs, and they were even worth a trip to Saskatoon to retrieve.  I emailed the seller and finagled a price that was reasonable (though maybe a bit high considering the work I’d need to put into them.  But I didn’t care.  My plan was coming together.  Mwa Ha Ha…)  So we planned to go pick them up on one of our trips up to Warman to work on a few house details.

We arrived at the address we’d been given by the seller.  It did not appear to be that of a psycho killer or drug dealer. Yesss.  (Though, in retrospect maaaay have been the home of someone connected to a foreign mob.  Like, seriously.)  We went to the front door and were ushered by a somewhat tired-looking 30-ish woman into a house that was, on all accounts, normal.  Except for the furniture.  Every piece of furniture in the front living room and adjacent dining room was the same ornately scroll-y sort-of-French-but-not-really antique style.  And all of it was gold, with the coordinating gold damask upholstery.  It looked like maybe the Palace of Versailles Theatre Company had stored some relics in a mid-80’s split-level in Saskatoon.  Who were these people?  There were all kinds of crazy looking tchotchkes and eery religious pictures on the wall too.  We told her we had come to buy, and pick up the dining chairs.  

Through a thick accent and some broken English she ushered us in to the chairs and I was aware of a rowdy crew of boys wrestling in the basement.  She snapped at them to be quiet.  I sat on the chair.  Hmmm.  It was pretty ornate.  And big.  But I convinced myself I could make it work.  She began to apologize for the crack on the gold dining table.  ”Oh, we’re not buying the table.” I said.  She didn’t like that.  I said, “So we agreed on $_ _ per chair”, and I began to rustle around in my purse for my wallet.  ”No.” She said. “$_ _ _.”  She looked offended and appalled at my stated price.  We tried to discuss this, but there was a language barrier and some piece of information obviously missing.  And what was her accent, anyways?  Russian?  Iranian?  I’m pretty decent with accents, but I could not figure it out.  

She proceeded to call her husband and have a rather irritated conversation about how much they would sell the chairs for.  I have no doubt the set cost a fortune originally (it was obviously custom).  But it was not worth that to me.  I figured out through their conversation that they had (hired?) someone else to post the ad online.  And she was not happy with that person.  And that person was the one who had agreed to my price.  Not her.  The phone conversation ended and she curtly informed me they would only sell the chairs for her price.  Ohhhh Kaaaay…  So as quickly and politely as I could, I said we would not be buying the chairs and left.  Sean and I got down the street and into the Jeep and laughed.  What had just happened?  That was so weird.  We couldn’t wrap our brains around who these people were, and how they planned to sell that crazy furniture for that price in Saskatoon.  On the way home we figured they really weren’t THE chairs anyways, and they would have taken a lot of work.

But now Sean was really stuck on the idea of a Louis chair too.  He began doggedly deal hunting online.  He’s really good at that.  And he reeeally loves me.  He came across this GREAT chair from Structube:

“Is this kind of what you want?” He asked,

“Ummm, like exactly what I want.”

It was on sale for half price (on an already decent price) putting it near enough to our budget that he was OK with it.  Yesss.  

However the nearest Structube store is in Edmonton.  (Darn you, Saskatchewan, and your limited selection of cool stores.  You’re lucky I love you.)  We looked at every possible way of getting them here - taking a road trip, shipping via a courier - but everything ended up being pretty pricey and not all that practical.  Gah.

So I stewed for a while.  Kept pointlessly checking Kijiji and UsedRegina.

Finally it was time to choose another style of chair.  Goodbye Louis.  The dream was beautiful.  Then I remembered this picture, originally from Elle Decor:

(Image via Remodelista)

Wicker.  Huh.  Did I like it?  

It was tempting.  

If they were outdoor chairs I could take them outside and hose them down.  

Very tempting.  

It had a much more laid back vibe - and I liked that.  I want people to feel at ease in my home, not like it’s fussy.  

Sooo tempting.  

It would probably be more comfortable.

That’s a good point, Justine. 

And, wait - how great would they look with a ticking stripe seat cushion?  

Oooooh.  

Oh wait, there are rattan chairs for $40 at IKEA?  

SOLD.  

My husband gave me a weird look over the suggestion of wicker chairs, but when I showed him a few inspiration pictures and the price he was heartily on board.

Here’s the chair we’re looking at getting:

(AGEN chair, IKEA)

Sean wished for something more greyish, like the Elle Decor shot, and I concur.  I may see what DIY-ing I may have up my sleeve once we’ve had the chairs for a while.  

(Home of Thea Beasley featured on Design Chaser)

But I’m totally digging the casual vibe of a wicker dining chair.

—-END OF CHAIR SIDE STORY—-

The drapery fabric in the inspiration board above is merely a suggestion.  I’ve loved that Bethe fabric from Tonic Living for a long time, and I definitely want pattern in the dining room since the adjacent living room will have solid drapes.  But I’m totally open to other fabrics, and may want some blue to draw in the blue from the nearby kitchen island.  I really like this one:

(From Tonic Living)

I also like the idea of this navy ikat:

(from Tonic Living)

And this one may have the right balance of light and dark.  Plus it has birds. I like the birds.

(From Fabric.com)

I’m feeling even better about the direction of my dining room now.  It’s a little more casual, cool, beachy/farmhouse.  Sometimes it’s nice when buying crazy gold chairs from the wife of a Russian mobster doesn’t work out.

What do you think?  HAve any of you tried the Agen chair as a dining chair?

After receiving the first set of progress pictures on our house we were thrilled with how quickly our house had been closed in.  A few weeks later we received more pictures of the speedy progress.  Here are a few:

(Siding is up!)

(Nice to see that overhang and imagine sitting on our veranda one day!)

(Future kitchen… can you imagine it?)

(Dining room in front of the french doors and the living room under the 11’ ceilings - all drywalled!)

Stay tuned for more updates…

(Pictures from Warman Homes)

We’ve known a few people who’ve built houses.  They usually post pictures on Facebook: “Hey!  The hole is dug!” and a long while later: “It’s framed!” and months later they post a status about waiting and waiting as they’re completion date is moved AGAIN.  Now, not everyone has this experience, but we’ve known a few.  But we’re building an RTM (which I wrote about yesterday, here.) Our experience was a little different:

 I remember Sean and I were driving somewhere and discussing our house.  ”I wonder if they were able to start our house yet?  Didn’t they say they were supposed to start it last week?”  Then in the middle of our conversation we got an email from our salesperson, Courtenay with pictures of the progress.  

As we waited for the pictures to download we imagined a stick frame.

Um.  Wait.  What?

Yup.  They started our house:

There it was -  our pretty farm house - framed, closed in, windows, doors, before we knew it.  Crazy.

(The back of the house)

(Our side mudroom entrance)

So freaking exciting!!

(Pictures from Warman Homes)

Our farmhouse dream is finally coming true this year.  (You can read about it here, here, and here, for a start.)  Pretty amazing.  As I talk about our building experience people can get a bit confused, though, so I’m gonna’ fill you in on what I know about building an RTM.

 Almost the whole way along we’ve planned on moving a house onto the farm, as opposed to building on site.  There are generally three types of new pre-built homes you can move (As I understand from our 7, or so, years of researching this.)  The home is constructed completely at a factory or yard site, then moved to its location:

• Manufactured or Mobile Home - this is the term generally used (we found) for what most people call a trailer.  This is your long, narrow, one-piece building.  But don’t immediately assume we’re talking white-trash trailer park.  We looked at some that could cost almost as much as our house.  You can get pretty much whatever you want within the 16, 18, or 20-foot wide options, and you can even get them with full drywall or put them on basements.  They are generally built so that they can be easily moved again, though.  We considered this in the early years as a temporary plan until we had more money.

  (A manufactured home from Grandeur Housing in Manitoba)

• RTM Home - stands for “Ready To Move”.  An RTM is essentially a one-piece pre-built home that can be moved by trucks and trailers.  There’s a lot more flexibility on the dimensions, and customization.  And an RTM is a house, not a trailer.  (And there are a lot of construction differences between a mobile home and RTM that I won’t even pretend to understand.)  We are building an RTM because it combines our two desires of a real house with the most efficient moving costs.

  (An RTM Home being moved onto a basement foundation by Nelson Homes from Alberta)

  (Fully-built RTM home being transported by Neufeld Building Movers for Warman Homes.)(Fully-built RTM home being transported by Neufeld Building Movers for Warman Homes.)                    
• Modular Home - Modular homes are also houses, but come in several pieces.  (Actually there are also some condo/apartment buildings that are being built in modular form now, too.)  One home we considered for a while came in a front and back piece (both of which come completely finished inside) that were attached on site then the roof was built on top.  This required a crane for assembling, however, and that put the moving costs out of budget for us.(Diagram of how a modular home is assembled from Grandeur Housing in Manitoba.)(A modular home being assembled by Grandeur Housing)

Here’s why we decided to go the RTM route:

• Though our farm is pretty close to the city, and a site build by a conventional builder may have been doable, in rural areas it can be a pain to find a reliable builder who’s willing to come out and build on site.
• An RTM is usually an incredibly efficient way to build a home.  The builder keeps all the trades on staff and they come every day to the same factory site to work on a number of houses at a time.  This obviously seriously improves the time frame and can also improve the quality when there is this consistency.  We’ve had people working on our house every single day since construction began.
• Supplies are ordered in bulk and kept in a controlled environment, making the construction more cost effective.  
• The houses (made by a good builder) are built well - they are made strong to handle the move, and they’re built quickly (so they aren’t sitting vulnerable to rain, wind or snow in an unfinished state).
• A good RTM builder can completely customize your home.
• The costs stay pretty controlled with an RTM builder, meaning that it will stay on budget.

Now there are obviously some shoddy RTM builders (we ran across a few) and also some non-RTM builders who can do a lot of these same things - but for us an RTM made the most sense.

We looked at a LOT of floor plans and a LOT of builders and our research essentially brought us down to two builders whom we felt were the most professional, efficient, and experienced:

• Warman Homes (North of Saskatoon), and
• Nelson Homes (out of High River and Lloydminster, Alberta).

(You’ll also see from the pictures above another builder, Grandeur Housing, who we seriously considered when we looked at a modular home several years ago.  Everything we saw from them was really good, but we never got far enough along to visit their facility or work with their staff, so I can’t say definitively that I would recommend them.  But if you’re looking into builders, I would definitely say they’re worth a close look.)

We worked closely with Nelson for a while, looking at building with them.  We drove out to High River to visit a show home version of a house Sean loved.  I would unequivocally recommend them - super professional and quality building.  I was actually pretty sad when we decided we weren’t building with them.

But Warman Homes made me feel not so sad.  They too, are experienced (they built Sean’s parents’ house nearly 20 years ago!), super professional, and great quality.  Our experience with them has been amazing.  In the end we found a house that exceeded what I thought we could have that fit comfortably within our budget.  Plus Sean’s family experience working with them, plus a long warranty plan, plus the nearness to the farm (only a couple hours to drive and visit our house!)… we decided this was the way to go.

People assume that you need to have a “package plan” with an RTM - a set floor plan and a set design scheme.  But we actually customized our floor plan based on someone else’s customization that we really liked.  Then we smushed together the floor plan from that house and the exterior from another house, and changed a few more things, and… Ta Da!  Our house!  Besides that, a good builder will have a decent range of finishes to choose from.  And in some areas (like lighting, hardware, etc.) I asked for the supplier names so I could look up even more options online.  My salesperson, Courtenay was awesome; getting excited about our plans and being OK with my super-specific vision for every single detail.

If you’re not super specific and don’t even know where to start they can help you with that too, and you can certainly select from pre-set plans.  But for me, the level of customization we were able to achieve is so exciting - I really feel like we’re getting our dream house.

As soon as they started building we began receiving updates and pictures from Courtenay every few weeks (which I’ll begin to show you tomorrow!)  Plus we’ve driven up to see the house in process.  We cannot believe how quickly and beautifully it’s taking shape.

When the house is delivered I will certainly be posting about it with plenty of pictures!  Our house will arrive by a truck and be placed onto a basement and foundation that we’ve had constructed by contractors here.  The movers will secure the house to the foundation, and then also come back to touch up paint and repair any nicks or scrapes from the move.  Warman has a pretty good follow-up plan, which is something to look for in an RTM builder.

So there’s my plug for RTM’s.  Let me know if you have questions!

OK… and one sneak peek of our house in the building process:

(Photo from Warman Homes of OUR HOUSE [!!!!] being built in their yard in February)

Merry Christmas to us!  We ordered our house last week!

(You can read my most recent house dreaming update - about the land survey in the summer - right here.  It also includes links to other pertinent posts.)

I don’t think I’ve written about this before, but our house dreaming took a twist in November.  For about a year and a half Sean and I had settled on a house that we planned to build. (Over the 6-7 years of house dreaming we changed our minds a few times depending on costs, logistics, needs, etc.)  We were quite settled on this house plan - a great country farm house.  Sean had especially loved it and after a bit of convincing (and some floor plan adjustment sessions of my own) I loved it.  We’d even visited the builder last fall to view a show home version of it.  We were super confident in the builder (Nelson Homes in Alberta, if you care to know.  I glowingly recommend them - super profesh, and experienced, and nice.) (<- Yes, that is “profesh” - my abbreviation of “professional”.  I’m a dork, and I’m not changing it).  But this past fall there was a bit of a price increase on the house (which is totally normal) and Sean began to get antsy about the price and thought we should maybe check out some closer builders.

*sigh.*  I was not so into changing plans at this point.  And the builders he wanted to see had nothing online that particularly appealed to me.  But whatevs.  That meant a road trip, and Fuddruckers for lunch, so… OK.  (Who can argue with the pump cheese?)

One builder we visited particularly impressed us - Warman Homes.  (Which, by the way, is the same builder that built my in-law’s home nearly 20 years ago.)  We walked through at least a dozen homes being built on their site (on a freezing Sasky winter day with two toddlers… not ideal) and came back with a handful of serious contenders.  One in particular swept me off my feet, and I was delighted to discover it was in our price range.  After a bunch of (super profesh, helpful and friendly) correspondence with our salesperson, Courtenay, and an one more visit sans kiddos, we were fully 100% smitten and changed our plans.  The house was a customization of another house plan, and after some customization on our part I was thrilled.  The house is full of things that I never thought we could have in our home.  (Two words, people: transom windows.)  (OK, two more: walk-in pantry.)

And so, a couple days after Christmas we drove back and paid our down payment and submitted our order.  I don’t know if this will ever feel real until we move in.

What’s up next? 

• In about a month we’ll receive the technical drawings for the house which I will pour over (and over and over) to make sure things are just how we want them.
• I will plan the finishes and look of the house.  My challenge: create the best design aesthetic that suits my family within the builder options for a low, low price.  And let’s just face it, I’m going to be a total snob about it.  Wish me luck. ;)
• We’ll have to (and by “we”, I mean “Sean”) set up the basement dig and build, utility hook-ups, etc. etc.  
• Hopefully I’ll keep up with sharing the progress with you, particularly the design ideas.
• Our house should arrive mid-June!  So. freeeeaking. excited.

There’s nothing like building a house to make you think through the tiniest details and things you’ve never considered before in a home.  You suddenly find yourself obsessing over which ways doors swing, or where crown moulding starts or ends, or which direction the floorboards should run.  I’ve decided that one more huge advantage of the long wait to build our house is I have a few years worth of Pinterest boards - so now I can look back at my inspiration homes and study those little details.

While I’ve been studying and thinking about interior design for years now, one thing I’ve largely taken for granted is exterior design.  However, with the house plan we recently picked I LOVED the interior, but felt the exterior was kind of “meh”.

Suddenly I’ve found myself going back through my pins, scouring Houzz, or my favourite design magazines to try and figure out what it is that makes me love an exterior.

Photo by Dave Foster via Photo.net

I have a long list: a mixture of finishes (board and batten, horizontal siding, shingles, stone, etc.), high contrast colour schemes and a painted front door, symmetry, windows with mullions and transoms, details like light fixtures or width of trim, or shutters… but here are a few of the major things I’ve boiled it down to:

DORMERS

I’ve always been attracted to dormers. I once heard they’re like the eyebrows of a house, and anyone who’s ever drawn a face knows that it’s all in the eyebrows.  They add character, personality, charm.  But getting the scale and shape right can be tricky.

Photograph from Better Homes and Gardens

(I like this look of one long dormer above the entry.  If dormers are eyebrows, perhaps we will call this a “unibrow”. )

Dormers give that traditional, cottagey feel I love.  They denote coziness and add architectural interest to the roof line.

Photograph from Better Homes and Gardens

PORCH OR VERANDA

And of course you know I love a porch.  Preferably a long veranda, but really any usable space at the front of the house is delightful.  They provide a sense of welcome and entry as you transition into the house.  They’re like the smile on a house.  A house with a porch just instantly feels more welcoming.

by by Richard Taylor Architects via Houzz

Home of Joan K. Davidson, photograph by Christopher Baker for Martha Stewart Living

Photograph by Michael Luppino for Country Living

(This is one of my all-time favourites. It is quintessential farmhouse to me.)

ROOF PITCH

Another major detail to me is the roof pitch.  This is a hard one to explain how important it is - it’s a detail most people don’t notice, but it can have a big impact on how we feel about a house.   I can’t explain to you the math behind a roof pitch, but basically the higher the number, the higher the pitch (i.e. 3:12 is low, 12:12 is high).  A good roof pitch just speaks “home” to me.  It’s the way a child draws a house, with it’s triangular roof.  It’s the classic shape of a house.  Not too low that it feels uber modern, and not super steep so that it feels all Tudor/castle-y.  (How’s that for an adjective: “Tudor-castle-y”.)

Photograph by Tara Lowry via Between You & Me

Photograph by Joyce Lucas via Pinque Inc. Diaries

 Now, a higher pitch means upgrade $$ for us with the builder.  PLUS because the house will be moved to the farm via the highway and gravel roads it has to be low enough that they don’t have to move overhead power lines (that would cost us even MORE money).  So for me it’ll be all about how high we can go without breaking the bank.

It’s a scary thing planning the exterior of the house!  It’s something we don’t want to have to change or mess with in the future, so you kinda’ have to get it right the first time.  Wish me luck!

Feels like the ole’ blog’s taken a couple knocks down on the priority list again.  We’ve finally emerged from the craziness that is tax season and seeding (my husband is an accountant and a farmer).  I’m so glad to have Sean back by my side.  And I’ve been really pondering my direction as a blogger over the last little while - as readership has grown, how much do I share personally?  What kind of format/content/topics should I have?  Do I stay with Tumblr or try something else?  Just a few of the things I’m still not sure about yet.  But for now, I’ll share a bit of a life update:

For starters, we’re selling our condo.  Very soon, hopefully.  We hope to put it on the market by early July.  But we’re not building our house yet.  Wait, what?  Yes, the plan is to order our house after harvest this year (praying for a good crop!).  And in September we’ll be moving into a house owned by our church, and we’ll live there while our house is built.  It’s a house that the church uses to host Sunday school classes, or house missionaries, interns, etc.  Or staff members like me!  We’re super grateful for the opportunity to do this, and especially so that we can sell our condo now (which we really feel is the right timing.)

That means we’re working away at getting our place ready to sell - purging, organizing, cleaning, touching up, and finishing those details that still aren’t done nearly 3 years later.   The good news is I have some new corners of my home to finally show you.  Bad news is, posting may be more sparse.

Back to the church house thing… (which is affectionately known as “The Pink House”, because it is a terrible salmon colour on the exterior)  …One of the many reasons we’re so glad we’re living there is because the church is right across the street, and I’ll be going back to work starting in July.  I’ll be working from home (but if “home” is right across the street from work, that’ll be sweet!)  I’m partially super excited to work again - my job description will shift and I’ll be mostly working on curriculum development (writing, editing, recreating), and artistic things.  It’s work I’ll really enjoy, and it will be an excellent creative outlet, and it’s work that my boss and I have longed to work on for years, but have never been able to with the week-to-week demands of ministry.  I’m 100% sure it’s what I should be doing.  But I’m partially nervous, too.  It’s one more thing to throw into our week, and I’ll need to work very hard to keep our home reasonably organized.  But when I went back to work after I had Little M we worked it out (though I should note my husband is especially gracious and laid back) and it was a really good thing for my family and for me.  So I’m hoping for more of the same.  And this time I’ll be working even less hours (a little bit more than 1/3 time.)  I’m beyond blessed that my mother-in-law will be watching the kids twice a week while I work (so my kids get to go to the farm and have grandma time.)  They’ll be loving it.

And those kiddos?  Growing like weeds.  Baby L’s almost a year, which blows my mind.  And Little M is becoming a young man before my eyes.  Ha ha!  They’re hilarious, and adorable, and amazing, and frustrating, and exhausting, and delightful, and I wouldn’t trade them for anything.  Baby L’s a speedy little crawler, stands on her own, and is SO close to walking.  She has a fistful of words: Dada, Bi-Bubba (Big Brother), Babu (Baby), Puh-puh (Puppy), Uh-oh, and of course “Ma-Ma-Ma-Ma” when she’s whining or crying. ;)  She loves music and instruments, and grooves to anything… including the music in her head sometimes.  She’s nearly fearless.  And is in love with puppies, dolls, and stuffed animals (and may have a crush on Buzz Lightyear).  She’s starting to play by herself for longer stretches now - “reading” books, driving cars, or playing with a musical toy like the Leapfrog piano or guitars.  She’s more and more outgoing and curious with people, and LOVES to make people laugh.  She has a twinkle in her eye, and a coy little smile when she’s being funny..  She adores her Big Brother (he has always been the one who can get her to laugh the easiest).  And she’s shown a fierce independence and fiery spirit in the last few months.  Uh oh.  I have no idea where she got that. ;)

Little M is in the thick of “terrible two’s”, but I’d call it the “turbulent two’s” - in an insanely short amount of time he’ll have us laughing, then gritting our teeth, then smiling in adoration.  He is so active - loving all sports and games (even inventing his own).  His temper is quick and hot (hmmm… think I know where he got that, unfortunately), but he has a wonderfully tender side as well - gently hugging his sister and telling her she’s beautiful, or carefully cradling a doll being a “daddy”.  He’s very good at encouraging - cheering for Lucy when she does something new, or telling us “Good job!” or saying my dress is pretty.  He can at times be very stoic and serious.  Or try to act very grown up, telling people he goes to school, and rides dirt bikes, or laughing at whatever the adults are laughing at.  Other times he is delightfully silly - making faces and dancing around or making up crazy words or speaking in funny voices.  He’s sharp.  He is keen on learning and proudly names letters he sees and sings the alphabet, retells the stories in books he gladly gathers at the library, and we’ve begun learning some Bible memory verses because his memory is pretty darn good.  (I know that because he’s got lines from his favourite shows memorized…)  And his Daddy is his hero.  If Daddy does it, he should too.  He’s told me Daddy’s his “best friend”, his “favourite soccer player”, and that when he’s gone he “misses him SO much.” 

So.  That’s mostly where I’m at.  And as I finish writing this I realize again just how incredibly blessed I am.  Thanks for reading and following this blog.  Hopefully there will be plenty of good things for you this summer.

One of my favourite images from Country Living

I’m writing about my “House Rules” this week - a few things I want to keep in mind when it comes to creating our future home.

 Some of my fondest memories of the house I grew up in are not visual at all.  My mom was very good at creating a visually attractive home, but there was so much more than that.  It was the cool smell of fresh air in the morning.  It was the sound of Christmas music ringing through the house.  It was the warmth of sitting on the carpet in front of the radiator snuggled in a soft blanket.

I really want to pay attention to the other senses when creating my home: open windows for fresh, cool air and the sounds of rustling leaves and singing birds.  lit candles that fill the room with warm scents.  scents of yummy baking and cooking to greet those who come in the door.  music played to dance to, clean to, relax to.  quiet times.  warm soft blankets at arm’s reach.  each bed kept with crisply cleaned sheets that smell like fresh laundry.  warm fragrant drinks offered to talk over.  bare windows to bring in sunbeams to snuggle up in.  fresh flowers or evergreen boughs to leave a fresh scent lingering whenever possible.

From A Country Farmhouse

I’m writing about my “House Rules” this week - a few things I want to keep in mind when it comes to creating our future home.

This is most definitely rule #1 to me.  Here in Saskatchewan - the true north strong and free - sunlight is gold.  And after living in either apartments (that only have windows on one side) or basement suites for almost ten years now I am going to embrace the sunshine in our next home.

This means putting in as many windows as budget will allow, but it also means embracing the light in my decorating too.  As much as I love to sew colourful, patterned drapes I want to keep them light and simple to make the window the focus.  And I want to use light colours and reflective surfaces.

Sunshine will rule.  And I can’t wait…

Design by Benjamin Dhong, Photography by David Duncan Livingston

A while back I posted some pictures from the gorgeous portfolio of designer Benjamin Dhong.  There was one photo in particular that made me pause to study it (the one above.)  Something about it made me say, “Yes.  That’s it.”

It wasn’t necessarily the decorating - not a fan of the coffee table, or the bowl on it, or the arms on the chair.  So I had to sit back and think about what it was.  The pale watery paint colour.  The crisp white trim.  The mix of textures - linen, velvet, silk, wood, concrete.  And of course the gorgeous natural light pouring in the windows.  This is the feel I want in our house when we build it.

Which I think might be hard.  For someone who loves interior design and fabric and colour and pattern as much as me it may take an awful lot of restraint to keep things simple and light.  I still want things layered and interesting, but subtle and sophisticated.

It made me think of a post I really like from Erin at Design for Mankind called “House Rules” that she wrote before they embarked on their huge home renovation.  I decided I want to create my own “House Rules” - not necessarily a specific design plan, but rather an overall vision to keep in mind when it comes to planning, designing and decorating.

I’ll elaborate a bit more on these later.  And I may add to the list.

What would your “House Rules” be?