Count it: Exactly how much Ikea do you have?

64 things from A to V: Quick – how many different Ikea products are in your home? I asked Paolo – he guessed 50. Not bad, not bad. I left to find out, and was gone for some time. When I thought I’d finished in the kitchen, I remembered to look in the cupboards. Added more. [...]

Why we'll need a better vacuum in 2012

Guys. Mega problem. I’ve fallen in love with two things – and they can’t co-exist. I’m getting a dog next year. I’m saying this so it happens – because that’s what you’re meant to do with life-long hopes and dreams. Let’s outline how much I’ve wanted one thing and one thing only for my entire life: [...]

Get into my van, little children, I’ve got sweeties.

Sweeties? I doubt today’s kids would budge for less than a brand new HTC. Na. To properly kick off Christmas – how’s about some spending cash? Ethan & Fred from One Project Closer have a wee Christmas present for your ugly babies: a $25 gift card to Home Depot or Lowe’s – your choice. Hurray! [...]

New doors or new knobs? Picking the lesser evil.

We can’t return the square door knobs. (Is it possible that they came from a country south of Canada? It might be. Is it possible things often cost less in a country south of Canada? So they say. Is it quite likely we lost the receipt? Yes). What’s wrong with buying new ones? Oh come [...]

Ikea butcher block: Would I use it again?

Lots of countertop options out there in the universe, but for me it was never a choice. I’ve always loved the look of butcher block and, besides a fleeting love affair with Paperstone, we never considered anything else. Still, at the time, I really wondered if we were making a mistake – isn’t butcher block [...]

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Vinyl tiles in the bathroom? 5 pros, no cons.

Bathroom vinyl tile? Perhaps others might research a product before they buy it – but we optimistically brought our loot home, and then set about Googling. [Previously: We totally sucked at choosing bathroom floor tile, then discovered Home Depot's vinyl tile]. We’d read the vinyl tile advantages in the store – what was the catch? [...]

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Dancing in the tile aisle: part 2

Previous scene: Home Depot, choosing bathroom floor tile. We wandered about, Paolo doing whatever Canadian boys do… and me holding up my idiot-swatch to potential tile contenders. Ideally we wanted those long oblong ones… for reasons neither of us could articulate. “What abooooout…. vinyl tile?” “What’s that?” “No idea. I just read the sign.” Never [...]

Myth-busting: tile shopping is painful and scary

“Sooooooooo. The bathroom?” “Uh huh.” “Well!!!” A few minutes of hysteria. Poor Paolo. In calmer tones, the situation was this: I’d have rather stopped bathing and teeth-brushing, than step foot in that bathroom ever again. Making the total effect even worse – I’d ages ago ripped down half a wall of wallpaper and removed all the [...]

So, how's that VOC-free paint?

CIL Naturaliving paint review. Quiz me. The mystery is solved: eggshell paint, figured out. We’ve now used every variety of the CIL Naturaliving line – not just eggshell, but ceiling paint, semi-gloss and plenty of primer. We bought CIL Naturaliving for 4 reasons: It’s a NO-VOC paint readily available in Canada (tricky!), sold at Home Depot (so [...]

25 blank balconies: why?

Does this photo strike you as odd? Look at the towels on the bathroom stool. Angled just so. An entire apartment staged within an inch of its life and then… that. A forgotten patio undeserving of even soapy water and a scrub brush. Such a contrast to the interiors. Who cares? The place sold. Yet blank balconies [...]