Messes

If you dropped by unexpected for coffee (no one ever does), this is what you would find: minions, hot wheels, discarded socks, books, ABCs, blue couch. Plus a mountain of clean tupperware that refuses to dry itself.

New Art!

I bought this artwork from an online auction at Ritchies. My husband sent me the link to the auction the day before it ended. I noticed the email, scrolled through the pages on my iphone, fell in love with several items, and got a tummy ache. I can't buy real art, what am I thinking? What do I know about art? I am not an art collector! This is just a phase and besides, our walls are full...it's too much money!! I put the auction out of my head until the next morning. I woke up, scrolled through the pages of art once more, and noticed that the auction was set to expire at 11am that day. Ok, time to get busy. What if I miss out? This is an ONLINE auction...it's not as if these things cost $10,000 or more! We can afford this...ok, I like this one, and this one and this one and this one...how many should I bid on? I better set up an ID and password. What? ID needs to be approved? Ok, there is plenty of time...While I was waiting for my ID, I googled the artists, and worked out what my bids came to with purchasers premium (extra 20%) and taxes (+13%). I knew I wanted something Canadian, original art, best if it had a story. I decided to bid on two, expecting to lose out on one, or both...10:15...I better call and see if I can get set up with an ID...Hi? 15 minutes? Ok....10:45...why don't I have an ID yet? God I am nervous...what if I don't even get a chance to bid! I call again, they ask me to send an email with my bid. 10:51, click send...11:00, what's going on? what just happened? Did I win? 11:05: "Dear Ms. Molenaar, I have placed the bids for you on Lot 57 and Lot 129, and will be in touch with you to send you an invoice later today. Congratulations on your successful bids!" What?!!  I won - both? How much? Did she put in my max bids? What was the previous bid? What is going on?? What did I do? Tummy ache.




After several emails to Ritchies to clarify, and texts flying back and forth between my husband and I, we decided to buy them both for their respective reserve prices (+20% +13%). I never expected to get both. Thank god I didn't bid on more! Ebay has conditioned me for disappointment...but there was no competition. If I had to take a guess, I'd say pretty much any one who bid took home the art they wanted! In fact, there are several items still available for sale.

Today, I took the bus-subway-streetcar down to the junction to pick them up. I fell in love again! They are better than I expected! Beautiful textures and colours...and framed!

I hung them in the living room. I didn't need to fill this space, but we really don't have empty walls and I wanted them to be on the main floor.

The top piece is by Tymoshenko, Frederic (Canadian), called GREEN CURTAIN. It is labeled mixed media. There is a blurb pasted to the back of the frame describing his work*. Ritchies indicated that the work came to them directly from the artist.


The bottom is by Hayano, Kei (Keiichi) (Canadian/Japanese), called PASSAGE I. It is labeled pressed paper print; Edition 4/8. Hayano's obituary states that he taught fine arts at York University. The work came from a consignor who gave Ritchies a large collection of works to sell.


*From the back of the frame, since I haven't found this information elsewhere on the internet: 
"Tymoshenko's work is drawn from the land, transcending the subject matter by colour and form. He seeks new ways of depicting in a contemporary manner the relationship of spirit, mind and nature without entirely losing the sense of representational tradition. His technique and imagination set him apart.

Tymoshenko has had over fifteen one man exhibitions and numerous group showings in Toronto, Ottawa, London, Montreal, Edmonton, Calgary, Washington and New York. Public showings include the Art Galleries of Ontario, Hamilton, Stratford, Windsor, and Kitchener-Waterloo. Private showings include Eaton's Gallery, London, England.  His works are in many public corporate and private collections including the Universities of Calgary and Guelph, Toronto Dominion bank, Gulf Oil Canada Limited and Shell Canada Limited." 

ps. One large, one small photograph coming up next...the Sean Galbraith and Peter Andrew...then art should die down around here for a while.  

Living room bookshelves

I kept them to myself for a few weeks...that's how much I love my new living room bookshelves!

...

Last night, we went to see Chung King Express, at the TIFF (Toronto International Film Festival) cinemas.  The film was introduced by the quite possibly drunk cinematographer, Christopher Doyle.  Doyle also took questions after the flick.

This was the first time I watched this movie.  I was confused (WTF is going on?), I was touched (It's been a long time since I had my heart broken), I was wow'd (the film itself is beautiful and gritty)...

Doyle was not always coherent, it seemed like he couldn't hold his thoughts together...but his (quite possibly) drunken ramblings filled me up! I want to run out and create something...I want to put MY truth out there...put my Toronto out there.

It has been a long time since I walked away from something feeling creatively full. It made me realized how drained I have been over the last little while. 

Now I ask myself, what am I going to do about it?

ps. I really hope you like the shelves. I feel like the room is still balanced. I don't know how it seems balanced with so much happening...maybe because we have a enormous fire place, lots of french doors, and a bunch of windows.  I don't know! Maybe you can tell me ?!?!?!
pps. The top shelf will stay empty until, overtime, my books completely fill the main shelves...the top gives me room to age, read, and collect!

One of the best deals on used books in the city!

I recently heard about Book Ends, the used book store run by the Toronto Library.  They have two locations. I went to the one in the reference library (Yonge and Bloor) today.

I picked up 8 books for $11.50.

Deal!

I can not wait to get all the books up on the shelves...tomorrow, right?!

(In the meantime, I should put away all my paint supplies and the ladders!)

When do you take off the painters tape?

Earlier today, I finished painting the living room bookshelves.*  The prep was a bit slow, but painting (with a 4" roller and a brush) was a breeze.

I protected the walls by inserting heavy card stock in the corners (cut up file folders) and green tape along the edges.

Except, I couldn't figure out the best time to take off the painters tape.

- If I left the tape until after the paint dries, when I pull it down, it rips apart and I have skinny little pieces of green that stick to the shelves. I need tweezers to get them off.

- If I removed the tape as soon as I was done painting, I risked bumping my knuckles along the freshly painted shelf.

I couldn't win. I went with removing it as I go, only because if I accidentally splattered on the wall, I could clean up the mess with a wet paper towel (once the paint dries, I am screwed, at least, I think I would be...I am a paint novice)

Oh, and because I did two coats, I had to prep the wall with tape twice, instead of leaving it there until I was completely finished.

Anyways, what do you do?

ps. painting them before they were installed would have made my life easier, but I was putting off buying the paint. I needed to colour match the existing trim, which is oil-based and has yellowed. I had no idea how simple it was to request a custom colour matched can. I removed the painted hinge from my dining room swing door and brought it in to Maple Paints at Bathurst and St Clair. They mixed the ca, then rubbed a little on the hinge to make sure it was correct. It was a little on the pink side. So they mixed a new can, and it was a perfect match. 
pps. Happy dance that it's done! 

*How long should I let them dry before I can bring down the books? 24-hours?

UPDATE: I am going to wait another week, or maybe two, before putting the books up...to be on the safe side! 

Living room shelves: installed and primed

Here they are! The new bookshelves for the living room!

Jim Hale, Kerry's dad, built, primed, delivered and installed them for us*. I will give them a coat or two of white paint in my spare time.

If you are handy, I am positive you could DIY something similar. They are made from 1x8 boards. Notice that we kept the bookcases open at the bottom - we didn't want to interfere or compete with our 90 year baseboards. The shelves are set in about 1 1/2 inches from each side wall, because those baseboards are thick and I didn't want to notch them.

You could always add trim to the bottom and fill in the sides with panels, but to me that was extra work, and wouldn't add anything. I wanted them to be simple, easy, and removable without causing damage. Actually, I should ask how easy it will be to pull them away from the wall if we ever want to re-paint the room. I assume we unscrew the anchors and slide them out. 
 
It will probably take me a month or so before they are painted and complete. I will take a million photos when I add books and style them, so we can all have fun filling them up together!
  
What do you think?!

ps. Just to be super clear, we notched the quarter rounds but did not touch the baseboards.
pps. It took Mr Hale 5 hours to install them. He spent a chunk of time trying to find the studs. He fastened the two units on each side to each other - the two on the left are held together with screws, as are the two on the right. L brackets were used at the top to secure the shelves to the wall, and two L brackets ensure that the shelf over the doorway does not warp.  Note: The shelves are not adjustable. They are about 12 inches apart.
ppps. I know I don't have enough books to fill them, but I love having the space to collect more. I can see them filling up over the next decade. In fact, if this turns out to be our forever house, then one day a lifetime of reading will be piled up on those shelves!
pppps. I was leaning towards natural wood...leaning hard. Every time I look at them I still crave the natural wood. However, once the books go in, the wall will be quite busy and alive with colour...so I thought it was better to paint the shelves out and let them be part of the background. Does this make sense? 
ppppps. My son added his small painting exactly where he thought it should go (to the left of the encaustic) before I could take the photo.     

*Cost: $960 (no blog discounts or blah blah blah...)

Next project: bookshelves in the living room

This is the next project we would like to execute: bookshelves in the living room! Two sets of narrow shelves (8" deep) on each side of the french doors, with a long shelf that runs from wall to wall, right over the doorway. Painted white.

Nothing else in the room will change, we are just adding another layer. The art will get hung in the same position, in front of the shelves. The lamp will slide in a bit. 

I don't have enough books to fill these shelves, but, if I keep reading (and buying second-hand) 40-60 books a year, these shelves will be filled with favorites in no time!* 

Are you as excited about this as I am?


*Books are 50% off at Goodwill on Tuesdays...that's 50% off the goodwill price!

Trendy Tree

 

 

 

 

Part of the fun of reading blogs is discovering beautiful, attainable things....then jumping on the bandwagon!!

Like this very trendy fiddle leaf fig tree! I love it!!!

It is trendy, no?  How often do you read about these babies or see them in photos?!

(only $60, other plants of this size were closer to $150.   Good value!)

Too much clutter in the living room!

On Saturday, I plopped the second-hand basket onto the pony-hair stool in the living room, and all of a sudden I couldn't handle the amount of stuff in there.

So I took some out...It probably looks unchanged to you, but the couch cushions are gone, bunnies are gone, the books under the window are stacked neatly, books on coffee table straightened, and the box of garage sale cast-offs that was hiding behind the couch is going out into the garage...

This is what we are left with...better*!

I moved the basket into the dining room...

ps. The radio went upstairs into the master bedroom a couple of weeks ago...I STILL wasn't spending time in the living room...the living room & dining rooms are only used when we have guests, sad, but true

*My husband says I tend to over crowd a room in the beginning, but end up with a more minimalist space in the end...I think he is right...he likes to be right! 

Bunnies

 

I won these bunny rabbits over at AM Dolce Vita! Thanks Michelle!!!

This is where they live - for now...the ears are a bit too deadly to keep down...but I think we will be ok until Easter...then I plan to bring them upstairs into the office.

Bunnies all year round! Not just for Easter!!! Very French! Well, that is, we seemed to notice bunnies of all sorts and sizes at the flea markets in Paris.  Like this one we took a photo of in 2007, but never brought home...*le sigh*

Radio yes, TV no

 

A while back I mentioned that we wanted a TV for the living room.  The hold up? I couldn't find the perfect console table.  I surfed every retail site I could think of without any luck*. Then I gave up. 

I've never stop thinking about a console! I still want one!  Except now I want to put this sleek Tivoli radio on top of it and forget the TV.  ('cause I got the moves like Jagger)

For now, the radio is perched on some books** on a chair (I love it like a love song baby baby)....and, the first thing I will do when my little one is not in the wrap and my older son is not begging me to play trucks, and after the dishes are done, and I've read everything in google reader...after all that, the first thing I intend to do is fix those cords! It will take, what, three minutes to tape them along the baseboards?  

*Retail shopping is about as enjoyable as knocking myself in the head with a hammer, and the thrifty gods have not delivered one to my doorstep! 
**Yes I bought these books because they matched the colours in the room...second hand, from BMV

Plants and Flowers

This morning I moved a few plants around, and bought some fresh flowers.

I put the plant on the sideboard, so it doesn't cook on the rad (it was previously in the basement, severely neglected)

I am not sure if the spikey Ikea plant is going to make it...the other stem died months ago. I am reluctant to invest in a giant version, if I can't get this one to thrive.  I am almost certain it is goners.

UPDATE: The plant on the dining room sideboard was moved into the office...it was too close in shape to the lamps....I added the glass/crystal stuff back to the sideboard, hmmmm....I think I should get a tray

The spider plant went into the master bedroom...it needs some love.  The roots are so massive that even watering it as much as I do, the soil can't hold onto the moisture.  Time to transplant it.   

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Branches

This morning, I trimmed some branches from the front hedge...I am not sure how long they will stay fresh, but I am enjoying them today!

Did you notice where the teak/leather chairs ended up? 

TV in living room?

We have a TV in the kitchen (computer/TV)...we have a TV in the office (computer/TV)...we have a TV and movie screen in the basement...and we will soon have a TV in the living room.  After MUCH deliberation, we decided that the TV will go to the right of the dining room french doors, above a console (probably not this console, I dragged this console out of the foyer for demonstration purposes)

A TV IN YOUR LIVING ROOM????  WHAT ARE YOU THINKING!!!!!!!!  Am I crazy?  Let me explain, because its simple: this is the largest room in the house and it is essentially unused.  We could have built a family room (instead of the deck), I guess...too late for that.  I just think its a waste to abandon a room of this size....pretty, yes! but there is no life in here! Will a TV change things?

Actually, I feel like this is a controversial thing...or design disaster...or whatever. That's probably why I am writing about it before we pull the trigger, instead of just showing it off after the fact.  Please tell me, is it wrong to set the living room up like a family room?  I know that some decisions, even if its right for your family, sometimes it can be wrong for design...but am I completely killing things here by mounting a big black box onto the wall?  

ps. the encaustic painting will likely go on the other side of the dining room doors....hung at the same level as the TV...I may have to lose the chairs (Email me if you are interested...I bought them for around $25 each)

Please tell me, what do you think? Do you have a TV in the living room? Would you hesitate to add one into this room?