New dining table, made with Ontario walnut slabs

What kind of idiot sells their dining table and chairs the week before hosting a large group of family and friends for the weekend?

This one…but with good reason.

We haven’t had much luck sourcing a new dining area pendant light, mostly because I haven’t been able to visualize the new dining area. So in an effort to move things along, I posted the table on Kijiji.  It sold 2 days later for the full asking price. (If you use Kijiji, you know that very rarely do you get full asking price.)

It was all worth it though, because we found our new table and I couldn’t be more excited! Let’s just hope it will be easier to find a light fixture now.

CHAOS TABLES

Back in the summer we were at the Aberfoyle Antique Market and met a guy who was salvaging walnut trees from local agricultural lands being converted to cash crops. Noel and his father take the raw wood slabs and turn them into stunning pieces of furniture; namely tables.

Not only is the wood locally-sourced, the furniture is built right here in Guelph — soon to be Freelton as they are moving their shop to have more space. It feels really good knowing that we are supporting local business/artists.

We went with a table and bench, and they are arriving sometime this week. Since we chose something from the showroom, we get both the table and bench for $1,000 cash. It would’ve been more expensive if we wanted a custom table, but not by much. How amazing is that? Especially when you consider that the price of a table and bench from stores selling furniture made in India is almost double.

Chaos Tables is the name of the business. If you want to see their work, find them at the Aberfoyle Antique Market this summer, or anytime at the Freelton Antique Mall. You can also inquire via chaostables@hotmail.com.

You won’t be disappointed!

*Additional photos can be seen on my Instagram feed @jess_bowes.

Powder room progress

It has been a while since I blogged, but that doesn’t mean we haven’t been busy here around the house. We’ve made progress on the powder room, kitchen, spare room and back room leading to the screened-in back porch.

I’ll be posting about these few things over the next little while, starting today with the powder room.

Powder room progress

Since the last post referring to the main floor powder room, we have finished a stone accent wall, painted the remaining 3 walls, and installed a light and toilet, and the vanity (almost in working condition). During installation of the vanity the old water pipes in the floor sprung a leak. So we still have to fix that, install a mirror, towel and toilet paper bars, and do minor paint touch ups.

Installing the stone accent wall was Al’s big project. We chose to create a stone accent wall behind the sink and toilet that would continue the cottage-like vibe throughout the main floor. We sourced the stone veneer from The Carpet Store (Kitchener, ON).

Al used Thinset to adhere the tile to the wall and he had to do several small cuts to ensure the finished project would not have any obvious seams. He also used the level after every tile went on the wall to make sure everything was square. His attention to detail was worth it. The finished wall is beautiful! We absolutely love it.

With lots of help from family, I was able to get in and paint before the toilet was installed. We went with a Sarah Richardson colour through Benjamin Moore — Escarpment SR-12. Actually, we were able to use paint left over from our last renovation at the old house. It’s great to reuse left over materials!

I found a beautiful vanity light from LITES, in the south end of Guelph. It’s great for the space, with 3 lights on a chrome face, with clear glass shades and an inner fogged  glass portion.

We went with chrome for the faucet as well as the light to modernize the space and create more light reflection. I sourced a beautiful vintage-looking Riobel faucet from The Ensuite Bath & Kitchen Showroom here in Guelph. They have a great selection and good prices, so I’ll be heading back when it comes time to renovate the other 3 bathrooms.

For the vanity, we have purchased a white vessel sink to go with the vintage table. Several coats of marine grade urethane were applied to protect the table. I was told do 2-3 coats in order to protect the wood from water damage. It does make the table a bit more glossy, but I still love it and we don’t have to worry about it rotting out down the road.

The bathroom has been operational since Jack’s first birthday party, which was our goal. Now we just need to finish it off and fix the plumbing.

Stay tuned for another post on the powder room when it’s all finished, which will include completed vanity pictures! In the meantime, if you’re on Instagram, you can follow my photo posts using #foodhouselove!

Pumped Up Paddleboarding

All the other kids, with their pumped up… Paddleboarding!

Last week I decided to spend some vacation time with my in-laws just north of Kingston, in Sydenham. They live on a beautiful lake, the weather was great, and I finally got to try paddleboarding.

It is one of the best activities I’ve ever done, being both fun and good for you, so I’m sharing my excitement.

My sister-in-law and I saw some people on paddleboards midweek, which got the ball rolling. It took a few calls to local outfitter shops and canoe clubs, but we were able to secure two boards for the weekend. We rented them from Trailhead in downtown Kingston.

Getting the boards back to the lake house was easy, but carrying them down to the water was not. The boards are about 45 lbs, 10 ft long and about 34 in wide – awkward to say the least. But, we made it and got them in the water as quickly as possible.

They were so smooth on the water. I sort of felt like cross between steering a canoe and what a gondolier must feel like, because of the fluid movement with the paddle. Sitting comfortably and casually having a beer while paddling was amazing!

At one point a bit later in the weekend, Erica and I agreed that it doesn’t get much better than paddling together. Sun, water, physical activity, good conversation and beer were all factors, obviously.

Yep, I said beer! Paddleboards are sturdy enough to keep a cup of beer in the middle of the board while paddling.

By the end of the weekend we were paddling all over the lake and trying various yoga poses – getting a great workout. I didn’t feel so bad missing bootcamp on Wednesday because of the core strength it takes to paddle and pose.

Trying out different yoga poses was a lot of fun for me. So peaceful on the water, and such a great way to intensify the pose. I hear there are paddleboard yoga classes you can take in Toronto – I’d love to try one.

Anyways, there isn’t much else to say other than I absolutely fell in love with the sport. My fingers are crossed that we can find some for a good price. I’d love to have one at the lake!

Bye-bye old fridge

When we took possession of this house we took possession of one of the first fridges ever made.

I’m ashamed to admit that we did use the energy-sucking pig for 3-4 weeks during the kitchen reno. You could hear the beast humming away in the basement from the main floor.

Last week we decided it was time to get rid of it, so I Google’d “fridge  pickup Guelph” and came across the saveonenergy.ca Fridge & Freezer Pickup program.

It was free, the forms were easy to use, and the whole process only took 3 days.

LATERS BABY

Filling out the online form was a little confusing, like the questions referring to fridge specs and pickup criteria, but it was a quick to book an appointment and receive a confirmation phone call. Two guys showed up around noon on Thursday, dolly in hand. The fridge was gone without a trace in 15 min.

FINAL RESTING PLACE

The best thing about this program is knowing that the fridge will be safely disposed of. I doubt the people on Kijiji interested in picking up old appliances for the scrap metal are as concerned with that.

According to a great little video on the website, first the fridge is stripped of all recyclable materials (copper, plastic). Then, the frion (CFC’s) is properly removed, any oil is drained, and finally it is crushed and sent to the landfill.

Apparently, for every 15 fridges recycled this way, enough electricity is freed up to power one house for a full year. Pretty impressive stuff.

FEEDBACK

There are some minor bugs with the website, so if you aren’t able to get on the site at first wait a bit and try again.

Be prepared to sign a participant agreement, which is no biggie. It simply confirms that the fridge was picked up at your address and it includes a booking number to reference the appointment.

Great program. I highly recommend it!

Main floor powder room

Changing our strategy to a room-by-room approach, we started on the main floor powder room this past weekend.

We were able to make a pretty decent dent in this small project by:

• finishing demo work and cleaning up the walls
• installing a new ceiling fan
• purchasing an antique occasional table for the vanity

DIRTY DEMO

Powder room before demo.

Although the major demo work was done before the cork floor was installed, we still had to rip out some of the smaller fixtures such as the toilet paper holder and ceiling fan, and remove a nasty wallpaper border.

Getting the toilet paper holder out of the wall was a mess. It was stuck on with some kind of clay/cement mold, making it tough to remove cleanly. The walls were a mess too. Using drywall mud, Al filled all the nail holes and imperfections. A couple of coats of mud and some sanding later, we are ready to install tile and/or paint.

CEILING FAN FRUSTRATION

The main challenge in this small room has been replacing the existing ceiling fan. Unhooking it wasn’t too bad, but installing the new one so that it was compatible with the duct work already in place was a nightmare!

There are 3 layers of drywall on the ceiling and the opening Al had to work in was less than a square foot. The duct work was smaller than what was provided with the new fixture, and of course, I gave him the wrong measurements in the beginning.

It took a few trips to Rona, and several hours working in a cloud of dust to get it working.

VANITY FARE

The Aberfoyle Antique Market is one of my favourite places to visit here in Guelph during the summer months. Besides the fact that you can bring your dog, I  love that you can wander around exploring the treasures that these venders are selling. I find it so inspiring!

Future vanity base, purchased from the Aberfoyle Antique Market.

We were on the same page in terms of what we were looking for, so when we saw it after 30 min it was an easy decision to make the purchase of $125. The table was originally found somewhere outside of Peterborough, and is in great condition. Not sure how old it is, but it’s perfect for what we have envisioned, including a white vessel sink and contemporary faucet.

To finish this room, we still need to:

• finish converting the table to a vanity
• update light switches and receptacles
• find a light
• install tile on the walls
• paint
• accessorize

Next up….tiling the walls!

Home renovation number two

The challenges with home renovation are well demonstrated in older home projects. We’ve already had our fair share of them on our second home reno, and the house still needs a lot of work.

I’m going to document and share our experience (the good and the bad), via this blog, Pinterest, Twitter,  and Instagram. I really regret not doing so with our first home renovation, a project that was a major part of the last 3-4 years of our lives. Now that I’m motivated and plugged-in, hopefully I can shed some light on the stressful and rewarding process of home renovation here in Guelph, ON.

STARTING STRATEGY

When we moved in, the strategy was to do any of the major destructive and/or disruptive projects right away. Within hours of closing we had started demolition of the existing kitchen, powder room and 2 walls between the kitchen-dining area and the dining-living area. Between ripping up the older carpet, and trashing the fixtures & cabinetry, we quickly filled a 15-yard bin.

Alec cleaned up the framing and worked with an electrician buddy to get things up to date and in the right place. Then we hired a local drywaller to come in and finish up. Luckily we had a few weeks at the old house in the beginning, so having a drywall dust was really only an issue for a week once we were moved in. The dust was everywhere, even after I would clean it up. Thank goodness it was spring when we started so we were able to let fresh air in.

The major issues early on were not having a functional kitchen or running water on the main floor.

KITCHEN

We got a great referral from our real estate agent. He set us up with Sam from New Generation Wood Products.  The amazing crew there helped us by designing and installing sleek shaker style cabinets providing lots of functional storage. They also worked with a local granite supplier, Graniteworx, to get us gorgeous black granite counters.

It is still a work-in-progress, but things are coming along. The window over the sink has been replaced and flooring installed. We’ve narrowed down the backsplash to a tumbled travertine in a mini subway style (Terraverre Inc., Tuscany Blend 1″ x 2″ Brick), sourced from The Carpet Store. The neutral palate will provide a good jumping-off point for window treatments/fabric, and paint for kitchen-dining area.

FLOORING

New flooring throughout the house was high-priority before we moved in, and having the living-dining area hardwood refinished. We didn’t want our 7-month old to breathe in all those fumes, so getting it done beforehand was a must!

For the main floor (kitchen, hall, powder room and front foyer), we went with a floating cork floor in a dark mocha. The back den is carpeted with a medium shag, cut pile and good underpad. The basement was carpeted with the same colour (neutral beige). Going with carpet again upstairs, only a looped shag in a different colour, soft shell.  We are so grateful for the help and quick installation from The Carpet Store in Kitchener, ON.

GETTING SETTLED

We’ve started on a few other rooms/areas of the house, including the baby’s room, spare room downstairs, laundry area, back den, screened-in porch, and backyard.

It was really tough to get settled those first 2 months. Not having a kitchen for 3 weeks was rough, especially with a young baby. Sam and Nansi from New Generation were sympathetic to our situation, and so pushed the job through to get our kitchen functioning as soon as possible. I know they squeezed us in and I am beyond grateful for that. They did an outstanding job, and I hope we get to work with them again.

Now that we are figuring out our needs for the main living areas, and getting things slowly unpacked and organized, life is returning to normal and we can move forward with this huge project! Stay tuned for more insight into our second home reno adventure.

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