Before and After: Rosseau Clothes Rack

In my post from yesterday, I have featured the before picture of the antique clothes rack that Karen and I picked up on our Muskokan adventure. Since then it has been painted with a beautiful shade of mustard yellow that provides a subtle hint of colour without the chance of overpowering whatever it will display. Clothes display rack may have been its original function, but we already have ideas on how to use it for other items. And there you have it, another project completed with many more to come.

On the Road: Muskoka

Road trip! It all started at around 10 am on Friday, June 24th. Where were we headed? Rosseau, a small town north of Toronto, located in the heart of the Muskoka. What was the reason for this trip? I joined forces with The Remote Stylist in their most recent makeover project. I contributed 5 of my Poppies (up-cycled furniture) for their complete cottage makeover . Since both Karen and I are strangers to that part of Ontario, we relied heavily on our iPhones to guide us along the way, and so they did. Some 3 hours and 2 thunder showers later we reached the final destination, the "cottage", which we determined was bigger than the 2 of our houses put together. It stood tall and proud on the shores of lake Rosseau equipped with its own boat house. One week before the official launch of the cottage project it was evident that a lot of work was still to be done, but everything pointed to the fact that this will be one amazing showroom.



After we offloaded all the goodness from the van and as we completed the tour of the property, we set out on a more casual and relaxed part of our journey towards Port Carling. The road lead us past quaint antiques store where we found this amazing clothes rack (below), that will soon be a part of our store. It’s already interesting features will be embellished and brought to life with a coat of paint. (At this point we agree that it should be vibrant yellow milk paint, but who knows....)



We also visited a beautiful ‘Muskokian’ home furnishings and accessories store that offered all the goodness needed for a comfortable cottage living, aka. inspirations!! We’ll be working on bringing all the comforts of the cottage to Freedom. Before heading back we found a sweet little spot by the water to enjoy a late afternoon picnic with some wildlife companions. A perfect way to end a perfect road trip.

We’ll add some pictures of the remade cottage as soon as we get them … and as soon as it’s done!
Oh yes, and pictures of the milky yellow clothes rack.

New on Etsy

..is this cute little desk that would look great as a console in a foyer as well as in a den, living or kids' room. Use it in the bedroom as alternative to a night stand, pair it up with a swanky mirror and use it as a vanity. With all the storage it offers, possibilities are endless. Small enough not to be in the way but with a finish that will definitely make a statement.
Available on my Etsy page or at Freedom Clothing Collective.

Owlies of Ontario by Kempton Jones

A few days ago Freedom CC welcomed Michelle of Kempton Jones, the creative mind behind Owlies of Ontario and much other goodness, to the roster of the designers represented through the store.
Michelle names all of her Owlies after small towns and cities in Ontario that provoke a memory of sound and cool. They are made from designer, new or upcycled fabrics. Stuffed with polyfil (non allergenic) and made in pet free and smoke free home.

Michelle is of Japanese origin, and owls in Japan are a symbol of good fortune and luck.
The Owlies make great girlfriend gifts, house warming gifts, they are great just propped on a bookshelf or chair/couch. The sophisticated and slightly graphic outline of them make them work for adults as well as kids. Michelle has heard them described as plush art. Karen, Marsya and I are excited about being able to present Michelle's art to our customers and are confident that we will all have much success.

Re-Styled - Part 2

Part one of the re-styled series introduced you to our project and i shared the before and in progress pictures. In this post, we are reveling to you the lessons we learned as well as Karen's vision for the final proudct.

Lesson learned:
"Always fix everything (ie. wobbles, cracks etc.) BEFORE you paint and put the finishing details on", is what we would have said initially.... but because we were both excited to get started right away, we did just the opposite. The result was a ‘fixed’ crack with some extra distressing that we both consider darling and part of this little guys charm.
This table had a bad crack on the surface, so we decided to take it apart and fix it to make sure it does not fall apart completely in the future. Also, while taking it apart we managed to fix the wobbly leg by using some glue and some mini shams. Re-gluing the table top and using screws made it more secure and stable. Filling in the large crack with wood filler was one option that would have made it look as though the crack was never there, but …. we all have “flaws” and those flaws make us individuals and are special to us. So we left it as is and designed around it.
This is all it took and Bob’s your uncle, so here you have it!
We call him Mini Bob.

Re-Styled - a colab with Koocoo Carrillo

The adventures of two creatives with different backgrounds, different techniques and totally different styles coming together to re-purpose old unloved goods and make them fabulous and cherished once again.

My Freedom CC buddy and the designer behind KooCoo Carrillo clothing line (Karen) and I are teaming up to share ideas, inspirations and ‘lessons learned’ in this new collaboration series called Re-Styled. What will happen when my colour theory and “let me get my hands dirty” approach mingle with Koocoo’s “I can fix it” mentality and organic drawing style?

First on the chopping block: Half Moon Hall Table. Part 1
We decided to start off with a small project to get our bearings and give us some ‘starting off’ ease. Here are the lovely BEFORE and IN PROCESS pictures of our latest acquisition.
Problems that need fixing: wobbly legs, huge crack on the table top, and very dirty stain.
The post on the finished product will follow in a day or two, Karen is still working on her magic - we can't wait to reveal the final result.

HAPPY

And how could it not be happy with this color and knobs. This dresser was designed for a baby's room. Painted in BM baby fern and antiqued with a coat of dark varnish, it is nothing short of fabulous.

I heart Instagram

I honestly must have spent the last little while living under the rock and not knowing that this fabulous tool existed. My friend and Freedom business partner Karen got me totally hooked on it. And who would not love it when every picture you ever take can turn out like it was taken by a pro.

New from Poppy studio...

...is this refurbished clock. What it took is a bit of paint, a new clock mechanism, some paper, mod podge and golden spray paint for the hands, and of course some patience and oodles of love. And here it is, a little something to make your time tick a bit sweeter.

Stripes - Part 2

A few weeks in the making, some color tweaks and here it is, all done and ready to be shipped off to the Muskoka where Kelly Fallis of The Remote Stylist is redesigning a cottage that will be put up for viewing and sale in the month of July. "Stripes" will be one of the fixtures in the fun and playful family room. I feel so honored that Kelly and her team considered me for this project. I loved working on this piece so much and know that this won't be the last of this type of finish that I am doing.

New Poppy

I came across this little treasure on Monday and tomorrow it is already going to a new home. New color and stenciling, something that I didn't experiment enough with, but think may do more of going forward.

Happy Friday

Flickr

Kelly Oshiro Design

Bloesem

Ohdeedoh

And just in time for the weekend I leave you with these happy and festive images i found on Pinterest.
I am off to Keswick to participate in an eco event - I will be selling rain barrels to the friendly residents of the Ontario's York region.

Stairs

I recently joined Pinterest and while I am still figuring out how this is supposed to work, I would like to share with you the beautiful photos of staircases that I found there. Typing this I have a clear view of my runner covered stairs, but am thinking that this yellow treatment may be just what I need.