Creating the secret garden on a dime

 The back of the tiny house was looking pretty rough (I can't find the before photo) - it had no architectural details, and mainly looked like a garage with white siding.

The rear of the house was mostly clay! Though a few plants survived - thankfully the mimosa/silk tree miraculously made it (and in the photo below, you can see a few blooms). As well, some older hues survived, though this year we gave them an aggressive pruning which won't pay off till 2026.

The area behind the house has an unusual shape and size, and I envisioned a classic "secret garden" landscaping plan. I also knew the house needed a few architectural details. Notes on what I did are below the photos.

I started with shutters to match the main house - to my surprise, the size I needed was on clearance for $30 a pair - a real steal! I had received a solar lamp, the kind that belongs on a post, for free - but it didn't come with a post! This was a major challenge given the hardware and dimensions. After looking into a ton of options and talking to various lumber yard employees, I bought a 4' fence post ground spike ($15) that gave it the stability it needed (it's metal and real glass, weighs quite a bit), then got a fence post with some decorative details (which was also on clearance for $16!). 

I really wanted a flagstone path - but getting a small quality of flagstone proved a challenge - until I found a listing on facebook marketplace! The seller was only about half a kilometer away. Initially, I missed out on the sale, but the buyer left some unwanted pieces behind, so the seller invited me to come clear it from her driveway for FREE! It was enough to create the path you see in the photos.

As for the plants (and there are indeed fairly lights and path interspersed among them), they are almost all transplanted from other parts of the garden! In the centre is a yucca that survived - and it was glorious when in bloom. On either side, there is some mint which I prune to shape, hostas, stonecrop, some interesting and delicate ornamental sage, creeping sedum, several varieties of creeping phlox, veronica, and snapdragons. I tried to vary the colour and texture, and get as many flowering varieties in as possible. They are new transplants, so I expect the blooms will be better next year, but I'm mostly happy with the way it's come together. 

The opposite side (not pictured) is still a VERY immature garden, and it will be at least another year before that side really takes shape. 

Chandler Speaks!

 I mean, this is a little more Humphrey's vulnerable vibe, but I am hoping that Chandler will grow into this persona! I can't get enough of his puppy cuteness here.

The Gucci(ish) Wallpaper Closet Reveal!

 Many high-end designers (including Ali Budd, where I originally saw it) are using the Gucci heron wallpaper, which is really more of a mural. A little context - Gucci has a limited selection of beautiful and dramatic wallpapers, which run about $750 a roll. Worth googling, and have a look at Ali Budd's online portfolio for some really interesting wallpaper ideas. SNL's Heidi Gardner also used a Gucci wallpaper, which she presents during her Architectural Digest midcentury Kansas home tour. 

I fell in love with the whimsy of an oversized herons pattern, and the now-iconic Gucci mint green is fresh and cheerful. But...I can't justify or afford $750, especially since I wasn't sure if I would like such a dramatic wall mural in person.

I had the idea to style the small walk-in closet in the guest room, since the wall facing the door was empty, and it seemed the perfect spot to add some whimsy that would be (in my view) too much for an entire room. I also thought it would be a neat backdrop to create a dressing area using things from my old house: an oval full-length mirror, a glass console that was in my old entryway, etc.

I discovered that a number of Aliexpress vendors had "interpretations" of heron wall murals that are very close to the original. And they are inexpensive! I decided to take the plunge, and order a few rolls. I went with this vendor, a steal at $10 CDN a roll for paper, and $18 for my preferred peel and stick. I sent them measurements, they send a digital proof, and it arrived in less than 10 days. 

I am so impressed with this paper - it was a breeze to hang, and it's staying up. Because this was custom-printed to my measurements, the pattern was pre-aligned on the panels (so no matching a repeat pattern), and it was already sized to the wall. As it was peel-and-stick no tools or paste were required - it's similar to working with post-it notes. I worked bottom-to-top to make sure the herons were perfectly aligned, and the entire process only took about an hour total, not including breaks between rolls. 

I used the oval mirror to break up the pattern, then the glass console as a dressing table. I had an acrylic folding chair onto which I added a plush cushion for texture, and I stole Chandler's little napping mat (it's Mon Chateau from Costco Canada, and they usually sell them every December). 

Since I was able to use things I had from my old house, the only expense to style this closet was about $60 for the wallpaper - which is only on that one wall. I used leftover paint to freshen the remaining closet walls, you can see the left-side dowels to hang clothes. On the right side are shelves. It looks like a whole other room! The wallpaper somehow makes the closet appear larger, and the angled area rug contributes to an illusion of depth. 

The Cruella Devill Upstairs Hallway

 How many Dalmatian puppies does it take to renovate a hallway? You're about to find out.

It stared with a pretty awful paint job, and unattractive lighting fixtures from the 1960s. Here's the BEFORE:

For some unknown reason, the previous tenant developed a thing where she painted every wall in high gloss and an awful builder's beige. This photo really showcases how bad choice that was! Especially with the under-sized baseboards and dingy (because it's old) beige carpet. 

My parents lived in fear of the ceiling light fixtures in this BEFORE photo for decades - they were very tricky to open, so they resisted turning on the light at the top of the stairs because changing the bulb was too much of a hassle. Those had to go! 

This is the IN PROGRESS Cruella Deville hallway (minus the gallery wall):

I started selecting matching (imagine that!) light fixtures for the two in the upstairs hallway, and same for the downstairs hallway. I went with the crisp black and white Kuzco Arcadia. Importantly, these milky globes have an open bottom, so it's easy to change the bulb. The colour temperature is now a little cooler, and with the matte walls, everything looks so much better. 

The walls are Dove White OC-17 in eggshell, which stands out against the bright white trim and eliminates the "glare" issue that the awful gloss beige created. We had the carpet removed to reveal the original parquet, and 5.25" baseboards. The knobs are in the process of being switched to matte black Halifax style levers for a modern touch, and they're freshly painted in bright white (I believe it's Benjamin Moore Ultra White OC-10 on all the trim). 

The statement piece of this hallway is the Dalmatian runner - an inexpensive option from Amazon. I was able to get 3 runners (they are a traditional tufted carpet, which I prefer to some of the newer rug materials), and they line up to the precise length of the hallway. 

The final detail is (or will be) bold black and white artwork hung in gallery wall groupings (black frames, of course). 

I really enjoy this hallway - my inner Cruella Deville adores the Dalmatian rug, and I think the rug gives it a very modern look (which it needs because it has a lot of traditional elements like the panel mouldings on the doors and colonial style baseboards). I also like that the light fixtures tie into others throughout the house, and the black/white colour scheme also relates back to the rest of the house to give it unity. 

Family Room Facelift and DIY Fireplace Mantel

 I have always dreaded being in the dark family room of the midcentry house! It's a sunken family room, originally with wood paneling (see below for a really old shot of it!). Though it had a large sliding door with eastern exposure AND a window with southern exposure it always seemed dark and depressing to me (others have characterized it as cozy, but that's not at all how I have ever experienced it). I think the problems had to do with the walls (even when painted white) and an exceptionally dark and dingy fireplace whose gray-brown reclaimed bricks span the entire 14' length of the wall.

I will be ADDING to this post as more of the room comes together, but for now, I managed to do a fairly substantial upgrade for under $200.

Basically, this entire room needed a lot of brightening up!

Here are a few BEFORE|S...first up, while the walls were white and it had new windows, my mother made some poor decisions about window coverings (yes, she was serious about that!), floor coverings, furniture, etc. It basically looks like value village threw up:

This is an in-progress photo of the fireplace wall (with terrible lighting), I had added some white to the top of the mantle, and was toying with feature-wall wallpaper. I think this gives a good idea of how dark and depressing the room was.

This photo shows the contrast of the original (dark brick) and paint in daylight. Note that the "mantle" is just reclaimed bricks that look like teeth!

I used my leftover Valspar Chalky Finish paint tined in Swiss Coffee (this is the paint I've used for many different projects, acquired on clearance for $5 a can). I wanted some colour variation in the bricks, so that they looked lighter without looking "painted". This paint did a great job - I thought I'd have to dilute and hand tint it (as I did on my Toronto fireplace makeover) but because these bricks were so colour-saturated, the full-strength paint worked fine. I considered hand-tinting a darker colour for the mortar, but in the end I felt it didn't need that. The end result is a gray-off-white with a lot of variation from brick to brick.

Once the bricks were painted, I had to consider all the other elements. You can see that the original paint (which is Benjamin Moore Ultra White CC-10) looks dingy yellow. Ultra White is a very clean white - but the light that comes in from the sliding doors gives everything a yellow hue.

I painted test sections of at least half a dozen whites, and the only shade that looked "clean" in this lighting was Benjamin Moore White Dove OC-17 (a big surprise, because I'd had such luck with Benjamin Moore Paper White OC-55 in my last house to combat dingy light).

Once the fireplace was painted, I started to immensely dislike the brick mantle. I looked at countless photos to see how people with similar (odd) midcentury fireplace (ie, 14' long!) addressed the problem. I thought probably a polished white mantle would be best.

In the mean time, I'd brought a white Ikea Mosslanda picture shelf to the house that was leftover from the last house because I'd missed the return deadline. One day when I was looking at the brick mantle, I wondered if the Mosslanda shelf wasn't the same size - and lo and behold it was!

By flipping the Mosslanda upside-down and backwards, I had a perfectly-sized casing that covered the bricks! I calculated that I'd need 2 and a half more large Mosslanda shelves (at $15 each) to cover the length. I also wanted a board on top of that with a ledge to give it a finished look. I got a pine board the precise width from the lumber yard and had them cut it to the exact length (14') - totalling $60.

I talked to several contractors, read contractor forums, and watched videos for the best way to assemble the mantle. Initially, I expected to have to drill into the brick and screw the pieces in, but it turns out that the newer construction adhesives are made for this type of thing, and have the ability to expand and contract if materials (like wood) react to humidity. I went with LePage LP adhesive.

A final consideration was how to address the variance in the bricks along the top of the manel - some were higher others lower. I glued down small wood shims (triple-checking with a level) to make sure that the mantel would sit totally level. 

I pre-painted the pine board (not the Mosslanda shelves, because they were already white), then affixed the shelves followed the pine board with the construction adhesive. I continued to check it with a level as I did this. I didn't place anything on the mantel for 48 hours to let the adhesive cure. 

Once it was cured, I used Dap white paintable caulk to fill in the gaps on the back and sides and seams where the Mosslanda shelves came together (which were barely visible even before caulking). Once that was dry, everything including the Mosslanda base received a couple of coats of semi-gloss trim paint. This protects the caulking, and the mantel looked shiny and fresh.

The walls got a full coat of Benjamin Moore White Dove OC-17 in a matte finish, the ceiling with proper white ceiling paint, and Room Mates Light Gray Modern Geometric peel and stick wallpaper for a feature wall above the fireplace. It's a bold choice, and in the photo looks a little busier than it does in real life. I used this in several places in my previous house and never tired of the pattern and colour, and I quite love it here as well. It's an amazing product - super thick and I used it over horrible walls (and even over wood paneling!). It hides a lot of sins, doesn't come off (2 years and counting in my last house) and is very easy to apply because it's so thick. I find this particular pattern easy to match. 

I styled the fireplace with a couple of plants, and a big painting that never had the right home - it's a mixed media piece by Saskatchewan artist Otto Rogers that my father loved. The scale and colours are pretty good for this room. And yes, the H is a little tribute to the late, great Humphrey that had been on the Toronto mantel for many years.

For the rest of the room, I reproduced a bunch of old family photos and put them into Ikea Ribba frames - right before I took on this project, Ikea was discontinuing Ribba so I was able to get the 16x20 frames for $2.50! The larger ones were about $8.00. I wanted texture but no real colour (because it's a small room, it would look very cluttered any other way).  I'm also working on replacing tired window coverings with tidy zebra shades. This sectional is Chandler's favourite lounging area, from that spot he can see out of the big window and watch television (which he enjoys). And he loves to drag all his toys onto this sectional to keep him company!

This is the corner of the mantel, where I added some eucalyptus and found a home for a very neat hand-painted vase a friend brought from Cuba. 

The rest of the room will have to wait for photos until the excess (dark) furniture is out of the house to the laneway! At least the top third of the room looks alright. 

Ensuite

 During the 1980s, our family added a mother-in-law suite over the garage and family room for my recently widowed grandmother. It included an 11x14 bedroom, a roughly 24x12 main living area with kitchenette, and full bathroom. 

I'm currently transforming that space into a master suite. The first project was the ensuite bathroom. The original was serviceable, but had some relatively unfortunate design choices and finishes(thanks to my dad!). Here's the BEFORE:

Possibly worst floor tiles ever, in glossy dark brown with copper detail? Yuck!!

I had initially hoped to enlarge and reconfigure this room - until I got a quote and discovered it was cost-prohibitive because it would involve moving a lot of things around that are between the walls. I decided to stick with the original size and footprint, which would then allow me to splurge on some luxury finishes.

I went for black and white (which is the design motif throughout the house). Initially, I was hoping to go gold-toned for the hardware, but ended up with matte black when I couldn't source a few of the things I wanted in gold. I'm overall happy with the results, and the larger shower with glass door really makes the room feel bigger. 

I splurged on Centura London's Dolomiti tiles as well as a composite stone base for the shower and "frameless" glass doors. I like a mosaic floor (not for everyone, but it reminds me of art deco buildings). I fell in love with this Dolomiti basket weave mosaic! It's oversized compared to most mosaics, and has such a unique texture. The larger tiles are matte, and the small squares are highly polished. While the camera doesn't really pick up the textural difference, when the light shines on them in person it's stunning. I used them in the shower niche as well.

These tiles are "premium" (i.e., not available from big box stores, and according to my installers superior quality and a dream to work with). they are porcelain (ie, low maintenance!), but with a subtle marble-like colouring based on Dolomiti marble which is a coloration/variety found in Northern Italy. I used the coordinating polished (high gloss) 1'x2' in a grid pattern for the shower walls.

The shower set is Delta's "modern raincan" in black, and the sink faucet is the Delta Broadmoor PULL-DOWN bathroom faucet! In matte black of course. Best invention ever!

Other details (door lever, hooks, towel bar etc.) are matte black which coordinates with the faucet and shower set.

I chose an arched medicine cabinet and I think the shape really emphasizes the height of the ceiling and makes it feel more spacious. Same for the white floating shelves. I went with a higher-end vanity so it has loads of storage, a composite stone top, and porcelain sink.  I went with the American Standard "Vormax" toilet which has great lines and extra high (good for a person who suffers from sciatica!). I struggled with vanity lighting, and for the time being sticking with this fixture (original, though I painted it black and added upgraded globe bulbs). 

Benjamin Moore White Dove (OC-17) is the perfect complement to the Dolomiti tiles. I've used White Dove in other rooms - it is the most balanced off-white Benjamin Moore makes (equal yellow and gray undertones) so it is a chameleon of off-whites. It has a LRV (light reflectance value) in the 70s which means it's not "bright" as far as whites go (e.g., a trim paint white like Chantilly Lace has an LRV in the 90s) so White Dove doesn't reflect a ton of light. In this room, it reminds me of an oyster white. Between the balanced softness of White Dove and the Dolomiti tones, this bathroom has a very peaceful and relaxing feel. I'm used to stark white bathrooms (I tend to prefer severe whites with high LRV) so I'm enjoying this soft bathroom, but I'm not sure if it's my favourite since the tone relaxes instead of energizing me.

I think my favourite part of this ensuite is the "Fragrance Counter" - I've never had a spot to organize the perfumes in one place, but now I can browse them on the floating shelves and choose one to suit my mood from these shelves (FWIW, I keep the really precious ones in boxes so they are not exposed to light which degrades them). In that photo, you can see the contrast between the bright white shelves and the softer white walls.

Exterior makeover, so far

This is the FIRST phase of the house's exterior makeover, with more to come next year. 

Let's start with the BEFORE. The house is a midentury (mid 1960s) interpretation of a colonial style house. It had an addition over the garage that (while good quality) was poorly executed from an aesthetic perspective. Problems include: the siding is lower on the addition than the rest of the house, the window is too small, and it lacks decorative features over the garage door making it look "top heavy". The main house is just wrong in so many ways! The windows are the wrong colour and too small on the second floor, the front door is too pale and 1980s style that doesn't work with the midcentury house feel.

I did a lot of thinking and looked at a lot of photos to figure out how to improve the exterior. Ideally, I would have also painted the siding but since it's aluminum it's maintenance free - and once you paint, you have to continue repainting every 5 to 10 years - so I opted to stick with white. Between the white siding and colour of the bricks I was somewhat limited. It also lacked lighting (which is not obvious in this before photo since it was taken during the day).

Let's have a quick look at the street in the early 1970s before I continue. The house it at the end of the street, and that's before the addition.

Here's what I ended up doing for THIS phase of the renovation

- new garage door in black with elongated frosted windows

- new door with multiple glass panels, and large sidelights - the door is oversized as well, so walking through it is a very different experience than a "regular sized" door

- new windows with black frames for the entire first floor - and we had the white surround of the main window painted black which made a HUGE difference

- new exterior lighting

Here's what is remaining for next year:

- matching black windows on second floor, with modern shutters and bottom detail to make them more impactful

- black surround for garage door

- mini decorative pergola over garage door so it doesn't look "top heavy"

- new, modern house numbers

Here's how it looks today, with only the first phase complete (and I forgot to turn the garage light on so the elongated windows are not visible):

The black details give the bottom half of the house some weight and grounding. I think of this as similar to styling fashion. You want lighter on top (like a crisp, white shirt) and a substantial bottom (black skirt or trousers) to create a balanced look. 

The new windows in the back of the house (the ones with black casings) look so crisp!

More photos will follow when I get a chance to get shots in the right lighting. I'll update next year when the final details are added :)