Welcome to my little place! I am Canadian, eh! I live on Vancouver Island just outside of Victoria, British Columbia. Our city is the Capital of our Province and is located on the Southern tip of the Island. Named after Queen Victoria of the United Kingdom, Victoria is one of the oldest cities in the Pacific Northwest and boasts many historic buildings. Most of the homes here are the old Craftsman type and the newer West Coast styles. Because of our mild climate, Victoria has been named "The City of Gardens", and we do garden year round here!
I am myself a boater and have the Gulf Islands and the San Juan Islands to play in. It is easy to include my family in adventures at sea. When we aren't away my husband, son, and I are working on our 1920's Craftsman Bungalow. We rely heavily on our own sweat and tears by re-furbishing, re-purposing and doing it ourselves! I have a passion for coastal inspired, farmhouse decorating and cottage gardening.
I'm inspired by where I live:
Here are some of the projects we've tackled since buying our home in 2005:
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| {my before and after published in Cottages & Bungalows magazine} |
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{front porch now} |
- refinished all the original hardwood floors
- painted the interior of the house (minus the basement)
- installed all new window treatments
- painted furniture throughout the house
- built coffee table out of old pallets
-transformed dining room hutch into media cabinet and then into bathroom vanity
- redesigned our entire bathroom to include a bathtub
- redesigned our entire kitchen (with help from Ikea!)
- designed cabinet corbels and cabinet feet for new kitchen
- installed kitchen wood floor and painted it with porch paint
- painted the entire exterior of the house
- designed back and front stairs (they had no landings) with new porches
- painted front door
- designed and poured two concrete stepping stone walkways
- created a concrete patio using stone pebble tiles
- designed a new carport to attach on existing garage
- designed and built a fully functioning outside bathroom
- designed a gazebo with an outside stove
- designed and built a white picket fence & driveway gate
- designed a herb garden with over 30 herbs
- replanted all the gardens
- built a hypertufa rock wall
- currently working on an addition adding two bedrooms plus and
ensuite bathroom all over a carport attached to the house!
Posts about our little house in a series called "stories of a house":
Thanks for visiting!
