Imperial Trellis Pillows Cushions

So I finally decided it's time for an intervention against my Imperial Trellis addiction, and put it to bed. What other better ways to do so but to actually own some fab cushions/pillows like these? Although a $200 bill was a bit much to chew down, I am sure they are so worth it especially I will never grow tired looking at them (or so I think now).

Here is the cushion/pillow made of Imperial Trellis in Parchment/Midnight.

 From another angle.

 Here are the impeccable twins now sitting on my "Sarah Richardson-alike" couch.

Unlike most of the Imperial Trellis cushions/pillows that only have the fabric on one side (the other side is usually in solid tone none-Trellis fabric), these ones have Imperial Trellis fabric on both sides. So down the road if I am really desparate to grow my IT collections, I could split them into four cushions/pillows (crazy talk I know).

Enough excitement for me in one day. Bye for now.

Wall Mounted Ironing Board Cabinet

Our new laundry room design has pretty much left no room to tuck away our old ironing board. Let's see a show of hands...how many of us hate to drag out, set up and then fold away an ironing board? Well, at least I do!

I've started to look at ways to utilize the vertical space instead. At the rate household innovations are going today, chances are, whatever you can think of already exists. A wall mounted stowaway ironing board cabinet is the answer to my problem.

So I started my search on Internet only to find a very limited number of designs ranging from $180 to $600! The cheapest one with a nice white wood cabinet door I could find in Canada will cost $329 from a major kitchen and bath store. So I've decided to call a few "prime suspects" that may carry novelty things like this. When I got to the Home Outfitters their store manager told me they have a wall mounted ironing board on clearance at $40! What??? I asked her to walk me through the description (sliding cabinet door, white wood cabinet, stowaway ironing board, iron shelf, etc.) and it sounded like exactly the same one I was looking for! Unfortunately they were all sold out so I had to call a few stores until I got to the one in Markham, and they have only one left!

I didn't think a deal could be that sweet until I rushed to the store and saw the one that's exactly the same as I was looking for at MSRP $329! The store manager wanted to get rid of the last one so she offered me this ironing cabinet in perfect condition at $25!!! So I got a $329 Wall Mounted Ironing Board Cabinet for $25, or 92% OFF! Unbelievable!

This is the Wall Mounted Ironing Board with a slide white wood cabinet door.

When the panel is slide-closed, the cabinet would look integrated with the rest of the Ikea Adel White cabinets we are putting up in the laundry room.

(not my house)

Happy Valentine's Day, everyone!



Laundry Mud Room Makeover: Taking the Plunge

The urge to renovate our laundry mud room is stronger than I anticipated. I thought I could stall it for a while until it gets warmer, but no, after I always dropped the Red Velvet Cake we got for VD struggling through the doorway, I decided NOW is the time.

This is our laundry mud room layout now. The door from the garage opens into this mess.

 This is my first take on a new layout to add more storage and function to the room.

After consulting a contractor specializing in custom cabinetry, I've re-arranged the layout a bit to maximize the storage space. 

I also made a major decision to go with Ikea's White ADEL cabinets! I've seen how wonderful a big-box store cabinets could turn out given the right design from many interior design shows on HGTV, and now I finally get to venture it!

Here's a portfolio of our new laundry room elements.

From top-left corner clock-wise:

• 3-hole SS kitchen sink from Rona (a SS kitchen sink is way cheaper than a laundry sink if you don't need a very deep one);
• Moen Quinn Chrome High-Arc Faucet;
• Ikea Salong and Persika Vases;
• Ikea ADEL White Shaker-style Cabinets;
• Martha Stewart Living Fabric Drawers from Home Depot;
• Formica Smoke Quarstone Countertop in Radiance Finish;
• Fractured Earth Series Glass Mosaic Tiles Backsplash from Tile Showroom;
• Tension Rod.

This is what a typical Ikea ADEL White kitchen looks like.

To take everything apart and install all the cabinets and plumbing will take a whole day. To purchase all the components including to have the countertop custom made will take about two weeks. Therefore, I should be able to reveal what our new laundry room looks like (and how well it functions) in just over two weeks.

Stay tuned...

My Next Project - Laundry Room Makeover

Our laundry room is double-duty as a mud room because our garage leads to it, and we need to go through it to enter the house. It has been a constant struggle for us during the winter when our shoes trap nothing but muddy water into the room. To make things worse, our tiny closet inside the laundry room is so full that Anthony has to park his ginormous shoes on the door mat all the time! And they get stuck underneath the doors every time we open and close them, and make an even bigger mess on the floor!

There I finally had it with our laundry room. This is the plan I drew up in the PPT for our future laundry/mud room. More storage, multi-task, and more functional are my key objectives. The garage door into the house is on the adjacent wall to this one, and I am adding a "Shoe Cabinet" right by the door so that we could put shoes in there as soon as we enter the room.

Here is a list of things I will need for this makeover project:

• Custom cabinetry and hardware
• Countertop
• Stainless steel sink & faucet
• Tension rod
• Backsplash??? (is it too much to add backsplash in a laundry room?)

This is going to be a contractor plus DIY project, so I am yet to find out how much in total it will cost. I will post some updates later. Stay tuned...