As well as a look at the Home & Reno Show this past weekend!
This actually came at probably the perfect timing. I planned this post when I got invited to the Home & Reno show as Media. I brought Andrew with me (since it’s right up his industry) and it was nice to go together to a show.
Andrew is finally looking at finishing some things around the house. If you’ve followed me for a while, maybe you’ll remember that we bought our house and immediately started renovations which got quickly derailed by the garage creation.
Well, 6 years later, the garage is finished and Andrew is back looking at completing the basement. WOOHOO. I cannot tell you how ecstatic that makes me.
Here’s an overview of what still needs to be done and the things that I hope to get done.
The Bedrooms
There’s only the main bedroom left. We are still waiting on the closet insert and the built-in bookshelf around the bed frame. Just been exactly 2 years since we started talking about that, but no big deal. I’m pretty much rethinking just the colour choices that we originally picked but we are sticking with the same design.
I think that a paint refresh will need to happen in all the bedrooms. I think I need to reorganize the cabinets still in the boys’ toy room so that we can start displaying Lego. Kaiden is finally interested in keeping stuff together instead of being instantly destroyed.
The Kitchen
Ideally, this would be a complete renovation but that’s not going to happen any time soon. So for now, I’m going to stick with installing the hood range microwave and a pot filler. Because of the size and height regulations, I’ll be losing my cupboard over the stove. Not a huge deal, but it means that I’ll have to reorganize my cupboards again! I’m hoping that I can have a single shelf on which I can display my cookbooks but no guarantees there. It’s been about 5 years since we’ve had a microwave so while I doubt we’ll use it much it’ll be nice to have it back for quick things like reheating my tea.
One thing that stood out in the show for our house is the shutter blinds! I love the look of them and was very excited to get more information. We finally have blinds but they are old (hand-me-downs from my inlaws) and I’m not sure how long they’ll last. Still better than the nothing/blanket we had up there. The brand that we talked to was ShutterLux and they were really nice and helpful to talk to. Their product looks durable and clean. They take care of everything and have a lifetime warranty! What’s not to love about that?
The Basement
This is still the biggest thing to finish in the house. It’s currently just framed so requires the most work. I’m looking forward to getting this finished. We’re tossing up some ideas about it, but the overall concept is to finish the laundry room, the bathroom, and the living area. It will be the main TV room with a built-in bookshelf. We’re going to have a corner computer set up for when the boys are a bit older and need to use it for school. Pretty much what’s in our current living room area will go downstairs. If you follow me on Instagram, I do regularly post about the basement when I’m constantly moving things around and cleaning it. Right now it’s laundry and the cat’s space.
I plan on not having a TV anywhere else in the house. I’d like to open the kitchen up and have it as a large dining room and small breakfast nook but that’s not going to happen yet.
Other Odds and Ends
We’re undecided on what we want to do about the outside front of the house. Do we push it out? Keep it the same? When we do finally figure it out, the show had some awesome ideas. Elegant Entry Doors was one that we loved how their main entry doors looked. House Letter Signs were an awesome company that also did install and supply with lots of different font and colour options. We have a rock that we’ve wanted to have our address on since we redid the front and still haven’t gotten around to doing it.
Andrew and I are starting to plan out our summer vegetable garden and these Vegepods are a great way to make a rotational garden, plus protect them from the bunnies! I’m hoping for a good harvest this year so I can preserve a lot of food next winter.
The Home & Reno Show highlights
I quite enjoyed the Maker’s Market which was a cute little corner with local artisans. These were more aimed at what you can use as the finishing touches in your home, as well as a couple of food ones. Some of them have been at the One of A Kind show and it was a nice way to end the show.
I didn’t really play around in the DIY Center, but I love the idea. Mess up their walls and get expert tips on how to do small things around the house or try out power tools you wouldn’t necessarily ever have the chance to.
There were lots of great up-and-coming companies that were definitely trying to break into the market and looked like they had great products. Alongside tried-and-true brands, it was a great show to start off the year with!
The next show will be March 10th for the National Home Show, with a lot of the same kind of highlights.
Make sure to grab your tickets to check it out!
J x
