so I apparently have no life because this excites me....

I was at Metro and saw my favourite summer drink - Simply Lemonade both in stock AND it was on sale. I actually gasped out loud. And quickly put two in my cart. And then snapped a picture to show Aubrey. Nerd alert. Happy Friday. ;) xo

DIY weekend projects

With another backyard party happening at our house this weekend, backyard landscaping is still hot on my mind. While searching for different ways to landscape a small backyard easily, yet functionally, I stumbled upon The Handmade Home. You'll have to check out her backyard makeover. It's so great!!

While a backyard makeover is definitely not a weekend project, this fire pit seems pretty simple. Right?

I used a power tool!

With a carpenter as a husband, I don't really have the need to use power tools. He takes care of all the messy stuff as we're slowly updating our home. But with him knee deep in sheetrocking, taping and mudding our bathroom, I'm left to my own devices.

Cue my very first power tool.

Can you see how excited I am?

Now, it's only a sander. It's not like it's a skill saw or anything (no, thank you), but I still felt pretty bad ass. I only had one coughing fit after blowing a ton of sawdust in my face. I call that a success.

So why am I turning into carpenter of the year and using power tools do you ask?

Well, almost nine months after moving back into our house, I finally got around to repainting all of the trim work that our renters wore away over their 3+ years of living here. I mean, look at this railing. Gross!!

You can tell that someone that lived here before had some diiirty hands. Ick.

To get all of the excess and flaking paint off the railing, I showed off my mad skill at sanding. I also put my biceps to work and scrubbed off as much of the dirt and grime from the past tenants on the railing & all of the trim on the main floor.

Then to finish it off, I put a fresh coat of paint on the entire stairwell and trim. 

It's so fun to see these little updates make such a great improvement on the overall look of our house. I still can't believe how long it took me to finally do this simple project, but I'm glad I've got it done.

Now onto another simple project, changing out all of our air vents with updated vent covers!

bathroom renovation updates

Although some may have seen some updates on my Instagram last night, I thought it was time for some decent photographs of the process of the washroom. :) Above was one of my biggest concerns, the bump out. As you may recall we chose to take up unused hallway space and give it to the washroom - I was terrified it was going to make the hallway seem small, but after it was done, it's not even noticeable. Surprisingly, it feels like it should have been like this all along. We still have to add back trim and I have to do some painting - but you get the idea of how this looks. On the opposite side of the wall this made room for a nook for the new vanity (not yet installed)

Although in the hallway it doesn't feel (or look like) much space was given to the washroom - While you stand you in the washroom it feels quite the opposite - You realize that a lot of room was taken from the hall. In this nook our vanity will fit - giving us more floor space. It's not much - but every inch counts. I'll explain more about this nook later, when we have more pieces of that puzzle put in place.

Aubrey finished installing the tile and grouted the walls last night. I may have done a jig when I saw it - It was *exactly* as I had hoped it would look. Like a fancy hotel bathroom. It feels clean, clutter free and well - clean.

 The bathroom floor has yet to be grouted but will also have white grout lines.

New pot lights. I looooooove pot lights.

The bathroom is feeling larger, cleaner and brighter than our old washroom did. I'm really happy with our choices so far. We still have a few steps (as you can see) including me picking a wall colour (likely white) but I thought these pictures may be fun to post. We're also changing up our toilet. We had installed a new one a few years ago but because of budget got a really inexpensive one. We didn't love it, it ran all the time, and so we've decided to do the same toilet as in the basement, the Kohler's Memoir that I think is so pretty.

Baby steps!

Read more about the tile we picked in this post. / Floor hexagon 2" tiles

SOLDES -50%!

Les SOLDES D'ETE ont commencé dans le shop avec -50% sur une sélection d'articles! Vite, vite...
(cliquer sur l'image pour voir tous les produits soldés)

SUMMER SALES have started in the shop with 50% off selected items! Hurry, hurry... 
(click on the image to see all products on sale)

cookbook recommendation

Cookbook recommendation! My Mom made me home made pasta for my birthday and revealed that it came from one of her favourite cookbooks. Sharing the Table by Amanda Stine and Mary Garland. Amazing. Also available at Amazon.com

OSB

Cet appartement de 29 m2 est en fait situé en Pologne, même si le style fait bien scandinave. J'aime beaucoup comment l'architecte a utilisé des panneaux OSB pour aménager et optimiser l'espace, qui pourtant reste lumineux et spacieux malgré le nombre de m2 limité.

This 29 sqm flat is actually located in Poland, although the style looks very Scandinavian. I really like how the architect has used OSB board to structure and optimize the space, which still feels light and spacious despite the limited number of sqm.

Architect: Ewa Czerny, 3XA / Photo: S.Zajaczkowski

 ArchDaily via Scandinavian Retreat

The DIY'ers!

It's time again to show off your latest DIY project! Welcome to The DIY'ers!

Last week I fell in love with these three DIY projects. I especially love the Rainbow Party because we'll be hosting a Pride Weekend lunch at our house before the big weekend's festivities start with our family & friends! (Faith, don't be surprised if I copy everything from your lovely party!)

Faith from Pike's Place threw a Rainbow themed birthday party

Alex from Happy, Healthy & Domestic shared how to make American Flag decor from an old pallet

Debbie from One Day at a Time shows this great Pottery Barn knock-off!

And now it's your turn!

<a href="http://homecomingmn.blogspot.com/search/label/The%20DIY%27ers" target="_blank" title="Running on Happiness"><img src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8096/8492982155_c22507aecc_t.jpg" width="100" height="100" alt="The DIY'ers" /></a> />

The Rules? They're simple!

1. Take a picture of your DIY and link it up below. 
2. Text link back to Home Coming or pick up The DIY'ers button from the left sidebar and include it in your post so others can get involved in The DIY'ers.
3. Become a follower of Home Coming. I'd love to have you! 

Quick and Dirty Tips for Plant Containers

It's not a rule that plants have to go in traditional planters. 
I found this basket for my zinnias at Salvation Army for 59 cents.  

Let’s bust up some myths about container planting. Let’s make the containers themselves interesting and fun.

I know I’m forever telling you home sellers to stifle your decorating personality when you’re staging your home. 

But I’m loosening the rules for outside decor. Outside, the colors can be brighter, the mood a little quirkier, the message more personal.

I’m not suggesting you plant a toilet with petunias for the front yard, but containers for summer plants and flowers can be attention-getting in a good way – the way that helps sell your home. Here are some examples.

The basket above will be good for a season or two, but these metal planters will give you
years of service. If they aren't originally designed for plants, you'll need to punch holes
for drainage, or insert plastic pots and then make sure the pots don't sit in water.
These plants sit near my front door under the eves, where they won't get waterlogged. 

Here is another of my favorite metal planters -- an old copper tea pot.
If you use metal containers for plants, it's best to keep them out of
direct sun so the roots don't overheat and cook your plants.  

An old wheelbarrow with a leaky tub makes a perfect planter.
I keep mine in the middle of my Scent Garden, where I can move it
when the man comes to fill the propane tank that I don't like looking at.
Do you have an eyesore that a planter can disguise?  

Upcycled boots are roomy enough for different plants. Succulents are a good choice
because they have shallow roots and are not demanding. Drainage is usually sufficient, and
just look at all the personality they can give a small garden space! Photo: Lushome. 

If the boot you are planting is rubber like this one, add holes to the sole.
Details like this in the garden are like your accessories indoors.
They can cause people to slow down and appreciate your home. 

Although technically not a container, this hanging basket stuffed with
Spanish moss is as good as a container of flowers for all the
interest it adds to my friend's garden .
Yes, she lives in an old church.  

You don't need an old, rusty, clunker bike to stage it as a planter.
Any bike, any size, any style will do as long as it has a roomy basket,
which you can line with landscape fabric or cocoa fiber matting. 
Make sure the bike is secured so no one pedals it away.
because it will be irresistible. Photo: David Spencer.

Container plants offer so many advantages to the home seller that they can't be ignored or omitted if you want to get smart about selling your home.   

I hope I have sparked some ideas that will have you hunting for original planters for your summer

flowers. If you look around you will see other possibilities suitable for your locale and your 

home -- shells, wooden buckets, watering cans, or chairs with missing seats. Please pass on the

bed frames, old tires, bath tubs, and Volkswagons. I'm not kidding. Volkswagons.    

For more ideas on how to stage your home, download my $5 eBook, DIY Home Staging Tips

to Sell Your Home Fast and for Top Dollar.  

Bloggers Universe Copenhagen - &tradition

Nous ne connaissions pas le programme à l'avance pour notre Design Trade blog tour à Copenhague, du coup, chaque visite était une belle surprise. La rencontre avec &tradition dans le studio de Norm Architects par exemple, était une surprise très sympa, tout comme le challenge stylisme qu'ils nous ont lancé (voir ci-dessous)!
On a aussi passé un moment inspirant avec la styliste Stine Langvad qui nous a expliqué comment elle travaille, et avec le photographe Rune Lundø qui a photographié notre travail.

&tradition est un éditeur design relativement jeune, fondé en 2010 par Martin Kornbek Hansen. Clairement influencé par l'héritage nordique, &tradition relie la tradition à l'innovation. Leur collection comprend des classiques du design tel que la lampe Flowerpot, créé par Verner Panton en 1969, mais aussi des futures icônes design comme le tabouret Raft ou la lampe Milk de Norm.

We didn't know the program in advance for our Design Trade blog tour in Copenhagen, so every visit was a great surprise. Meeting with &tradition in Norm Architects' studio for example, was a very nice surprise, just like the styling challenge they gave us (see below)!
We also spent an inspiring moment with stylist Stine Langvad who talked about how she works, and with photographer Rune Lundø who shot our work.

&tradition is a fairly young design company, founded in 2010 by Martin Kornbek Hansen. Clearly influenced by the Nordic heritage, &tradition connects tradition with innovation. Their collection includes design classics like the Flowerpot lamp, designed by Verner Panton in 1969, as well as future design icons like the Raft stool or the Milk lamp by Norm.

Styling Anna Gustafsson / La Maison d'Anna G.

Notre challenge consistait à mettre en scène quelques produits de la collection &tradition, juste en s'aidant de ce que l'on pouvait trouver comme accessoires dans le studio... J'ai choisi la lampe Flowerpot en gris mat (j'adore!) et le tabouret Raft en noir, un autre favoris. Résultat ci-dessus!

Et ci-dessous vous pouvez voir ce que mes camarades bloggeurs ont réalisé!

Our challenge was to style a few products from the &tradition collection, just using whatever we could find as props in the studio... I chose the Flowerpot lamp in mat grey (love it!) and the Raft stool in black, another favourite. Result above!

And below you can see what my fellow bloggers came up with!

Styling Nina Holst / Stylizimo

Styling Gerard McGuickin / Walnut Grey Design

Styling Desiree Groenendal / Vosgesparis

Styling Emma Fexeus / Emmas designblogg 

Styling Igor Josif / Happy Interior Blog

Styling Agata Ziolkiewicz / I like design

 Styling Allan Torp / Bungalow5

(... organiser un blog tour peut s'avérer extrêmement épuisant...

... organising a blog tour can be extremely exhausting...)

All photos by Rune Lundø

front landscaping

Our front porch planters that I've blogger about here and here didn't make it through this season. So sad. :( The metal rusted and dirt started spilling out the bottom earlier this week.  When I was at Lowes this week  I spotted these plastic planters that were gooooorgeous. They don't look like plastic at all. They were $88 each - which depending on how you look at it could be ridiculously expensive, or, a great deal. As I told Aubrey - similar styled planters would run a few hundred at places like Restoration Hardware. Granted - you may be able to find less expensive ones elsewhere but I have yet to see any that looked this good and were of this quality for any less than what we spent.

In other landscaping news, I've put on hold my intentions to tear up my front lawn. Truthfully - I don't really have it in me to do the labour, and I'm not overly confident that my initial design idea was right. I'm now considering maybe 1 tall tree and a boulder of some sort. But I think on the list of priorities this is pretty low.

And lastly - Our front deck needs replacing .... badly. As you can see above it is carpeted and also has no railings. It's a bit of a safety concern for me with Oscar - as I worry he'll fall off. But design wise, I think our home would look beautiful with a railing. It's not a project that is totally in vain - the deck has developed some soft spots and does need addressing over the next year...

Anyhow, my real intention of this post was to rave about my new planters. :) Have a great weekend - Sunday is my birthday. Wheeee!! ;)

In other news -- thank you for "liking" me on facebook. I've also made my Instagram feed public which you may have noticed on the sidebar of my blog if you visit my actual blog to read my posts. I'm still trying to find balance with my concerns with over-sharing and on the other side of things - my love of technology and photography. So hopefully I'll balance it well. xo

50% off calling cards

If you're on my shop's e-mail list you would have heard that I brought back calling cards to my shop and about the crazy sale of 50% off that ran all last week. My calling cards been absent from my shop for almost a year while I searched for the perfect paper for the cards - so to celebrate their return we hosted a pretty awesome sale. Since it was so popular of a sale (and because a lot of the orders we did last week were for bloggers) I thought you may like to see the new designs and take advantage of the pretty crazy savings too. The sale have been extended until Friday - be sure to enter SAVE50 in the checkout and get 50% off the calling cards.  xo Lindsay

Styrmansgatan 57

Joli petit appartement à Stockholm avec tous les "bons" détails: du marbre, du laiton, des chaises Wishbone, des posters Sennerholt/Warhol/New York, des succulents... ;)
En vente ici, via seventeendoors.

Nice little flat in Stockholm with all the "right" details: marble, brass, Wishbone chairs, Sennerholt/Warhol/New York prints, succulents... ;)
For sale here, found via seventeendoors.

Source Per Jansson Fastighetsförmedling