Orange Dream

Last night while I was yapping Hubby's ear off about all the little tweets and artwork ideas I have for the house (this is my form of pregnancy nesting. Not folding baby clothes, but by thinking 'we really need a big horse canvas in the dining room') I showed him an orange Hermes print that I was hoping to hang in the entry area. He gave me a thumbs up, and I said thank you since 'I know you don't really like orange'. He replied 'I like orange!' Oh. WELL then - this changes everything!

I started searching photos I had pinned on Pinterest with orange accents - then I realised I, like, totally did that already. In September 2010. Well, I guess I still like it! Here are a few other orange photos that I am finding particularly charming right now

But which room do I put this hit of orange?

TV Hutch Makeover

I recently did a little TV hutch makeover. I love our TV hutch, but I found the two glass panels on the sides were showing all of our movies and gaming systems. You can't make that look tidy.



So I decided to line the backs of them with scrapbooking paper. This way I could hide the mess, get some extra interest into the piece, and it would be cheap and easy if I wanted to switch it out in the future.

Handy dandy scrapbooking paper pad

I selected two patterns that I liked

And opted for the one on the left, as it goes better with the tone of the wood


I cut the paper to size, and taped it to the glass from the back


And it turned out lovely!

And it still looks this great! I'm surprised how well it's held up, and now couldn't imagine it without the paper detail. The bonus? A friend pointed it out sayin that was such a neat feature and asked me where I got the TV hutch. Score.

Simple, cheap redos on furniture - now that's what MorganDesignInc stands for! Have you ever done a mini-project like this before? How did it turn out? Is your stock of scrapbooking paper embarasingly large as well? Or are you actually cool.

Cushion for My...well... Cushion

Today I whipped up a cute cushion for the nursery - a small round cushion (with handle) for Hubby and I to use when we play with Bean on the floor. 1 yard of fabric, 2 packs of premade piping, and some hand stitching was all it took for this little number. Well worth it for a comfy cushion for our cushions.

Nursery Fun

I worked on the nursery a bit this weekend, and finally got the nursery painted. I painted it a few weeks ago with left over paint - but do to my less-than-perfect paint mixing, the room left something to be desired. Hubby told me to cave and just buy a can of paint in a colour I actually wanted, and I decided he was right and $25 wasn't the end of the world. Here is the finally product once I was finished painting Saturday night:



I used GeneralPaint's "TanWrap (CL2791W)" and am very happy with the result. A simple, light beige, just what I wanted. With all the fancy patterned fabrics I'm using, I figured that a neutral backdrop was needed to showcase them.

Also this weekend, I decided to start tackling the wingback chair redo. While I did already re upholster the seat cushion, I have been procrastinating the start of the main chair redo. Why? Because I know it will be hard, frustrating, and I am much happier ignoring it and sewing drapes instead.




I started the demo of the existing upholstery, and this was the scene 30 minutes into the demo. This may take a while longer than I thought...

My Actual Dream House

I will admit I am an avid MLS stalker. That, and notorious for dreaming big. Put that together, and you have one frustrated hubby! Hubby and I love CasaMorgan, and are quite happy to stay there forever, but it is fun to dream.

There is one house in this world that I will always dream about though: Ardmore Hall. Because of a close friend, I had the opportunity once to tour the house, and let me just say that it is more amazing than you can imagine. Hubby and I were in awe of the millions of little details of this house and property, and the whimsy of these details makes it a truly special. When Hubby and I got home from viewing it that night, I started to ball my eyes out. When Hubby asked me what was wrong, and sniffled "Our house is such a dump!" Haha.



Here is the scene as you drive threw the iron gates and down the cobblestone driveway


And the view as you arrive to the front of the house. To the right side is a 3 car garage with lift system, so that 6 cars can be stored at once. The floors of the garage are carrara marble. There for - the garage is nicer than my house.



The pool house, complete with work out equipment, marble bathroom and it's own tanning bed. And the infinity pool, which is not only breath taking, but actually makes wine taste better.


The family room: comfortable yet still so elegant


The formal dining room: the bold choice of wall paper in this room is amazing in person and makes such a statement


Living room: I am still obsessed with the peacock fireplace screen


Living room: another view of this large entertaining space


Powder room near the front entry: amazing fixtures in this room. The sink is actually made of solid gold. Actually.


Front entry and staircase to upstairs: the banister was unreal, and the curved wall details make my heart flutter.


Master ensuite bathroom: the beautiful rain shower and striped walls almost distracted me from the unbelievable view of the ocean


The study: by far my favorite room in the whole house. The rich masculinity of this room was only out staged by my favorite feature: the platform up top that looked down on this area. The platform is lined with bookcases, and just reminds me so much of the old fashion castle libraries.


The view of the beautiful back yard landscaping and boardwalk


A more detailed view of the back of the house: perfectly landscaped, flawless walk ways, and finishes that I will copy on my house as much as possible.

It is always good to dream big.

Picnic Chic

With all this cold snowy weather, and being trapped in the house way too much lately (see here for photos of my cabin fever), I have been dreaming of lush grassy back yards and my big plans for our yard this summer.

One idea I have been toying with forever is a picnic table. We already have a dining patio set which we eat at, but maybe a picnic table in the far corner of the yard would be fun! I'm picturing hanging out there with the kids doing outdoor crafts (Read: messy glitter or paint ones. Read: as far away from my dining room drapes as possible.) Or hosting fun formal 'under-the-lantern-skies' dinners. And while I wonder if we would actually use it, I'm starting to care less and less, and get inspired by these photos.


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What do you think of picnic tables? Do you think I'm silly? Do you know I'm silly, and still think it's a fun idea? Think Hubby will go for it?

Annual Snow Day!

Have I really not posted yet this month? What a crappy blogger I am!

Things have been busy here at CasaMorgan, both with renos and planning for Baby to arrive. I will be off work soon due to maternity health complications, so I'm sure there will be more interesting posts (code: I will be bored out of my mind waiting 2 months for this little Bean to show up).

Also, we finally had our week of snow here on Vancouver Island. It started out like this:



And we woke up the next day to this:







Needless to say, this whole city was shut down yesterday. Rich and I took the oppertunity to enjoy the snow with the pups, catch up on chores, and even made it to the hospital eventually to meet our friend's new little baby boy 'Jaydin' (PS adorable!!)