DIY coat hangers for hallway

In my old apartment I made myself a nifty coat rack from a piece of scrap wood and several odd old hooks I had collected and carried with me since I lived in Montreal. I love the look of the old hooks and thought I should use them and show them off. They are different shapes and sizes so the look is rustic and eclectic. I still want to use them in my new place and plan to put them in my new entrance hallway as soon as I decide if I am going to change the current paint colour.

I found this nifty idea on Design Sponge that I think could bump up the creativity of my existing piece and help me to match the look and colour scheme I decide on for the hall.

Eco Friendly Painting and Staining

I would like to paint my interior soon -particularly my basement where my bedroom is. I must use low VOC paint. I also have some pieces of furniture that I'd like to paint with Milk Paint. I love the look and the Eco factor. Something else that has been on my mind lately is my deck. I noticed some dry rot on some trim under my eaves. This is a concern as there is some dry rot also on the wood panel of the exterior of my house in the same area. Of course this leads me to think about my eves in general. WOW -owning a home kind of spirals into interconnected issues one must keep on top of doesn't it?!

I am fortunate to have some really good options for environmentally friendly options here in Toronto. Here is what I've been investigating recently.

Products

Homestead House Paint Company
http://www.homesteadhouse.ca/

They have a great selection of paints and colours and say they can match any paint colour from any other company. They also have wood stain and protective solutions as well that are non-toxic and environmentally responsible.

Contact:
Telephone: (416)504-9984
Fax: (416)504-9984
95 Niagara Street, Toronto, Ontario M5V-1C3

Services

Element Painters Inc.
http://paintcanadagreen.com/

These people say they specialize in low and no VOC interior and exterior painting services. They also stain and restore decking using Eco friendly methods.

Contact:
647-295-7994 or 416-462-3197
Email: info@elementpainters.com
276 Carlaw Ave Toronto, ON, Canada

Eco Painting
http://www.ecopainting.ca/

This company also claims to focus on environmentally sound painting practices. They do say that they also do deck work, but they do not specifically say that the decking stains and products they use are also environmentally friendly. It appears that they would be. A phone call could confirm this. They have interesting articles on their website and say they can even handle dealing with minor dry rot found in decking without calling another contractor.

Contact:
2100 Ellesmere Road, Suite 201A
Toronto, Ontario M1H 3B7
Tel: (416) 733-7767
Fax: (416) 733-7767
E-mail: contact@ecopainting.ca

Even more daybeds

Okay -so the daybed I liked from West Elm doesn't exist in Canada AND all their daybeds will be discontinued soon. Here is the one they have:


Cost with mattress and cover shown here and tax is: $1589.91. If I want it shipped and assembled that would be an extra $160.00.
This is the Ikea option I have also been thinking about:



It doesn't look like much here, but with a bright coloured throw and some nice pollows I think it might work. This will set you back $499.00 plus tax and around $399.00 for a mattress -$1017.00 including taxes -roughly.

A Look at getting a Gas Fireplace

I find my furnace to be extremely loud! I will post specifically on this issue soon -but this made me think of getting a nice quiet gas fireplace for my main floor. Thinking that I could turn down the furnace and heat with the fireplace in my small upper floor (about 500 square feet). Bonus -it would look pretty too! Some nifty features of the one below are a remote control, temperature settings, works during power outages (my furnace relies on electricity to start), you can set to automatically come on and go off!!! I love it already.

Here is a photo of one that I like:



It seems small enough to fit in my tiny living room along the wall that separates it from the Kitchen. I wonder how much it is, how much it costs to install and if it will affect my home insurance. I also want to investigate how this may impact my layout options.

Toronto Location Details of Seller:

Kastle Fireplace Gas Fireplaces
1960 Ellesmere Road, Unit 1
Scarborough, ON, Canada
M1H 2V9
Telephone: 416-289-0009 or 1-866-330-3315

Hours: Monday to Wednesday, 10:00 AM to 6:00 PM
Thursday, 10:00 AM to 8:00 PM
Friday, 10:00 AM to 6:00 PM
Saturday, 9:00 AM to 4:00 PM

Decorating: Room Planner

Just found this great tool on hgtv.ca.  I am kind of paralyzed with my decorating at the moment. So much I want to do. Where to start? How much can I afford? What big purchases should I make? What do I like? Mainly -where do I start?????

This may help: http://www.hgtv.ca/decorating/roomplanner/.

More daybeds

I found this great article on HGTV.com about Small Space decorating and it had this beautiful daybed from West Elm.



You can find this in Toronto here:


View Larger Map

Toronto - Shops @ King, 109 Atlantic Avenue, Toronto, ON M6K 1E2‎ - (416) 537-0110‎
The American website is: www.westelm.com

A look at daybeds

The front room continues to be completely bare. I need that to be office storage for stuff like my printer, paper, basic files and such. I also want it to be a comfy spare room/creative space. I am thinking of a day bed and perhaps an ottoman.

Inspiration photos for my front room:



I LOVE the half curtains and the curtain panels -nice look.

This Ikea day bed may work for me -it is more affordable than the Hemnes bed. But I like that too. If I get the Meldal day bed I will HAVE to get these baskets for under as well, mind the drawers on the Hemnes are tidier particularly when you have cats that shed a tonne like I do. But there is SUCH a price difference: $499.99 or $129.00 -I can't really ignore it. On top of the bed, there is the mattress expense: $499.00 for a twin, no box spring.