We're on TV again!!

Kendall's Room is the feature story on Channel 3's website - http://www.channel3news.ca/

It should be up for a day or so.

Kendall's Room: Quick Project Update

The project is moving along really well - in addition to our previous donations, Walmart has provided us with a gift card so we can get new bedding, pictures, etc. We've managed to get a few cash donations as well which will be realllly helpful in putting the finishing touches on the room!

We're being interviewed by Eastlink News tomorrow afternoon (time to clean the house again!) so hopefully that will help publicize the project even more and get the last needed donations.

We've come up with some great ideas so I'm really looking forward to pulling everything together next month!

More Uses For A Picture Frame

Here are a few more things you can do with the picture frames you find around the house:

1. A small frame makes an easy key holder for the entryway. Remove the glass, frame a small piece of fabric, add a couple of cup hooks, and you have a cute place to hang your keys:

2. Similar to the key holder but with larger hooks (I used a cabinet knob for this example), a frame can become a place to hang jewelry. This one is missing the other knob (it was getting late and I was tired of frames at this point!) but gives you the idea:

You can also turn a larger frame into a simple tray by adding cabinet handles to the 2 short ends.

See yesterday's post here for 2 more ideas!

2 Uses For A Picture Frame

For some reason I always seem to have a lot of picture frames floating around, and I've noticed most of my clients do, too. Here are 2 super simple ideas for projects you can do with a picture frame and some fabric:

1. Frame a pretty piece of fabric (take out the glass first), and you have a quick bulletin board:

2. Frame a piece of fabric, this time leaving the glass in. Grab a dry-erase marker and you have a great whiteboard for messages (I tried a few different fabrics and found that this ultrasuede worked best - too much pattern interfered with the message):

Check in later for 2 more frame ideas!

Laundry Room Project - In Progress

One of my current projects is a laundry room. The client was tired of the old black & white wallpaper and didn't like the almond washer & dryer (but replacing them wasn't in the budget) - the white in the room really made the non-white appliances stand out,

and not in a good way :)

She wanted something "more fun" (and also wanted a way to use up the rest of a gallon of BM's kittery point green).

There are still a few more things to finish up, but I think it's coming along nicely!

12 Ways to Use an Armoire

1. Laundry Station: A space for folding laundry as well as storage for detergent, fabric softener, and laundry supplies. You can even attach hooks on the outside and hang your folded up ironing board.

2. Gift Wrapping Centre: A flat surface for wrapping gifts and plenty of storage space for supplies - gift bags, kraft paper, tape, scissors, and greeting cards. Install long dowels on the back wall to hold your rolls of wrapping paper and ribbon. A birthday calendar on the inside of the door helps make sure you don't forget any special events.

3. Entertainment Centre: An excellent way to hide the TV, DVD player, video games, stereo, and their less-than-pretty wires.

4. Microwave Cart: In the kitchen, an armoire can hold your microwave, freeing up counter space. You can use the shelves and drawers for anything from cookbooks and tablecloths to mixing bowls and baking needs. Paint the inside of one of the doors with chalkboard paint and you have space for a quick grocery list as well.

5. Home Office: If you're short on space, an armoire can make an excellent home office – you get a work surface as well as storage for office files, supplies and paperwork.

6. Bathroom Vanity: If you have the space in your bathroom, an armoire with a mirror installed on the inside makes a great vanity – and the drawers are perfect for stashing towels, toiletries and cosmetics.

7. Bar: Perfect for mixing drinks and storing bar supplies – bottles, cocktail napkins, and garnishes. Screw a slotted rack into the top shelf for hanging stemware.

8. Baby Changing Station: Makes a great hide-away change table with plenty of storage space for diapers and accessories.

9. Linen Closet: If you don't have a linen closet, an armoire is a great place to store bedding and towels.

10. Jewelry Box: Have a lot of jewelry and accessories? Mount small hooks in rows along the inside walls for a great way to store necklaces and earrings. Scarves, rings, and hair accessories can all be kept in small baskets on the shelves or in the drawers.

11. Gardening station: Store your gardening pots, seeds and soil, and use the flat surface for potting and tending to plants.

12. Craft Station: A great place to store craft supplies with a flat surface for working on projects – scrapbooking, stamping, beading, cardmaking and more. Everything is within reach when you need it, yet easily hidden away when you're done.

Can you think of any other uses?

Awesome Project Update!!

We're going to be on TV tonight!!

CTV news is covering the room makeover project - we were interviewed this afternoon and it should air tonight at 6 (cross your fingers that no bigger stories come up to bump us!!).

Donation-wise, the project is coming along well - Timmins Decorating Centre is contributing the paint, and Home Depot is providing us with a closet organizing system, the wood to build my top-secret craft station, and new carpet. Some of the nurses at the local hospital have donated money to purchase craft supplies as well.

I can't wait until September when we put the room together!

Quick & Easy Bathroom Makeover

The main issue with this small bathroom: the client hated their bland colour scheme. Throw in a floor with pink undertones and a way-too-orange vanity, and the result is less than pretty. As the home's only bathroom it's always used by visitors, which made the homeowner cringe...she wanted a prettier room that wouldn't have her afraid to offer drinks to houseguests!

The solution? We started with a gorgeous shower curtain (Martha Stewart), then drew our other colours from that. Walls were painted a much more interesting red (Benjamin Moore's hot apple spice) and the vanity was painted out in davenport tan (now it's no longer the first thing your eye goes to when you walk into the room). The plain mirror was updated with wood trim - also painted davenport tan.

The result is a room the homeowner loves - done quickly and easily on a budget!

We made the newspaper!

The local newspaper ran an article about our project today!

A new bedroom for Kendall

When Designers Unlimited first formed, it was simply a place where women who own their own businesses could network and learn from each other.

Today, the group of seven local business women is putting its efforts into a very worthy cause.

A couple of years ago, the group redesigned a waiting room in the critical care unit at Timmins and District Hospital. Wanting to recreate that effort, the group poured its expertise in home design and art into the room of one special little girl.

Last year, seven-year-old Kendall Fountain's life changed forever when she was diagnosed with craniopharyngioma, a slow-growing benign tumour in the central part of her brain.

After contacting the Canadian Cancer Society, Designers Unlimited was informed of the little Timmins girl who was spending a lot of her time in a hospital being tested and treated for her illness.

Knowing that Kendall will be going through difficult times as she battles her illness, the group decided to try and brighten up a small portion of her life -- her bedroom.

After meeting with Kendall and learning her likes and dislikes, group member Heather Cote of Stylish Solutions put her skills to task and already has a design in mind.

"I know her favourite colour is pink and that she wants an area to do crafts and puzzles without the cat walking all over it," Cote said. "We want this to be a special place for her in which to recuperate and relax."

Kendall's mother, Carmen Fountain, said her daughter will soon be going into treatment. Carmen is looking forward to her daughter being able to enjoy her new room.

"It'll be nice for her to come home to the new room," Fountain said.

But Kendall will be just the first to receive a room makeover.

Cote said the group hopes to renovate a room every year for a child in Timmins with a serious illness.

At no cost to the parents, the group will come up with a design and do the work, while depending on local businesses to donate the needed items, such as paint, fabrics and bed clothing.

"We can't fix what's wrong, but we can do something to make them feel better while they are going through their ordeal," Cote said. "These kids are sick and we want to treat them to a nice place to play that's their own outside the hospital."

The children will be able to talk to the designers to ensure that the room truly becomes the dream room they've always wanted.

Cote started Designers Unlimited when she first moved back to Timmins and was working to start up her own business. Since then, graphic designer Denise DeForge, portrait artist Elaine McCurdie, photographer Julie Regimbal, window treatment and bedding creator Renee Bellavance, professional home cleaner Tina Green and Lisa Bryce, who specializes in event stationary and giftware and digital scrapbooking and genealogy, have joined.

"It started out with those in home decor, but we've expanded to include any woman in business," Cote said. "Still, everything pretty much compliments each other."

While work on Kendall's room is currently underway, the actual makeover is set to take place in September.

Quick Painting Tips

As much as I love choosing colours, I really dislike painting. I end up with paint in my hair, on my clothes, in the middle of the ceiling...

Here are a few painting tips to help the job go more smoothly:

When you remove your outlet covers and light switch covers for painting, tape the screws to the backs of the covers so you don’t have to look for them when you’re ready to put them back on.

Alternatively, you can use Ziploc storage bags - just put each switch plate and its screws into a small Ziploc bag, marking its location on the bag. (This also works well for curtain hardware.)

When painting a room, if you don't finish all in one day, just cover your roller with a tightly wrapped plastic bag or saran wrap, and put it in the fridge. When you take it out the next day it will still be wet and ready to go.