Posted by Cobi on Monday August 31, 2009 at 06:00 AM
cobi's house •
garden •
summer •
Comments (5)
Just to prove that those of us who love to decorate, can do it just about anywhere…
One of the cutest things I did this summer to satiate the decorating bug that looms inside of me was to put a seldom used (ok, I admit it, never used) silver exercise ball in the pool. Yup. That’s it. Just put it in and let it do the work. My kind of exercise! It floats around and gives my eye great delight each time I look out, creating different views and pictures.
I guess it’s the scale of the ball and the colour - which blends with the stone - that makes it so pleasing.
Anyway, I know it’s a bit of a goofy idea but that’s what I love about blogs - you can be goofy! So it you have a big rubber ball hanging around your basement, try floating it around in your pool instead. At least you can say it’s being used!!
ps. This idea doesn’t work if your pool has a bunch of noodles and water guns hanging around the edge - they ruin the aesthetic. You’ll have to clean them up first for this idea to work(good motivation). Enjoy the last week of summer!! arg.
Posted by Cobi on Monday August 24, 2009 at 05:59 AM
cobi's house •
colour •
decorating •
Comments (8)
14 years of use and abuse….it was time for a new sofa.
Let me just say, I believe in buying furniture that lasts and 14 years is probably not that long in terms of the life of a ‘good’ sofa. I know, because I have one upstairs that my mother bought in the 70’s and short of being reupholstered, it’s in great condition.
But our sofa was bought from a trendy store in the 90’s and it’s main attribute at the time was the oversized styling and denim fabric that was all the rage rather than it’s springs and coils. Suffice to say, after a few years, I started to wonder if it had any.
Anyway, we lived with (and on) it through babies, 2 houses, new slip covers, sick days home from school, 2 dogs, movie nights, tv dinners, the whole gamut and to be honest, it owed us nothing when we put it by the curb and watched a couple in a truck drive off with it a few minutes later destined for cottage country.
The funny party of the story is what I bought. I definitely wanted a well constructed sofa this time - I guess I’ve grown too old to tolerate style without substance - and so I headed for a tried and true brand, one that’s made right here in Canada, where I can actually stand and watch each coil being tied if I want.
I knew I didn’t have the time or the cash to redecorate my whole living room (plus, I like it!) and so I needed something that would work with the carpet and paisley wing chairs and my beloved kilim covered ottoman. I considered leather for its practicality and I do think a well styled, chocolate brown leather sofa is a classic in any room, but it just doesn’t have the ‘cozy factor’ that I know my kids loved about ‘ol’ red’.
I headed to Barrymore Furniture in Toronto and chose the style within a few minutes. Neater and tidier than 14 years ago, but stuffed with premium fill that sinks when you sit down and has enough body to come back up when you get up (they call it ‘memory’) and most important of all, long enough for a tall person’s afternoon nap.
The other thing I loved about this sofa was the 3 cushions in the back. I had them upholstered in a beautiful woven pattern but they can be done in a solid like the rest of the piece. Because this sofa has a lot of depth, they work perfectly if a non-tall person sits down and needs more back support. They can also be put on the ends if you want to lay down, but look neatly lined up when the sofa isn’t in use. Brilliant.
Anyway, after going through the racks and racks of gorgeous fabric samples, yes, I decided to upholster the sofa in a durable (it will take 78,000 rubs before it shows!) garnet red almost identical to the last one. I guess I’m just destined to have a red sofa. It reminded me of a woman I knew who decided to buy a new sofa after 20 years or something and shopped and shopped and finally decided on the same chintz that was on her old one. The sales people at Barrymore tell me it isn’t that unusual for people to do - who knew? I guess some of us just really know what we like.
What I love about a red sofa is that it’s solid looking but not too dark. It hides the dirt. It works with lots of other colours. It looks great in the winter (and we don’t use the living room much in the summer). And best of all, I can leave my floor and walls neutral and the room still has personality, which I think is the key to happy decorating.
Anyway, our friends and family likely won’t even notice the sofa had changed - they just won’t sink to the floor when they sit in it the way they used to! The most important thing is that it passed the kid test - they were skeptical I could find anything as comfortable as ol’ red. And as you can see by the picture, the dog gave it two paws up too.
For those interested, here are the deets on my new sofa:
Sofa style:
Barrymore’s own Broadway Collection style #2722 with Feather Delux fill and spike legs in Dark Walnut finish.
Fabrics:
Kravet (26761-9) Ribbed Ott: Venetian Red
Robert Allen Kaleko Inn - Cashew
ol’ red
new red
Posted by Cobi on Monday August 17, 2009 at 06:00 AM
cottage •
craft •
summer •
Comments (9)
I know not everyone has an old lobster trap kicking around waiting to be used for a project, but this worked out so well, I had to share it with you. And who knows, maybe some of my East Coast friends can use the idea?
On this years summer holiday at our cottage in PEI, Bob and I had to make a trip to the dump where there was a large pile of wood refuse, and being the island, a good part of it was made up of lobster traps and parts there of.
Surprisingly Bob and I both spied the same beautiful piece in particular that was just the simple arched frame, with no netting left on it and weathered to a perfect grey. My agreeable husband kindly climbed the pile and grabbed it for me - they’re heavier than you’d think! - and as we threw it in the van, we agreed we’d do something with it, although we weren’t sure what.
By the time we got home, I knew what. Bob screwed it to the side of our outdoor shower - it happened to fit the shower frame perfectly and we had a great towel rack up within 10 minutes (and no arguing!). It would also work vertically but the support wasn’t as good in our situation, it might be in another.
Anyway, it works like a charm and was easy peasy lemon squeezy to install - as easy as squeezin’ lemon on a lobster, by!
Oh, another little tip that even non-islanders can use: 2 years ago we painted the aluminum siding of our cottage gray to match the colour of the weathered decking, spindles and lattice around the place. It’s made the cottage look so much more cohesive (the odds and sods and bits that don’t line up blend in now) and we just use white trim on things that we do want to highlight like the screen doors. It’s a great idea if you have weathered wood on portions of your home or cottage that you don’t want to paint or stain (ie. maintain) - paint the other parts of the building to match!
After going through tons of grays and trying to match one to a broken spindle that I carried around in my purse, the best colour match was SICO “sketch” #6206-31 and the product my painter used for the aluminum siding is latex 811 Velvet. It goes on beautifully and stays on great (touch wood - or rather, aluminum 
).
Posted by Cobi on Monday August 10, 2009 at 06:00 AM
colour •
decorating •
nature •
spring •
Comments (7)
I had a lucky find on one of my morning dog walks this spring. A perfect (empty) robin’s egg was lying in a ditch - the colour is truly glorious! I gingerly carried it home admiring the colour and telling Hito how unusual and exciting it was to find one. (If anyone knows why robin’s eggs are coloured this way, please e-mail and tell us - I’m curious).
Anyway, as I lay it in a lovely little bird’s nest I found on a previous walk I had an idea…
Many of us have a romantic notion to paint something ‘robins egg blue’ at some point - but who has an egg laying around when you need one? So why not use this egg as a sample to match paint colours so that we can all have a list tucked away for the time when we need it, and so that’s what I’ve done. Keep this list in your ‘decorating’ folder on your computer (you do have one, right?) for when you need it in future.
I took the delicate egg with me to Home Depot, Canadian Tire, independent paint stores and did an initial gathering of colour samples - unfortunately it got crushed a little at a stop light (long story). Anyway, I then weeded out the colours in better light at home and came up with a list of matches. Two lists really - light versions of the colour, and intense, deeper versions. When it’s time to do your project, think about how you envision it: light and airy or rich and saturated. This colour looks amazing either way, it just depends on what look you’re trying to achieve.
I suppose different robin’s eggs would be different colours, this egg is an intense, deep colour that’s more green than blue and very complex (trust mother nature to make something too beautiful to duplicate). It’s almost ‘dirty’ in its complexity and no, it isn’t the mud from the ditch but at least this will give us a guide in future for the gorgeous blue/green colour that’s so perfect in many applications: baby’s rooms, children’s rooms, kitchens, bathrooms, porch ceilings, cottage floors, country furniture…I even have it on my kitchen ceiling and love it.
Cobi’s True Robin’s Egg Blue - Light and Airy:
Sico
Saltspring Grey 6161-31 (pretty, soft, light green)
Movie Star 6148-31 (clear, light, bright, quite green)
Sherwin Williams
Aquatint SW 6936 (nice, light blue with hint of green)
Waterfall SW 6750 (lovely fresh, light colour)
Refresh SW 6751 (medium, green version, nice)
Aquaduct SW 6758 (medium, more blue version, also nice)
CIL/ICI/Glidden
Vivid Lake 70GG 74/120 (nice and light, a bit minty)
Island Aqua 70GG 67/184 (medium tone, clear, maybe too bright)
Behr
Balmy Seas 490C-3 (pretty, light soft, version)
Para
It’s a Steal P5021-24 (clear, very light, nice tone)
Splurged Again P5021-34 (a very close match to egg but more clear)
Tea Cups P5108-24 (gorgeous, light colour, love this one)
Drop Zone P5108-34 (seriously gorgeous medium colour, bright but not too)
Benjamin Moore
Soft mint 2041-60 (pretty, soft and light, but yes, minty)
Sea mist green 2041-50 (beautiful soft medium tone)
Cobi’s True Robin’s Egg Blue - Rich and Intense:
Sico
Baffin Island Grey 6161-52 (beautiful, dark, greyed out shade)
Antibes Blue 6148-42 (clear, dark, nice green)
CIL/ICI/Glidden
Duck Egg Blue 70GG 59/225 (very clear, bright colour but nice)
Behr
Jamaica Bay 500D-4 (very nice colour, soft medium blue)
Sherwin Williams
Cooled Blue SW 6759 (clear, rich, more green than blue)
Para
Splash Mountain P5108-52 (dark, gorgeous colour)
Ralph Lauren
Island Brights Aged Mint IB77 (beautiful deep bluey grey)
Sunwashed Blue IB82 (intense bright green/blue)
Benjamin Moore
Historical colours Covington blue HC-138 (Stunning greyed blue)
Winner of the ‘Overall Best Match’ to this little Egg of Wonder:
Sico
Anticosti Grey 6161-41 (Perfect!!)
