Magazine Storage

Hi my name is Sharon and I hoard collect magazines.  I was going thru a pile today thinking I should get rid of some, then I remembered that I had this metal egg crate.

It usually sits outside in the summer, upside down with a potted geranium on top, but I just brought it in so it wouldn't completely rust away during the winter.   It is the perfect size for magazines.   I put it in the guest room, added a piece of foam core to the bottom so the magazines don't get permanent rung marks and stacked two years worth of Canadian House and Home in it.   Look at how much space is left ... I can hoard  save tons more! 

If you were staying in my guest room, wouldn't you like to have magazines to thumb through?

Happy Halloween!!

Architectural Interest

This is what I purchased at the Christie Antique Show in September.

I've been wanting to change the knobs on my front hall closet for a while, but couldn't find anything that moved me.   Then I saw these ... not at all what I had thought I wanted.

Old Door Knobs:

 Not inspiring to say the least!

So I put a fresh coat of paint on the doors, removed the uninspiring knobs and add my touch of history.

Love, love, love them.

A small thing, but a bit more architectural character.

Let there be (halogen) light!

My electrician came back and installed the halogen track lighting in the kitchen.   I LOVE it!   It completely updates the kitchen.
BEFORE:

AFTER:

P.S.   I painted the ceiling the night before the installation.  There was some repair work where the old flourescent lights and drop panels were removed.

Harvest Antiques

On Sunday, I went out to Oshawa to Chris' Open House (Just Beachy).  

After I went thru her amazing house and had a visit, she suggested that I go to Harvest Antiques about a mile away.

It was three barns full of amazing furniture.

I really want an old buffet for my kitchen.

Most was in the original wooden finish, but they had some painted also.

A great side trip!

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!

It is Thanksgiving in Canada this weekend.   Hope you have a great long weekend.   Enjoy the fabulous, warm weather, time with your family and good food.

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!

Halogen ... Yes or No?

Ever since I moved into this house I have wanted to take down the drop, flourescent lighting in my kitchen.  Finally, I purchased some track lighting and arranged for the electrician to come and do the switch.
I started with this:

and quickly moved on to this:

At that point everything stopped.   There was no electrical box in the ceiling, just wires sticking out and the electrician hadn't brought a box with him!   He then took the track lighting out of the box to look at it and said he didn't think halogen was a good choice because it gets too hot!  He suggested that I get LED track, but said there wasn't a lot of choices in that yet.   He also said that halogen pot lights would be too hot here!  His second suggestion was a light fixture with incandescent blubs!

(a lot of !!s, but that is how this conversation made me feel!)

So now I have wires hanging from my ceiling. I took the lights back last night and couldn't find an alternate.  This weekend is a hunting trip for lighting.

On the upside, I did have him change the light in the powder room from this:

to this:

SO ... QUESTION?

Do you have halogen?    Is it too hot with 8 foot ceilings?

.

UPDATE

I went to a good lighting store last night and the owner suggested that I go with the halogen lights I had purchased and as the LED bulbs improve, that I retrofit them. He said they were too weak and expensive at the moment, but improve every couple months .... so I think that is what I will do.  Now I just have to call the electrician back!