Wednesday, July 22, 2015

The Humble Bungalow Below the stairs...

Greetings from The Humble Bungalow.
I took a very short blog break and I'm back...

In a recent post on wall treatments I showed pictures of the original dark wood interior of our arts and crafts home.
Stephen Andrew mentioned that he'd be tempted to paint the interior of our Humble Bungalow white and I have to admit that if it were up to just me I'd be wielding a white paintbrush.

Architect, Milo S Farwell designed our small home over 100 years ago...
it is a modest, small and very humble abode.
There is a historic value in these wee arts and crafts bungalows and many are being demolished in favour of larger homes. So restoration and preservation, with a nod to the integrity of the period seems appropriate...we updated the kitchen and bathrooms in the style but with new fixtures and appliances.
Our home is on the Heritage Registry which means that it can never be demolished.

We must take care to maintain the home and can apply for grants to help with big projects...
we did this with our roof and plan to apply for a grant to help pay for the painting that it so badly needs.

The interior of the living, and dining rooms of our home have also been designated heritage...
so I would not be permitted to paint them white!
In our basement it's a different matter, we went with white white and more white!!!


The quartz counter top in the laundry area.
Vintage enamel bread tin and colander.


The tools are black and white too...
this duo sports a touch of lime.


The bench by the door with an oar...


The LG washer and dryer are pewter grey and the floor tile is a mottled black.
(my goodness! I spy tan lines from my flip flops)



A basic black bamboo dress hangs to dry.


This hall would be very dark if it was not for the white walls.
You can see the guest room at the end of the hall.


The bathroom has a white tiled floor with black accents.


The bathroom shelf which I purchased at HomeSense.


Vintage mirror that I found on the boulevard...
Someones trash is someones treasure!


I threw in this picture of a black and white pillow that we have on our linen slip covered sofa in the family room.


I bought a new Cut Loose white top at Roche Harbour Resort .
We recently cruised to San Juan Island in Washington State, for a few days aboard our Sea Ray.
(Isla, our darling grand daughter is the artist behind the picture)

BTW grand baby number 3 is due any day now...
I am excited to meet the new little girl.

I'll be putting together a pictorial post of Roche Harbour sometime soon...
it's such a pretty spot and I'd like to share it with you.
In case you didn't know it's a destination for weddings.
Apparently there are over 120 weddings held in the garden every year.
While we were there for 5 days we noted 3 weddings were held in the gardens.
Loved the dreamy white gowns that the brides wore...
one wedding had 4 brides maids and they all wore white gowns and carried bouquets of white roses they looked so elegant...

It's time to relax and brew a pot of tea.


Until next time...
thank you for stopping by.

17 comments:

Susan said...

I always love seeing photos of your house Hostess. And, how special to be a historic home. And I love that your house is small and you deem it to be humble. I do think smaller homes are the best. I've never understood the need some have to live in enormous homes. Our house may be large by some standards, but is very medium sized to small in our neighborhood. I remember the day we moved in and I said to my husband, "this house is way too large." I've wanted to move to a smaller house, but my husband resists this. So--I will be content. Our farmhouse is much smaller and I love being there.

Susan B said...

You've done such a lovely job decorating and renovating your bungalow. Love the black and white!

Anonymous said...

From Margie in Toronto - glad you've had such a lovely few days away. Your home is lovely but I'm with you, I'd probably be tempted to paint the dark wood a lovely white - but I do appreciate that you must respect the history of your home.

By the way - wanted to thank you for recommending the La Roche Posay Rosaliac Creme - I've been using it for about 10 days and I love both the light coverage and the sunscreen element - and no reaction to anything!

Lorrie said...

Roche Harbor is such a pretty place. We went there a few weeks ago on a Sunday morning and the church bells rang as we entered the harbor. It was beautiful.
Your "downstairs" is charming. I love the white painted woodwork and all the black and white accents. Very classic.

DaniBP said...

The downstairs looks so clean and organized, I like the scheme of black and white it really adds to the orderly feeling of the space. xo

Madame Là-bas said...

Your attention to detail in your home creates such a lovely peaceful space. So great that "humble" homes (the homes of the ordinary people) are being regarded as historically significant
in Victoria. Cut Loose is a line of clothing that I am seeing a lot of in my favourite boutique in Steveston. It is so fresh and breezy looking. There are so many lovely little places to explore in our seemingly endless summer. I'm looking forward to your Roche Harbour blog.

BuffaloGal said...

Thank you for this peek into your lovely home.

Stephen Andrew said...

The dark wood in your home has such lovely character that could never be replicated if it were painted. I am admittedly aggressive and even careless when it comes to painting over old wood. I have a piece in my salon that is from around 1890 that I painted white without thinking two seconds. It hadn't been very well cared for and needed refinishing regardless. But the dealer I bought it from was so, so angry when I told him I was painting it! I really respect your commitment to the historical integrity of your house. And your touch brightens the house so much!
A little Le Creuset news for you: kiwi will go on 30% discount at the LC outlet stores starting August 1. I know you love that color as much as I do! I've been baking the no-knead bread so often and bringing many loaves to parties. So I have a semi-legitimate excuse to get more :)

Anonymous said...

Love, love, love these pictures of your home restoration! My absolute favorite home (and decorating) style, and yours is so perfectly done.

Jeannine said...

Love the black and white; so bright, fresh, clean, and classic looking. I don't think I'd ever tire of it.

hostess of the humble bungalow said...

I agree that we need to be content...letting go of wants and living peacefully with gratitude is so therapeutic!

hostess of the humble bungalow said...

I am glad that the cream is working for you...I love it!

hostess of the humble bungalow said...

The church bells and organ music serenade mariners several times throughout the day...every day of the week!

hostess of the humble bungalow said...

It's also quite easy to keep clean!

hostess of the humble bungalow said...

I have seen a lot of Cut Loose clothing lately in our local shops. The styles are perfect for the intense heat of summer...loose and breezy.

hostess of the humble bungalow said...

I have converted my cookware to white...while I love lime I am only buying white.
If I cannot have white walls upstairs in the Humble Bungalow I will embrace white in accessories...and it looks fabulous with silver accents polished or tarnished they seem to get along very nicely!

No Sacrifice Bags said...

I struggle with painting over the Douglas Fir in my 86 year old cottage. I'm going to start small and paint the vestibule. I don't know why I I'm so frightened to paint over wood that isn't even remarkable. It's just plain old brown stained fir.