Enter, You are Welcome Here…

This is one of those days I believed would come, but invariably, took much longer than I had ever intended.  The new Web Page & Blog is up!!!!!!!  Now, the real work of me maintaining some interesting content, for you, begins.  I have decided not to eliminate my previous posts, so please browse through.

My intent, here, is to mainly talk about our recent home renovation.  I will, however, not be able to shield you, from all of who I am.  I love to cook & do most things domestic.  That is, I love decor, kitchen kitsch, fashion, home design, wine, & fab food.  I do not love, what some would consider domestic, the likes of vacuuming, ironing, dusting, washing walls – the things of my mother’s domesticity!!

So, let me begin – always a good place to start!  We moved to the beautiful Okanagan Valley in 2013.  However, we bought this property in 2012 with the intent of it being a holiday home, for our family.  Previously, both my husband & myself had lived in Saskatchewan, Canada, our whole lives.  (For those of you that don’t know, SK is not for the faint of heart.  The summers are beyond beautiful, but the winters are harsh!)  So, needless to say, we ‘warmed up,’ so to speak, to the Kelowna climate & lifestyle very quickly.

Now, if we had purchased our home, with the intent of it being our primary residence, we might have made a slightly different play.  However, as you will see in forthcoming posts, we fell in love with the vineyard below us, the lake beyond & mountain vista across the water.  When we realized our house needed to become more who we are, if we were to be permanent dwellers, we began the quest to find another property.  We came home, after viewing one beautiful home or piece of land, after another, looked out our window, looked at each other, & realized we were not going to move or sell this house…

It was then we made the decision to renovate. We would take this house right back to the studs & make it Our Valley Home.  Like all renovations, we exceeded our budget & timeline many times over.  There are a few small things we would do differently, but overall, we are in love with a house…our house.  We hope you fall in love with some of what we have done too.  It would be great to hear from you about what you think!!

Since the entrance, of any home, makes your first impression & response, I will begin there.  We dramatically changed the footprint of our home’s interior.  I will do my best, with the pictures I have, to show you what existed before & the changes we have made…  Before, when you entered our home, the space felt tight & you looked up toward the upstairs staircase.  We inverted our staircases, installed floating treads & glass railings to maximize our impressive view, from your first glance.  (Duly noted, I did not think this expensive & laborious venture had to take place, a battle I am, now, thoroughly glad I lost!)  I believe it took our entry from ho-hum to gasp!!!  We made other transitions right at the front door, too, but I will best be able to elaborate in a separate post.

This old sawhorse, made into an entrance side table, is very precious.  It belonged to my husband’s father, who we lost much too soon.  He was a magnificent finishing carpenter & my husband (who I shall now introduce as Darrell, so I can quit referring to him as ‘my husband’) worked alongside him for many years.  We have lived in more than several homes, over the years, & the sawhorse has, for whatever reason, always made the move.  For such a time as this, as the saying goes… We did absolutely nothing to the old wood other than apply one coat of  clear sealer.  We left the craggy ends & saw marks unfilled, old nails protruding.  We gave stability to the weathered wood by topping the piece with a beautiful cut of 3/4 inch glass.  Annnnd….tout fini!!!!  We had just the statement piece we wanted, for our front entrance…

The highest compliment, for us, is when people say they feel a warm welcome & the spirit of hospitality in our home.  Without that, our complete overhaul, current decor, & attempt at perfect paint colors would all be for naught…I hope you will always feel welcome here.  Now, kick off your shoes, relax & enjoy the view at Our Valley Home…