Every time I have renovated some kind of drama has ensued. Sometimes, it's happy drama, like how emotional I got when my new window was installed in my living room. (I cried, you can watch the waterworks here). Other times, it is dramatic drama, like how I was convinced the stress of renovating my laundry room in 6 weeks was going to send me into full on labour with my fifth child. And many times, you just have to laugh. I recall a time working on a Property Brothers Show where a light fell from the ceiling moments before revealing it to the homeowners and it literally took a camera man, a sound guy, and me some serious ingenuity to get the light to stay in place for the shot. Insert laughter here! 

For this cottage project I am tackling for the One Room Challenge (you can get caught up on this fun design adventure here and here), I had a fun chuckle. Check it out:

 

As you can see there was a tin backsplash, and it came down super quick (which is usually a bad sign). The backsplash was held up with adhesive and it revealed little to no insulation behind it on what used to be an exterior wall (an addition was added to the cottage at some point as you can see through the window it has been turned into a bedroom). Moisture and the impact of Canadian cold winters and hot summers and the mix of heating a space on the inside when it is cold out and cooling with when it is hot out had done its damage and so unexpectedly, the wall had to be completely re-insulated. 

This is why I always recommend you have a reserve fund of at least 15-20% for the unexpected things that occur during a renovation.

Thankfully my clients had some CertainTeed sustainable insulation left over from a previous project. It’s called ‘sustainable’ because it is made with recycled and renewable content including a plant-based binder that is formaldehyde-free and contains no harsh acrylics, dyes or unnecessary chemicals. We used the highest R-value we could get our hands on (the rule-of-thumb on R-value selection is the colder the climate, the higher the R-value required- and it gets mighty cold on a Canadian lake in the winter!) and I'm thankful that we were able to tackle this now and set this family up for success as once the right insulation is in the walls it will last for the life of the home with no additional maintenance required. It conserves energy and saves you money- and that is always a good thing. If this was still an exterior wall I would have added MemBrane Vapour Barrier  and called it a day! 

Well- we didn't exactly call it a day there. 

We tried out these cute knobs we sprayed in Krylon's Satin Oxford Blue- cute, right?

 

And we're testing out these floating shelves that I think will look darling in place of the closed cabinet that was there originally. 

In my 8 years of renovating for TV shows and my clients in Toronto and beyond, I have learned that renovations are hardly ever easy- but they are mad fun and so rewarding to watch come together. 

Want to see more? Check out what the featured 20 designers are up to here and what the linking participants are up to here. Stay tuned next week for more progress : )