Rambling Renovators

The Basement: Under The Stairs

So things are moving along in the basement, slowly. Lots of cleanup has been going on... old electrical, alarm wires, plumbing - all cleaned up, made more efficient, moved out of the way. We also moved the hot water tank into the storage are and and took the opportunity to switch it from electric to more efficient gas. Surprisingly, since we were renting the tank from Direct Energy, making the switch (moving the tank, getting the new unit, drilling for the external vent) was free!

What wasn't free... turning the furnace 45 degrees. See that blue tape line? A new wall to the storage room will sit just outside that line. There wouldn't be enough room to access the furnace if needed so it had to be turned. The storage/laundry room is starting to take shape. The laundry machines are in their new spot and that garbage can & plywood contraption represents the countertop and cabinetry on the opposite side. The laundry room feels bigger than I thought! We'll see if it still feels that way once the walls are up.

This is one area on my mind though. If you remember, we had a bank of cabinetry underneath the stairs. Great for storage, but we decided to take them out so we could access the area for insulation and match the look with the rest of the cabinetry going in the basement. A few ideas I'm playing with:

Full-height cabinets. This is similar to what we had before, except the doors would match the other cabinets in the craft zone (shown on the left of the mockup) and we would eliminate the separate access to the triangular area. Having a setup like this would be great for storage. One tall area could be used to store the vacuum and brooms. The other side would be good for storing our big Tupperware containers of off-season clothing.

Another idea: Create more of a built-in look with deep pot drawers below and drywall above. I find pot drawers so useful. I could totally see using these drawers for those random seasonal decor items I have stored in multiple places around the house. One downside to this option is we lose the extra storage space in the triangle area.

We could also do open shelving and have some room for display. This might be a nice way to break up all the cabinetry. We could possibly keep costs down by using off-the-shelf bookcases that we would make look built-in. However, since most bookcases aren't that deep, we'd lose all that storage space behind the bookcases.

And this is a really fun option... putting a playhouse for Chloe under the stairs. I'd love to create something like this one by Mossy. Growing up, we had a playhouse under the stairs (okay, it was more like a curtain and a table) and I remember spending hours there, reading books, playing grocery with my sister, hiding my treasures. How fun would this be?

Any other options you can think of? How have you used the space under your stairs?

BlogTalk: Media Kit

As a follow-up to last week's conversation on Advertising, I thought this would be a good topic to tackle next: what to put in your media kit.

So what is a media kit? Basically, its a tool you use to sell you - your brand and your blog. Its written for anyone you want to attract. That could include brands you want to work with, businesses you want to advertise on your site, or traditional media (magazines, newspapers etc.) that perhaps want to pitch a story to. In short, its your best promotional vehicle.

What goes in a media kit? There are a few essentials:

Blog Overview: What is your blog all about? What do you write about? Give people a taste of your site by including photos of projects you've done and highlighting some of your most popular posts. List some memorable quotes and comments from your readers too.

Statistics: There are a few key numbers that you should include in your media kit. There are tons of sources for these stats but I've indicated the most common.

Page views per month (Google Analytics)
Unique visitors per month (Google Analytics)
RSS subscriptions (Feedburner)
Time on site (Google Analytics)

Reader Demographics: Brands and advertisers will want to know who your readers are. The standard variables you should include are

Gender
Age
Income
Education

but beyond that you will want to include things like what are their interests and hobbies? Do they have children or not? What and where do they spend their disposable income? So how do you find out this information? Alexa.com provides limited demographics. You might also be able to glean it from comments your readers leave, or be straightforward and ask them in a survey.

Advertising Rates: Figure out your rates and different advertising options. Don't know what to charge? Do a bit of research and find out what other bloggers in your niche are charging.

Press Mentions & Testimonials: Have you been featured by traditional media (magazines, newspapers, TV)? You'll want to mention that here. I'd also include any features from notable online sites (such as Apartment Therapy or Design*Sponge). Basically, you want to convey that you have a media presence and are garnering attention.

You can also include testimonials from anyone who can attest to your awesomeness. This could include past advertisers who had great response from their ads on your site, or a satisfied customer from your etsy shop.

So that's it... a basic media kit. What do you think? Anything I've missed?

Full disclosure: while I think a media kit is an excellent thing to have, I actually don't have one. Yet ;)

Summer Preview at Loblaws

Doesn't this photo get you in a summery mood? A few days ago, I was invited to a preview of the summer offerings from the Loblaw home brands. How I love Loblaws and all its brands... I may go to Loblaws for the grocery shopping but the truth is I spend way more time shopping for Joe Fresh clothing, President's Choice Home decorative items, and Everyday Essentials party napkins than I do actually shopping for food! Tell me I'm not alone ;)

I think the product designers at Loblaws are pure genius. They create such a wide breadth of product, fulfilling your everyday needs with things like towels and picture frames and decorative pillows to more occasional objects - planning an Easter party and in need of huge stuffed bunnies and cute pencils and erasers for the baskets? They've got you covered. Need a faux topiary or orchid to add some green to your life. Yup, they have that too. Whenever I need something for the house that is stylish yet affordable, I head to my nearest Loblaws first.

They make it so easy to buy their products too... everything is coordinated! See how the Adirondack chairs, outdoor cushions, and tableware all go together? Easy peasy!

What I love about the home products are how well thought out they are. See that little cast iron pot on the bottom left of the barbeque? That is made to sit on the barbeque and warm up your marinade. Apparently, if you keep your marinade warm, it absorbs better into the food. The pot also has a built in place for the marinade brush to sit. Genius, I tell you.

A few photos highlighting my favourite products and details. I wish I had a porch because I would be scooping up that slate grey rocking chair in an instant. Watch for these products and many more to be hitting your local Loblaws store soon.

* On a side note, the PR folks provided me these photos as Chloe managed to delete all my photos from the preview off my camera. Argh! I didn't get to show you the awesome products in their other lines like the new Jump Kids World line of kids decor (including a tent!) or the super cool J +/- line of stationery items so you'll just have to go check it all out in store ;)

Up Up and Away

How did this happen? My little girl is turning 3 in a month. 3! I still remember posting pregnant belly photos here on the blog, and telling you about the bedroom we were putting together for her arrival. And now she's more little girl than she is tiny baby. *Sniff*

I am happy though that I do get to plan another birthday party for Chloe. This girl LOVES birthday parties. She sings Happy Birthday to me most every day and loves to serve up birthday cake from her play kitchen. She had fun at the Little Bug Picnic party we threw her last year but this year is all about the balloons.

Chloe has always loved this hot air balloon we have hanging over her window seat so I know this will be a theme she'll enjoy. Plus, I get to use some of those really cool giant balloons in the decor! The first thing I wanted to get done though was her invitations. Those really set the tone for the party, don't they?

On the front of the invitation, I put some simple wording and added these Victorian flourishes I found via Design Editor. I also came across this free printable and knew I wanted to use it in the invitation. I decided to make a 3D effect out of it - a nice little surprise when you open up the invite :)

I've got a few more birthday projects to do over the coming weeks. If you follow my Pinterest board, you'll see all the balloon ideas I've been gathering.

Are you planning any parties? Any fun themes?