Off of our kitchen we have a small pantry area. It features a big window, and is actually quite a nice little room. The last owners really weren't using it to it's full advantage though. It was being used as a pseudo pantry/closet, as this house doesn't really have coat closets at the entrances.

Here's the before shot. It featured the same mustardy yellow paint that the rest of the house had, and a shoddy metal shelving system. There were also those black shoe storage boxes mounted to one wall. While the room is adjacent to the back door, we didn't really feel it necessary to have coat and shoe storage here. We were also lacking storage for small appliances and the like, and decided to turn the room into a proper butlers pantry.

Ta da! Here's the after! We are so super happy with the transformation. It feels so much bigger now. We first painted over the mustard with Classic Grey (OC-23) from Benjamin Moore, which is a slightly antique white colour.

We didn't have a big budget for this space, as it was just the kitchen pantry, so most of the items you see are from Ikea. The shelving unit is the Varde, which has a nice butcher block top, and stainless steel shelves below, which is great for cleaning. The floating shelf is the Ekby system, and the little stool is the Bekvam. The aqua sisal rug is from Steeling Home.

I picked up these galvanized letters when I was at Orling and Wu in Vancouver. I also purchased the wire basket there as well.

The wall hooks are from Anthropologie.

I purchased this old window from an Antique shop awhile back. After a good clean, I painted the glass panels with blackboard paint, and added some eye hooks along the bottom for hanging keys, etc.

Glass storage jars from Crate and Barrel. I love their kitchen section, which is full of classic pieces at reasonable prices.

This mint plant is the only house plant that I have managed not to kill. It grows like a weed, and needs very little attention. It adds some nice greenery to the room.

I think the room needs a little bit more art, and I would love to replace the light fixture with an antique schoolhouse style fixture. Other than that, this little makeover is making me even more eager to tackle the rest of the kitchen changes.

Friday, Friday! This week has seemed very long, don't know how it felt for you. Here are some faves from this week:

• Heath Ceramics is one of my favorite suppliers and I have been intending to do a full post dedicated to them for some time. In the meantime, they launched a new collection of house numbers that are just perfect. I hope to see these adorning my home soon!

• The new edition of Sweet Paul magazine launched today, full of yummy summertime goodness and beautiful photography, as always. One of my favorite online magazines.

• I discovered Jeni's Splendid Ice Creams earlier this year, and her website had my mouth salivating with all the tasty and unique flavours they offer. She now has a cookbook, showing you how to make their flavours in your own home.

• I've been reading the blog, forty sixth at grace, for awhile now. Nikole Herriott writes the blog, and while she doesn't post often, the posts are filled with beautiful photographs, and long spare columns of text. Really lovely to look at. Nikole is also behind the fabulous Herriot Grace, which sells handcrafted kitchen goods.

It's going to be one of those Wednesdays, so I'm going to rely on my iTunes to get me through the day. Today will feature one of my old faves, Mayer Hawthorne, in heavy rotation.

Mayer is from Detroit and continues that city's tradition of great R&B music. I saw him at Coachella two years ago and almost died, he was that good. Get ready to swoon ladies.

I'm a big fan of painterly abstract art, so it was no surprise that the portfolio of Michelle Armas had me swooning. The beautiful, bold colours combined with the movement of the brush strokes is a really winning combination in my books. See for yourself:

Michelle Armas' work is available in her online shop, and she is also represented by Gregg Irby Fine Art in Atlanta.

So Fab Friday is Fab Saturday this week. I've been a touch busy. Nevertheless, you still need some stuff to look at this weekend, so here's where my head has been at.

• I have convinced myself that my life will be incomplete without seeing the Savage Beauty Exhibit at the Met in NY, about the life's work of Alexander McQueen. After speaking with a friend about it last night, I've decided it's a necessity. Plus, I could knock NYC in the summer off my life list. Perfect. There's a book to accompany the exhibit too; it went into wide release this week.

• There was some controversy this week regarding the online shelter magazine industry, after an article appeared in the NY Times, and the subsequent mass rejection of its contents. Grace at Design*Sponge had some really great thoughts about the issues.

• Speaking of online magazines, WLWL came out with their 7th issue! Plus it features Lori's house, which I actually got to visit in person last night!

• One thing on my life list is to renovate a bowler trailer, and last night I met the charming Capri, who introduced me to her 1964 Travco Motorhome, Myrtle. The blog follows her renovation and restoration, and I will be spending lots of time picking up tips for when I get to finally restore my own traveling home away from home.

I had a super productive weekend, and I'm happy to have gotten lots of little things taken care of around the house this weekend. It's great to have this stuff off my plate, so I can better enjoy all the lovely weather we've been having. Here's a few sneak peeks of what I got up to.

While running errands in Kensington, I stopped into Cushy Life to see if they had the latest Dwell Bedding so I could check the colours against my drapery fabric. They had these great little oil paintings by Calgary artist Frances Marina Vettergreen, and I couldn't resist.

I don't think I mentioned that we bought a vintage poster from a dealer in Maui while we were there. Well, I finally got it back from the framer, and proceeded to hang it in the living room immediately.

I hung the curtains in the bedroom! They look fabulous.

I've had my lovely design prints sitting on the mantel forever, and finally got around to hanging them while I was hanging everything else.

I hosted tea for my mother in law and some friends on Sunday, so I made a quick batch of scones. I'm generally weary of online baking recipes, particularly scones, as I am very picky. But these were perfect.

I got up to a little bit of gardening, and cleaned up the front porch. Margot dug a big hole too.

Most of all, I have enjoyed just sitting in the living room, seeing everything finally coming together. And feeling very satisfied and very much at home.

I've had a really exciting week, but most importantly, my sister announced that she got engaged to her sweetheart! Yay! So, being as I have been a bit distracted with the excitement of the impending wedding planning, I thought I would share a few of my favourite entertaining links.

• Amy Atlas, photo above, creates the most incredible edible tablescapes for all sorts of fabulous parties. From weddings, to showers, and all events in between, her amazing displays of sweets are so delectable!

• Paper Source is my go to site for all sorts of lovely stationary items. Bold bright colours, and great shapes define their basic line, punctuated with bold patterned papers, and a wide array of interesting accoutrements.

• Elyse Bouvier is a Calgary photographer who takes simply beautiful photographs.

• Maggie Austin is a cake designer from Washington, DC with a really sublime portfolio of work. Isn't this ombre ruffle cake to die for?

Happy Weekend!