One of the best parts of this process of getting our place finished is finally getting rid of a lot of clutter and junk that we had been accumulating that we really never use. We do have a storage locker in our basement so we’ve been using that to store mostly seasonal items, such as our camping gear. It really makes a big difference in terms of space in our apartment!

We finally finished off the “Sports Room”. Really the easiest way to show the change is to show before and after pictures. Here is the “before”. Previously, as you can see, this room was basically a catch-all for our gear. 3 surfboards, 4 snowboards, 2 sets of wetsuit gear, 2 sets of snowboarding gear, 2 sets of ice hockey gear, 2 sets of golf clubs, plus camping gear and miscellaneous items. Phew! It was a lot of stuff to cram into one room.

And here is the “after” photo! We really wanted the room to feel more like a fun, bright place where we could show off some of our gear but also be functional in terms of storing everything.

That’s when we came up with the idea of mounting our gear to the walls. When we originally measured out the surfboards, we realized that Allan’s longboard was WAY too big for the walls. Then we noticed that there was a strip of wall that actually went above the door… and bingo, the surfboards all fit on the far wall.

We mounted the surfboards using handmade wooden racks made by Hawaiian Gun Racks. They’ve got some padded material on top to keep them from denting the boards, and also a dowel on the end to prevent them from slipping off just in case. They really are both beautiful and sturdy.

We also mounted the snowboards to the other wall. Mounting everything to the walls really freed up a ton of space, and also I think it looks pretty neat. We installed a cabinet to the wall as well, and put all our books and DVDs in there to save space from the living room. We also are using it to hold some of our snowboard gear such as boots and goggles. It’s also a great place to display some photos of some of our adventures.

From left to right… 2010 Men’s Burton Supermodel, 2007 Women’s Burton Feelgood, 2010 Women’s Burton Malolo… Boots: 2009 Burton Men’s Serow Japanese Exclusive Model, 2010 Burton Women’s Supreme Boots

The snowboards were mounted using HangtimeUSA wall mounts. They are plastic mounts that basically hold to the width of the board, so they are easy to pull in and out of the clips. They can also be mounted diagonally. We were really impressed by how sturdy they were, and the mounting hardware that came with them was awesome.

We fit a couple more things into the room like my golf clubs and the skim boards, but most of our gear is still tucked away in the closet in that room. We purchased a used red microfiber sofa that I LOVE and a couple lamps to complete the room. Not pictured are all the game plaques that Allan and I have from working in the video game industry… you get one when you “ship” a game. It’s kind of a fun addition to the room.

The last part of the room I wanted to talk about is probably my favourite… the coffee tables. We covered one of the coffee tables in all the sporting goods stickers that I had accumulated over the past few years, and that Allan has accumulated pretty much his whole life. There’s a lot of history on that table. Not only is it covered with our favourite brands, but it’s covered in memories of accomplishments, events, special milestones in our lives, and our favourite activities. It really completes the room for us.

So what do you think of the transformation?

It’s been a mad dash to try and get everything done for the party this Friday. More than a month of planning, sanding and finishing furniture, sourcing supplies and decorations, and arranging rooms. Realistically, the party would have taken only a couple days to plan and get ready for… but because we are finally making over our apartment, it’s taking a long time.

We moved into our apartment in March; it has been basically 9 months without fully getting our place “finished”. So this party has been a good hard date to aim for to get our place fixed up… but it certainly has been a lot of work for both Allan and I.

This past weekend we managed to finally finish mounting and hanging most of the items that need to be on the wall. The amazing part is how much space it cleared up. I’m planning on doing a room-by-room post, but for today, just a little teaser until I get the finishing touches in place.

This is the “sports room”. A lot of gear has to fit in this room. We finally managed to hang up the surfboards with the handmade wooden racks that we bought. The snowboards are hung up with plastic board mounts. It’s great to get these off the floor… they look so much nicer on the wall. Full room post coming soon.

We also finally managed to finish off the bedroom furniture. Can’t wait to show you before and after photos of the bedroom and also how the furniture looked before the treatment. For now, just a little peek at the paint finish and the new handles we mounted and treated.

Sorry for the short post… more coming soon! So excited that it is all finally coming together.

P.S. Check out the chaos in this room… haha. This is what we’ve been living in trying to get this all finished on time.

Yes, November is almost upon us… and already in many parts of the continent people are starting to snowboard (Darn you, Mammoth, darn you!).

For us here in Vancouver and BC, we are patiently waiting for the temperatures to drop and more snow to fall on the mountains. Realistically it is only weeks away, but it feels like forever.

Whistler Blackcomb has announced its opening day is November 26th this year. Cypress, Grouse, and Seymour have yet to report opening dates. Hemlock is reporting an opening date of December 10th, and over on Vancouver Island, Mount Washington is slated to open December 11th. Big White and Apex are saying December 5th, and Sun Peaks is early with an opening date of November 21st.

Ugh. So far away.

So in the meantime, why not fantasize about all the new gear coming out this year? It’s no secret that I’m a little biased towards Burton, so I’m going to kickoff my gear previews with them. This post will just be snowboards, I’ll be featuring other hardgoods and softgoods in a follow-up post. I’ve posted a selection of boards here, feel free to check our their full product lineup at Burton.com.

Note: All images credited to Burton.com

2010 Burton Custom X

Definitely one of the best boards that Burton has put out this year. Not only are the graphics absolutely GORGEOUS (the snowboarder/surfer in me loves the trees and ocean design), but the tech is darn good. It’s got the Channel, which most of the new Burton boards have this year… basically allows you to configure your bindings in any stance you can possibly think of. It’s a super light board and is generally a good board for any condition. Good in pow, the park, free riding and even groomers. So sexy.

2010 Burton Fish

Ah, the Fish. A board I have lusted after for a long time. Who doesn’t dream of adding the Fish to their quiver and having a true powder board? For those of you just getting into snowboarding, you probably don’t need a Fish just yet. But for those of you who skip work on powder days, spend all day hiking for the good stuff… this is the board for you. Light, tapered with a swallow tail, and the addition of an S-Rocker really makes this board float in the powder. It’s also super fast and even has a surfboard-style rail. It’s pretty much like surfing on the snow.

2010 Burton Custom V-Rocker

A little cheaper than the Custom-X, the Custom now comes in Regular and V-Rocker. The Added V-Rocker puts a centre rocker between the feet, which brings the tip and tail off the ground… so basically it’s better in pow and let’s you jib and ollie a little easier. This is a fun, fun board if you like to pop and hop around the mountain, either in pow or park. I wouldn’t recommend this if you’re JUST going on groomers though. I really like the design this year.

2010 Burton Supermodel

This year I think the real sleeper hit is the Supermodel. Not a lot of people talk about it (the Customs are super popular), but I personally think this is the perfect board for a BC boy. This board can be used on the whole mountain, and is light and fast and has the Channel as well. I REALLY love the design on it… the reds are so vibrant (and the blues on other sizes) and they’d look great in photos… a must if you’re into snow photography or video with your friends. It’s slightly tapered so it’ll work nice in pow, and it’s got great control for groomers. It’s got a mid-range price too.

2010 Burton Joystick

I’ve been hearing a lot about the Burton Joystick this year for the park. It’s got a new Freestyle Scoop which makes it super easy to do tricks in the park, and also has a V-Rocker to put that rocker between your feet as well. It’s a pretty aggressive board for the park, but Burton says it is forgiving and fun as well. The reviews are coming in now, and it is looking like a really strong contender for a park board this year.

2010 Burton Malolo

Ah the Malolo, my board of choice for this year. It’s technically a unisex board, as I have the smallest size at 149. It goes up to 166. I actually purchased my 2010 Malolo last year at an event, and I’ve been pretty much waiting all year to ride it. I’m so excited. It’s the perfect board for me… from the surf-inspired graphics to the name.. (Malolo means “flying fish” in Hawaiian). It’s got an S-Rocker for the snow, which helps with the speed and float of the board. I love the powder and the trees, so the Malolo is going to be a significant improvement here. I’ve tried it out on groomers and it’s actually pretty good. I think for real hard-pack ice days though, I’ll bring out my old Burton Feelgood (it’s 2 years old).

Speaking of girls… I also wanted to showcase a couple women’s boards out there for all my lady readers.

2010 Burton Women’s Supermodel

An absolutely stunning board design for a girl’s board. I love it… it’s girly but also colourful and cool. This is a high performance girl’s board. Same as the men’s super model, it’s a tapered board that will ride well in powder. It’s extremely versatile… you can ride it anywhere on the mountain. It also has the Channel if you have EST bindings. No worries if you don’t, it’s got a conversion kit as well.

2010 Burton Women’s Feelgood ES

The Feelgood ES (and the Feelgood) are top-of-the-line women’s boards. This board is SUPER light. It has the Carbon Vaporskin, as well as the Channel. If you’re looking for a fast, beginner to intermediate board (I learned on a Feelgood no problem), this board can SERIOUSLY hold an edge in the groomers. It’s not skittish at all. Note: If you’re wanting to eventually ride this in powder, you may want to get a couple extra inches on the board to hold some float… I found this board wasn’t great for deep powder.

2010 Burton Women’s Lipstick

The perfect board for a girl in the park, the Lipstick is super poppy with a V-Rocker and Elliptical Kicks. It’s light and has super cute graphics… not to mention the Channel and Pressure Distribution Edges (helps you on groomers and also on landings). Unfortunately I’m not much of a park girl, because I would really love to ride this board.

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And that’s it for now folks! What do you think of the boards that are out this year? Any particular favourites in the Burton lineup? Anything you’d like me to cover in future posts?

Cheers!