Midtown bathroom

Here's a quick and easy reno.

A young family wanted to renovate their basement washroom. Although the washroom was in a convenient location - next to where the children hung out - they were afraid to use it!...well, to their credit, it was also being used as semi-storage.

The clients wanted to be able to use the shower regularly, have the children not be afraid to enter the bathroom, and have construction done in weeks. 

I have to say, that the clients were amazing!!...after a quick consultation on a Saturday morning (before they had to be off with the kids for their activities), and within a week of my proposal everything was set and ready for their contractor.

What a transformation!










before





Social Room Reno

For 10 years, the residents of this 3-building complex in a desired area in Toronto have wanted their social room to be renovated - the dance floor had seen better days and the single sofa in the room was begging to be retired.

We were asked to be very conscious of the budget, so renovations were kept to be mainly cosmetic.

Wall covering installed - Love the circles!

The project design was signed off in February 2012, and by October, every wall, floor and the ceiling had been overhauled with commercial grade wall coverings, vinyl wood planks for the floor throughout, dimmable CFL pot lights and new cabinetry. In the bathroom, the expanse of wall tiles were kept and the new finishes worked with the colours and geometrics of the chicklet 70's tiles. The redesigned kitchen now has the all-important buffet island that's needed for party usage in this century, without the expanse of empty cabinets.
This summer's budgets allowed for the much needed furnishings - so now the room is a party space you can really party in!


Before



Before



It's amazing what a transformation new cabinetry can make to the space











Ashes to Fitness

This renovation was a quick and easy project...for me that is. For the residents of this beautiful lakefront property in Burlington, what was once their sauna had accidentally charred almost two years ago. We stripped everything back to the bare walls and after permits and studies, I was finally able to transform the room into the fitness centre they never had...but desperately wanted.

The owners of the building asked to keep it simple, but I just couldn't bring myself to slap on paint and drop in flooring - so I added some trim detail to the walls to give the room some interest. A little detail goes a long way don't you think?

 

Tempted to Touch

My most recent design endeavor was to remodel a lobby area for a mid-town Toronto residential building that would reflect the hip demographic of its residents. I have re-done a few lobbies over the years, but wanted to make this one special. Since the building recently underwent renovations to it's exterior with a modern approach, I wanted to create a space that would mirror the contemporary touches, yet staying with classic finishes. The result included an astonishing detailed art-wall crafted by my finest carpenter and artisan. The natural walnut wall not only adds warmth to the space - its installed in an enveloping parabola - but also gives the space an edge to the formerly insipid lobby. The geometric forms really pop against the circular patterns, which immediately draws the eye, and invites you to stay a while. And if you get a chance to touch the piece of art, you'll relish how smooth each square is - like a fine French polish.

 

Before: The paneling had been white washed which damaged the integrity of the finish

 

 

Lounging updated

In many of my commercial projects I'm updating a space that maybe hasn't been touched for a decade or two - the spaces are thus under-utilized and an eyesore. The transformation of these two lounges, in twin buildings in mid-town Toronto, caused great excitement, in a good way...Now the spaces are being used by many who never knew it existed in their building(s) before.



Before l.to r.: Lounge 1 - seating for 5 maximum, Lounge 1 - the library was an essential to work into the new design, Lounge 2 - left over furniture

My aim was to make the spaces warm and cozy, using quality finishes the residents expect. I gave each lounge the same elements in finishes and furniture pieces, but in different scales since the size of the rooms were not the same. The wall units were custom built by my master carpenter using walnut - the continuous grains on the cabinet doors is the detail you appreciate of his work. The sofas have a luxurious feel of velvet, yet are of commercial grade and can stand up to wear - they're over 9' long, taking full advantage of the space, and making sure there's room for everyone. With large scale carpet tiles the floor never needs to look tired from stains - just pick it up and exchange it for a new one!



Lounge 1: The library of books are now hidden inside the cabinet

Lounge 1: Seating for at least eight

Lounge 1: Love the juxtaposition of the driftwood lamp against the refined fabrics



Lounge 2: Smaller in scale, but just as inviting to lounge in

Guest suites in Forest Hill

What do you do when one of the most desired areas of Toronto needs hotel space, but there isn't one in sight? Well, the owners of these twin buildings asked if I could transform a few under utilized spaces into their own version of a boutique hotel. What started off as six suites turned into five - we merged two rooms to create a large family suite, enough to sleep six.

One of the asks was to allow changing of the bedding per season, so I had custom cushions made to suit any mood - the fabrics allow for mixing and matching in a few combinations. Hotel quality light fixtures were used to accommodate the work traveler that may need to power up at the desk or by the bedside, and each room had space for a bistro table and two chairs, sometimes a desk and sometimes both.

The result is a comfortable and fresh feel for all the spaces.

 

 

 

Still loving NYC



Does two years in a row make for an 'Annual Jaunt'?...Well, I'm surely going to try to make a tradition of it if I can.

 

This trip was more business than pleasure however. With only one night and two days in the big city, I had a full agenda. First stop was the Boutique Design show at the Javits Centre, where I was hoping to be inspired and of course wanted to see the latest in hospitality furniture and finishes. The booths were filled with exotic finishes, statement pieces paired together with other statement pieces, details upon details, yet it all worked wonderfully - a feast for the eyes!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Here are a few shots of things I found interesting.









 

Tartan tiles!...amazing micro tiles

 

Modern interpretation with sass!

 

Looks like iron fretwork but it's a wood composite - laser cut

Again, interesting things can happen when you can laser a material - this is Corian



Love the graphic punch of this headboard

Addicted to colour - a retail display