If you are anything like me, your are getting sick of being at home. Getting bored of staring at the same spaces, day in and day out. I am. It’s exhausting being at home. Which is funny, because when we are all out in our regular lives, all we want is a few days at home to enjoy our families and relax. But, as in any aspect of life when one has no choice, that’s all one wants. So, how can we change our environment a bit, to make the days feel a little newer and not stale and boring? One thing I do when home staging, or even just redesigning a space, is look at what is there already. Often my clients want to toss out everything and start over. But, just as often, they have wonderful pieces that, in the right location, can really change the feeling of a space. When I first started out…many, many years ago… I was called by a retired couple (well into retirement), that were unhappy with their condo living space. They had a limited budget, but wanted it to be less cluttered, cramped and awkward. In one hour, we moved so much […]
Okay, let’s be very clear. I am losing my mind already and it’s been a week. Mostly because I have zero “stay at home mom” skills. I had exactly 12 days off from the day my children were born until the day I hobbled back to work. I am self-employed – zero maternity leave – and having twins, I really couldn’t afford to allow my business to suffer any more. I had been on bedrest for months. It was imperative that I go back to work. So, I hit the road 3 days a week, and hauled my babies around if I had to leave home the other 2 days a week. It was tough. But it was survival. Now, ten years later, I am a stay at home mom by self-isolation. No, I am not sick. No, I have not been around anyone who is sick. Yes, I am still seeing some clients (super-screened) and I am still getting to my office (which is basically self-isolation in a second location) as much as I can. But I am also spending an extreme amount of time at home alone with my kids. So are many, if not all, of you. […]
Before diving into this blog post, I want to extend love and support to all my clients, readers, followers, friends, family and everyone else out there, as we have all been greatly affected by Covid-19. It’s a scary time of uncertainty, fear of loss both personal and financial, feelings of seclusion and being overwhelmed. I have been in business for almost 18 years. In that time, I have met many amazing people. I have an entire network of business owners that are helping me keep my head from basically exploding. If you need anything, from a great therapist to talk to, someone who can give you financial or tax advice, a trusted lawyer, someone in the health industry that can help your immune levels stay high, a doula because you are pregnant and terrified and needs a calming voice; whatever you need, I’ve got someone amazing who would love to help you. Get in touch, I would love to share their information with you, and help you through this time. Now, onto the blog: Spring is finally upon us. After a long Canadian winter, it’s usually a welcome time for us all. This year, so many of us are “stuck” […]
Well hello there! If you have been following my social media for the last week or so, you have noticed that we are putting on a one hour class to teach the public how to get a proper contract and good financing for their renovations. Why? You ask, would we do this? I guess the truth is, that both Jonathan (handsome guy in photo above), and I are very nice people. Hah! It’s true. And these two very nice people are very very tired of seeing other very nice people get into financial trouble with shady businesses. When I started my business 17 years ago, I set up accounts with all my suppliers, and they asked me what terms I would like for paymet. 30 days? 60 days? (this means, how long after they deliver the goods do i need to pay for it) My answer was actually this: I will give you a deposit for the goods as is required, and the balance will be on delivery and inspection of the goods. So a day. Why would I do that??? Well, because if you are using a client’s money to pay for goods, then you better use the […]
I. Want. COLOUR! Is there a little kid inside of you screaming for colour? It’s like this deep longing inside your soul that jumps up an down with glee every time you see bright pretty toss cushions and brightly painted walls. You are reminded of summer, and amazing vacations and sunshine and life. Oh but you can’t! What will people say? Would if you got sick of it in a year? I love this blue wall. I look at it and think “can’t someone out there want a blue wall?” And then I remind myself that if I renovate the house again, or even suggest a paint colour change; my dear, wonderful husband who just finished this house, might be a little miffed. Bang! Bang! Ok, so maybe you aren’t as sick of gray and white as I am. You haven’t done countless homes in that colour palette over the last ten years. But, the trends are leaning warmer now, and begging for more colour. I guess we could sneak some in? Just a little? We can warm up your grays with creamy pinks, or pops of blue? Tans and olive greens? It’s a slippery slope. You […]
Often clients call and ask me if it would be more economical to buy a new sofa or reupholster one. Off the bat, I can tell you the cost is roughly the same. It’s not a decision regarding economics. It’s a purely emotional decision. In all my experience, the most common reasons have been: “It’s the most comfortable sofa in the world.” “I want to be environmentally conscious.” “It fits perfectly into my space.” But my reason was purely sentimental. My Grandparents and their sofas I grew up in Montreal. Dollard to be exact. Just about a 30-minute drive from my father’s parents who lived in the village of Mont Royal. They lived on a nice, tree-lined, low rise apartment-lined street. They lived there for 30 years. From my early childhood until just prior to my marriage, I spent almost every Saturday with them. They owned a diner on St. Laurent. It was called Irv’s diner (the previous owner’s name), and my father would drop me off in the mornings on his way to work. At the end of the day, we’d hop in a cab and head over to their apartment where I’d eat too much chocolate, and […]
When Maureen and Craig first called us, I was very excited. They are family with some really great people I know. I went down to the city to meet them, and just as I expected, they were pretty terrific. Stepping back into the 1800s They live in a super old house. It was built in 1890. They have archival images on their walls, the original door to the house. On the first evening we met, I got to the door and searched for a bell. No doorbell. Well, none that I could see anyway. When Maureen opened the door and I mentioned that we could add that into the project, she laughed. “Here it is!” With great smiles they both explained that the doorbell is 129 years old, the door is original to the house, and they just refused to give it up. You can see in the photo, it’s the circular knob right above the mail slot. They then showed me archival photos they have on their walls, not only of the house, but of a great many important things to them that date back to their roots and their family heritage. I got to know […]
It’s fun, actually. Cooking with your kids. My kids love cooking, especially my son, Logan. He’s been in my kitchen since he was about four. Standing on stools, covered in an apron and oven mitts “to here”. My daughter, Zoe, well she is more of a restaurant manager. She is just like Mommy. Our old kitchen was super small, and even just Logan and I felt crowded in the space. There was no counter for chopping or mixing. Half our “tools” were hidden in other rooms. The kitchen made me super miserable, and eventually, after living in our home for just a couple of years, the joy of cooking became the need to feed my family. It was a chore. A dark, uncomfortable space that my kids and I would never be able to rise to our true potential in. So when we renovated our home, the kitchen was almost the only think I cared about. I spent a long time working that space out on paper and in my own head. We are not unique. Almost every home I go into, for a kitchen renovation, tells the same story. Not enough space. No storage. […]
Well. I don’t often write about what can go wrong on a jobsite. But, being in the world of design and construction, the odds are, something will go wrong every once in a while. Welcome to the bathroom renovation project we are calling Murphy’s Law. What ever could go wrong, did. BUT, because our team is so dedicated and so honourable, our client never had a thing to worry about, and in the end, their master bathroom is just perfect. When our clients called, I was very happy to hear from them. Several years ago we did their kitchen and main floor. Last year, it was his parents kitchen. And now, they trusted us once more to renovate their bathroom, and do a few other things in the house. Before Here is a before photo of their bathroom: The bathtub took up a LOT of space. The shower was super tiny and the vanity didn’t offer the type of storage they wanted. To save a little on the budget, we tried our best to keep the plumbing as close as possible to it’s existing location. That’s a cost savings that most people don’t really consider. It costs a lot […]
I am humbled. There comes a day, in most adults lives, if you have been working at your career long enough, when being humbled happens. Click. Humbled. For me, this happens often. Over our years, as we grow, our lives change, we move in different directions, our friendships morph as well. People we once saw and spoke to daily become people we see at parties. Our neighbours, specific friends, people we make time for, take the front seat. As does, in my married life; swim class, ski lessons, guitar, gymnastics, school, playdates, travel, blah blah. But it is when those people, those friends, whom you facebook with but never see, never speak to, when they call you and they ask: “Can you help us. Can you do our home.” That’s the moment. Click. Humbled. They are going to trust me. Me. The person they knew when I started my business 16 years ago. The person who they saw dance at 2am, pre-married, pre-kids, act like a buffoon, me. Yes, I was once an unruly young adult. It’s true. And those people, whom I still love dearly, they want to hire me. It’s happened twice this year. Once, I got to create […]
