“Well how about a baking station?” I say as my clients and I sit and chat over what we need to incorporate into their new kitchen.
“A baking station?” Their thirteen year old daughter has perked up. Head cocked. Looking super cute and suddenly excited.
“Yes. I need a baking station.” She smiles at me. She is a little shy at first, but I can feel the happy vibes coming off her. She loves to bake. We have that in common. I totally get how important that baking station is.
Back to the parents…
“It’s too cramped. We need more space, and counter space without compromising walking space…” and the list goes on. Nothing frighteningly different. They, like all growing families, need space. They need efficiency. They require a place for their “stuff”. The fun part comes later, when I start to ask about style and colours.
“We like gray. We like a little more modern, maybe a little funky. You decide.”
Those words are golden. “You decide.” YOU DECIDE!!!!
So off into colourville we went. With fun patterns and colours. The best part? It’s almost indestructible! New Crypton fabrics are so durable, that we can do almost anything we want without fear! I still fear white…but I am starting to think it’s just me.
The renovation process…well, it was a good time. My husband, as many of you know, has been working as our lead forman for a while. He does a lot of the work himself…I don’t know why, but he likes it, and brings in the trades he needs…licensed electrician, plumber, etc. It’s a jolly good time being on jobsite with them all there.
Problem is, Steven is super nice. And Steven doesn’t like to charge extra for all the “little extra things” that take “only an hour here or there”. So, Steven is going to bankrupt us. No. He won’t. Don’t worry. But what he does, in the long run, is make our clients happy, and safe.
Here’s a great shot of what I mean. On day 3 or 4 of the renovation, Steven discovers some hazardous electrical wiring. He discovers missing insulation (not in photos) and vapor barrier. See photos below.
So, Steven fixes it. What a nice guy, that Steven. And when I say; “how much do I charge them?”
Guess. Guess what Steven says.
“Oh don’t worry about it. We had some leftover. It took an hour.”
Thanks Steven.
The rest of the project was super easy. Clients were amazing, nothing arrived late. Well, except maybe for our electrical inspector who was so busy that we ended up a week behind schedule. But, all being said, this project had an ending unlike any other.
Instead of working hard to make some grown ups happy, we worked hard to make some kids happy. And out of that I got a container full of cookies (twice), which I refused to share. And, I got to buy a little snowman, as this project ended two months before Christmas, and who doesn’t love decorating for a photo shoot with Christmas accessories?
Our little Snowman
Aside from my little modelling session during photo day,
I love to bake too!
these wonderful clients invited us back for dinner recently (where I got cookie box #2). It is not often that Steven and I get to enjoy a meal in a kitchen we have renovated for others. It was such a pleasure watching them work in their new space as I sat back on that comfortable bench and listened to our kids all chat, our husbands talk shop, and a couple of newly old friends enjoy a welcoming and efficient kitchen, with, of course, a baking station.
For more photos, take a look at our portfolio page https://www.monacointeriors.ca/portfolio/goldenwood-road/
