A Designer’s Renovation – Part 5

The Kitchen Renovation/Design

Do you love to cook?

I LOVE to cook. I LOVE to bake fancy cakes.  I LOVE to eat (which really explains it).

I have a LOT of kitchen stuff. Pots and pans, machines of all sorts, rolling pins and buckets of fondant, cookie cutters, crockpots, you name it.  And I want more. It’s my sanctuary, second only to my master bathroom (which doesn’t even exist more than a stud outline at the moment.)

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A Designer’s Renovation – Part 4

The Renovation’s Time Capsule

Ever planted a time capsule? Grab a newspaper, maybe a hockey card or a note you wrote when you were 10 and along with a few timely treasures, stick it in a box or tin can, then bury it in the back yard?

I did. I must have been around 10 at the time. My friend Maral and I found a little box and put some tokens into it. I can’t remember what, and we buried it in our “fort”, amongst the trees at the end of our street. I wonder if it’s still there…

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A Designer’s Renovation – Part 3

The Renovation REALLY starts!

The day after we received our permit, we set out to get things done. As a result of my neighbour and the permit process, we had lost over two months of precious time.

The first thing on our list, was to dig out some footings in our basement, to support the opening we created on the floor above.  My kitchen was to open up from a tiny 11’ x 12’ space to a 22’ x 12’ stunner.  But to do so, meant a big beam, and some supports.

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A Designer’s Renovation – Part 2

Permits

Before the renovation could begin, we had to do what’s called a “site plan application”. Basically, if you are trying to do something that doesn’t conform with your site’s by-laws, say trying to build too close to the street or too high, you must amend your site plan. The steps we had already taken, included the design approval (you read about that last week). We also had to get an updated survey, grading plan and submit our final drawings.

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There’s No Place Like Home – A Designer’s Renovation

Good morning!

How do you like the title? There’s No Place Like Home. It’s true, isn’t it? And not just for Judy Garland, but for all of us.  Our home is a safe zone.  A place where after a long day of work, we go to throw our shoes off, eat our meals, hug our families and hide from the reality of our stresses. I say this in jest. I have 7-year-old twins.  You get it.  A renovation feels like it might just threaten that safe zone.

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Designer’s Renovation Journey in Toronto Home!

Where did the blog go? It’s been over a month! It’s been forever!! I want to see pictures of the renovation! Of the kitchen! Send me something! What happened to the Designer’s Renovation Journey?

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