Behind the design

A lot can happen in ten years! When I first moved into my one bedroom plus den condo, I was young, single, and didn’t have much money to invest in my space. Since then, I’ve gotten married and welcomed my first child into the world. Believe it or not, all three of us (plus a fur-baby) still live in that same one bedroom plus den condo.

I can't tell you how many times people have referred to me as a decorator, because they simple don't understand that there is a difference between the two. But in fact, there is quite a large difference between the two from education, to practice, and what our jobs entail. The NCIDQ describes the difference between the two professions the best: "Many people use the terms "interior design" and "interior decorating" interchangeably, but these professions differ in critical walls. Interior design is the art and science of understanding people's behavior to create functional spaces within a building. Decorating is the furnishing or adorning of a space with fashionable or beautiful things. In short, interior designers may decorate, but decorators do not design.

This one I truly do not understand. So many people think that we just give advice and don’t actually do any work, which also brings us back to the point I made earlier. Lots of people ask me to come to their homes for a consultation where they show me their space, tell me what they want it to look like or what they don’t like about it, and then I answer all of their questions and give them ideas based off of my opinion. For many people, that’s all they think an interior designer does. So they meet with several different interior designers and just repeat the process until they think they’re ready to tackle it themselves. But here is my question for you: how exactly do you plan on executing the design if you don’t have a complete understanding of it?

Making a rental feel like home can sometimes feel impossible. In many cases, you may have to work with what you have in the individual space, and make it feel like your own. The easiest way to transform a space by far, is using furniture and accessories. You would be amazed at how big of a difference smart space planning can make, or selecting the right scale of furniture for the space. Throwing in some pillows, and other accessories is an easy way to add some character and some personality to your new home. But there are so many other ways that you can make that rental feel like home, and less like a temporary crash pad.

When you are considering a kitchen renovation or redesign, you may feel overwhelmed with the process of deciding what type of kitchen you truly desire. With seemingly endless choices and styles of kitchens to consider, knowing which one is right for your home can be a challenge. Beyond choosing the perfect colours and finishes for your kitchen, it is important to consider your lifestyle and cooking habits to ensure that your kitchen matches you, perfectly.

Each totem stone is different, with a symbol engraved into a polished precious stone. The symbols are a variety of animals and symbols, each with their own unique meaning. For example, a hummingbird means joy and magic. I stumbled upon these stones one summer when I was about ten, and thought they were incredibly interesting, so I began collecting them. Once I had a sizable collection, I was determined to find a way to display them in a simple yet elegant way, to ensure that the beauty of the stone was the focus. Because the display is so simple – both in aesthetics and execution – this method can easily be used for other items too.

I saved the best for last! This master bedroom is massive. In fact, the bedroom alone is larger than my entire condo, and that doesn’t include the equally large washroom or his and hers walk-in closets. With lots of square footage, high ceilings, and a wall of windows that slides open to the backyard and a view of the mountains, this bedroom is what master bedroom dreams are made of. At least it certainly had the potential to be.

The master bedroom is another space that received a very dramatic transformation. Considering the size of this massive master bedroom, the previous design of this space made the bedroom feel much smaller that it really was. 

Sunny California is the perfect place to design the perfect outdoor living space oasis. I for one could spend all day every day outside in this amazing outdoor living space. Who wouldn’t want to sit outside reading a good book, soaking up some sun, going for a dip in the pool, or maybe enjoying a little cocktail on the weekend? Backyards should really be considered as an extension of your interior living space. This means that your design of the interior of your home and the exterior should blend seamlessly.

Like the rest of the house, the backyard had too much going on in it with little space for you to breathe and take it all in.

Next up on the design transformation is the center and the heart of this home, the living room. With an open concept home, where there is little to no separation between rooms, the design aesthetic that you choose for the living room guides the design for the rest of the home. This home is certainly no different, since the living room is the first thing you see from the moment you enter the home. You can also see the living room from the media room, the dining room, the backyard with the large glass wall of windows, and you even get an elevated view of it from the kitchen. Needless to say, getting the design of this particular space was crucial to get the design for the rest of the home just right.

A while back I had a client that I had worked with before, buy a home in sunny California to escape the winters. They figured they would buy the home fully furnished since it was a second home, and slowly replace items as needed. That plan quickly went out the window when they discovered just how far out of their comfort zone the interior design of their new home was, and not in a good way! The general feel of the original design was a lot of stuff (furniture, art, accessories) put into a space too small to handle it all. This media room is one of the not so crazy spaces in the home when it was purchased.

I realize that this may seem a little backwards, spending additional money to hire someone to do the work that you could potential do yourself doesn’t sound like you would be saving money. But in reality, hiring a professional designer who has lots of training and experience will prevent you from making costly mistakes. It could be something as simple as having to repaint because the colour you’ve selected doesn’t look quite right, or something a little more costly, like buying the wrong sized furniture or a sectional aligned the wrong way.

The house has changed a lot over the years to say the least, from landscaping the property, to changing the roofline, to refurnishing the main rooms, to full renovations. But to me, there will always be projects to work on! Maybe it’s the designer in me, or maybe it’s the perfectionist, but every time I look at the house I just want it to be perfect. Here’s a list of the projects that I would love to do. If the day my parents ever decide to do them comes, I’m ready!

Very few changes have been made to our dining area over the past 16 years...

Everyone dreams of owning their own home for their family, which is becoming harder and harder with this market! But imagine being able to design and build the home of your dreams from the ground up. That’s exactly what my parents did the summer of 1999 when they built our family cottage. My dad went up to Redstone Lake with a friend for a little weekend getaway, and completely fell in love with the area. Not too long later, my parents had purchased land on the same lake and were knee deep in creating their dream home.