Kitchen Refresh with Ceasarstone Countertops

Here's an example of how changing the countertops, hardware and backsplash in a kitchen can make a huge difference for half of what it would cost to do the whole thing. Since the cabinets were in good shape, it only made sense to do a little refresh job since they were spending most of their dollars on the bathroom renos upstairs.

Before the refresh job

I apologize that the picture is a little grainy (iPhone, fail), but the Ceasarstone countertops look amazing. I had the cutters make it larger than the previous countertop and the space looks so much more expansive. The gold hardware was taken out and replace with silver.

Master Bathroom Reno... We Freed the Toilet!

Just catching up on some late night blogging (and eventually... hopefully these photos will make their way into the website), and I wanted to share a master bathroom reno I did for a really lovely couple about a month ago.

Master Bathroom Before... The builder had framed in a very small shower according to the very small shower pan (floor). This was all gutted to make way for a very large shower- the home owner's most important request.

We installed a custom glass extra large shower, and kept the tub and vanity to save on the budget. Two bands of square glass were installed as well, which makes the room look even bigger.

As mentioned above, the vanity was kept (handles will be changed later), and we had custom Ceasarstone quartz countertops installed. Contact us to get your Ceasarstone countertops installed today! What an amazingly sleek look it has with the undermount sink.

A closeup look of the tile scheme we used (the trim tile chosen was a 1" x 1" square).

Last but not least I wanted to show a picture of the "freed toilet". The old toilet was literally boxed into its own little closet. Sure, it works at the Wynn Las Vegas where you practically get your own throne room, but here it was crammed into its own little closet. Alas the toilet has been set free!
Notice the detail of the tiled baseboards. I loved this tile - it's a taupe faux marble. It does a great job warming up the gray walls too (Stonington Gray HC-170) by Benjamin Moore.

Townhouse Project - Kitchen in White, Blues & Grays

Kitchen Before

 I know it's been a really long time since I posted, but i've been super busy (which is good!) I've been really blessed with projects back to back this year so I haven't had much time to collect photos (and my thoughts too... sometimes :) Anyway, back to the project. I had a lot of fun doing this house because it is the first house that my former roomate in university bought with her husband. After searching for a house and not finding what they wanted, they decided to buy a house with a good layout and hire us to create their dream house!Congratulations Ada & Garway!

We kept the same basic layout of the original kitchen, but we designed new white shaker style cabinets (complete with a new microwave shelf - a must have in any modern kitchen to maximize countertop space), added a chimney range hood and granite countertops. The whole entire first floor was painted one of my favourite shades of all time "Gray Cashmere (2138-60)" By Benjamin Moore . It's a great blue-gray shade that compliments kitchens and hallways very well (great for open concept) because it picks up the lights and darks in shadows and interprets them in gorgeous tones. Plus, we kept the flooring to keep the budget down, and the paint colour really helped to cool down the red tones.

The builder's original layout for the pantry wasn't very functional. What's up with the desk and the single pantry? I love how this double pantry turned out. These were custom built pantries look great (and even better in person- where the shaker doors are more obvious). There are more pictures to come for the rest of the house, but the project is still in progress... stay tuned!

Another Mention in Toronto Life Magazine

It's a great honour to see your name printed in Toronto Life magazine! Here's another article about The Big Fish, the restaurant I designed on Queen St. I'm so excited about the buzz they're getting!

Spring Change Up!

Wow, it has been a crazy few weeks... I have a lot to catch up on in terms of posting, but I wanted to post my spring re-fresh at my house. Since I got my furniture back from renting, I decided to change things up a bit!


My living and dining room have been given a refresh, moving my round kitchen table to the dining room to allow space to put the buffet table behind it.



The only new things in this room were complete scores! I got this rug from Homesense for $59.99 and two extra accent pillows on clearance for $13 and $23. Friends joke that I should be named the Homesense ambassador :).
I've got an obvious passion for bold patterns, but I'm always loving it in navy and white.

I found this chair from Elegant Garage Sale for an unbelievable steal of $25. I reupholstered it with fabric from Designer Fabrics. I moved the bamboo bar cart (that I got from my grandparent's attic) here, and dressed it up, under my $5 gold mirror from Canadian Tire.

The blue and yellow theme is carried out on throw pillows and this bathroom cup I got from West Elm.

I'm totally loving my beach house inspired family room right now. It's such an "Ahhh" spot.

Like I always say, put things in your home that make you happy! I found these cute little cast iron bunnies and they keep each other company on one of my lanterns.  Not everything needs to be symmetrical!

My mantle was cleared and I re-styled it with tone on tone cream, white and celadon objects for a relaxing, seaside feel.

Nothing says comfort like a big basket full of fluffy pillows. You can never have enough!

Staging Project in Markham

I wanted to share some photos of my recent staging project for a 5 level back split in Markham. It was vacant (having been completely renovated by the owners), so I had a blank slate to maximize the space!


Living room

Formal Dining Room

Complete kitchen area in the basement

This large basement bedroom was staged to show that it could be either a large bedroom or living area.

Master Bedroom

Den / Office space

The Big Fish on Queen

Here are some photos from the restaurant project that I did (thanks to Cynthia for taking these for me since I cant go down for a while). I will definitely post more "formal" pictures soon but here's a glimpse :)