Totally Renovated Townhome Part I - The basement

I am SO excited to finally post photos up of a project that i've been working on for the past few months. While the construction only took a little longer than 6 weeks (the renovation of the whole entire home!), the actual design process takes many more weeks of proper planning, sourcing, design and coordination, which is a huge burden that Creative Design Therapy will take off your shoulders. I thought this would be a great opportunity to share more about the renovation process and what it takes to put something like this together. If you're thinking of renovating any part of your home, i'm hoping this will give some insight into the process. If you want to know more, please contact us with any questions you have at all, and we'll be happy to answer them.

 

Here's a look at the renovation we just finished:

BEFORE (the basement rec area). Photo by Century21

For this project, the client actually retained my services prior to purchasing his home, so that I could give rough estimates and my professional opinion on his investment before putting in an offer. In the long run, this could save you thousands of dollars, as certain issues can be forseen (some, of course, cannot without a home inspection, or actually opening up walls). Remember that your home is likely your largest investment and if you're in the process of purchasing a home, consider contacting us! After he purchased the house, we discussed the list of things that needed to be renovated, the client's wishes, and secured a contractor after receiving quotes. I also priced out materials and started managing and implementing a budget.


PROGRESS: the dropped ceilings have been removed and replaced with drywall. The carpeting was also removed.

AFTER: My client loved the flooring I had installed in another basement so we installed the same flooring here. It is a beautiful quality laminate by Torly's. I just love putting light coloured flooring in the basement because it makes it feel so much lighter and brighter.

We also painted the dark beige walls, added potlighting, and changed the doorknobs (a HUGE difference for those making to make an impact on a small budget by the way!)

A view of one of the many closets we have in this basement!

BEFORE:  The basement bedroom housing the electrical panel (behind the bulletin board)

 AFTER:  Because it's the basement, we didnt want to spend too much on another built in, so instead I chose an Ikea PAX wardrobe to fit the space. The electrical panel is now housed in a cute little cupboard.

 BEFORE: The basement washroom...

 AFTER: We used an "off the rack" shower kit from Home Depot, but I dressed it up by having this random strip charcoal tile. This shower will likely be used by guests, so we purchased a column body spray fixture (which is a much less expensive alternative to a wall mounted fixture).

 

 AFTER: The vanity is a floating vanity with a resin top installed. Everything you see here in this washroom except for the tiles were purchased from a big box store.

Kitchen Design & Reno- A Brand New Kitchen in Just Under 2 Weeks!



The Kitchen Before

I had the great opportunity to renovate and design a dream kitchen for Chloe and Calvin- a young couple with a very energetic toddler! The design process was spread over a few weeks so we were well prepared, and the actual renovation only took a total 1 week and 5 days. This is a very important part of our design and renovation process- that I provide a quality and well organized service so that my clients' lifestyles are impacted for only a short time. If you are looking to do a renovation, but are afraid of the inconvenience, please contact us and we can give you a realistic estimate and timeline. Ok, now it's time for the big reveal!

 
After: My client Chloe had the discipline not to see any of the renovations prior to the big reveal. It was just like the big reveals on the tv shows and she definitely was very emotional and cried because she loved her kitchen so much! The entrance that she is standing in was widened just a bit to create a more open feeling. It's these little details that count! :)

 The clients Chloe and calvin in their brand new kitchen, now much more functional with a large center island with plenty of drawers and cupboard space!

Before: The wall between the kitchen and the dining room

After: The non-load bearing wall was removed between the kitchen and the dining room to create a more open flow. The old vinyl tile flooring was removed and replaced with a beautiful 12" x 24" tile from Ciot called Land Light Grey.

 The island was designed with functionality in mind. The generous sized pot drawers are directly across from the stove (it was not possible to put them next to the stove due to the lack of space), and an electrical plug was installed on the island for plugging in their kitchen aid mixer or laptops.

The countertops were extended to create extra counter space.
 We used Caesarstone's 3141 Eggshell for the countertops and a classic subway tile backsplash, which will never go out of style! The cabinets were a cream coloured traditional door style but with brushed chrome modern handles to keep it from being too traditional.

We installed a stainless steel range hood to match the future stainless steel appliances they plan to purchase. We created a larger space for the refrigerator as well for future change ups. The result is a fully functional but beautiful kitchen that should outlast all sorts of trends, even when their toddler becomes an energetic teenager! It was a joy working with them. Congratulations on your new kitchen Chloe and Calvin!

Jane Austen Meets Laduree

As always, i'm changing up the design in my home and this time i've decided to take inspiration from one of my most popular Pinterest Boards, "Jane Austen Meets Laduree". What is that exactly? I would describe it as the subdued elegance of Jane Austen's gentry painted in the beautiful colours of Laduree's macaroons. Tea and pastries go together hand in hand if you think about it!

 My living and dining room have been swapped and i've created a seating area accented just the right amount of posies.

I put my Allegra Hicks for West Elm drapes up to frame the dining area, which is accented in "laduree green".

Gal's Sushi Before & After Pictures

I was so excited when I got the call to redesign Gal's Sushi, a very busy neighbourhood favourite restaurant. I knew it would be a challenge as the renovations were on a tight budget, and a very tight timeline. The renos were to be done at overnight as the owners wanted to keep the restaurant running during renovations. Another huge challenge was that it was only going to be a partial renovation in the main dining area. The owner wanted to keep existing flooring, seating and millwork so the design had to modernize the restaurant but keep jiving with what was already there. We also had to completely gut the two washrooms, which was also very exciting! Here it is:

 

Women's Bathroom Before

The owner wanted a luxurious feeling to the washrooms. I wish the camera picked up the amazing sparkly tiles on the floor and the effect of the sparkles in the vanity countertop. The women's bathroom was tiled from floor to ceiling for ease of cleaning.

 

I designed a vanity with a built in garbage chute for them.

Bathroom Stalls Before

 Here are the new bathroom stalls, complete with working door locks this time!



Dining Room Before

 
 The dining room after renovations. The old wallpaper was removed and the walls were tiled with a beautiful glazed textured tile, with a band of wood look tiles to compliment the existing booths and chairs that we could not change. Pendant lighting was added to create a focal point. I also added a valance with led lighting but unfortunately the contractor installed a much more blue light than I envisioned.

Sushi Bar Before

Brand new Ceasarstone countertops were installed at the sushi bar to replace the wooden ones. Much more practical and definitely looks a lot sleeker!

Our Top 10 Before & After Shots in 2012

Just like the Top 10 lists about celebrity moments, (or maybe i'm ripping off David Letterman here), I wanted to post and share my favourite top 10 transformations that we did this year. I had a hard time choosing them since I was blessed to have some really great design jobs this year, but here they are in no particular order. Enjoy!

 

Asian Inspired Condo Project

It's not often my clients take off and give me carte blanche and a set of keys to redesign their home while they're away, but considering this client was my sister, trust was definitely not an issue! Designing her place is an ongoing process, but I will post some photos of the work I did so far.

This living room was designed to reflect her global trotting taste mixing antique asian prints with more contemporary furniture.

Custom made drapes with a cherry blossom motif in subtle colours perfectly complimented this theme without going overboard on prints.

 A second bedroom in a downtown condo was converted into a home office with a day bed.

 This antique bird lamp found at a consignment shop was the perfect inspiration for these organic bird print drapes.

Kitchen Makeover in 2 weeks - Let There be Light!

When my best friend asked me to help renovate her parents house in Toronto, I jumped at the chance knowing that one day it may become her own home. With a shoestring budget, we turned this dark and outdated 30 year old kitchen into a bright and functional space for their family. We also had to do this renovation incredibly quickly, as they have an autistic daughter whose schedule was turned pretty much upside down. In total, including some major changes in the layout (which can usually add weeks), the project was finished in about 2 weeks and a couple days! That's the power of scheduling and a lot of prayer:)

Before (Wall between dining and kitchen)

The first step was to create a window pass through from the dining room to the kitchen to add extra light. The owners wanted to add a slab of granite so the pass through could be used as an extra counter space.




Kitchen Before



 
The Kitchen After renovations. We had cream traditional cabinets made with iron handles and knobs. The cabinets actually matched the "bone" coloured appliances (that they will eventually replace to stainless steel to match the new dishwasher that was installed). The backsplash is a glass and marble mosaic which creates a visual break in between the cabinets. The granite is giallo ornamental.

We had matching cabinet doors fabricated for their closet, so it looks like it matches the rest of the kitchen.