Whoever said that the Big Apple is the city that never sleeps weren’t kidding! For the long weekend my Mom, daughter and 50 others (from my daughters Musical Theatre Group) headed to NYC for a fun filled weekend, jam packed with plenty of sites to see and places to go. Continue reading “NEW YORK DESIGN CENTRE – 1st dibs”
A Basement & Ensuite Design…See the Virtual Tour Here!
One of the areas of a home that I love to design the most is…the unfinished basement! That may come as no suprise if you’ve been following my blog for any length of time and saw my posts on the 3000 square foot basement that I designed last year for Baeumler Quality Construction. The beauty of the unfinished basement is the potential I find within them for all that my clients desire!
Just last week I presented to clients my two design options for a 1500 square foot basement and they also requested that I re-design their ensuite. Check out the virtual tour I put together for them in the video below. (remember, these specific plans are for space planning, not for specifying finishes)
When I present to clients on my laptop in person, after the presentation meeting I follow up by sending them a virtual tour of the space I’ve designed. This way they can take their time to look at it, pause it and even share it with others if they wish.
For these clients their wish list consisted of: Bar; living space with fireplace & built ins; spare guest bedroom; full bathroom; an office for hubby and an area for poker or playing games. The treadmill was a bit awkward to place as you will see in Option#1, but we found a better place for it in the second layout option.
The furnace room was already framed in and it offered lots of storage space within it which was great. Clients also requested a hidden bookcase similar to the one I did to the Xbox room in the contemporary basement, that lead to the office space.
To see both options for the basement as well as the ensuite redesign, watch my youtube video here.
The jury is still out on which design my clients will choose, but at the time of presenting, they were leaning towards option#1 with a few tweaks. I can’t wait to see what they decide upon for both projects.
Some big decisions for them to make now! Which design layout option do you like best? Comment below after watching the video to let me know.
Looking for space planning in your home? Contact me here and let’s do this!
Teen Bathroom Makeover
For this ‘Teen Bathroom Renovation’, I once again had the wonderful opportunity to work with Bryan Baeumlers company, Baeumler Quality Construction. Clients were looking to renovate their kitchen and part of the second floor in their Oakvillle Ontario home, so I was called in to create various layouts for both spaces.
In this post I want to share with you the before photos, renderings of my two interior design options and the final reveal of the teen bathroom makeover. I’ll show you how we went ‘high and low’ on certain design elements without compromising the overall look of the space.
Before
Here is what the bathroom looked like when I first arrived to consult with my clients.
One of my clients pet peeves was that you can see the toilet from the hallway as you walked up the stairs. They requested I consider moving the toilet so it was not the first thing people see as they approach the second floor.
Below is Option #1 where I moved the tub& shower along the wall with the window and the toilet to the left of the door, behind the wall as you enter this area of the bathroom.
For Design Option #2, I removed the wall between the two rooms to make one large bathroom. This allowed for more room between the toilet and the tub. I also added a tower on top of the counter top of the vanity for extra storage space.
As my clients were also renovating the main floor, they decided in the end not to make any changes to the layout of the kids bathroom in order to keep costs down. We did however, custom build a tower unit as shown in Option #2 and clients also splurged on heated flooring, as per my recommendation of things to consider for the design.
Bathroom After…
In an effort to save on costs, we opted to keep the existing vanity cabinet & doors but have them painted to work with the new colour palette. Also, as oppose to installing a glass shower enclosure, we decided a shower curtain was sufficient. After all, the kids did get the heated tile and a beautifully updated washroom, so they can’t really complain!
See more of this renovation here on my youtube video. Check out my other bathroom designs – a sleek contemporary bathroom with sauna here and my stunning white bathroom design here that’s been published twicehere.
Contact me here if you need help with your upcoming bathroom renovation and want to see the possibilities before you renovate! 905-581-0776. My full portfolio can be seen here.
Photography & Renovations by Baeumler Quality Construction
Choosing the Best Size Area Rug for Your Space
Can you believe that this is one of the most common mistakes that I see in Interior Design? Many home owners often purchase area rugs that are too small for their space. The purpose of an area rug -other than adding softness & helping with acoustics – is that it defines a space. It brings together groupings of furnishings to create an ‘oasis’ and a connection between them all.
Click on the video above to see my 3D drawings of a clients Great Room where I show the wrong size and the perfect size for the space.
Below is a photo of another clients family room in Oakville Ontario where I purposely show the rug too small.
The rule I like to live by is that an area rug must be under the front legs (at the very least) of all of the furniture within an area. For the family room above, we did not want to extend the rug to the occasional chairs by the window and there was two reasons for this.
1) I suggested the chairs by the window with the table and lamp were a separately defined area in the space. They are far away enough from the sectional for this to work.
2) If we did choose to have a rug that extended to the chairs, the rug size would need to be customised and therefore the price tag increases dramatically.
Below the rug is shown in a more appropriate size for the family room.
I also purposely pulled the rug to the edge of the fireplace so as you enter the room it doesn’t draw the eye to show the rug only half way to the fireplace.
Here are some more examples of my designs showing the right size area rug.
Below in this family room the width of the space wasn’t overly big so the area rug (non customised) was able to fit perfectly and go all the way under the stunning blue swivel chairs.
One of the only exceptions to this rule is if you are using an animal hide rug as shown below in this photo by Christie Architecture. This is a different style – often Mid Century Modern Style – and so it’s meant to exude a specific look.
If I’m totally honest, when I first began my Interior Decorating course more than 7 years ago now and the instructor told the class of this rule, I realised that my own area rug was too small in my living room. I went out and bought a brand new one immediately and it made such a difference in how the room looked!
Undoubtedly, this is one of the biggest pet peeves for many designers. Does it bother you? Is your area rug too small for your room? I would love to know if you have made this mistake, comment below and share your thoughts. Let’s get the conversation going!
Not signed up for my weekly blog posts yet? Whatcha waitin for?! Get the goods each week by clicking here and let’s do this! I’m on Youtube as well, subscribe to my channel here and I’ll see you there!
Client Main Floor Redesign – Virtual Tour
There are so many things that I love about what I do, which is why I followed my dream & started up my business of Interior Design just 5 short years ago. But this post is not about me, it’s about my clients. Everything I do in my business is with the focus of Continue reading “Client Main Floor Redesign – Virtual Tour”
My Master Bedroom – From Fugly to Fantastic!
I did something last year that most people hardly ever get around to doing in their home. I know it may be hard to believe, but this is so true of many homeowners.
When we decorate our homes, we concentrate on the main living spaces, which makes sense right? We need the hubs of our homes to function, especially the kitchen and other rooms that we use the most with our families and where we entertain in with friends. But what about Continue reading “My Master Bedroom – From Fugly to Fantastic!”
Why This Benjamin Moore Colour is My Favourite
You know the saying “You wear 20% of your wardrobe 80% of the time?” The reason why many of us do this is that we understand what works for our body types, with our skin tones and our preferred style sense.
Believe it or not, the same can be true for choosing paint colours. This is part of the reason why I specify Benjamin Moore’s Pashmina so often.
Pashmina by Benjamin Moore
Pashmina, AF100 is from the Affinity Line by Benjamin Moore.
I have created a Perfect Colour Palette for Pashmina. In it, you will find info on undertone(s), comparable colours, best whites and 10 gorgeous colours that look amazing with it.
It’s a muddy colour with a green undertone and has slightly more intensity & depth than the popular Revere Pewter.
It’s one of those rare colours that often works well with both the beiges and the grays.
If you’re looking to update your home’s decor without necessarily changing out fixed elements such as floor tiles & countertops, Pashmina may be the answer for you.
In my client’s elegant dining room design, our ‘jumping off point’ was this wallpaper (above) that I sourced for the accent wall behind the beautifully handcrafted custom wood buffet.
I created a soft monochromatic, neutral palette for an understated yet very refined & elegant look in this space which also happens to be the first room you see as you enter the home.
This meant that I wanted to set the tone of what guests can expect, design and style-wise, for the rest of the home’s décor.
Pashmina provided a rich yet subtle tone that complemented all other aspects of the design.
The Host and Hostess Chairs were custom made in this stunning large scale fabric from Duralee. The artwork is an abstract canvas of a lady in a bodice and it again repeats all the neutral ‘greige’ tones that we used in the space.
Pinch pleated custom drapery with a cream backdrop works wonderfully with the Pashmina and we repeated this lighter tone in the lampshades as well as in the beautiful oval-shaped, drum chandelier which takes centre stage in this elegant dining room.
Versatility at its Best!
The other thing that I absolutely love about Pashmina is that it rarely discriminates against any other colour.
I have used it with blues, reds and greens as you can see from my client’s lakeshore family room design in the photos below.
The granite counters in my client’s kitchen (below) had such variations of neutral tones within them.
Not only did that allow me to introduce the colour Pashmina to work with this fixed element, but it also worked very well with the bold colours of their original heirloom area rug (shown above) and the accent pillows that I sourced to work with the colour scheme.
My clients are thrilled with the paint colour and tell me that they are always receiving compliments on this space. YAY!
I also used AF100 Pashmina in another clients Family Room design (below).
This chameleon of a colour worked well with the design palette I created with the custom finishes & fabrics as well as with the countertops and backsplash in their adjacent kitchen (not shown).
Always be guided by fixed elements in adjoined rooms to achieve successful flow within your design.
It can be used with so many other colours which is why I just love it so much!
Which colour do you think it looks the best with?
I feel Pashmina will continue to be one of my favourite colours for a long time seeing as the grays are slowly being taken over by these ‘Greige’ tones.
It’s a good thing I have this large painted board in my arsenal!
Have you used Benjamin Moore’s Pashmina for the interior design of your home?
Photos by Stephani Buchman Photography. Thanks for always making my designs look incredible!
Contact me here if you are curious about Interior Design services and live in Burlington, Oakville, Ancaster or surrounding areas of the GTA.
For your convenience
Check out my Pashmina Perfect Colour Palette.
I have also included Pashmina in my Benjamin Moore Whites & Neutrals Collection showcasing all 10 of my Benjamin Moore white and neutral Perfect Colour Palettes.
If you want to get all my Benjamin Moore colour guides in one place, look no further than my Benjamin Moore Ultimate Collection. All 20 of my guides in one handy collection.
Remember, it only takes one mistake to take your home decorating project from divine to disaster. Don’t let the paint be what stresses you out!
Perfect For Pinning
Take my Colour Quiz to discover your Perfect Colour Palette.
What You Need To Know When Using Hardwood Looking Tile
Have you wanted to use a ceramic tile that looks like hardwood in your home design but aren’t sure how or where to incorporate this fabulous material? There are so many interesting shapes, patterns, tones and styles available today that it can be difficult to decide which is the best choice for you. Here I will giving you my expert advice on this topic to share everything you need to know Continue reading “What You Need To Know When Using Hardwood Looking Tile”
How Much Does It Cost To Hire An Interior Decorator?
Would you like to understand the costs and benefits to hiring an Interior Design Professional to help you with your renovation or decorating project?
There seems to be so much mystery around the costs associated with hiring professional design services and because every designer works differently, this can add to the confusion for many home owners looking for assistance with their renovation or decorating project.
I break it all down for you in a video today as I found it easier to say it, than to write it. So let’s do this!
If you want to Love Where You Live, contact me to hep you with your upcoming renovation or decorating project, I’d love to help! 905-599-2588 or email us: info@clairejefford.com.
