Have you been seeing a lot of open-concept layouts that use unconventional means to divide up spaces?
We actually did reveal a reno that we did today — we opened up some pillars and we turned a half wall into a breakfast bar, and we used that for opening up a space between the living room and kitchen. It has a beautiful, open sightline, but it still gives that separation. Depending on the size of the room, if you do remove the wall, you have an open concept and then it’s with the furniture design that you can give separation to the space.… In smaller places, more storage space is needed. We’re always looking for storage spaces — whether it’s bench storage that opens up in the kitchen, or in islands there can be extra storage underneath where the seats are. Functionality is always key and that’s a big thing.
Are there any new trends that people are looking to incorporate into their own homes?
We try to stick to earth tones, to keep things nice and fresh and crisp. Brighten things up by adding pops of colour throughout your home. Throws and pillows are a great way to add pops of colour that are seasonal.
What are your favourite materials to use in homes with pets?
With dogs, the major concern is scratching the floors. With hardwood, you have to be careful. There’s actually a density chart that I have on my Facebook page that shows which species are better. But nothing beats laminate. If you are going for the look of hardwood, some of the new single-board laminate products work well. You can’t tell the difference between it and engineered hardwood, and they will stand up 10 times better than anything else in the hardwood species. I also really love the porcelain tiles that are long planks and they have a wood grain finish on them so they actually look like hardwood, but it’s porcelain tile. There is no dog that is going to damage that.
What common mistakes do people make when it comes to renovating?
A lot of floor plans of older homes are very cramped and there’s a lot of separation and they are not very functional for today’s day and age. Mostly everyone wants open concept. So we find people will renovate a space — the kitchen in an older home, for example. They’ll renovate a cramped and tiny kitchen, put in all new cabinets, granite countertops, but they don’t change the layout. They keep the old dated layout. You’re not fooling anyone because now it looks like you have a new kitchen in a cramped, tiny space. So it’s better that you’re looking at a layout that is more functional, then just using what is already there.
Where should someone start in terms of deciding on the best investment down the road?
If someone is trying to take on most of the work themselves, look at houses that preferably you don’t have to do a lot of structural changes to because as soon as you start doing additions or adding another floor that’s when you can jump into some unexpected costs that can add up. But things that are really easy, like opening up a wall to give you an open concept on the main floor, or in the kitchen, by changing the cabinets, flooring, these are all things that are a lot easier to budget and a lot easier to complete.
