The homeowners wanted to open up their living and kitchen area to create a more open plan. We relocated doors and tore open a wall to make that happen. New cabinetry and floors where installed and the ceiling and fireplace where painted. This home now functions the way it should for this young family!

DESIGNED BY TOC design CONSTRUCTION BY TOC design & Construction inc. PHOTOS BY : Tania Scardellato I was fortunate to have a young family approach me in desperate need to renovate there only 3 piece bathroom. This space was In dire need of a remodel, with old brown wall to wall tiles and a dated bulky yellow brown single sink vanity. Storage was a must, lighting a necessity, and proper accessibility to the shower bath area. We had a tight budget to respect, but a full gut of this bathroom was required. And a good thing too, once we started doing the demolition we noticed that mildew and rotting floors and walls had accumulated throughout the years. Doing it right the first time is no joke when dealing with water and electrical issues. We discarded all reminisce of old and built from scratch, new walls, new plumbing, new electrical ,new insulation and a new window, a new fan that actually exhausted outside ( I say this laughing as you would be amazed at how many fans are installed but don’t exhaust outside, and you the client would never know unless you go inside the attic space. Once all the hard stuff was done, the rest is just a matter of smart design. If you have a small bathroom here are some tips to guide you. 10 tips for making a small bathroom feel larger Is your tiny bathroom cramping your functionality and style, leaving you longing for the enormous bathrooms gracing the pages of design magazines? Even if your bathroom is a fraction of the size, all it takes is some design savvy to make the most of the space you have. Consider these 10 smart tips that will help your bathroom look, feel and function like those larger contenders. 1-Get creative with corners Space is at a premium in small bathrooms, so it's important to maximize every inch. Corners, for example, provide extra space for shelving, storage units and even hooks. Get creative and install unique design solutions that are not only functional, but also eye-catching. If you love the airiness of floating cabinets, add baskets or decorative boxes under for extra storage. If you are installing floating cabinets insure that they are installed securely to studs or plywood at wall. 2- Let solid colors shine Busy patterns have a shrinking effect and make small bathrooms seem even smaller. Conversely, light natural hues make a space feel more open. If you're itching to get creative with design, experiment with textures but keep overpowering patterns to a minimum. Tone on tone is the best to achieve this. 3 - Maximize your bathtub A bathtub takes up a significant portion of the room, but modern, compact options with curved basins, can make the tub feel larger when in use, all while conserving space. 4 - Select a smaller faucet A faucet is jewelry for the bathroom. And just as accessories can overpower an outfit, a big bulky faucet isn't flattering in a small bath. Single-handle designs conserve counter space, while a wall-mount installation frees it up all together and can create quite the wow-factor, if the budget can accommodate the required changes to plumbing behind the wall. 5 - Make vanity storage simple If you're in a storage war with your small bathroom, you're not alone in the battle. Toiletries and personal supplies without a place to call home only add clutter and chaos. Store smart with a space-saving vanity, the dual sink vanity shown here, looks quite simple, but in reality it has 4 sets of full extension drawers, and the vanity tower adds extra storage without overpowering the use of space. 6 - Show off the shower Shower curtains may be pretty, but they interrupt the visual flow of a bathing space and make it feel significantly smaller. In bathrooms with small footprints, opt for a clear glass sliding shower door that doesn't require the clearance of one with a hinged design. Or as shown in this design and for fraction less expensive a half hinged panel installed on a fixed tempered glass panel. If you're embarking on a big remodel, create the illusion of more space by using same tile in the shower that's used throughout; instead of seeing them as two separate zones, the eye will read them as one. 7 - Discover the treasure of hidden storage Work with a contractor, and you just might find some serious storage potential hidden behind your walls. Whether it's utilizing space between the studs for shallow shelving or a creating a small linen closet by annexing space from an adjacent room, even small additions can make a big difference. 8 - Focal Point Tile is a beautiful, durable addition to any bathroom. For dainty spaces, consider installing tile at a diagonal to accentuate the focal point or as in this bathroom I used an oversized textured pattern to bring depth to the space at the window wall. 9 - Choose the right lights Strategically install light to reflect and brighten a small bathroom to make it appear larger. Recessed lighting is an affordable solution for tiny rooms, offering ample light while taking up little space. Wall sconces alongside a mirror also reflect off the walls and make a room feel bright and airy. I always recommend going with LED lighting at 2800 to 3000K. 10 – Accessorize This is your time to shine in your decorating skills, have fun with your towels, you can change the color scheme daily just by adding pops of color in your accessories, make sure to get items that serve a dual purpose, like baskets, boxes they can always be used as hampers, storing of towels and even a nice display for your guest.

This is an example of a coastal landscaping in New York.

mikaela ruth

Flat panel cabinets feature modern pulls. Photo: Roger Davies
Eat-in kitchen - large contemporary single-wall porcelain tile and gray floor eat-in kitchen idea in Los Angeles with flat-panel cabinets, gray cabinets, an undermount sink, stainless steel countertops, metallic backsplash, metal backsplash and paneled appliances

5) 12’ by 7’ L-shaped walk behind wet bar with custom stained and lacquered, recessed paneled, maple/cherry, front bar face, ‘Aristokraft’ raised or recessed panel, cherry base cabinetry (www.aristokraft.com ) with room for owner supplied refrigerator, ice machine, beer tap, etc. and (2) level granite slab countertop (level 1 material allowance with standard edge- http://www.capcotile.com/products/slabs) and 5’ back bar with Aristokraft brand recessed or raised panel cherry base cabinets and upper floating shelves ( http://www.aristokraft.com ) with full height ‘Thin Rock’ genuine stone ‘backsplash’/wall ( https://generalshale.com/products/rock-solid-originals-thin-rock/ ) or mosaic tiled ($8 sq. ft. material allowance) and granite slab back bar countertop (level 1 material allowance- http://www.capcotile.com/products/slabs ), stainless steel under mount entertainment sink and ‘Delta’ - http://www.deltafaucet.com/wps/portal/deltacom/ - brand brushed nickel/rubbed oil bronze entertainment faucet; 6) (2) level, stepped, flooring areas for stadium seating constructed in theater room; 7) Theater room screen area to include: drywall wrapped arched ‘stage’ with painted wood top constructed below recessed arched theater screen space with painted, drywall wrapped ‘columns’ to accommodate owner supplied speakers;

We expanded an existing deck with new stairs, railing, decking, deck board design, lighting, complete with all post and beam wraps. All decking you see is Zuri decking with Timbertech Rail Systems. We installed riser lights up the stairs with post caps on top of all posts.

Inspiration for a coastal mudroom remodel in New York with blue walls

Tuftex Casablanca pattern carpet

Photo: Brian Barkley © 2015 Houzz
Example of a mountain style beige tile and pebble tile bathroom design with a drop-in sink, raised-panel cabinets, dark wood cabinets, a one-piece toilet and beige walls

Jim Westphalen
Kitchen - contemporary light wood floor kitchen idea in Burlington with white backsplash, stainless steel appliances, an island, an undermount sink and marble backsplash

Inspiration for a large transitional l-shaped dark wood floor open concept kitchen remodel in Miami with an undermount sink, shaker cabinets, light wood cabinets, granite countertops, white backsplash, mosaic tile backsplash, stainless steel appliances and an island

Photography by Jimi Smith / "Jimi Smith Photography"
Hot tub - mid-sized modern backyard concrete and rectangular hot tub idea in Dallas

Mezzanine railings fabricated by Earl Parson of Parson Architecture. Photo by Parson Architecture.
Inspiration for a mid-sized rustic loft-style family room remodel in Phoenix

Eclectic powder room photo in Charlotte

Inspiration for a large timeless master beige tile and ceramic tile ceramic tile alcove shower remodel in Dallas with raised-panel cabinets, white cabinets, beige walls, an undermount sink and solid surface countertops

Here is a far shot of the beam screens and context photo for them. The various levels are more evident as you walk through the garden and pan through these garden photos. One difficult spot was keeping the back hot tub walls from getting too tall but being able to form a vault for the hot tub beneath the deck. I was excited about my design for the floating steps up from the hot tub, to serve as lounge bench seating with the back of the BBQ plinth acting as privacy as well as the back of the bench and steps. The planters add green and another seating perch and deal with the grading levels I mentioned in other photos.

| DETAILS | in concrete constructed condos it's very rare that we ever want to have to core new drain locations. For the Master Ensuite more and more when we do full renovations down to studs we are removing the terrible 5' tubs and tiny itty bitty 3x3' showers. For some reason the idea of luxury meant squeeze as much as you can so you have a long list of features when you go to market. More and more we are doing oversized his and hers showers. So when you have a drain that you are repurposing from previous plumbing fixtures and the drain isn't centred, it's pretty much magic to have the team surprise you after several site meetings and evaluations - we opted for the plumbers favourite to use Schluter linear tile over drains and have the oversized tile cut to fit and provide the necessary grout lines for a flush shower threshold. This might seem like nothing but is everything when we have the perfect tile layout be inline with the what we think is a centred drain. These are the kind of details that make my OCD sister inside so happy, we call it the centre flush drain happy dance. Kudos to @caisleydevelopments @4thdimensionconstruction with the help of @stonetilevancouver for finding a perfect subtle sand toned oversized porcelain. A large format tile in a shade and same tone value as our hardwood floor and one shade darker than our Baltic Birch flush panels for ease of cleaning and hiding dirt. When you want things clean I opt for showers with minimal detailing to be in shades darker than white. Cleaning becomes less treacherous. Also gone is this idea of ugly accent tile, we opt for uniform tile one material throughout a bathroom floor to ceiling and if possible all walls. Construction geekery 101 continues