Removing a wall in a small two-bedroom unit has resulted in a significant transformation. By opening up the space, a seamless connection has been established between the kitchen, dining area, and living room, creating a multi-functional and versatile area. The removal of the wall has eliminated the physical barriers that previously separated these spaces, fostering a sense of openness and facilitating better communication and interaction among family members. The kitchen extension resulting from the removal of the wall has provided several practical benefits. Firstly, it has allowed for the expansion of the bench space, providing more room for meal preparation, cooking, and other kitchen activities. Additionally, the kitchen extension has led to an improvement in storage capacity. This means that kitchen utensils, appliances, and ingredients can be neatly organized and easily accessible, reducing clutter and enhancing efficiency in the kitchen.

Removing a wall in a small two-bedroom unit has resulted in a significant transformation. By opening up the space, a seamless connection has been established between the kitchen, dining area, and living room, creating a multi-functional and versatile area. The removal of the wall has eliminated the physical barriers that previously separated these spaces, fostering a sense of openness and facilitating better communication and interaction among family members. The kitchen extension resulting from the removal of the wall has provided several practical benefits. Firstly, it has allowed for the expansion of the bench space, providing more room for meal preparation, cooking, and other kitchen activities. Additionally, the kitchen extension has led to an improvement in storage capacity. This means that kitchen utensils, appliances, and ingredients can be neatly organized and easily accessible, reducing clutter and enhancing efficiency in the kitchen.

This is the kind of pool you build when you regularly entertain 100 or more guests at your country estate. The classic formal look is established with symmetrical lines and a round stone lounging area centred across from the zero edge spill wall. The pool's white Armourcoat interior is livened with blue quartz crystals and bordered with Wiarton flagstone coping and exposed aggregate deck with architectural cuts. The massive adjoining cabana contains a full kitchen, wet bar, enclosed interior TV room and full bathroom. (22 x 44, rectangular with Roman ends)

This young mid-town Toronto family wanted their backyard makeover to have an elegant design that would complement the older homes in the area. The neighbourhood has a lot of mature trees and established properties with traditional architecture.

The highlight of the 13’ 9” x 18’ Gunite pool is the custom 10’ sheer descent waterfall with its own dedicated pump to ensure a generous, smooth consistent flow. This closer view of the Porcea tile wall shows how a contemporary look is established using simple clean rectangular lines.

In this backyard all the elements fit together beautifully with an interesting combination of modern minimalism woven with classic materials and finishes. Along the fence line a stand of partially established European hornbeams will continue to fill out and add to the privacy of the backyard.

This coastal garden is located 4 hours north of Sydney. This garden has been an ongoing project for Secret Gardens over the last decade. The original brief was for a ‘mini botanic garden’ which proved a challenge on a site with little tree or vegetation cover and limited top soil. The plantings are 95% native, from the establishing rainforest where over 25 varieties of trees have been used to the drier areas where Callistemon, Kangaroo Paw and ornamental grasses have been used in large swathes.The result now is an established garden that will continue to evolve and provide great enjoyment for our clients.

This coastal garden is located 4 hours north of Sydney. This garden has been an ongoing project for Secret Gardens over the last decade. The original brief was for a ‘mini botanic garden’ which proved a challenge on a site with little tree or vegetation cover and limited top soil. The plantings are 95% native, from the establishing rainforest where over 25 varieties of trees have been used to the drier areas where Callistemon, Kangaroo Paw and ornamental grasses have been used in large swathes.The result now is an established garden that will continue to evolve and provide great enjoyment for our clients.

This coastal garden is located 4 hours north of Sydney. This garden has been an ongoing project for Secret Gardens over the last decade. The original brief was for a ‘mini botanic garden’ which proved a challenge on a site with little tree or vegetation cover and limited top soil. The plantings are 95% native, from the establishing rainforest where over 25 varieties of trees have been used to the drier areas where Callistemon, Kangaroo Paw and ornamental grasses have been used in large swathes.The result now is an established garden that will continue to evolve and provide great enjoyment for our clients.

This coastal garden is located 4 hours north of Sydney. This garden has been an ongoing project for Secret Gardens over the last decade. The original brief was for a ‘mini botanic garden’ which proved a challenge on a site with little tree or vegetation cover and limited top soil. The plantings are 95% native, from the establishing rainforest where over 25 varieties of trees have been used to the drier areas where Callistemon, Kangaroo Paw and ornamental grasses have been used in large swathes.The result now is an established garden that will continue to evolve and provide great enjoyment for our clients.

This coastal garden is located 4 hours north of Sydney. This garden has been an ongoing project for Secret Gardens over the last decade. The original brief was for a ‘mini botanic garden’ which proved a challenge on a site with little tree or vegetation cover and limited top soil. The plantings are 95% native, from the establishing rainforest where over 25 varieties of trees have been used to the drier areas where Callistemon, Kangaroo Paw and ornamental grasses have been used in large swathes.The result now is an established garden that will continue to evolve and provide great enjoyment for our clients.

This coastal garden is located 4 hours north of Sydney. This garden has been an ongoing project for Secret Gardens over the last decade. The original brief was for a ‘mini botanic garden’ which proved a challenge on a site with little tree or vegetation cover and limited top soil. The plantings are 95% native, from the establishing rainforest where over 25 varieties of trees have been used to the drier areas where Callistemon, Kangaroo Paw and ornamental grasses have been used in large swathes.The result now is an established garden that will continue to evolve and provide great enjoyment for our clients.

This coastal garden is located 4 hours north of Sydney. This garden has been an ongoing project for Secret Gardens over the last decade. The original brief was for a ‘mini botanic garden’ which proved a challenge on a site with little tree or vegetation cover and limited top soil. The plantings are 95% native, from the establishing rainforest where over 25 varieties of trees have been used to the drier areas where Callistemon, Kangaroo Paw and ornamental grasses have been used in large swathes.The result now is an established garden that will continue to evolve and provide great enjoyment for our clients.

This coastal garden is located 4 hours north of Sydney. This garden has been an ongoing project for Secret Gardens over the last decade. The original brief was for a ‘mini botanic garden’ which proved a challenge on a site with little tree or vegetation cover and limited top soil. The plantings are 95% native, from the establishing rainforest where over 25 varieties of trees have been used to the drier areas where Callistemon, Kangaroo Paw and ornamental grasses have been used in large swathes.The result now is an established garden that will continue to evolve and provide great enjoyment for our clients.

In Northern Ontario there is a limited growing season so you make the best of it. My Nana's one acre property was designed to remind her of her beloved memories of European gardens: formal paths with hardy shrubs that will bring interest in all seasons. Behind and in-between these paths are vegetable gardens interspersed with annuals in the summer months. Budget was small, everything grown from natural woodland digs, grafting, and clippings. Such care was taken in the planning and establishing phase of the garden maintenance is a snap.

There are many lighting rules which apply to the conceptual plan. Smaller parcels diminish light glare and pollution for the neighbors. Overuse of horizontal fixture types creates a landing strip appearance. The lighting design should have no dark holes. There should be lighting connectivity and composition throughout the design. Equal brightness of focal points surrounding architectural elements needs to be considered. Brightness levels need to be illuminated with connecting lower levels of illumination and stay underneath dark sky limits. The points of view need to be identified. These, and other lighting conceptual concerns, are presented and discussed individually in an effort to establish a master lighting plan for the property. This lighting plan can be implemented in phases do to budget, time constraints, and desires of the homeowner. The landscape lighting master plan brings the landscape plan to the fullest 8 seasons, 4 seasons both day and night.

It’s rare when a client comes to me with a brief for a complete home from scratch, but that is exactly what happened here. My client, a professional musician and singer, was having a luxury three-story condo built and wanted help choosing not only all the hardscape materials like tile, flooring, carpet, and cabinetry, but also all furniture and furnishings. I even outfitted his new home with plates, flatware, pots and pans, towels, sheets, and window coverings. Like I said, this was from scratch! We defined his style direction for the new home including dark colors, minimalistic furniture, and a modern industrial sensibility, and I set about creating a fluid expression of that style. The tone is set at the entry where a custom laser-cut industrial steel sign requests visitors be shoeless. We deliberately limited the color palette for the entire house to black, grey, and deep blue, with grey-washed or dark stained neutral woods. The navy zellige tiles on the backsplash in the kitchen add depth between the cement-textured quartz counters and cerused cabinetry. The island is painted in a coordinating navy and features hand-forged iron stools. In the dining room, horizontal and vertical lines play with each other in the form of an angular linear chandelier, lighted acrylic light columns, and a dining table with a special faceted wave edge. Chair backs echo the shape of the art maps on the wall. We chose a unique, three dimensional wall treatment for the living room where a plush sectional and LED tunable lights set the stage for comfy movie nights. Walls with a repeating whimsical black and white whale skeleton named Bruce adorn the walls of the powder room. The adjacent patio boasts a resort-like feeling with a cozy fire table, a wall of up-lit boxwoods, and a black sofa and chairs for star gazing. A gallery wall featuring a roster of some of my client’s favorite rock, punk, and jazz musicians adorns the stairwell. On the third floor, the primary and guest bathrooms continue with the cement-textured quartz counters and same cerused cabinetry. We completed this well-appointed home with a serene guest room in the established limited color palette and a lounge/office/recording room. All photos by Bernardo Grijalva

This unique project, in the heart of London Fields' creative sector, involved adjacent live-work units owned individually by a furniture maker and a group of video makers. Although experts in their respective fields, neither had experience with multi-unit development. The project presented several challenges and concerns from our clients, which we addressed with creative solutions, expertise, flexibility and collaboration. The pair of property owners had become accidental developers by virtue of opportunity. We guided them through a complex process by helping them plan effectively, overcoming several obstacles, and ultimately leading them towards a successful outcome. Our client's primary challenge was maximising the development potential. The two properties are part of a terrace of four. The other two owners had already added an extra storey. The new volume established a precedent for a volume the planners wanted to complete. Maximising the development potential would require carefully considering the limitations of the established volume to ensure a design that would captivate the target market of young and creative professionals. To overcome these challenges, we took a comprehensive approach that integrated functional and aesthetic considerations. We first focused on reimagining the interior layout, utilising our expertise to optimise space and create a seamless flow within the units. This involved carefully addressing the planning limitations at the front, resulting in a stepped profile, which had initially posed limits to potential uses.

There are many lighting rules which apply to the conceptual plan. Smaller parcels diminish light glare and pollution for the neighbors. Overuse of horizontal fixture types creates a landing strip appearance. The lighting design should have no dark holes. There should be lighting connectivity and composition throughout the design. Equal brightness of focal points surrounding architectural elements needs to be considered. Brightness levels need to be illuminated with connecting lower levels of illumination and stay underneath dark sky limits. The points of view need to be identified. These, and other lighting conceptual concerns, are presented and discussed individually in an effort to establish a master lighting plan for the property. This lighting plan can be implemented in phases do to budget, time constraints, and desires of the homeowner. The landscape lighting master plan brings the landscape plan to the fullest 8 seasons, 4 seasons both day and night.