A home built on one of Canada's most beautiful lakes posed a design challenge. The home had originally been built almost directly in opposition to natural light and views to the lake. While most opinions were to tear the existing home down, BLDG Workshop worked closely with the client to recreate the home in a way that opened it up and became more fitting to the site.

Example of a 1950s staircase design in DC Metro

Island style home design photo in San Diego

shane garrett
Home theater - victorian home theater idea

Inspiration for a small contemporary 3/4 bathroom remodel in San Francisco

Lisa Gabrielson
Example of a mid-sized minimalist guest bedroom design in Atlanta with gray walls

Oversized and underused was how our Client described their old furniture for this space. We were brought in to come up with a furniture plan and accessorizing details that would make the space livable and loveable again!

Bedroom - modern bedroom idea in Vancouver

Large elegant light wood floor dining room photo in Boston with multicolored walls, a standard fireplace and a stone fireplace

The owners of this lovely 1960s ranch home were over living with an out of date and awkward kitchen, so they enlisted our help to bring their dream kitchen to life. Right off the bat we all agreed that is was best to keep with the era of the home with a sleek modern kitchen featuring slab door cabinets. Our clients also wanted to space to feel brighter and more spacious with room for entertaining friends and family. So we knocked down a wall, filled in an unused door, and shortened a window so we could wrap this kitchen and create an optimal working triangle. We selected a maple cabinet with a medium-light stain, a light neutral porcelain floor tile, bright white glass backsplash with a mid-mod feature tile, and a variety of lighting. To create a space perfect for entertaining, we added a small peninsula for barstool seating. Behind the cabinet doors and drawers are many storage features including a double bin pull-out trash can, full access roll-out trays, pull out base cabinet pantry, super-susan corner cabinet, a wall cabinet for the microwave, and a pantry/fridge enclosure with roll-out trays. The sunroom received a facelift that covered the exterior brick to hide the modifications of walling up a door and raising the window sill height. It also created the sense that this space is an extension of the home, not just an exterior sunroom. We addressed the awkward step into the sunroom and installed new tile flooring. We finished the space of with a warm gray paint and soft sheers. This was such a fun and exciting project!! Cheers to our lovely clients and their gorgeous new kitchen and sunroom.

One of the most popular hardwood floor finishing which offers Tom & Peter Flooring is provided by WOCA. If you’ve decided that you want a natural looking wooden floor that is lacquer-free, then the likelihood is that you’ve chosen oil as your way of protecting your wood and making your floor look great at the same time. WOCA for wood flooring comes in various forms and is a great way of making sure that your wood is protected, but at the same time looks natural. A highly popular as well as effective way of treating wood floors, oils effectively penetrate into the wood and in some cases harden into the surface of the floor to stop damage and to maintain the wood in its optimum condition. WOCA Oil finish hardwood flooring has taken the United States market by in 2014 and shows no signs of slowing down in 2016 and now. Here are some of the most common questions we have regarding this type of finish which we will I’m to answer in today’s my blog: Is oil finish as durable as traditional factory urethane finishes with aluminum oxide? When it comes to durability, oil finish flooring tackles the issue with a completely different method. The penetrating oil serves as protection from moisture and wear while allowing the user to feel the wood grains in their bare feet. If compared directly to factory finished aluminum oxide finish, the oil finish flooring will not perform as well to abrasion and impact. However, the beauty of this finish is the fact that it will camouflage any scratches which will inevitably accumulate over time. Will this finish evaporate over time and will this be harmful for indoor air quality? Another concern for oil finished floors its effect on indoor air quality. For on-site applications, some varieties suggest several coats which typically require the residents to be out of the home due to mild odors. However, there are factory finished UV-cured or single coat applications which lessen the downtime. Despite the odors produced during the drying process, oil finish floors rank amongst the lowest for VOC (volatile organic compound) emissions. Certain brands even boast true zero VOC. This fact alone makes oil finished floors one of the best options for green building solutions. “WOCA products are certified by independent laboratories, the German Institute for Biological Building Materials, and are in accordance with DIN–Norm 53–160. WOCA WoodCare Denmark products meet or exceed the most stringent U.S. standards for volatile organic compounds.” –WOCA Oil Finish Manufacture Does this type of finish require additional maintenance which I am not familiar with? For weekly cleaning, oiled floors use a special cleaner which contains an oil and soap mixture. After a period of 12-18 months some oil may evaporate causing the wood grains to appear dry. An additional layer of oil can be reapplied to keep the floor looking fresh. Although oil finished floors require more involvement in periodic maintenance in high traffic areas, this maintenance can be done much easier than the equivalent of an onsite sand and refinish. WOCA Master Color Oil contains pigment, which provides a single-step hardwood floor staining process. Laying down the stain and the finish in one step. This product comes 14 different colors, from Black to Extra White, and you can mix them freely to create various color palettes that will meet the demands of any job. Below are some pictures of the finished job…

The flooring is Centiva Luxury Vinyl Tile - Magic/ Color: Copper. Cherry wood cabinets with Caesarstone Black Noir countertops. The backsplash is Oceanside Glass Mosaic- Color: Copper Blend.

Richard Mandelkorn
Home design - traditional home design idea in Boston

Example of a classic master carpeted bedroom design with red walls

I was recently asked to this property in Wimbledon in to see if there was anything we could do to resolve the problem with a recently laid Black Limestone tiled floor. The builders that had laid the Limestone did not cover or clean the tiles prior to sealing with an impregnating seal thereby trapping in all the dirt from the building works. They then grouted the tiles but didn’t clean the grout off the surface before putting on another two coats of sealer all of which resulted in a very poor finish. Naturally the customer was not happy so called them back to rectify the problem and so they came back and tried to strip the sealer off with cloths and a chemical stripper. Then without rinsing the stone to remove the chemicals they added another two coats of sealer; in desperation the lady gave up with them and called me in. To resolve I tried all the sealant strippers available to me but couldn’t budge the mess effectively. The only other option available was to diamond grind the surface so I discussed this with the customer and she agreed to this and left me to carry on. Initially I started with a coarse 400 grit diamond pad but even that wasn’t having much effect so in the end I had to cut back the surface using a 100 grit pad moving up to 200 grit, then 400 before finally stopping at 800. To lubricate the process you need to use a little water and then rinse away the resultant soil after each pad. If this was a polished stone surface I would have continued with finer and finer grits to restore the surface polish however these tiles were rough limestone and I needed to leave it as near to how it should be. Once all the Limestone had been stripped back the stone turned an uninviting grey colour, so to bring it back to black I applied two coats of Tile Doctor Stone Oil which enhanced the colour. I left the floor overnight to allow the Stone Oil to dry out and then returned to seal the Limestone using two coats of Tile Doctor Colour Grow which is an impregnating sealer that enhances the colour in the stone and will protect it from staining going forward. When the customer saw the final result she was overwhelmed and said she felt like crying with relief, because the floor now looked how she had imagined it to be. It was a great feeling for me to know that I had solved the problems for her.

Ryan Garvin Photography
Bedroom - mid-sized industrial master light wood floor and gray floor bedroom idea in Denver with white walls and no fireplace

Powder room - cottage wallpaper powder room idea in New York

Millicent Harvey
Living room - mid-sized contemporary open concept light wood floor living room idea in Boston with a standard fireplace and a stone fireplace

Large tuscan master gray floor, double-sink and vaulted ceiling freestanding bathtub photo with shaker cabinets, dark wood cabinets, an undermount sink, a hinged shower door, white countertops and a built-in vanity