Facing the street, the perforated window screens are all small sections of the larger pattern, offering an abstract, fragmented glimpse of the feature inside.

Acting as a blank canvas, this compact Yaletown condo and its gutsy homeowners welcomed our kaleidoscopic creative vision and gave us free reign to funk up their otherwise drab pad. Colorless Ikea sofas and blank walls were traded for ultra luxe, Palm-Springs-inspired statement pieces. Wallpaper, painted pattern and foil treatments were used to give each of the tight spaces more 'larger-than-life' personality. In a city surrounded yearly with grey, rain-filled clouds and towers of glass, the overarching goal for the home was building upon a foundation of fun! In curating the home's collection of eccentric art and accessories, nothing was off limits. Each piece was handpicked from up-and-coming artists' online shops, local boutiques and galleries. The custom velvet, feather-filled sectional and its many pillows was used to make the space as much for lounging as it is for looking. Since completion, the globe-trotting duo have continued to add to their newly designed abode - both true converts to the notion that sometimes more is definitely more.

All in the Family A Westchester NY home had an empty 1300 Square foot basement to renovate. The young family of four requested the space be multi-purpose. The main room was for the adults to entertain family and friends with a Sports Theme. It included a unique bar designed with beautiful granite countertops, custom cabinetry and appliances. A pool table and dartboard provided grown up activity while a large high def. TV in custom built-in cabinetry was viewable from all parts of the room for watching sports and family movies. The cabinetry was designed to incorporate the window above the TV and showcase sports memorabilia that the couple had collected. Framed and signed jerseys were also hung on the wall. A 10’ x 6’ fully custom sectional was created for maximum seating and viewing. A workout room, children’s playroom and full bathroom were also included in the space-planning for a multi-purpose destination that the whole family, especially the young girls, would enjoy. Other important renovation details included the addition of steps and a cellar door leading up to the outside, larger windows to conform to egress code, walled in space at the perimeter of the main room to hide the mechanical equipment and for additional storage, and the use of porcelain “wood” tile for the floor in the children’s play area. Photography by Nick Daunys

CCI Renovations/North Vancouver/Photos - Luiza Matysiak. This former bungalow went through a renovation 9 years ago that added a garage and a new kitchen and family room. It did not, however, address the clients need for larger bedrooms, more living space and additional bathrooms. The solution was to rearrange the existing main floor and add a full second floor over the old bungalow section. The result is a significant improvement in the quality, style and functionality of the interior and a more balanced exterior. The use of an open tread walnut staircase with walnut floors and accents throughout the home combined with well-placed accents of rock, wallpaper, light fixtures and paint colors truly transformed the home into a showcase.

Costco TV lift cabinet at foot of bed is US Made by Cabinet Tronix. This DIY TV lift cabinet Park Avenue design is bench made with very high quality and has a motorized pop-up TV lift cabinet incorporated. All high quality designs 125 Designs http://www.cabinet-tronix.com/ come with a 5 year warranty and can be placed at the foot of the bed, against the wall or center of the room. Costco TV lift cabinet by "Best of Houzz 2014" for service, by Cabinet Tronix, has 12 years-experience specializing in Flat screen TV lift furniture. This hand carved TV lift cabinet is made to order and dimensions will be based on your TV size and other technology component needs. There is stock sizes however it can be made to hold any size larger flat screen TV. This Park Avenue flat screen TV lift cabinet is available in 16 amazing designer grade finishes. Custom finishing, configuration and sizing available. You can have any of our 125 plus TV lift cabinet designs set at the foot of the bed, against a wall/window or center of the room. All designs are finished on all 4 sides with the exact same wood type and finish. All Cabinet Tronix TV lift cabinet models come with HDMI cables, Digital display universal remote, built in Infrared repeater system, TV mount, wire web wrap, component section and power bar. You can also opt to include our optional 360 TV lift swivel system. Custom finishes and sizing All our Furniture systems come with a 5 Costco TV lift cabinet tv lift cabinet Costco cabinet Television TV lift cabinet Costco TV lift console Pop up TV cabinet Costco Motorized TV lift cabinet Costco Costco Television lift furniture Costco flat screen TV lift cabinet Costco hidden TV Lift cabinet Costco end of bed TV lift cabinets Costco foot of bed TV Lift

The homeowners of this condo sought our assistance when downsizing from a large family home on Howe Sound to a small urban condo in Lower Lonsdale, North Vancouver. They asked us to incorporate many of their precious antiques and art pieces into the new design. Our challenges here were twofold; first, how to deal with the unconventional curved floor plan with vast South facing windows that provide a 180 degree view of downtown Vancouver, and second, how to successfully merge an eclectic collection of antique pieces into a modern setting. We began by updating most of their artwork with new matting and framing. We created a gallery effect by grouping like artwork together and displaying larger pieces on the sections of wall between the windows, lighting them with black wall sconces for a graphic effect. We re-upholstered their antique seating with more contemporary fabrics choices - a gray flannel on their Victorian fainting couch and a fun orange chenille animal print on their Louis style chairs. We selected black as an accent colour for many of the accessories as well as the dining room wall to give the space a sophisticated modern edge. The new pieces that we added, including the sofa, coffee table and dining light fixture are mid century inspired, bridging the gap between old and new. White walls and understated wallpaper provide the perfect backdrop for the colourful mix of antique pieces. Interior Design by Lori Steeves, Simply Home Decorating. Photos by Tracey Ayton Photography

The owners of this kitchen had spent the money to upgrade the finishes in their kitchen upon building the home 12 years ago, but after living in the space for several years they realized how nonfunctional the layout really was. The (then) two preschool aged children had grown into busy, hungry teenagers with many friends who also liked to hang out at the house. So the family needed a more functional kitchen with better traffic flow, space for daily activities revolving around the kitchen at different times of day, and a kitchen that could accommodate cooking for and serving large groups. Furthermore, the dark, traditional finishes no longer reflected the homeowners’ style. They requested a brighter, more relaxed, coastal style that reflected their love of the seaside cities they like to visit. Originally, the kitchen was U-shaped with a narrow island in the middle. The island created narrow aisles that bottle-necked at the dishwasher, refrigerator, and cooktop areas. There was a pass-through from the foyer into the kitchen, but the owners never liked that the pass-through was also located so close to the powder room. The awkward proximity was unappealing and made guests feel uncomfortable. The kitchen’s storage was made up of lots of narrow cabinets, apothecary drawers, clipped corner units, and very few drawers. It lacked useful storage for the larger items the family used on a daily basis. And the kitchen’s only pantry was small closet that had only builder-grade, narrow shelving with no illumination to be able to see the contents inside. Overall, the kitchen’s lighting plan was poorly executed. Only six recessed cans illuminated the entire kitchen and nook areas. The under cabinet lighting was not evenly distributed either. In fact, the builder had mis-placed the under cabinet lighting around the decorative pilasters which made for choppy, dark cubbies. Further, the builder didn’t include any lighting over the sink or the bar area, which meant whoever was doing the dishes was always in their own shadow. That, coupled with the steep overhang of the game room above made the bar area feel like a dim, cavernous space that wasn’t inviting or task oriented. The kitchen looked out into the main living space, but the raised bar and a narrow wall (which held the only large cabinet in the kitchen) created more of a barrier than a relationship to the living room or breakfast nook. In fact, one couldn’t even see the breakfast nook from the cooktop or sink areas due to its orientation. The raised bar top was too narrow to comfortably sit to either dine at or chat from due to the lack of knee space. The the homeowners confided that the kitchen felt more like a dark, dirty prison than place where the family, or their guests, wanted to gather and commune. The clients' needs and desires were: ➢ to create a kitchen that would be a space the family loved to be in; to relate to the adjacent spaces all around, and to have better flow for entertaining large groups ➢ to remove the walls between the breakfast nook and living area and to be able to utilize the natural light from the windows in both those areas ➢ to incorporate a functional chopping block for prepping fresh food for home cooked meals, an island with a large sink and drain board, 2 pull out trash cans, and seating for at least the 2 teens to eat or do homework ➢ to design a kitchen and breakfast nook with an airy, coastal, relaxed vibe that blended with the rest of the house's coastal theme ➢ to integrate a layered lighting plan which would include ample general illumination, specific task lighting, decorative lighting, and lots of illuminated storage ➢ to design a kitchen with not only more storage for all the husband’s kitchen gadgets and collection of oils and spices, but smart storage, including a coffee/breakfast bar and a place to store and conceal the toaster oven and microwave ➢ to find a way to utilize the large open space between the kitchen, pantry area, and breakfast nook Twelve Stones Designs achieved the owner's goals by: ➢ removing the walls between the kitchen and living room to allow the natural light to filter in from the adjacent rooms and to create a connection between the kitchen, nook, and living spaces for a sense of unity and communion ➢ removing the existing pantry and designing 3 large pantry style cabinets with LED tape lights and rollout drawers to house lots of kitchen appliances, gadgets, and tons of groceries. We also took the cabinets all the way up to the 9’ ceiling for additional storage for seasonal items and bulk storage. ➢ designing 2 islands - 1 with a gorgeous black walnut chopping block that houses a drawer for chopping and carving knives and a custom double pull out trash unit for point of use utilization - and 1 that houses the dishwasher, a large Blanco Gourmet sink with integrated drain board, woven baskets for fresh root vegetables and kitchen towels, plenty of drawer storage for kitchen items, and bar seating for up to 4 diners. ➢ closing off the space between the kitchen and the powder room to create a beautiful new private alcove for the powder room as well as adding some decorative storage. This also gave us space to include more tall storage near the new range for precision placement of the husband’s extensive oil and spice collection as well as a location for a combo-steam oven the wife wanted for baking and cooking healthy meals. The project is enhanced functionally by: ➢ incorporated USB and standard receptacles for the kids’ laptops and phone charging in the large island ➢ designing the small island to include additional open shelving for items used on a daily basis such as a variety of bowls, plates, and colanders. This set up also works well for the husband who prefers to “plate” his dinners in restaurant-style fashion before presenting them to the table. ➢ the integration of specific storage units, such as double stacked cutlery drawers, a custom spice pull-out, a Kuerig coffee and tea pod drawer, and custom double stacked utensil drawers ➢ moving the refrigerator to the old oven location - this eliminated the bottle neck as well as created a better relationship to the eating table. It also utilizes the floor space between the pantry, nook, and kitchen ➢ creating a banquet style breakfast nook - this banquette seating not only doubles the amount of seating for large gatherings but it better utilizes the odd space between the kitchen and the previous nook area. It also helps to create a distinct pathway from the mudroom room through the pantry area, kitchen, nook, and living room. ➢ the coffee/breakfast bar area which includes the perfect location for the concealed microwave and toaster oven, convenient storage for the coffee pods and tea accoutrements. Roll-out drawers below also house the smoothie maker, hot water kettle, and a plethora of smoothie-making ingredients such as protein powders, smoothie additives, etc. Furthermore, the drawers below the Keurig house measuring utensil, cutlery, baking supplies and tupperware storage. ➢ incorporating lots of wide drawers and pullouts to accommodate large cookware. ➢ utilizing as much vertical space as possible by building storage to the ceiling which accommodates the family’s abundant amount of serving platters, baking sheets, bakeware, casserole dishes, and additional cutting boards. The project is enhanced aesthetically by: ➢ new 5-piece Versailles pattern porcelain tile that now seamlessly joins the entire down stairs area together creating a bright, cohesiveness feeling instead of choppy separated spaces - it also adds a coastal feeling ➢ designing a cabinet to conceal the microwave and toaster oven ➢ the coastal influenced light fixtures over the nook table and island ➢ the sandy colors of the Langdon Cambria countertops. The swirling pattern and sparkling quartz pieces remind the homeowner of black-and-tan sandy beaches ➢ the striped banquet seating whose creamy white background and blue-green stripes were the inspiration for the cabinet and wall colors. ➢ All the interior doors were painted black to coordinate with the blacks and grays in the backsplash tile and countertop. This also adds a hint of tailored formality to an otherwise casual space. ➢ the use of WAC's Oculux small aperture LED units for the overhead lighting complimented with Diode LED strips for task lighting under the cabinets and inside the pantry and glass wall cabinets. All of the lighting applications are on separate dimmer switches. Innovative uses of materials or construction methods by Realty Restoration LLC: ➢ Each 1-1/2” x 3” block of reclaimed end-grain black walnut that makes up the center island chopping block was hand milled and built in the shop. It was designed to look substantial and proportional to the surrounding elements, executed by creating the 4 inch tall top with a solid wood chamfered edge band. ➢ The metal doors on either side of the vent hood were also custom designed for this project and built in the Realty Restoration LLC shop. They are made 1x2, 11-gauge mild steel with ribbed glass. Weighing 60 lbs a piece, heavy duty cabinet hinges were added to support the weight of the door and keep them from sagging. ➢ Under-cabinet receptacles were added along the range wall in order to have a clean, uninterrupted backsplash. Design obstacles to overcome: ➢ Because we were removing the demising walls between the kitchen and living room, we had to find a way to plumb and vent the new island. We did this by tunneling through the slab (the slab had post tension cables which prevented us from just trenching) to run a new wet vent through a nearby structural wall. We pulled the existing hot and cold lines between upper floor joists and ran them down the structural wall as well and up through a conduit in the tunnel. ➢ Since we were converting from wall overs to a gas range it allowed us to utilize the 220 feed for the wall ovens to provide a new sub panel for all the new kitchen circuits ➢ Due to framing deficiencies inherited from the original build there was a 1-1/2” differential in the floor-to-ceiling height over a 20 foot span; by utilizing the process of cutting and furring coupled with the crown moulding details on the cabinet elevations we were able to mask the problem and provide seamless transitions between the cabinet components. Evidence of superior craftsmanship: ➢ uniquely designed, one-of-a-kind metal “X” end panels on the large island. The end panels were custom made in the Realty Restoration LLC shop and fitted to the exact dimensions of the island. The welding seams are completely indistinguishable - the posts look like they are cut from a single sheet of metal ➢ square metal posts on the small island were also custom made and designed to compliment and carry through the metal element s throughout the kitchen ➢ the beautiful, oversized end panels on the pantry cabinets which give the breakfast nook a tailored look ➢ integrating a large format 5 piece Versailles tile pattern to seamlessly flow from the existing spaces into the new kitchen space ➢ By constructing a custom cabinet that jogged around a corner we could not remodel (housing the entry way coat closet) we were able to camouflage the adjacent wall offset within the upper and lower cabinets. By designing around the existing jog in the structural walls we accomplished a few things: we were able to find the space to house, and hide, the microwave and toaster oven yet still have a clean cohesive appearance from the kitchen side. Additionally, the owners were able to keep their much needed coat closet and we didn’t have to increase the budget with unnecessary structural work.

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The homeowners of this condo sought our assistance when downsizing from a large family home on Howe Sound to a small urban condo in Lower Lonsdale, North Vancouver. They asked us to incorporate many of their precious antiques and art pieces into the new design. Our challenges here were twofold; first, how to deal with the unconventional curved floor plan with vast South facing windows that provide a 180 degree view of downtown Vancouver, and second, how to successfully merge an eclectic collection of antique pieces into a modern setting. We began by updating most of their artwork with new matting and framing. We created a gallery effect by grouping like artwork together and displaying larger pieces on the sections of wall between the windows, lighting them with black wall sconces for a graphic effect. We re-upholstered their antique seating with more contemporary fabrics choices - a gray flannel on their Victorian fainting couch and a fun orange chenille animal print on their Louis style chairs. We selected black as an accent colour for many of the accessories as well as the dining room wall to give the space a sophisticated modern edge. The new pieces that we added, including the sofa, coffee table and dining light fixture are mid century inspired, bridging the gap between old and new. White walls and understated wallpaper provide the perfect backdrop for the colourful mix of antique pieces. Interior Design by Lori Steeves, Simply Home Decorating. Photos by Tracey Ayton Photography

A walk-in closet is a luxurious and practical addition to any home, providing a spacious and organized haven for clothing, shoes, and accessories. Typically larger than standard closets, these well-designed spaces often feature built-in shelves, drawers, and hanging rods to accommodate a variety of wardrobe items. Ample lighting, whether natural or strategically placed fixtures, ensures visibility and adds to the overall ambiance. Mirrors and dressing areas may be conveniently integrated, transforming the walk-in closet into a private dressing room. The design possibilities are endless, allowing individuals to personalize the space according to their preferences, making the walk-in closet a functional storage area and a stylish retreat where one can start and end the day with ease and sophistication.

A large open-plan kitchen is given a clean, modern look with the abundance of white and pale yellows. We used a new green material for the countertops, which is a man-made porcelain slab, which adds a smooth and seamless design to the large space. Complementing the countertops are the sleek white cabinets, white globe pendant lights, and a pale yellow accent wall, which keeps the room light and cheery while adding a touch of color. We added a pop-up outlet in the countertop, which plugs into a hidden GFCI, allowing for outlets to be readily available and indecipherable on the countertop. An assisted pop-up shelf has also been installed, providing the perfect space for a toaster, coffee machine, and other small machinery that may take up wanted counter space. And lastly, for additional storage, we designed the top row shelves to be open and continuous (not sectioned off), creating space for larger items that the homeowners want to store. Home located in Chicago's North Side. Designed by Chi Renovations & Design who serve Chicago and it's surrounding suburbs, with an emphasis on the North Side and North Shore. You'll find their work from the Loop through Humboldt Park, Lincoln Park, Skokie, Evanston, Wilmette, and all of the way up to Lake Forest.

StarMark Lyptus cabinetry with Java stain and maple with daquiri finish and chocolate glaze, Cambria quartz in Canterbury with waterfall edge and Wellington with ogee flat edge, KitchenAid appliances, Brizo faucet, mosaic backsplash with copper glitter grout and bronze accent tiles, wood plank tile flooring, and crystal pendant lighting.

A large open-plan kitchen is given a clean, modern look with the abundance of white and pale yellows. We used a new green material for the countertops, which is a man-made porcelain slab, which adds a smooth and seamless design to the large space. Complementing the countertops are the sleek white cabinets, white globe pendant lights, and a pale yellow accent wall, which keeps the room light and cheery while adding a touch of color. We added a pop-up outlet in the countertop, which plugs into a hidden GFCI, allowing for outlets to be readily available and indecipherable on the countertop. An assisted pop-up shelf has also been installed, providing the perfect space for a toaster, coffee machine, and other small machinery that may take up wanted counter space. And lastly, for additional storage, we designed the top row shelves to be open and continuous (not sectioned off), creating space for larger items that the homeowners want to store. Home located in Chicago's North Side. Designed by Chi Renovations & Design who serve Chicago and it's surrounding suburbs, with an emphasis on the North Side and North Shore. You'll find their work from the Loop through Humboldt Park, Lincoln Park, Skokie, Evanston, Wilmette, and all of the way up to Lake Forest.

A large open-plan kitchen is given a clean, modern look with the abundance of white and pale yellows. We used a new green material for the countertops, which is a man-made porcelain slab, which adds a smooth and seamless design to the large space. Complementing the countertops are the sleek white cabinets, white globe pendant lights, and a pale yellow accent wall, which keeps the room light and cheery while adding a touch of color. We added a pop-up outlet in the countertop, which plugs into a hidden GFCI, allowing for outlets to be easily accessible and indecipherable on the countertop. An assisted pop-up shelf has also been installed, providing the perfect space for a toaster, coffee machine, and other small machinery that may take up wanted counter space. And lastly, for additional storage, we designed the top row shelves to be open and continuous (not sectioned off), creating space for larger items that the homeowners want to store. Home located in Chicago's North Side. Designed by Chi Renovations & Design who serve Chicago and it's surrounding suburbs, with an emphasis on the North Side and North Shore. You'll find their work from the Loop through Humboldt Park, Lincoln Park, Skokie, Evanston, Wilmette, and all of the way up to Lake Forest.