This modern farmhouse is a complete custom renovation to transform an existing rural Duncan house into a home that was suitable for our clients’ growing family and lifestyle. The original farmhouse was too small and dark. The layout for this house was also ineffective for a family with parents who work from home. The new design was carefully done to meet the clients’ needs. As a result, the layout of the home was completely flipped. The kitchen was switched to the opposite corner of the house from its original location. In addition, Made to Last constructed multiple additions to increase the size. An important feature to the design was to capture the surrounding views of the Cowichan Valley countryside with strategically placed windows.

The Canterbury floor plan is a home with room to grow, with four bedrooms, a flex room on the main floor with a full bath, and a spacious loft area on the second floor. The main level offers a covered front entry, which leads into the dining room and open family room. The kitchen is open to the living spaces and features a breakfast island, butler's pantry, walk-in pantry, and separate breakfast area. An optional drop-zone can be placed off the garage entry for additional storage and organizational options. Upstairs, there are three spacious bedrooms surrounding the open loft area with additional storage closets. Bedrooms 2 and 3 also offer a Jack & Jill bath option, making a total of 4 full baths in the home. The Primary suite is a spacious retreat, with tray ceiling, dual vanity, commode closet, walk-in closet, and multiple tub and shower combinations.

We reimagined multiple spaces, ensuring every room spoke to each other while maintaining its personality. Their daughters’ bedrooms now feel more vibrant and personal, with thoughtful details like statement chandeliers, fresh paint, soft pastel pink pillows and throws, and furnishings picked to transition with them as they grow. The nursery suite was designed to be soft and celestial. A built-in crib nook becomes the focal point, surrounded by soft angel wallpaper. A toddler daybed with built-in storage sits beneath a pastel pink feature wall with layered cloud decor, creating both soft comfort and charm.

A young growing family was looking for more space to house their needs and decided to add square footage to their home. They loved their neighborhood and location and wanted to add to their single story home with sensitivity to their neighborhood context and yet maintain the traditional style their home had. After multiple design iterations we landed on a design the clients loved. It required an additional planning review process since the house exceeded the maximum allowable square footage. The end result is a beautiful home that accommodates their needs and fits perfectly on their street.

Function meets form in the Delta House, which incorporates innovative building solutions for our challenging rural Canadian climate. Perhaps more akin to aeronautics than architecture, biomimetic processes drove the problem-solving approach while seeking multiple functions for each component. A typical Canadian home grows up and out of the site, exposing more of the facade to the elements. Instead of building up, the focus here was to make better use of the lower level. A section of the house was dug out on the south side, making room for three main glazed boxes. The spaces and bedrooms of a typical second floor were transferred to the more protected basement, thus lowering the volume of conditioned air within the dwelling. To minimize energy losses through the glazing, ATA centralized the windows on the south side of the building, while minimizing the glazing on other facades. The centralized windows became the “three sisters” allowing the winter sun into the main floor and lower level of the house. The aerodynamic delta shape of the building was tested in a wind tunnel and was designed to minimize energy loss due to contact with the turbulent winter wind. The sisters are tilted 10 degrees towards the sun, leveraging the properties of glass as a reflector, when the sun is at a high angle of incidence in the summer. The house also contains an innovative thermal mass battery in the basement slab and a connected radiative masonry fireplace. Excess heat, gathered at the top of the tent-like roof is directed down and reheated through the chimney before being drawn into the basement slab for storage. Openings in the floor areas ensure the energy is equally distributed throughout the dwelling. Read an article in the Globe and Mail about ATA’s Delta project here.

Similar to many of my projects, the main objectives for this Royal Oaks garden design were that it not use a lot of water or take a lot of time to maintain. This farming family is busy and wanted a beautiful garden to match their beautiful home. The result was a particularly stunning complementary color scheme with multiple shades of purple and lilac, along with orange, rust and yellow. Low-growing, mounding ground covers prevent weeds from recurring and are interspersed with fountain-like grasses, architectural cordylines, leucadendrons, and boulders. The back garden frames a view of the Watsonville farmlands and distant Santa Cruz Mountains. Couldn't be prettier!

A young growing family was looking for more space to house their needs and decided to add square footage to their home. They loved their neighborhood and location and wanted to add to their single story home with sensitivity to their neighborhood context and yet maintain the traditional style their home had. After multiple design iterations we landed on a design the clients loved. It required an additional planning review process since the house exceeded the maximum allowable square footage. The end result is a beautiful home that accommodates their needs and fits perfectly on their street.

This once unused bonus room was transformed into a wonderful new bedroom for a boy with lots of room to grow, play and have sleepovers. We took advantage of the attic space either side of the room by recessing the TV / storage area and also on the opposite side with the double desk unit. The room was separated by the sets of drawers that have custom headboards at the back of them, this helping with the great length of this room. Custom bookcase shelving was made for the window wall to also create not only depth but display as well. The clients as well as their son are enjoying the room!

Used Gray and Espresso tones to play off of the tile flooring. Was accommodating this space for a growing family plus multiple pets. The customer and I created a functional space for every living that provided ample storage and style to their new home. This designs host soft close drawers and cabinets, upgraded edge banding and the contemporary Euro styling.

AUTOMATED WINE BARREL BAR Make a statement with our Automated Hidden Wine Bar! Imagine showcasing your premium wine with a one of a kind Automated Wine Barrel Bar! With a touch of a button, a hidden bar inside of a reclaimed Okanagan Wine Barrel lifts in front of your eyes... Movable Spaces, located in the beautiful Okanagan Valley, manufactures state-of-the-art lift systems for modern concealment solutions and custom unique products such as our X2-LK Lift Desk kit and our Automated Wine Barrel Bar. Our Automated Wine Barrel Bar is the first and only of its kind. Each of our hand selected barrels tells a story. The Okanagan Valley is BC's premier grape growing region, boasting 185 licensed wineries. Rich in tradition and character, the Okanagan Valley wineries consistently rank among the world's best at international wine competitions, with a range of varietals from sun-ripened reds to fresh, crisp whites. Each barrel selected is meticulously reconditioned (inside and out) to ensure a long-lasting piece of quality furniture with no mold, mildew or residue (no fruit flies here!), then reinforced for strength and stained before the hidden bar and system is installed. The oak staves of the barrels feature beautiful grains and unique markings which we protect in our finishing process to keep their authenticity. Our Lift Systems are second to none, featuring advanced technology with sub-silent operation, smooth motion with soft start/stop, multiple control options (Bluetooth enabled) and anti-collision detection. Have piece of mind that your Wine Barrel Bar will last for years to come, backed by a 5 year lift system replacement warranty and lifetime phone support for any questions or problems. Options available for stain color and also for mobile options. Don't have access to a power outlet? No problem! Make your Wine Barrel Bar mobile by adding our high-performance Sony Lithium-ion battery which will provide 200 lifts per charge. Elevate your wine cellar to new heights!

A young growing family was looking for more space to house their needs and decided to add square footage to their home. They loved their neighborhood and location and wanted to add to their single story home with sensitivity to their neighborhood context and yet maintain the traditional style their home had. After multiple design iterations we landed on a design the clients loved. It required an additional planning review process since the house exceeded the maximum allowable square footage. The end result is a beautiful home that accommodates their needs and fits perfectly on their street.

This modern farmhouse is a complete custom renovation to transform an existing rural Duncan house into a home that was suitable for our clients’ growing family and lifestyle. The original farmhouse was too small and dark. The layout for this house was also ineffective for a family with parents who work from home. The new design was carefully done to meet the clients’ needs. As a result, the layout of the home was completely flipped. The kitchen was switched to the opposite corner of the house from its original location. In addition, Made to Last constructed multiple additions to increase the size. An important feature to the design was to capture the surrounding views of the Cowichan Valley countryside with strategically placed windows.

A young growing family was looking for more space to house their needs and decided to add square footage to their home. They loved their neighborhood and location and wanted to add to their single story home with sensitivity to their neighborhood context and yet maintain the traditional style their home had. After multiple design iterations we landed on a design the clients loved. It required an additional planning review process since the house exceeded the maximum allowable square footage. The end result is a beautiful home that accommodates their needs and fits perfectly on their street.

Did you know that Wantage, the town in Oxfordshire where I completed this job, is the birthplace of Alfred the Great? The town is certainly a historic area – in fact, I was contacted by the warden of a church dating back to the 12th century, who asked Tile Doctor Oxfordshire to help restore the building’s flooring, consisting of Quarry and Marble tiles. This is an interesting mix of hard wearing and high end tiles, and while the floor was in dire need of a deep clean, it could be restored back to looking fantastic once again. The church has recently undergone a complete refurbishment with the help of a grant from lottery money. We were called after the builders had finished their work, to restore the floor to the finish required by the church warden. His specification was to provide the Marble with a Matt finish and the Quarry tiles with a sheen finish. The floor was, at one point in its history, covered in carpet which had been taken up, no doubt exposing many years’ worth of muck. My first task was to clean the floor with a diluted solution of Tile Doctor Pro-Clean, a high alkaline cleaner safe to use on tile and stone. This was left to dwell for a short period to seep into the tile, before being scrubbed in to remove the initial layers of muck. The resulting residue was promptly vacuumed away. To tackle the tougher areas of soil buildup, I opted to use Tile Doctor Nanotech HBU which was spread over the floor and left to dwell for about 30 minutes. This product differs from most cleaners in that it uses nano-sized cleaning particles to deal with difficult to reach dirt ingrained in the stone. I then rinsed the area with water and vacuumed this up. Due to the substantial size of the church floor I had to work in multiple sections, and so the cleaning process took three days to complete. After finishing, I left the church for a few days to allow the floor time to dry. When I returned to the church I checked the floor with a damp meter and was satisfied that it was dry enough to seal. First, I sealed the Marble tiles with Tile Doctor Colour Grow, which is a colour enhancing impregnating sealer suitable for use on high end stone such as Marble and Limestone. I applied two coats, leaving a few hours between coats; this brought the colour back without a high shine, as per the church warden’s request. The next day I returned to seal the Quarry tiles, this time using Tile Doctor Seal & Go Extra which is a topical sealer specially formulated to lea e a nice sheen as requested. I applied several thin coats of the sealer to build up solid protection on the floor. The warden was extremely pleased with the finished floor, leaving the following feedback: “We found the Tile Doctor online and watched some of the very helpful slideshows on YouTube. The Victorian Quarry tiles in our 12th century church had been covered with carpet for many years and needed a thorough clean and polish at the end of our major restoration project. Barry was very quick to respond to our enquiry and over the course of a week he did a brilliant job on our tiles. We’re delighted with the results, just in time for our reopening service with our bishop and MP.” Barry Woodward Oxfordshire Tile Doctor

This young family purchased their first home in 2021, and let's say it was full of original 1970s charm - i.e., nothing had been done to this house in the past 50 years. We had recently completed a project for a family member, so they called us in to help. During our initial consultation, they shared a modest project budget, and we explained that we wouldn't be able to accomplish much on such a limited budget. Several weeks passed, and they ultimately raised their funding, and we signed on for the job. Even after doubling their budget, we still had our work cut out for us. The original kitchen was very small in comparison to the square footage of the home, and opening up the space meant we needed to add two structural beams between the first and second stories. These homeowners already had one small child, and were expecting another in the coming months. They also have large families in the area, so creating an ample gathering space for multiple cooks was crucial to the final layout. Some of their wish list items included a bar and a large island with plenty of seating. They also wanted the kitchen open to the family room. This home had a formal and informal dining area, so we opted to absorb the casual eating area into the newly expanded kitchen floorplan. We relocated their laundry room to create an extended family room, which included the new bar area. We were also able to use the under-stair space to create a kitchen pantry. The kitchen transformed from 115 sq. ft. to a spacious 260 sq. ft., all within existing poorly used space. We were able to create clear sightlines to the backyard and pool from the new kitchen and family room, perfect for a young family. Aesthetically speaking, our clients wanted a neutral space that could grow and change with their family. We kept the expensive items like cabinets, countertops, and tile in classic finishes like whites and navy blues, while we had more fun with things like the faucet, hardware, and light fixtures that could easily be updated over the years. The finished product is a warm, clean, family-friendly space that invites you to come in and pull up a chair.

This modern farmhouse is a complete custom renovation to transform an existing rural Duncan house into a home that was suitable for our clients’ growing family and lifestyle. The original farmhouse was too small and dark. The layout for this house was also ineffective for a family with parents who work from home. The new design was carefully done to meet the clients’ needs. As a result, the layout of the home was completely flipped. The kitchen was switched to the opposite corner of the house from its original location. In addition, Made to Last constructed multiple additions to increase the size. An important feature to the design was to capture the surrounding views of the Cowichan Valley countryside with strategically placed windows.

This custom home addition was designed to give a growing family the flexibility, organization, and functional living space they were missing. The project includes a multi-purpose downstairs family lounge with custom built-ins and a three-person workstation, an upstairs flex room featuring a custom Murphy bed and tailored storage, and a moody mid-century modern bathroom with a curbless shower and integrated storage. Every space was thoughtfully designed to serve multiple functions while maintaining a cohesive aesthetic, creating a home that adapts effortlessly to work, hobbies, guests, and everyday family life.

We reimagined multiple spaces, ensuring every room spoke to each other while maintaining its personality. Their daughters’ bedrooms feel more vibrant and personal, with thoughtful details like new lighting, fresh paint, and furniture that will transition with them as they grow. The nursery became a dreamy retreat featuring cloud-like textures and soft, celestial touches—an enchanting space designed for their newest addition.

This young family purchased their first home in 2021, and let's say it was full of original 1970s charm - i.e., nothing had been done to this house in the past 50 years. We had recently completed a project for a family member, so they called us in to help. During our initial consultation, they shared a modest project budget, and we explained that we wouldn't be able to accomplish much on such a limited budget. Several weeks passed, and they ultimately raised their funding, and we signed on for the job. Even after doubling their budget, we still had our work cut out for us. The original kitchen was very small in comparison to the square footage of the home, and opening up the space meant we needed to add two structural beams between the first and second stories. These homeowners already had one small child, and were expecting another in the coming months. They also have large families in the area, so creating an ample gathering space for multiple cooks was crucial to the final layout. Some of their wish list items included a bar and a large island with plenty of seating. They also wanted the kitchen open to the family room. This home had a formal and informal dining area, so we opted to absorb the casual eating area into the newly expanded kitchen floorplan. We relocated their laundry room to create an extended family room, which included the new bar area. We were also able to use the under-stair space to create a kitchen pantry. The kitchen transformed from 115 sq. ft. to a spacious 260 sq. ft., all within existing poorly used space. We were able to create clear sightlines to the backyard and pool from the new kitchen and family room, perfect for a young family. Aesthetically speaking, our clients wanted a neutral space that could grow and change with their family. We kept the expensive items like cabinets, countertops, and tile in classic finishes like whites and navy blues, while we had more fun with things like the faucet, hardware, and light fixtures that could easily be updated over the years. The finished product is a warm, clean, family-friendly space that invites you to come in and pull up a chair.