Affecting Spaces

From start to finish, Gillian and her team were absolutely amazing to work with during our recently completed rebuild project. After taking the time to understand the style we wished for our house, they came up with conceptual designs for the entire house that were nearly exactly what we wanted, on the first try! The drawings they provide are amazing, and allow you to really understand what the future house will look like. Throughout the project, they were incredibly organized, detail oriented, and communicated very well. They were able to work very well with our builder and architect, despite having no previous relationship with them, and they really helped to keep everyone on track and organized. Throughout the project, we had many trades in the house commenting on the amazing design Gillian and her team had come up with. As with any building project, issues arise from time to time, and whenever an issue was tied to Gillian and her team, they always took ownership and worked hard to come up with the best solution - which earned them a ton of respect from us. The level of time and attention they devoted to our project made it feel like we were their only client, despite being incredibly busy with a dozen other ongoing projects. Lastly, their pricing was very competitive and they were quite mindful of our own building budget when coming up with the design for the house. I would highly recommend using Gillian and her team for any building/reno project, small or large!

Gillian and the Affecting Spaces team were amazing from beginning to end. They really "got" us and nailed the design plan. Not only does our new space solve our issues, it's also beautiful and functional and a pleasure to be in. The team was super supportive throughout the process, answering our million questions. They even supported us in finding the right pros to help with finishing touches (like blinds and cushions) when the job was complete. I would highly recommend them!

We can't say enough about Affecting Spaces! Gillian and her staff (Michelle and Bill) are very professional, knowledgeable, and skilled!! We were working on a budget and they stretched our money so far using the computer program that Gillian developed. They were very accessible and went above and beyond in helping us design a space we would love. We just moved into our house and it looks even better than we thought it would! Affecting Spaces gets our highest recommendation :)

We are just coming to the end of our second and third floor renovation including new bathroom, living area and updated bedrooms. Working with Gillian and her team has been, without a doubt, the best decision we made. From our first contact with Gillian to the final phases of furniture choices, window coverings, carpets etc Gillian has been wonderful to work with. Not only did she advise us about what we should do, she steered us away from ill advised choices. She is exacting in her attention to detail. She has transformed our old High Park/Roncesvalles house into a beautiful as well as practical living space. Her choices of design, colour palette, materials, fixtures, all transform this space from what was a busy home (where we raised three kids) to a peaceful retreat-like space as we are now empty nesters looking forward to retirement. Throughout this process many people would ask about our stress level and I have to say that this was the most stress-free renovation I have ever experienced or heard about from others. Gillian's estimates of cost and completion date were right on. We communicated regularly and she always responded in a very timely manner to any questions or concerns. She put the job out to tender to contractors that she knew from previous experience. They too were very professional. I can recommend Gillian and her team without any hesitation and hope to use her in the future with any other renovation projects. Thank you Gillian!!

We started with a blank slate. An empty box. We ended up with all aspects. Form. Function. HVac Sound. Stone. Kitchen. Lighting. Plugs. Esthetic and concepts being discussed. Sourced and made real. A dialogue that led to our house becoming our home. Gillian and her team brought us home inside and out.

Affecting Spaces is the best thing that could ever happen to your renovation! Gillian is very professional and resourceful. She kept our interest in mind and proposed solution that's cost efficient yet pleasing aesthetically. When there is surprise with the project (and we had tons), she proposed alternative solutions responsively and efficiently. She really takes ownership of the project and follows through until the last minute even after we have paid for her service fully. Needless to say she knows the best people in the industry and we also benefit from her designer discount. We now enjoy the renovated house so much that we don't want to step out of it. LoL

We feel very lucky to have hired Gillian and Affecting Spaces to help us redesign our kitchen, fireplace, master bedroom, and fireplace in the living room. We got her name off a neighbourhood FB group and interviewed a few people and liked Gillian's aesthetic best. Little did we know how knowledgeable, exacting, and detailed she and her team would be. Our contractor (she also put together the specs and put our job out for tender to three of her vetted contractors) said she was one of the best designers he'd ever worked with since she also really understood construction and what it took to make her vision a reality. She has totally transformed our house through good design, good paint choices, and good furniture advice. It feels so big and light and airy now, though we did nothing to the footprint or walls (in terms of moving anything). Plus we feel that although we had to pay her (reasonable) fees, it was worth every penny and saved us money in the long run. We recommend Gillian without hesitation for any project in Toronto.

Gillian and her team has provided a design that has suited our needs. She is very responsive when design challenges arise and has gone above and beyond to attend to our project needs.

We would highly recommend Affecting Spaces - we are incredibly pleased with the work Gillian and her team did for us! Gillian's process ensured that her designs met our needs, tastes, and budget perfectly. She is very knowledgeable about all aspects of the construction process too. Gillian has very high standards, and her attention to detail ensured that the finished product was everything we had hoped for. She helped us find a great contractor, and shepherded the whole project from start to finish (we actually left the country during most of the work, with no worries thanks to great communication and Gillian's tendency to solve problems before we even heard about them). If you want a more detailed review, just ask Gillian for our contact information - we would be happy to talk.

It's impossible to put into words the incredible amount of expertise, creativity, and support that Gillian brought to our home renovation project. I'll try to do her work justice by describing our project, and the role Affecting Spaces played in its design and execution. We purchased our midcentury home and hired Gillian for a first floor gut prior to moving in. The scope of our project involved a completely new open floor design (including new electrical layout and HVAC), new millwork design, design for a new mudroom, new fireplace, new stairwell, and full selection of finishings throughout (hardwood floors, tile, paint colours, lighting fixtures, millwork materials, etc). We also used Gillian to assist us through the contractor tendering process, and Gillian served as a project manager and liaison with our contractor throughout the construction process. We interviewed multiple different designers, design-build firms, and contractors before we met Gillian. During our interview, she showed an amazing empathy and ability to understand our goals for the project. Combined with her beautiful portfolio of previous work, as well as her expert ability to provide services for every scope of our project, we knew immediately we had found the right firm for our reno. Gillian was extremely responsive to our ideas throughout the design process, and helped to create a cohesive vision for our project that suited our both our budget and taste. We communicated constantly by phone, email, and by using ideabooks to help crystallize our final design. Not only did she take our ideas and turn them into reality, she carefully guided us through the design process to help us fill in the gaps in our own ideas, and showed us how to describe using words and pictures the final product we were looking for. Gillian completed the entire design phase, including the preliminary concept, selection of finishes, and final construction drawings and spec books exactly within our agreed-upon timeframe. There was no delay, and we never had to chase her down at any time throughout our agreement. Although I'm aware the firm was handling multiple projects at once, some much larger than ours, it always felt as though we were her only clients, due to her responsiveness and attention to detail. The construction drawings and spec book she provided were nearly flawless. This allowed us to get 'apples-to-apples' quotes from multiple contractors in order to secure the best deal and pricing. It also ensured that we didn't face any issues or unexpected hiccups during the construction phase, since Gillian had planned for every last detail in her drawings. Thanks to her meticulous work, our construction team completed our project exactly on time and exactly on budget due to the lack of unforeseen circumstances. And although there were no major issues during our renovation, if a tiny or minor detail arose during construction, Gillian tended to each one as though it was a major issue, giving it her full attention and ensuring it was completely resolved to our satisfaction. Whether it was with our architect, contractor, or sub-trades, Gillian was able to speak everyone's language and never seemed to be out of her element regardless of the issue at hand. Her calm demeanor as project lead saved us countless headaches and hassles we could have never managed as well by ourselves. She really held our hand from start to finish. To summarize, she did everything she said she would, and she did it on time, and for exactly the amount we agreed upon in our contract, despite putting in hours and hours of extra work by the time our project was complete. All in all, we cannot recommend Affecting Spaces enough. We receive so many compliments on our new space, but more importantly, each day we enjoy being in a home that so perfectly matches what we originally dreamed of. We can't thank Gillian enough, and look forward to working with her again when we decide to tackle our next project. No matter when or what that is, we know we'll have the right person for the job.

We hired Gillian Lazanik (Affecting Spaces) to help us with our home reno. Gillian was extremely easy to work with, knowledgeable and professional every step of the way. She took the time to get to know us and what we were looking to achieve with our project. Gillian had amazing design ideas for totally renovating certain parts of our house and amazing ideas of how to incorporate what we couldn't/didn't want to change into our new style/"look". She was conscious of our budget and had many ideas and options for every aspect of our project. Gillian was always available when we needed her, and helped us to navigate a somewhat complicated project. She was a pleasure to deal with and made the process as painless as possible! I would completely recommend Gillian/Affecting Spaces to anyone contemplating a smaller or larger project.

I purchased my very dated, almost entirely original, 1950's home intending to renovate within the first few years. Fast forward 12+ years – the house was even more dated and I still had no idea where to begin. Thankfully Gillian and the Affecting Spaces team were there to help me focus my ideas and bring my vision to life. From the very first meeting Gillian listened to my ideas and was thoughtful of how I wanted my home to look and function. Her expertise was crucial in ensuring my often scattered requests came together in a realistic, functional, and beautiful design. When I started overthinking the possibilities and obsessing over the smallest of details, Gillian's knowledge and calm, professional demeanor provided the perspective I desperately needed. I'm in love with the final result and look forward to many more years in my beautiful home.