Here I share the projects that I am currently working on, or that have been newly released to the wild...or for permit, but saying I released them to the wild is much more fun.
Covered porches are amazing. It’s a place to get out of the sun on a hot day, and a place to enjoy a summer thunderstorm without getting wet.
This family really blurred the line of indoor/outdoor living by adding a barbeque area and huge sliding glass doors. With the doors open they can move freely between the indoor and outdoor areas and enjoy all aspects of their home.
One of the most used rooms in the house is the mudroom. Everyone piles in that room after hockey practice, tosses off their shoes and coats, and then barrels into the house.
So how do we make the most of this room?
Most importantly, it needs to be big enough. We need to make sure that everyone in your family can fit in there at the same time.
We also need storage. For boots, coats, backpacks, winter mittens and hats. We can do this with enclosed closets, and with hooks for easy hanging.
Then we’ll need to ask ourselves some questions on how we are going to use that room. Questions such as:
Do you want direct access from the mudroom to your pantry or kitchen for easy grocery unloading?
Do you need a drop zone for keys, purses, wallets, a charging station for phones?
Do you want a place to hang the family calendar that keeps track of all activities?
Do you want a spot for a desk for sewing, homework, or crafts?
Do you want a dog wash?
Do you want a door directly to the outside from this room, so that dog doesn’t have to go through the house after getting muddy in the backyard?
Do you want a laundry team in this room or is that to be located elsewhere in the home?
A mudroom is becoming more of a multi-purpose room these days. Asking yourself exactly how you expect that room to perform for you is the best way to get the most out of it.
It’s quite popular in my area to have two children’s bedrooms sharing a bathroom. Here are a couple ways that you can achieve this:
One way is for each child to have their own vanity and then through a door is the common toilet and bathtub/shower.
Another way is for the kids to share a common vanity area with the toilet and tub/shower in a separate area, so one can be having a shower while the other brushes their teeth.
For your own designs, account for about 7’x12′ for the top example and 6’x12′ for the bottom (although this one could be squeezed down to 5’x11′).
These clients are building a house on a large piece of farm property and wanted to see what their more modern material selections looked like on their traditional design.
Excited to see this home get started! Three car garage, wood accents, lots of curb appeal. I put on a sample colour scheme, somewhat a mix between coastal and craftsman with light colour stone and brick and blue-ish siding, but I’m excited to see the combo that the interior designer chooses.
This one has plenty of space for the whole family to pile into the house at once.
It also is easily accessed from the backyard in case someone is out swimming and needs to go to the bathroom (and the flooring would be water resistant as well).
Plus, this is where you can easily access the bonus room above the garage.
If it were my home? I’d add a dog wash so the muddy dog doesn’t have to be carted all the way through the house to the main bath tub. Perfection!
I had the pleasure of working with a client that was building a house in Texas, but wanted to see how their house was going to look with their chosen materials.
Some subdivisions require you to stick to a set of guidelines that they have set out for their subdivision. This could be about colours, or materials, or really anything they want to make the subdivision look cohesive.
We sent this image to the developer to get approval on this gorgeous new house (spoiler alert: we were approved!).
I know you can’t see the back of this place, but, just imagine this: huge covered porch. Perfect for sitting out and watching the sun set over the canal behind this house.
