Do you like the light that comes through a glass front door system, but don’t want the awkwardness of hiding when you hear a knock on the door, but weren’t expecting anyone?

Frosted glass is your new best friend!

This house used a huge glass front entry system but frosted the glass so they don’t have to worry about the privacy factor of clear glass.

Formal dining rooms have clawed their way back into popularity. For a while one large open space for the living, dining, and kitchen was the thing. To be fair, that’s not completely gone, but I am getting more requests for a formal dining space (and wine rooms, but that’s another topic).

The best layouts still keep the connection to the kitchen, but hides all the dirty pots and pans.

One way to do this is through a butler’s pantry. Usually a small strip of cabinets where you can store your fancy dishes, or a wine fridge, or lay out the extra food that won’t fit on the table (because obviously you’re going to need to have a tin foil swan centerpiece).

This layout took it one further and made use of a corner lined with windows for built-in booth seating. Make yourselves a root beer float, have a seat at the booth (which we all know is the best restaurant seating option) and enjoy it on a date night in.

If you’re working with a property that is quite wide, you have the advantage to stretch out your home width-wise to allow for maximum natural light penetration.

The most effective way to get loads of natural light in your home is to have it not more than two rooms deep.

In a typical city lot, you won’t likely have this luxury. You’ll need to stretch your home depth-wise to fit a typical main floor layout. Since you have neighbouring houses very close-by, there isn’t much light coming from the sides of your home, so you’re left with the rear windows, and maybe one on the front.

This homeowner had a very wide lot to work with so we made sure to make the most of the width of the property to gain light in every room.

It makes a statement, don’t you think?

A two-storey take on the modern farmhouse. Huge windows, mixed materials that create opposing textures, and lots of black and white.

You know how you fantasize about sitting outside by a fire, making your finest gourmet s’mores, and just relaxing?

But then when you actually try to do that, all you end up doing is flailing your hands in an effort to keep the mosquitoes away, drastically reducing the “relaxing” part?

Well then have I got the perfect thing for you! (said in your best infomercial announcer voice).

Screened-in porch, my friends, screened-in porch.

Not only do you get to have glorious naps out in the breeze without fear of a spider crawling across your face, but if you live in a wooded area you finally will have a spot away from all the flying insects trying to invade your face-holes at night (or bees trying to get a sip of your margarita)!

Better yet? Install some motorized screens so you can easily hop on and off your porch during the day, and lower the screens at the flick of a switch at night.

Just think of the bed swing you could install. Have you seen those things? If you haven’t, google porch bed swing right now. I promise you won’t be disappointed.