Kitchen Transformation

Hope everyone had a wonderful Mother's Day!  I thought it was the perfect occasion to focus on one of the most important rooms in the house where busy moms (and dads) cook delicious meals.

My clients purchased this 8-year-old house in Port Dalhousie with the intention of immediately renovating the kitchen.  There was nothing wrong with the existing kitchen except that it didn't have the style or functionality that my clients desired.  Luckily, they were able to sell the ENTIRE kitchen - cabinetry, countertops, microwave and plumbing fixtures on kijiji so there was nothing added to landfill in this project except the backsplash!

Before photos

My clients' wish list included:  additional storage with cabinetry to the ceiling, a larger island that would fit 3 stools, a more contemporary style and most importantly to these pasta lovers - a pot filler.

In order to accommodate a larger island and more storage, the partition wall that separated kitchen from the dining room was removed and the pantry extended 12".   The island could now be 7' long, allowing for 3 stools as well as deep drawers and a microwave. The island was rotated around so that anyone sitting there would face the window rather than the refrigerator wall.

After Photos

White and grey colour scheme is created with taupe-grey hardwood flooring, white cabinetry, grey island, polished marble-like quartz countertop and grey stools.  My clients love the light, airy feeling with glass cabinets, lantern pendant lights, open range hood and LED pot lights

 The enlarged island is able to contain the wine cooler, built-in microwave and pot drawers. 

In order to bring the "Wow" into this kitchen, we found a fantastic grey-white patterned backsplash tile.  

 Smart storage solutions ensure that function also has a role in this beautiful kitchen.  Easy access to spices and cooking oils makes it fun to cook!

All photography by Brian Yungblut Photography

My clients are thrilled with their new kitchen.  What do you think?  I'd love to hear what you have to say so please post your  comments below.  

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If you have a room that you'd like to transform and you require assistance, please don't hesitate to contact me for a design consultation.  You can email me or go to my website.

Office Sanctuary

When my client asked me to design her home office, she had very specific requirements:  it needed to remind her of Palm Springs with light flooring, incorporate her favourite complementary colours - blue and orange - and include white walls on which to display her photography.

Since the office is located in the basement, I recommended vinyl plank flooring that replicated bleached wood.  A floating desk - supported behind the drywall with heavy-duty supports - and floating shelves, painted the same colour as the walls, was installed.  As well, storage was placed under the desk. 

On the other side of the room, we created a sitting area with sofa, ottoman, custom cabinet and TV.  Here is where the blue and orange colour scheme really came to life!  The woven rug was designed to mimic the fabric in the toss cushion.  My client loves Lego so the shelving unit at the far end holds my client's finished Lego models.  The rotating group of photographs will eventually hang on the white walls.  In the meantime, the highlight is the artwork she found in Montreal showing a collage of melted Lego pieces.  It looks amazing!

My design philosophy is not to create cookie-cutter rooms but to design spaces that reflect my clients' personal tastes and preferences.  This home office is exactly what my client envisioned for herself.


Please subscribe to my blog and share this post with your friends and neighbours.  And if you'd like ideas on how to create your own home office, or any space in your home, please contact me for a design consultation. 

BEFORE AND AFTER - Powder Bathroom

Hope everyone is enjoying the respite from the frigid cold and snow that we've been experiencing in January.  Today, I'd like to show how to add "Wow!" to a powder bathroom.

When my Glenridge client moved into her home, the powder bathroom looked like this:

While it was tastefully decorated, it didn't reflect her style.  We were transforming her entire house from dark and traditional to contemporary with various hues of of grey.  She wanted to make sure that this room also reflected the new style.  As well, she had a mirror from her previous home that she wanted incorporated into the design. 

First, I selected a dramatic dark grey wallpaper that had flecks of silver in the pattern.  Chrome faucets, crystal knobs and crystal and chrome sconces added to the bling.  We were originally going to replace the ornate vanity but I suggested that money could be saved by finishing the vanity with a high-gloss charcoal paint.  Polished light grey quartz countertop and crystal knobs completed the vanity.  Here's the end result:

Can you believe it's the same room?  The same vanity?  In this case, all the elements combine to reflect glamour and glitz.  Sometimes, all I've had to recommend is a beautiful wallpaper to add "Wow!" to a powder bathroom. 

Please subscribe to my blog and share this post with your friends and neighbours.  And if you'd like ideas on how to transform your powder bathroom, or any space in your home, please contact me for a design consultation. 

Fireplace facades and more

From time to time, I'll be highlighting a product or supplier that I've worked with on some of my clients' projects, that I think would be of interest to you.  Today, I'd like to tell you about ErthCOVERINGS, a North American leader in the distribution of high quality, natural stone veneers.

Stone veneers

I've specified ErthCOVERINGS stone veneer for fireplace facades.  Their lightweight stone covering product comes in a multitude of beautiful stone combinations and is easy to apply to smooth surfaces.  Here's a photo of my client's fireplace.

 Latest offerings

ErthCOVERINGS has recently introduced a combination of raised and inset forms to create 3-dimensional surfaces that install seamlessly and can be painted over in any colour.  A great alternative to stone, backsplash tile or wallpaper.  Absolutely stunning!! 

Let me know what you think.  Could you imagine these in your home?


Please visit my website Tobi Brockway Interiors Inc. to see my portfolio and for more information on how we can help you with your own residential interior design project.

Window treatments aren't just pretty to look at

We all know that adding window treatments to a room can completely change its look.  Window treatments can create a focal point but I typically select colours and patterns that create a beautiful backdrop to the other elements in your room. 

However, there are a variety of other reasons to add window treatments for your home:

The most obvious use for window treatments is privacy.  Whether it's a shade or drapery panels, most homes require window treatments for privacy at night and often, depending where the windows are facing, privacy during the day also.

Energy efficiency is of huge interest to today`s homeowner given the rising costs of electricity and gas.  Window treatments are a great way to keep your home cool in the summer and warm in the winter.  Depending on which treatment you choose, they can help block out the sun or insulate your home. 

Ever walked into a room and heard an echo when you talk?  Any soft fabric window treatment will help to dampen noise in your home. And of course, the fuller the treatment the more sound it will dampen.  Consider adding this type of window treatments in apartments, townhouses or large rooms to prevent sounds from traveling. 

Whether you install treatments in your bedroom, living room or TV room, you can opt for blackout options to control the level of lighting coming into the room.  For those people who need complete darkness to sleep, keep in mind that most black out blinds will still let light in on the sides.  Drapery panels with blackout lining are 100% effective in keeping out light.


Please visit my website Tobi Brockway Interiors Inc. to see my portfolio and for more information on how we can help you with your own residential interior design project.

Rugs as Art

Imagine my surprise when I recently opened a new catalogue from Modern Weave, one of my favourite suppliers of high-quality exquisite rugs for my clients.  These rugs take the art of rug-making to a whole new level.  Absolutely breathtaking in colour and design.  Check them out for yourself:

Eden 09

Eden 12

Grand Theatre

Mallow

More from New York Interior Design Show

The Diffa (Design Industry Foundation Fighting AIDS) exhibit was worth the price of admission alone. Last week, I showed a few creative dining rooms. Here are others that are all worth looking at.

I love the whimsy of the pink flamingos in this dining room setting. See how many you can find. (Hint: some are on the table.)


This next one has a touch of Gothic fantasy: check out the blackbirds flying around.


An upscale hunters' cabin in Northern Ontario, perhaps?


I hope you've enjoyed looking at these photos. Have they inspired you to add a few decorative touches to your own dining rooms?

Architectural Digest Interior Design Show Highlights

Last week I attended AD's Interior Design Show in New York City and the highlight for me was the DIFFA (Design Industry Foundation Fighting AIDS) fundraiser "Dining by Design". There had to be at least 20 dining room settings designed by members of the design industry that were absolutely spectacular. Imaginative, creative, original, some truly mind-boggling. Over the next week, I'll showcase the most interesting roomscapes for you to see for yourselves.

The first dining room used visual effects - a continuous video of underwater ocean scenes on the walls - that created a sensation of being in a dining room in the sunken city of Atlantis.

The underwater scene was completed by the "algae" chandelier and water-like table and chairs with blue table accents.

The most interesting component in the next dining room was the chandelier - made of wine bottles! It brought back memories of candles lit in Mateus wine bottles (you Boomers know what I'm talking about!) but with a modern edge.

Imagine a dinner held on an outdoor terrace with the New York skyline as a backdrop. Well, this room did have murals of the city skyline on each wall and, dropping from the umbrella lights, a cascade of giant glass bubbles filled with foliage. Fabulous!


Thinking about how to put the "Wow" in your dining room? The various elements of walls, light fixture and table top settings can be easily transformed as shown by these examples. More to come.

Coffered Ceilings

In the new custom houses that we've worked on in the past year, I've noticed that high-end builders are installing coffered ceilings in one or more of the rooms. The effect is dramatic and visually stunning. Most of us consider this luxury detail to be luxury-priced. However, there are many ready-made coffered ceilings products on the market today which can add an extra architectural element to your own home. For the do-it-yourselfer, check out Home Depot's step by step instructions. For those considering a home renovation, ask your contractor to price out a coffered ceiling. You may consider the enhanced value to be well worth the price.

Create a Picture Gallery

Do you have family photos or travel photos that you'd like to display? I have developed great-looking, yet practical, picture galleries for my clients using ready-made picture shelves.

In this example, the 3.5" deep shelves have been painted the same colour as the walls. They disappear from view, allowing for the frames to make a statement. The shelves and frames are uniform to create a specific look.

However, the shelves and frames can be varied in size (length and height) and colour in any configuration, depending on the wall space available, the size of pictures to be included and the other colours and finishes in the room.

Save the expense of custom framing and re-framing. These photos can be easily updated and rearranged to reflect what's happening in your life - family additions, your latest trip ... anything you feel you'd like to display.

Another Interior Design Show 2012 Find

So often it's the chandelier over a dining room table that provides the "WOW" in the room. For contemporary residential design, the custom light fixtures that are made by AM Studio, are absolutely exquisite. These designs can be customized by size, colour and shapes so that each one is unique. Here are a few of my favourites:

Interior Design Show 2012

This past weekend, IDS12 was in town and I scoured each aisle on Trade Day to source new and exciting finds. My clients with renovated kitchens and bathrooms know that I love backsplash tiles - they're the easiest and most economical way to add "wow" to your space. Here are a few that are worth noting:

Each if these tiles from Saltillo Tiles is actually rounded, giving a very cool look. For those of you who don't like patterned kitchen backsplashes and prefer a single colour effect, these tiles still provide a "wow". The smooth texture makes them easy to clean, another consideration when selecting tile for the kitchen.

For those of you who like pattern, these tiles from Orro Mosaics would look amazing in a bathroom!

A combination of ceramic, steel and glass in a dazzling contemporary pattern:

For a more traditional bathroom, imagine this backsplash on the wall behind the mirror. Beautiful!

Stay tuned for my other finds.......

Colour Trends

Colour is always an exciting way to awaken a space. Injecting new colour can be done inexpensively through the use of cushions and accent pieces and can keep your space look alive and up to date.

In 2011, grey continues to be a hot neutral. Grey works wonderfully as a neutral because it’s less stark than black or white, but can still provide a great backdrop for bold colours to be their best. Grey can be either warm with overtones of taupe, or it can be cool with the addition of blue, evoking the feeling of steel.

To pair with your fabulous new grey neutral, think about using citrine or popsickle yellow. Or a colour that packs a punch - purple. Purple brings up feelings of luxury and decadence. Purple’s rich colour pairs wonderfully with other vibrant colours, and works well in both cool and warm seasons.

Lastly, blues and turquoise. Blue brings peace and serenity to spaces. If your life is hectic, and you need some tranquillity in your home, try some blue cushions, a rug, and artwork. Navy, cornflower, sea foam, azure, agean…blue comes in so many hues your options really are endless! But it also makes a nice balance to all the vibrancy of the greens and purples.