Distinctive Spaces

1920s Etobicoke Two Story

Posted on April 1, 2012 by Jim

This west Toronto home has been featured in a few of my other posts but I have never posted all the before and afters together in one post, so here we go (I absolutely LOVE this place);

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More beautiful grasscloth wallpaper

Posted on March 31, 2012 by Jim

I just love grasscloth, the look of it, the feel of it. It transforms a space into something unique and creates an amazing feature wall.

This west end Toronto townhome has a long wall in the main living area that was perfect for wallpaper. Most of the client’s decor accessories were very organic so grasscloth was perfect.

Simply beautiful and the perfect backdrop to the orange dining chairs and hammered metal accessories.

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Black & White with pops of colour

Posted on March 29, 2012 by Jim

Here’s a great colour scheme that is elegant and sophisticated. A basic scheme of black and white with pops of purple and green.

Accessories such as purple flowers and candles, a green bowl and green and purple vases in the fireplace were used to provide the colour.

Very chic, very elegant and very pleasing to the eye.

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Building a Custom Headboard

Posted on March 28, 2012 by Jim

Today, we built a headboard with a floating night stand and it turned out beautifully, so I thought I would share it with you.

Building a headboard whether fabric or in this case, wood (oak) is not particularilly difficult as long as you have a design plan in mind.

We were dealing with a very small bedroom so there was no room for store bought night stands. All of them are simply too wide. We only had about 15″ maximum to accomodate a night stand, and only on one side of the bed. So, since store bought wasn’t going to work, we decided to just make a headboard. That way, we could control the dimensions.

We started with 3 pieces of 24″ X 24″ X 3/4″ oak and mounted them to a frame of 1″ X 4″ pine.

The pine provides stability, gives the headboard some thickness and gives us something with which to mount it to the wall.

Next we built a basic box to act as a night stand and attached that to the headboard.

Then some trim on the edges.

Then came the best part and certainly the most fun (not); the stain.

Mounting the headboard to the wall is very simple. The top piece of pine was cut along the bottom edge at a 45 degree angle and two “cleats”, small pieces of pine were cut at the reverse 45. The cleats are mounted to the wall and the headboard sits on them.

And here is the finished product:

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South Beach

Posted on March 27, 2012 by Jim

This Florida inspired townhome on Toronto’s waterfront was so much fun to do. Nothing like spending a few weeks in the summer next to the yachts. Painted in bright yellow and teal and furnished with a mix of contemporary and traditional pieces, this vacation home turned out beautifully.

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Maple Leaf Square

Posted on March 27, 2012 by Jim

Maple Leaf Square, two towers next to the Air Canada Centre, close to everything.

The unit is very small, basically the kitchen, living and dining areas are all in one square room. A challenge to furnish but we did it.

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Accolade

Posted on March 27, 2012 by Jim

This condo was an exercise in repetition. When you look at the photos, you will see arcs repeated everywhere. It’s a great way to bring flow and a cohesive look to a space. All inspired by the shower curtain. Believe it or not. Inspiration can come from the strangest places….

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Bloor West Village

Posted on March 27, 2012 by Jim

I just LOVE this place. Bloor West Village is amazing. The building is gorgeous. The condo is one of the warmest, coziest spaces I’ve done.

The unit overlooks a cemetary which sounds a tad creepy but with all the trees and shrubs, it looks more like a park.

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Neo

Posted on March 25, 2012 by Jim

The owners of this downtown Toronto condo had moved in a year and a half before calling me. They had downsized from a house and were having trouble pulling everything together and making it comfortable.

Some paint, a few new furniture pieces, some new lighting and rearranging all the artwork made a huge difference.