By: Rachel Naud   Who said backyards can’t be stylish? Our private yards are no longer just for the odd dining set or picnic table. Today, they have evolved into sophisticated living spaces — an extension of our home indoors — with the addition of comfortable, high-quality, durable furniture. “I think everyone lives a much more hurried and busy life today and we value our recreational and free time that much more,” says Stuart Brown, owner of General Products Outdoor Furniture. “As Canadians, we crave the outdoors and warm weather. We clamour for it.” Our propensity to soak up vitamin D i ..read more

There are plenty of reasons why so many people opt for architectural, stamped concrete when it comes to landscaping, driveways, patios and pool areas, but one of the most compelling is that it’s the closest thing to natural stone—and that’s high praise for a poured construction material composed of cement and sand. Joe Guida, the president of Patterned Concrete, a North York-based company specializing in high-quality architectural concrete, has been in the business for more than 40 years. “Out of all the products on the market, concrete is the best choice. Natural stone has a place, but so doe ..read more

By Silvana Longo Metal roofing has come a long way. While the longevity and sustainability benefi s of steel tile over shingles are well-known, the look of it used to be utilitarian at best. Over the years, metal roofs have expanded their aesthetic to match the style of a variety of homes. From European clay tile and traditional wood to modern linear steel tiles ideal for a transitional or contemporary space, there are several options and colours available to get a customized look that suits your style. However, the most important consideration for a metal roof is the quality of the product an ..read more

By Adriana Ermter “Have a Patio Day!” chuckles Stuart Brown, the owner of General Products Outdoor Furniture in Richmond Hill, Ont. “When you hear that, what does it make you feel? I’ll tell you what it makes me feel. It gives me a good feeling — it’s just a happy place to be.” It’s an incredibly happy place to be when you’re sitting on a comfortable deep-seated chair, couch, sectional or dining set in your own backyard. As the current must-have outdoors item, longer, wider and cushier deep seats are dominating patio furniture. Coveted as equally for their multi-functionality as they are their ..read more

Living Luxe: Doors are so important in a house — they are architectural pieces. What are your customers currently asking for when it comes to interior doors? Andrea Granzotto, Doorland: Today, everyone seems to be looking for something different and unique. It’s our responsibility to make what they have designed with their design team come true. In our world, we treat doors like a piece of furniture or art. It’s not just a door — there is much more to it; the design brings together the vision of the space that our clients and designers are trying to create; creating spaces that they enjoy and ..read more

When Antonio (you can call him Tony) Pacitto launched Beaver Valley Stone in 1989 after working at another established stone company for more than 20 years, he had one goal in mind: offer the largest selection of the highest-quality stone products so clients could find everything they wanted without leaving the stoneyard. And believe it or not, that was an anomaly back then. “When I started out in this business, people didn’t do a lot of hard landscaping around their houses,” Pacitto says. “Housing prices were so out of control in the Greater Toronto Area that it got too expensive for homeowne ..read more

“Have a Patio Day” is part of Stuart Brown’s lexicon. He’s a self-proclaimed “patiologist”—a term he and the team at General Products coined to describe their expertise in all-things patio. It’s been 41 years since General Products opened its doors; the family business runs out of Richmond Hill, Ont., and Brown comes by the industry honestly. “My dad was involved in upholstery and indoor furniture, and we had a history in plastic and steel. General Products was formed when we decided to move to outdoor furniture by morphing plastics and steel into chairs, sofas and other pieces made for the ba ..read more