Sponsored Content Want to make your home feel like a safe heaven? These seven tips will help you make your home a safe environment for you and your family. You know what they say, “There’s no place like home.” And, this couldn’t be any truer because our homes are the environment where we feel comfortable and protected. Or, at least that’s how your home should feel, too. Your home is the place where you spend most of your time. It’s the place where you eat, sleep, spend time with your family, and relax. Such a place must be your safe haven and a refuge for well-being – the place where you feel ..read more

Decorating a small space isn’t actually that different than decorating a large one: It just requires a bit of ingenuity and understanding what works in the space and what doesn’t. While your focus will be different when you’re working with less square footage, the basic rules of design are very much the same. I’ve taken this challenge to task with a recent property development I’m working on in conjunction with Dunpar Homes – the Kingsway Village Square. This luxury building offers upscale condominium living in a carefully-crafted boutique rental residence, and as creative designer, it’s my j ..read more

Black and white has always been a classic and timeless combination. It offers flexibility and longevity when it comes to accessorizing, can easily be dressed up or pared down, and works with an endless array of styles and settings. Why should it be any different when it comes to your kitchen? We have seen the trend of black edge its way into our kitchens for the past few years in everything from hardware and lighting to appliances, tile and even our sinks and faucets. Black is such a simple yet powerful colour that can simultaneously add a bold and sophisticated impact to your kitchen, or sim ..read more

To say white kitchens are popular is a bit of an understatement. Over the years, we have seen that trends are moving away from whites with the rise of colourful cabinetry and appliances, or with the return of warm wood tones. In the end white cabinets are still a sought-after mainstay. The bright, fresh look and feel of white kitchen cabinetry never really looses its appeal, and for many is the goal for their kitchen renovation. Kitchens are the heart of the home and really should reflect your own personal style and way of living. White cabinets are always timeless, and an easy commitment wit ..read more

COVID-19 is challenging all kinds of things about life in Canada – including the way we live and work. Our panel of experts share their insights on the new home and condo design changes already taking place. Photo: M2M Spaces, Aoyuan Canada Broccolini COVID-19 has transformed our homes into our offices, classrooms, gyms, and playgrounds. Our homes need to encourage physical and mental health. To support the growing roles of our homes, flexibility in design will be key. For remote workers, we’ll need to prioritize flex spaces which offer natural light, plus acoustical and visual priv ..read more

For the top faucet trends, we spoke with House of Rohl Marketing & Innovation Director, Sarah Nguyen. The company represents and collaborates with luxury brands such as Riobel and Victoria + Albert, valuing time-honoured traditions, artisanship and technical prowess. From traditional to modern, these are the latest innovations in kitchen faucets. MIXING OLD WITH NEW Perrin & Rowe combines English craftsmanship with touchless technology, now available in the traditional Georgian Era faucet. “The lines between design styles are blurred as modern pieces are meshed with traditional acce ..read more

Over the last several years, design has had an ever-increasing movement towards environmentally friendly materials, sustainability, and energy efficiency. We’ve all been doing our part to aid the environment, knowing full well changes were needed on many levels. Our homes are our private spaces, reflections of ourselves, our family, our lifestyles; but recently they have become our sole spaces for living. The current global health crisis has thrown us all into a different way of living. Very quickly our sanctuaries have also become our offices, classrooms and gyms, while still being our space ..read more

During the coronavirus pandemic, many companies have implemented mandatory work-from-home policies. If we are still reducing new cases and trying to limit community spread, these new rules may exist for a long while before any of us return to a commute to the office. That means a lot of us are experiencing a pretty unique challenge: Working from home for the first time, full-time. Even if you worked from home intermittently in the past, this could feel entirely different because of how significant (and sudden) the change is. Not only are we trying to balance our nine to five workdays, we also ..read more

With our harsh long winters, it’s no surprise that Canadians are dying to get into the back yard come spring. Which is why we’re spending more and more on making that small patch of real estate into a heavenly oasis. Long gone are the white plastic chairs circling like wagons around a plexiglass table, and in their place are fire pits and heaters, deep-seated sectional sofas, teak dining tables and chairs, and lights, lots of lights. All of this exponentially increases the time you spend outdoors listening to the birds, or the burble of a water feature, watching the sun set, and connecting wit ..read more

As with the new season fashion trends, we also see emerging home decor trends each season that tempt us to update our homes. While trends do come and go, there are subtle ways you can switch up your existing space so it feels fresh and new for this coming year. Here are some of my favourite suggestions: Go monochrome Monochromatic shouldn’t be restricted to just pale shades (such as, taupe, grey, or white). Colours such as aubergine, cobalt blue, even kelly greens can also go monochrome in a way that’s full of energy and personality, while remaining very elegant. Mix and match What goes aroun ..read more