Stylish Home

A builder who has risen to a higher level of building is Precision Homes. After almost two decades of building homes, not to mention the experience of his father, Lloyd Reimer is confident of his abilities and knows not just how to build a home, but how to please his clients by ensuring he meets their needs and achieves the highest possible quality.

Precision Homes builds custom homes and works closely with the customer to gain the best results. This is apparent from the extensive option sheet they use. Every detail is listed and options given. This allows Lloyd and his team to give accurate cost estimates and clients to specify things like door hardware and trim, reducing the reliance on non-specific allowances.

In addition to that, Precision has been working with the same sub-contractors for many years. In that time they have established a solid working relationship with those contractors. This helps in providing accurate quotes, as well as providing high-quality work for a fair price.

All of this is background to the award winning home featured. Starting with a well-insulated basement, complete with piles and wood floors, the attention to detail is obvious throughout the entire home. The tray ceiling in the great room is trimmed to match the windows which provide natural light to the main living area.
The great room features a built-in entertainment wall with solid maple cabinetry framed by cultured stone that reaches all the way to the top of the 12-foot ceilings. The colours in the stone are echoed by the colour of the hardwood flooring and in the choice of bold paint colours, but if your style is less bold, softer tones would work equally well with the stone.

In the kitchen, the granite counter tops and slate backsplash echo the feel of the stone. More maple cabinetry carries the solid quality through the main living area. Wherever you look you see quality: solid wood cabinet doors, not veneer, and careful workmanship, from the framing to the trim. Flooring, be it tile, carpet or hardwood, is of the highest quality and carefully chosen for colour and texture.

Most eye-catching of all is the master suite. The reading area opens into an expansive room with nine-foot ceilings and depth that carries on, it seems, forever. It’s like stepping out of the forest onto the prairies for the first time.

Like the experience of seeing the prairies for the first time, you don’t see all that the space has to offer at first glance. Attached to the master bedroom is an ensuite that is far more than one would expect. A tiled shower, Jacuzzi tub and his and hers sinks make the ensuite reminiscent of a spa, heightening the sense of luxury in the home.

That feeling of luxury is not restricted to the inside of the home. The ceiling heights inside translate into interesting roof lines outside, with multiple peaks of varying height. Leading up to those roof lines are walls finished with stone and stucco.

Even the driveway shows attention to detail, with stamped concrete providing an interesting entrance to the yard. The stamped concrete continues up the walk and front step, providing continuity through the yard.

While the quality is apparent throughout the home and the feeling of opulence and space is wonderful, this home is still for living in. The main floor laundry makes doing that chore a breeze. The structural wooden floor in the basement provides a solid base should you wish to finish the basement. The large garage provides for ample parking or can serve as a workshop or automotive restoration centre for the hobbyist.
With just over 2000 square feet of living area, this well considered, carefully designed and well built home is adaptable to the changing needs of a growing family.

Text by Blair Korchinski

Bridget M. Savereux of “The Stagers”

Although interior design is the bulk of her business, Bridget M. Savereux is well-known for her work as a home stager.

Perhaps that’s because she’s one of the experts featured on the popular HGTV show, “The Stagers” and she has a thriving Vancouver design business, Balance 3 Living Design – Mind Body Design, with her Mom, Maureen Powers. In her experience, Bridget has worked on everything from small apartments and condos to an 8-million dollar penthouse, so if you’re thinking of selling your home, she can help you make it look its very best!

Home staging is preparing and transforming your home for a maximum amount and for speed of sale.
Bridget says, “We take your home – a product – and prepare that product for the market.”

When selling your home, you want to do everything you can to make it look its best. Bridget says, “At the end of the night, when people come home after seeing 10 places, you want yours to stand out in their minds. You want them to say, ‘Great layout,’ or ‘See how much furniture they got in there?’

With a home stager like Bridget, you can take it from ordinary to dynamic!

There are many different levels of preparation Bridget can offer, from helping you declutter if you don’t have a big budget for new furniture, to neutralizing and cleaning the space.

“We give them an effective way to place furniture and tell them to get rid of certain pieces,” Bridget says. “If they have any wild patterns or wrong colours going on that might not appeal to a larger market, they go too.”

Basically, “you want to give them (new home buyers) as little ammunition as possible. No odd smells, heavy, bulky furniture, dirt or crazy colors.”

She also says, “Please, please, please clean. We like to call it hotel clean.” That means no clutter, no dirt and definitely no rumpled anything!

Bridget says, “We try not to recommend buying furniture. That is why we offer the whole service of staging. Part of our service is that we bring in furniture to scale for the space.”

She works with Dekora, Canada’s leading staging company, where she can walk through the large warehouse and bring in the appropriate pieces.

One thing you should know is that you are not involved in this part.

“When you turn it over to us,” Bridget says, “You have to disconnect and think of your house as a product. Trust that the stagers will come in and do what they are professionally trained to do. We don’t need emotional interference.”

But you will learn all of this in the consultation, of which there are many levels.

“We give you ideas to use with your existing furniture and we can do an ‘enhancement,’ where we use some of your furniture and bring in some,” Bridget says.

And then there’s the level where “You pretty much move everything out and we come in and completely recreate the space.” This may mean ripping out carpet or flooring, repainting, etc.

It’s all based on your budget and whatever you come up with in the consultation.

Bridget has noticed some trends that you should keep in mind:

1. Buying large furniture without measuring or working with a designer. Often you bring the piece of furniture home and it doesn’t fit or work in the space. Don’t feel bad – you’re not an expert. But at least hire one!

2. Large televisions. Do not make these the focal point of your home unless they are part of a media room. Store it away when not in use.

3. Platform beds. They may look cool sure, but you lose the under the bed storage and often they take up the whole room!

4. Reassess all the electronics in your home. Get rid of what you don’t use and tidy up what you have.

5. Stainless steel appliances are here to stay. Just be sure to keep them clean. Wipe them down when you do the counters.

6. Open concept living is huge. Flow of your kitchen to your dining room to the living room creates an integrated feeling to the home. Embrace this. It looks better this way.

Bridget M. Savereux can take your home from Hmm to WOW! in just a few easy steps. And you’ll have a home that sells quickly and have a better, cleaner way of living in your new home.

Win-win.

Text by Stephanie Dickison
Photos Compliments of HGTV

How to Decorate Symmetric Spaces

The word “decorate” comes from a French word meaning “to beautify”. The desire to express one’s personal style and an abundance of design choices (products, services, readily available ‘how-to’ media) are some of the driving forces in today’s home design and decoration. Although beautiful, self-expressive homes are reflective of the home owner, interior designers are also contributing significantly to creating healthy, accessible and environmentally sensitive spaces, especially when one wants to create a particular look, in this case…home décor, epitomized by symmetry.

When decorating a room, there are many things to think about. Space planning, flooring, lighting, furniture and window treatments are just some concerns. How you incorporate all of the elements of décor into your decorating projects will determine if you have used these elements to your best advantage and have achieved the desired symmetrical effects.

Serenity…Balance…Harmony

Symmetric spaces are all about serenity, balance and harmony. You can enhance the level of serenity and balance in a décor scheme through careful selection and placement of furniture, lighting and accessories.

Symmetrical balance is usually found in traditional interiors. The key to a balanced room is to order it around a focal point, such as a window or a painting. You may want to centre a formal seating area around a favorite piece of art and select bold accessories that you place symmetrically on either side. By incorporating architectural details, like the strong lines of a large window, you can also accentuate a vertically symmetric theme. You can also add a heavy table to contrast the horizontally of the space. To soften the impact, add elegant glassware and lighting where possible. In essence…with symmetry, each side of a room is an exact mirror of the other. Because symmetry also reflects the human form, we are innately comfortable in this type of environment.

From Bedrooms to Bathrooms…Symmetry Reigns Supreme

In bedrooms and bathrooms, symmetry can be used effectively for its harmonious and calming effects. In the bedroom, try arranging cushions and pillows symmetrically on the bed along with two lamps on either side on matching bedside tables. Use large repeats of wallpaper to make a strong focal point in the room. For the bathroom, install carefully arranged ceramics on either side of your bathroom mirror as this arrangement will create a focal point.

The Science To Planning Your Wall Décor in Symmetric Spaces

Next to your furniture selections, choosing your wall accessories is the next most important choice you will need to make when designing your symmetric environment. Wall design selections are of paramount importance as they can make or break the overall look. All accessories should be compatible with your decorating scheme and descriptive of your interest, as well as fit into the overall scheme you are trying to achieve.

In essence, if you were to take a picture of the setting and fold it in half, the left half would be a mirror of the right half and your design would be symmetrical.

Text by Norma-Jean Alt

Designed with Entertainment in Mind

In its original layout, this kitchen did not have an area where guests could mingle with the host while preparations were being done. This design project was inspired by the need to create a functional yet beautiful workspace while allowing for an area where guests could interact without being directly in the kitchen.

Careful planning by Kim Schroeder of Charisma provided additional space and a new interpretation of the homeowner’s contemporary tastes. Kim’s philosophy is that “An effective living space enhances your lifestyle, soothes the spirit and delights the eye!”

By adding an eight foot addition, both the kitchen and the dining area could become the entertainment friendly space the owners desired. General Contractor Larry Rempel of Rempel Builders ensured that the design dream became a reality.

Extra height provided by a vaulted ceiling allowed for incorporation of lighting to enhance the spacious and welcoming space. Utilizing almost nine feet of pantry storage allowed for minimum use of upper cabinetry, creating a feature wall of iridescent recycled glass tile custom ordered by the Tile Boutique and installed by Dimitri Blagodarov of Profie Construction.

Heirloom Cabinetry built the cabinets which are veneered in Anigre, an African hardwood distinguished by a linear wavy grain. The bulk heads and gables are veneered in a contrasting Palm wood. Treefrog Veneer produces these natural wood veneers to the strictest environmental standards. Flo-Form Industries supplied the quartz surface Dupont Zodia countertops in Smoky Topaz.

With the tremendous island that accommodates four bar stools in a bold fabric that reflects the colours in the glass tiles, there is plenty of space for enjoying a quiet breakfast with your newspaper or for guests to enjoy pre-dinner appetizers. The beverage centre, complete with wine fridge, ensures that guests have access to refreshments without entering the preparation area. The adjacent formal dining table can easily accommodate up to 16, and the purple, terracotta and green chairs restate the vibrant tones of the kitchen tiles and stool fabric.

Adding larger windows opened the dining room to a spectacular view of the river, and casual chairs set into the alcove invite one to sit and enjoy the view.

When designing a space, Kim states “the first draft is never the final draft…it is the catalyst for more detail and refinement.” This space showcases these amazing results.

Text By Valerie Kilmury and Pat Gerbrandt
Photography by Fred Elcheshen

Winnipeg Kitchen, Bath & Renovations Show

Canadian Home Trends Magazine would like to extend a special thank you to Interior Illusions for providing us with the beautiful Boca Rattan Furniture Biscayne 95000 Series in Royal Oak. The four piece set included a side table, coffee table, chair and sofa in a butter yellow fabric with tropical floral print accents.

For more information or to purchase the set, please contact:

Interior Illusions
www.interiorillusions.ca
100-329 Cumberland Ave.
Winnipeg, MB
T:(204) 925-4163