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Bringing you the best of Central Ontario
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FrontInsideCover.qxp 3/8/2007 11:10 AM Page 1
FIRST PAGE Hickory.qxp 3/8/2007 11:12 AM Page 1
PAGE 2 Stairworks.qxp 3/9/2007 2:11 PM Page 1
PAGE 3 Stairworks.qxp 3/9/2007 4:36 PM Page 1
PAGE 4 AWSirrigation.qxp 3/9/2007 3:06 PM Page 1
PAGE 5 AWSirrigation.qxp 3/9/2007 3:06 PM Page 1
6 Find Your Local Professional in our GoldSource section
Contents-Masthead-Etc.qxp 3/13/2007 4:07 PM Page 6
PAGE 7 Bosmans.qxp 3/16/2007 1:02 PM Page 1
8 Find Your Local Professional in our GoldSource section
Contents-Masthead-Etc.qxp 3/13/2007 4:00 PM Page 8
9Your House and Home Resource Magazine
Contents-Masthead-Etc.qxp 3/12/2007 9:31 AM Page 9
10 Find Your Local Professional in our GoldSource section
Contents-Masthead-Etc.qxp 3/13/2007 3:59 PM Page 10
Unique Renovations
E
11Your House and Home Resource Magazine
very home is unique. The shape of a living space
is formed by a complex equation, where the personal mixes
with the public; it becomes a gallery of a private life with
hidden corners. When we entertain, it is a medium of
presentation, a stage from which we work to delight our
guests. But it is also at times a sanctuary, an office and a
playground. With all these parts for homes to play, it is no
wonder the journey to make them complete can seem
never-ending.
More and more homeowners are deciding that the
perfect home probably isn’t out there waiting somewhere,
so they set out to create it. This is when the many roles of a
home become an obstacle, as would-be renovators and
redecorators are forced to prioritize their lives – a new
living room for the family, or a new dining room for the
guests? A playroom for the little one, a home theatre for the
teen and his friends, or a new en suite bathroom for mom
and dad? Since most people are only prepared to take on
one major project – the building of an addition or the com-
plete remodelling of a room – at a time, getting the most out
of your efforts and making everyone happy is no easy task.
In fact, when left to themselves, many homeowners will
never come to a confident decision, instead opting for an
imperfect compromise, or just giving up altogether as their
ambition tapers off. Even though they know the profession-
als will have to be called in eventually, they don’t realize that
today’s home remodelling teams can offer an experienced
helping hand right from day one.
Consulting a design and build professional about your
home goes far beyond a simple ‘this is what I want’ session.
Remodelling teams are experts on the opportunities and
challenges presented by different homes and different fam-
ilies. The best way to start a project is with an in-home con-
Photo courtesy of Pioneer Craftsmen
UniqueRenovations.qxp 3/9/2007 7:33 PM Page 11
sultation at which the designer can take a first look
at the layout and construction of your home and get
a feel for your tastes and lifestyle, giving him a vivid
context in which to consider your wants and needs.
These might be specific goals, like a bigger, more
functional kitchen, or less tangible situations that
need to be addressed – the kids getting older or a
busy entertainment schedule.
But a unique renovation goes beyond layout,
function and décor – there is a less tangible source
of flair and pizzaz in some homes and it comes
from the true artistic nature of good design. The
best remodelling professionals will help find a
renovation that expresses your personality and
brings excitement and character to the house.
Whatever your aspirations, there are some
things you can do to help forge a mutual under-
standing with the designer. The first is to put
together a scrapbook; odds are you’ve been flipping
through magazines and catalogues for inspiration,
and when it comes to the décor and ambience of a
living space, a picture really is worth a thousand
words.
Design scrapbooks need not be limited to
specifics – no remodelling professional expects to
see a photo of your precise vision. Clippings might
be chosen for a single colour, accent or feature they
contain, or because they just inexplicably caught
your eye. Even if your sights are set on your
kitchen, go ahead and throw in that breathtaking liv-
ing or dining room you saw. The purpose of the
scrapbook is not to act as a blueprint for the final
design, but to help the experts know and under-
stand your family and your tastes – the things that will
help define every aspect of a unique and personal
project.
To back up the visual aid, the second thing you can
do to prepare for a design consultation is categorize
your goals. Instead of trying to prioritize or choose
between them, start by simply dividing them into a list
of unavoidable or irresistible needs, and a list of
dreams: ideal, fantastic or seemingly unattainable.
Compromise, though it is an ugly word, is an unavoid-
able part of remodelling. But why make the difficult,
balance-striking decisions by yourself? An experi-
enced designer can offer solutions and alternatives
that might never occur to the rest of us.
12 Find Your Local Professional in our GoldSource section
Photo courtesy of Pioneer Craftsmen
Photo courtesy of Pioneer Craftsmen
Photo courtesy of Pioneer Craftsmen
UniqueRenovations.qxp 3/9/2007 7:33 PM Page 12
As ideas start to come together, there is a third and very
important aspect to consider: budget. Since the cost of
renovations is difficult to predict, with countless price-point
options and hidden expenses, this becomes another area
where professional assistance is indispensable, and home-
owners shouldn’t be afraid to openly discuss monetary
concerns with their design and build team. Hammering
out a detailed budget before the drafting stage is best –
otherwise the design team’s first proposal might approach
or exceed your desired spending limit. This means either
the extra cost of a redesign, or an uncomfortable budget that
leaves little room for the incidental upgrades and additions
that make the later stages of remodelling so much fun.
At the end of the initial planning phase, the design team
will start to present concept sketches and 3D renderings,
depicting your vision through their eyes. This is the time to
evaluate your relationship – are you confident that they
have a true understanding of your dreams, and can build
them and bring them to life? The real pros will be asking
themselves the same question, and will be honest with
the answer. But ninety per cent of the time, between
13Your House and Home Resource Magazine
Photo courtesy of Pioneer Craftsmen
smen
UniqueRenovations.qxp 3/9/2007 7:33 PM Page 13
ommunicative homeowners and experienced designers, that answer is yes: a good
working relationship has been forged, and its time to sign a design and construction
agreement.
Drafting this contract involves working drawings and specifications from your
design team, as well as the selection of some or all of the products that will be used
in construction. Different agreements contain different levels of detail, depending on
your budget, the scale of the project, and the amount of flexibility you want to have
along the way. It’s also where you should agree on a timeline for the project and
discuss any possible delays – especially if you need it done in time for a special day.
Finally, once the contract is signed and the final designs are completed, con-
struction begins. The home becomes a whirlwind of activity, and the imagined
becomes the real right before your eyes. The design firm will manage the contractors
and tradesmen from start to finish, and will come to you for all the decisions that
weren’t made in the initial agreement. Similarly, they are there to hear all of your
concerns, new ideas and desired changes to the plan. At nearly every stage of the
project, there is opportunity to reduce your budget, increase or decrease the scope
of the work, or splurge on some last-minute touches.
Unique homes deserve unique renovations – functional showpieces that excite
the family, welcome the guests and satisfy a healthy streak of decorator’s vanity – and
homeowners deserve to be comfortable and confident throughout the renovation
process, not weighed down with stress and tough choices. From start to finish,
remodelling professionals have what it takes to make even the biggest projects fun
and hassle-free, so you can focus on the true goals: empowering your home in its
many roles, and making your living space match your life.
14
Photo courtesy of Pioneer Craftsmen
Find Your Local Professional in our GoldSource section
UniqueRenovations.qxp 3/9/2007 7:33 PM Page 14
When choosing a remodelling project, the first thought
is often: which room should I tackle? Similarly, when build-
ing an addition, homeowners tend to first consider what its
primary function will be, or which part of the home it will
expand.
But modern trends in renovation are quite literally
breaking down the walls between different rooms. In fact, as
many as 75 per cent of home remodelling projects now
focus on creating a combined family and entertaining space
by uniting the living room and kitchen.
The formal party has taken a back seat in recent years
as more homeowners realize that the true joy of enter-
taining is found in the warmth and personality of a home.
Many find that their kitchens play central roles not only in
their day-to-day lives, but at their parties and family gather-
ings as well. As a result, they are becoming showpieces –
rooms that people want to be proud of, often even more so
than the more traditional décor hot-spots like living and
dining rooms.
The best and most popular way to embrace this is with
a complete overhaul of the kitchen, often including an
addition and the removal of walls or wall-segments between
it and the living room. Central islands become eating,
meeting and working hot-spots, for the kids to do home-
work or the guests to commiserate.
The big living space also becomes an art gallery, as
picture frames and memorabilia in the living room are met
by display cabinetry and designer fixtures in the kitchen.
With the spaces combined, the kitchen no longer has to be
rigorously functional; it rejoins the flow of the home, and
becomes a delightful part of your living space.
15Your House and Home Resource Magazine
The Big Living Space
Photo courtesy of Pioneer Craftsmen
UniqueRenovations.qxp 3/9/2007 7:33 PM Page 15
16 Find Your Local Professional in our GoldSource section
The New
Kitchen
Space
Today’s kitchens
become a seamless
part of your life by
being a seamless part
of your home.
Photo courtesy of NuWay Kitchens
Photo courtesy of NuWay Kitchens
TheNewKitchenSpace.qxp 3/9/2007 7:34 PM Page 16
W
17Your House and Home Resource Magazine
hen it comes to remodel-
ling, there are few parts of the home as
consistently chosen for a major project
as the kitchen: as one of the most
frequently used and heavily relied upon
rooms in any house, it is a natural choice
for renovation or expansion. But
though it has always been a popular
focus, modern lifestyle trends have
drastically changed its use and the prior-
ities for its design – as a result, many
homeowners are unsure what will really
make a kitchen that is right for them.
Kitchen specialists have been
working overtime to find creative ways
to meet these new demands, and help
homeowners find the perfect solution.
Photo courtesy of NuWay Kitchens
Photo courtesy of NuWay Kitchens
Cabinets:
custom blend mushroom
stain with dark glaze
Hardware by Amerock:
- pulls 4424RBZ
- knobs 4425RBZ
TheNewKitchenSpace.qxp 3/9/2007 7:34 PM Page 17
The most profound change to come from this has been
a total re-imagining of the kitchen as a space, not a room –
today’s kitchens become a seamless part of your life by
being a seamless part of your home.
This means defining the kitchen space in new and
unexpected ways, instead of just walling it off. Floor lines,
partial walls and tactically placed furniture can all form soft
barriers while retaining a smooth, visual and functional flow
in and out of other rooms. Modern homeowners are
discovering a tendency to live in the whole house, and this
sort of open layout can make it fully possible to do so.
When creating this big living space, the kitchen portion
is still a major focus of attention. In today’s homes it
is a designer room, with a tremendous amount of care
going into every detail of its layout, construction and
décor. Function is the watchword – sleek and elegant
styling is important and many homeowners are still seeking
a traditional feel, but it is always accompanied by modern
approaches to efficiency and ease of use.
Kitchen layout has evolved as the kitchen has taken
on more roles: it is now a cooking, eating, meeting, enter-
taining and sometimes even working space; it often needs to
play several of these parts at once, accommodate numerous
people or allow for a constant back-and-forth flow through-
18 Find Your Local Professional in our GoldSource section
Photos courtesy of NuWay Kitchens
TheNewKitchenSpace.qxp 3/9/2007 7:34 PM Page 18
out a party. Modern designers are incorporating multiple
islands, wraparound counters, and walkout patio doors
meet the demands that a lively, dynamic home can place on
its kitchen.
Remodelling a kitchen involves a long list of decisions
that will have to be made over the course of several
meetings with a designer at various stages of the project,
from the major initial choices through to final details and
impulsive additions. In all cases, there are certain key
elements that help to fundamentally define the style,
atmosphere, flow and function of the final product.
Flooring
The kitchen has certain unique flooring needs that
distinguish it from the rest of the house. Spills are always
common, so ease of cleaning is a top priority, and a non-slip
surface is absolutely essential for safety purposes. Ceramics,
slates and hardwoods are all popular, style-flexible choices,
with engineered laminates as an attractive alternative that
comes with its own benefits.
Cabinetry
Most homeowners want a lot of storage space, so
cabinetry has become a major fixture of the kitchen. As
such, the choice of wood, finish and hardware all make a
big contribution to the overall shape of the design and
19Your House and Home Resource Magazine
Photos courtesy of NuWay Kitchens
TheNewKitchenSpace.qxp 3/9/2007 7:34 PM Page 19
décor. There are many different species of wood to choose
from for cabinet construction, all of which can be finished
with a variety of stains, veneers and textures.
Most high-end cabinets are equipped with soft-close
hinges that dampen the last few inches of motion to prevent
slamming doors, and a popular new feature is to have
everything in the lower cabinets roll out – pot and pan
drawers, shelves, racks and baskets – so you never need to
crouch and rummage around in the middle of cooking or
cleaning. All the hinges, handles and other hardware are
themselves available in dozens of styles and finishes, and
there are also special accents available like glass lattices and
interior lighting.
Countertops
The choice of countertop material has a huge impact
on a kitchen both visually and functionally. There are many
different materials to choose from, with natural choices like
granite remaining popular, as well as options like stainless
steel, tile and engineered stone. Man-made laminates are
becoming increasingly common, even in very high-end
kitchens: their durability and ease of maintenance is
extremely appealing, and the many finishes and textures
available on today’s market can fit into the most fashionable
of décors.
Fixtures
Choosing designer fixtures can be a fun way to add a
personal touch to your kitchen. There are many styles
and finishes available that go well beyond the traditional
products most homeowners are used to. Whether it is
rubbed bronze for a regal presence, brushed steel for a
contemporary flair or an aged rust finish for an antique,
country home look, there is a designer fixture out there to
perfectly match your tastes.
When it comes to kitchen renovations, most home-
owners opt for a complete redesign – even those whose
initial plan only involved a few choice upgrades. A pro-
fessional kitchen designer can help blend the kitchen into
the rest of the home and turn it into the efficient and
stress-free zone that can be so hard to create within a
poorly designed space. Combined with a perfectly tailored
décor, it becomes a beloved central part of the home,
aesthetically and functionally, for the family and their guests
alike – the modern kitchen for the modern lifestyle.
20 Find Your Local Professional in our GoldSource section
Ph
oto
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urte
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f N
uW
ay K
itch
en
s
TheNewKitchenSpace.qxp 3/9/2007 7:34 PM Page 20
21Your House and Home Resource Magazine
Canadians are discovering the joy of outdoor living, and the many ways
to transform the garden into a functional extension of the home.
Landscaping projects are more popular than ever.
The cutting-edge work being done by local landscape
architects is making its mark throughout the area, to the
point that many neighbourhoods have become veritable
galleries of garden design.
But all this effort isn’t being spent simply to create
well-manicured showpieces. Following a trend that has
filtered up from the southern United States, Canadians are
discovering the joy of outdoor living, and the many ways to
transform the garden into a functional extension of the
home. For help, homeowners and their architects are
turning to expert suppliers and installers of outdoor
equipment.
Of course, our climate puts its own spin on the
challenges involved: extending the season is of top
importance, since many homeowners are reluctant to invest
in an outdoor space that will only be comfortable for a few
months of the year. Thus, one of the most important areas
of innovation for outdoor living is heating.
The possibilities for outdoor heating extend far beyond
the traditional umbrella-style patio heaters most people are
used to – though somewhat effective under certain
conditions, the slightest wind or a really cold night can
render them useless. In some situations radiant heaters are
still best, but homeowners can also choose from a variety of
more interesting and exciting solutions.
Options here include gas and wood-burning fireplaces,
cottage-style or contemporary fire pits and faux-wood gas fix-
tures that look like campfires. There are even double-sided
fireplaces that can be built into the exterior wall of the house,
providing heat as well as a striking visual feature both inside
and out. When chosen to suit the layout, style and function-
al requirements of a garden, an outdoor fireplace can quick-
ly become a nexus of activity and a much-loved centerpiece.
Outdoor Living ... Inside Comfort
OutdoorLiving.qxp 3/9/2007 7:35 PM Page 21
The many back-yard chefs out there are probably
already thinking about the other key role that fire plays in
outdoor living – and they will not be disappointed. Summer
barbecue parties are something of an unofficial national
tradition in Canada, and building the perfect outdoor
kitchen is a central focus of many local landscaping projects.
Homeowners seeking more than just a barbecue on the
deck will find no shortage of options.
For starters, modern outdoor kitchens go beyond
simple grills: smokers, warming ovens and cooking stoves
are all available for the established or aspiring gourmet. The
devoted entertainer can consider fridges and even beer-taps
as well – a great way to create a relaxed and casual gathering
spot. Whatever the appliances and features, the second
stage of building an outdoor kitchen is bringing the whole
array together in a functional and harmonious kitchen
space, designed to visually compliment the home and
garden.
Typically, this means laying paving stones in a dedicat-
ed spot and building a fixed counter to house all the
equipment, creating a garden room with all the definition
and unity of a normal kitchen. Natural and engineered
stone countertop products come in many colours, finishes
and cuts, and working with an architect or a masonry expert
opens up vast possibilities for a unique and personal
outdoor kitchen. Depending on space and budget, your
design might incorporate islands, bars, tables, wraparound
counters and more.
If an outdoor living space is to get proper use, it has
to be comfortable. In addition to heating, landscape
architects use decks, gazebos and semi-enclosed structures
to create welcoming garden rooms. But it’s the finishing
22 Find Your Local Professional in our GoldSource section
Photo courtesy of Big Green Egg (Dealer: Wellington Fireplace)
Photo courtesy of Bull Canada
Outdoor gas Fire Pit features:
- Ceramic gas fire logs & lava rocks
- Stucco base
- Custom tile top
- 48"w x 48"d x 17.5"h
- rock or brick base
- granite tile top and hearth surround
with bull nose edge detail
Photo courtesy of Bull Canada
Tahoe - this rustic fashionable
garden grill with its brown and
white components, create a
most attractive visual effect.
The decorative copper surface
gives it an exclusive
OutdoorLiving.qxp 3/9/2007 7:35 PM Page 22
touch of furnishing that often makes or breaks a comfort
zone, and the options at this stage are thankfully no longer
limited to boring, uncomfortable aluminium and vinyl patio
furniture.
The traditional frame-and-cushion style is still popular,
and chairs of this type are available in countless designer
styles; there is also high-end, ultra-durable wicker furniture
that holds up to rain and wind. Perhaps the most exciting
new development is specialty fabrics and padding materials
that dry almost instantly by allowing water to pass straight
through them, which have made it possible to put up-
holstered chairs, loveseats and couches outside.
Creating an outdoor living space starts as a landscaping
project, but the task will no doubt grow to include other
specialists as your list of wants and needs matures. A
landscape architect can include the many features – fire-
places, hot tubs, kitchens, flower beds and more – in a
cohesive design. The experts in outdoor appliances,
heaters, furniture and materials will help you find the
perfect products for the project, and will co-ordinate their
installation work with your architect to ensure it is done
easily and on time. The final product is more than a garden
or an accessory to the home: it is an extension of the living
space – an extension of your life.
23Your House and Home Resource Magazine
Photo courtesy of Heat N Glo
Photo courtesy of DCS
Freestanding Patio Heater features:
- Emits and Efficient 40,000 Btu’s of Heat
- Up to 20 ft. Circle of Heat
- Safety Shut-off
- Available for Natural Gas or Liquid Propane fuel types
OutdoorLiving.qxp 3/9/2007 7:35 PM Page 23
24 Find Your Local Professional in our GoldSource section
Photo courtesy of Station Earth
HighTechHomes.qxp 3/9/2007 7:36 PM Page 24
25Your House and Home Resource Magazine
High-Tech Homes
Bring the experience of “going-out” into your home.
M
Ph
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arth
any of the greatest possibilities in modern
design lie in one popular pursuit: bringing the experience of
‘going out’ into the home. Cottages are being replaced by
landscaped ponds and back-yard living spaces, and gyms are
giving way to resistance pools and workout rooms. But perhaps
the most exciting new trend is a field driven by the newest and
most advanced technology: home theatre systems.
The days of clunky stereo receivers and unsightly speakers
are gone. Modern equipment eliminates the need for a stack of
interconnected devices, each with its own remote, plus an
extra-large entertainment unit to house it all. It can also get rid
of those racks of CDs and DVDs, and the chore of keeping
them organized.
Instead, picture a room completely unmarked by wires; a
keypad next to the light switch is the only electronic device you
can see. The bed does not face a television, but instead a work
of art—until the system is engaged. At once the lights dim and
the painting rolls up to reveal a 65” plasma screen bearing a list
of movies and albums. At the touch of another button, music
fills the room from some unseen source.
Or perhaps the screen descends from the ceiling, or
emerges from a compartment beneath the bed. The possibilities
are virtually endless.
The ideal time to install a high-tech, house-wide system is
while building, well before the drywall stage - that way, the
system designer can consult with the architect to ensure
absolutely no visible wires. Since wiring at this phase is cheap
and easy, the entire home can be outfitted for future additions
to prevent any drilling and rewiring later.
For those without this luxury, a theatre design team can
make nearly any modifications to an existing home, though it
will sometimes mean striking a balance between the perfect
system and the cost and hassle of renovations. When it comes
time to consult with a designer, it’s important to consider what
kind of features you want installed, and what your budget is -
complete installations can cost anywhere from ten-thousand to
half-a-million dollars.
For many homeowners, the number one goal is to have
fully distributed audio—the music they want, when they want it,
in any room of the house. Thanks to modern in-wall speakers
and soundproofing techniques, the source can remain invisible,
while the music retains a high-quality sound and doesn’t bleed
Ph
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HighTechHomes.qxp 3/9/2007 7:36 PM Page 25
into adjacent rooms. A system like this is controlled from
panels, either keypads or LCD touch screens, in every
room. The interface marries all available media sources -
CDs in a multi-disc changer, MP3s on a hard-drive, satellite
radio feeds and more - into one list.
Programmable presets add even
more possibilities. A touch of a precon-
figured ‘Entertain’ button could dim the
lights to a chosen level and begin a dinner
party music play-list in selected rooms. Or
a ‘Home Alone’ button could load your
favourites and turn the volume up a few
notches.
The other popular goal among home-
owners, especially big movie buffs and
those with children, is to build a truly
awe-inspiring home theatre. In recent
years, modern audio and video equip-
ment has made it possible to give up the
long lines and high prices of the movie
theatre without sacrificing the experience.
Plasma screens are commonly available at
sizes of up to 65”, projector screens can go
even larger, and the widescreen format
means movies can be watched unedited.
An accompanying surround-sound audio
system makes modern home theatres
nearly identical to the real thing. At the
design phase of a house, rooms like this
26 Find Your Local Professional in our GoldSource section
A high-tech home theatre room with distri-
A system like this is controlled from panels, either
Photo courtesy of Station Earth
HighTechHomes.qxp 3/9/2007 7:36 PM Page 26
can be totally isolated: suspended within a larger room and
connected by pipes coated in Styrofoam, so you can take
full advantage of the sound.
Of course many homeowners opt for
both: a high-tech home theatre room with
distributed audio throughout the rest of
the house. The system designers will set
everything up to run from the same core,
so the same music can be accessed from
every room, and the same movies are
available on any television in the house.
In fact, the system can also store photo
albums and just about any other media,
and deliver them on-demand at the touch
of a keypad. At the heart of it all it is, in
fact, run by that stack of interconnected
boxes, but they are rack-mounted and
hidden, and once they are set up, there is
little need to access them again.
For the kids, it is also possible to
integrate a system like this with the newest
video game consoles, and playing their
Xbox on a wall-sized projector screen
with surround sound will definitely bring
smiles to their faces. Parents often find
that their theatre quickly becomes the
favourite hangout for their children and
their friends, keeping them nearby but
with plenty to do.
The technology in distributed media
melds beautifully with many other areas
of home design. The best custom systems
are combined with lighting controls,
thermostats and a computer network for a
truly integrated and almost futuristic
home. Door sensors snap into action to
light your route to the living room where
your favourite show is just about to start;
wall jacks and wireless coverage make
homework and web surfing in any room a
breeze. The luxuries of modern techno-
logy have always come with disadvantages,
from awkward and limited controls to the
obstacles of wires and equipment, but the
newest systems available are levelling the
playing field. The command of a vast
media library can be embedded in the
wall, and the authentic movie theatre
experience can be tucked away under the
bed.
27Your House and Home Resource Magazine
buted audio throughout the rest of the house.
keypads or LCD touch screens, in every room.
Photo courtesy of Station Earth
HighTechHomes.qxp 3/9/2007 7:36 PM Page 27
28 Find Your Local Professional in our GoldSource section
There are many reasons people consider
bungalows when building or shopping for a new home.
Eliminating the need to trek up and down the stairs
is becoming increasingly appealing to a segment of the
home buying public, especially because of age, medical
conditions, or the need to care for elderly relatives.
Many are simply looking for a long-term home that they can
keep into retirement, and are craving the simple, functional
nature of a one-storey design.
But despite the attraction of bungalows, many home
seekers aren't quite ready for life on a single floor.
In response to this growing demographic, modern home
designers have introduced a new type of living space:
the bungaloft.
Though it may sound like a contradiction in terms,
the two-storey bungalow is a truly unique design. It allows
homeowners to enjoy all the key elements of modern living
Photo courtesy of WrightHaven Homes
Bungalofts.qxp 3/9/2007 7:37 PM Page 28
29Your House and Home Resource Magazine
Bungalofts
Though it may sound like a
contradiction in terms, the
two-storey bungalow is a truly
unique design.
– a kitchen, dining area, family room, guest room, den
and laundry room, along with a master suite – on one
floor, while making use of what would normally be the
attic for all the additional functions of the home. There
are many possibilities for the space: children's bed-
rooms, a home office or theatre, a studio or an exercise
space – all rooms that benefit from being partially
removed from the main flow of the home.
Photo courtesy of WrightHaven Homes
Bungalofts.qxp 3/9/2007 7:37 PM Page 29
In addition to the functional advantages bungalofts
present exciting design opportunities. Differing rooflines,
angled ceilings, beams and other fixtures of the attic lend
themselves naturally to the quaint, cozy spaces that
bungaloft buyers are usually hoping to create. Beyond even
that, there are possibilities like dormers and designer
windows, walk-out balconies, custom staircases and open-
floor areas that look down on the living room or entryway.
More and more architects and builders are offering the
bungaloft option, either as a new home or a remodelling
project on a traditional bungalow. Even in a mid-sized
home it is entirely possible to build numerous rooms and
make the new loft a gift for the whole family. Converting an
existing space is far less expensive than building an
addition, and it can still be a significant boost to the
value of a house.
Professionals who have latched on to the trend
are constantly working to perfect the art and find new
design solutions for maximum efficiency, so home
seekers can expect the possibilities of the bungaloft to
grow even more vast in the near future.
The term 'loft' traditionally refers to the attic or
upper portion of a building, and has increasingly
become associated with the idea of utilising a pre-
existing but unexploited space. The bungaloft is a
powerful application of this concept, turning the attic
– often neglected in existing houses, and an unavoid-
able structural necessity in all bungalows – into an
efficient and versatile compliment to the home.
Bungalow owners have been known to comment that
they could 'fit a whole new house' in their attics, and
the bungaloft enables them to do just that.
30 Find Your Local Professional in our GoldSource section
Photos courtesy of WrightHaven Homes
Bungalofts.qxp 3/9/2007 7:37 PM Page 30
31Your House and Home Resource Magazine
Photos courtesy of WrightHaven Homes
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32 Find Your Local Professional in our GoldSource section
Antique
Ambience
Decorating an older home.
John and Stacey went out house-hunting with a very
specific living space in mind, and they found it – almost.
It was a beautiful building, with an old-fashioned feel that
perfectly suited their tastes, but it lacked many of the more
modern living comforts that were also important to them.
Moreover, it needed to be completely furnished and
decorated with an eye for maintaining and enhancing the
home’s antique ambience.
One thing was clearly in their favour: the
house didn’t need any structural changes. With
the help of a local interior designer, they were
free to put all their creative energy into the
décor.
Their consultations started with some dis-
cussions about choice features and pieces of
Photo courtesy of Sara Ness Interiors
InteriorDesign.qxp 3/9/2007 7:17 PM Page 32
furniture and after one long evening meeting, their scattered
ideas had snowballed into a cohesive plan. The living
and dining rooms were to be major focal points, along with
a convenient and efficient modern kitchen. John and Stacey
were under a bit of stress – it wasn’t long until Christmas,
and they hoped to have their home ready for the holidays
– but as the work got underway, they began to enjoy them-
selves.
“I wish I had done it sooner,” says Stacey, who had
considered doing the work in stages but is glad she didn’t.
“I was almost afraid of the project, but I shouldn’t have
been. I bit the bullet and did it.”
Before long, they were installing the centerpieces that
now define the décor, not the least of which is the old coal-
burning fireplace that warms the living room both literally
33Your House and Home Resource Magazine
Photo courtesy of Sara Ness Interiors
InteriorDesign.qxp 3/9/2007 7:17 PM Page 33
and aesthetically. Next, wood furniture finished in
robust, antique tones came together with stately dark-
leather pieces for a pervasive feel of relaxed,
welcoming opulence.
This is the point at which many homeowners find
the options too hard to navigate and the choices too
hard to make by themselves. Accessorizing an entire
home with today’s unimaginably vast store of products
and possibilities is no easy task without the help of an
interior decorator.
Through a lot of discussion and a lot of catalogue-
surfing, as well as visits to their decorator’s retail store
and showroom, John and Stacey were able to hone in
on the accessories best suited to the old-fashioned
ambience they hoped to create.
The lighting is traditional and decorative with
ornate wall sconces, an eclectic array of lamps, plus a
34 Find Your Local Professional in our GoldSource section
Photos on these pages courtesy of Sara Ness Interiors
InteriorDesign.qxp 3/9/2007 7:17 PM Page 34
chandelier above the dining room table. Large wood-
framed mirrors in the entryway and living and dining
rooms are offset by smaller, more colourful wall-hang-
ings and the occasional plant or flower. As subtle fin-
ishing touches, a few unique pieces with exceptional
character are peppered throughout the home: a large,
thick-rimmed clock, an old-fashioned, free-standing
globe and a gate-like, wrought metal wall-hanging to
name a few.
After making all their decisions, they spend a day
with the decorator arranging, hanging, placing and
perfecting. By the end, a home they originally found
uninviting had become warm and elegant, evoking
and enhancing the many qualities that made them
choose the house in the first place. Though they still
have one or two decisions to make, John and Stacey
are now living in their dream home with their dream
décor.
35Your House and Home Resource Magazine
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Home Space
to
Work Place
In the age of small businesses and busy careers
that don't stay confined to the traditional nine-to-five, more
and more people are discovering that they need a quiet,
comfortable home office. The remodelling and interior
design industries are changing to reflect this need, with
some specialists turning their attention to the paradoxical
challenges of weaving a working space into a living space: a
good home office must be both a coherent part of the home
and a detached, contrasting environment that breeds con-
centration.
There are many situations in which a professionally
designed home office can be practically life-changing.
Operating a small business is certainly near the top of the
list, since even business owners who have office space out-
side the home usually find that it becomes a twenty-four
hour job, with plenty of tasks, worries and loose-ends that
come to mind long after the workday is over. One of the
biggest problems small business owners face is the difficulty
of staying focused in their houses: cramped, unwelcoming
offices are hardly conducive to
work, and the home offers too
many easy diversions when
business becomes unpleasant
and uncomfortable.
Others need a space for
the work they bring home
from their day jobs, or simply
for their personal projects.
In all cases, the reasoning is
36 Find Your Local Professional in our GoldSource section
Office designers are able to use all
the tools of interior design alongside
modern furniture and technology to create
a perfect working environment.
Photo courtesy of Royal City Design
HomeSpaceToWorkPlace.qxp 3/9/2007 7:38 PM Page 36
the same: rented office space comes with a considerable
monthly price tag, usually $1000 at the very least; besides,
few people want to stay at the office all evening and drive
home at night – it makes for a tiring day, and even becomes
a safety concern in bad weather. People find it much easier
to drum up that overtime energy if they know that, when
they are done, home, family and a warm bed are only a
room away.
So what goes into a good home office? As in all
interior design, the right balance of form and function is
essential. The office will be highly efficient and well
equipped, and it probably won't be the most decorative
room in the home, but the subtleties of its ambience and
visual appeal can go a long way towards making or breaking
that perfect work environment. Office designers are experts
on both fronts, able to use all the tools of interior design
alongside modern furniture and technology to accomplish
the job.
The best teams offer a full turnkey solution, managing
every aspect of the project from the design phase through
37Your House and Home Resource Magazine
Photo courtesy of Royal City Design
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to completion. The first thing they need to know is your
needs: privacy and a level of detachment are usually early
considerations, as well as the necessary space for filing
cabinets, storage areas, bookshelves – and sufficient room
to work. The key is to make everything convenient and
accessible, so the many tasks of business don't disrupt your
workflow, and also to ensure that the office can do every-
thing that is required of it. For some, a printer and fax
machine table is an absolute necessity; others need a sec-
ondary desk for a book-keeper or another member of their
team. Not only can an office designer install all the neces-
sary phone jacks and power outlets and take care of other
technical aspects, but they can even co-ordinate such addi-
tional needs as extra parking.
Often, an office project starts with a piece of furniture
that the homeowner has picked out or bought already:
executive desks and comfortable chairs are the favourites.
Office designers can work wonders around a centerpiece
like this by building custom furniture to accompany it, or
even by doing custom millwork to modify the store-bought
piece. Tailoring the furniture to the space is the best way to
maximize your investment and the efficiency of the final
product. The fact is, though it is easy to find one or two
pieces that are exactly what you want, assembling the perfect
set can be nearly impossible. Not only can custom furniture
match or contrast the décor as you desire, it will never waste
space: tables and bookshelves run the entire length of the
wall, with no useless gap at either end; credenzas and filing
cabinets are sized precisely to meet your needs: no larger,
no smaller.
Creating the right office décor is slightly different
from decorating the rest of the home. Usually an office
will have something that sets it apart from other rooms,
like a different choice in colour, flooring or lighting.
Fluorescent fixtures are the usual choice for home
offices, since they are available in numerous styles that
go beyond simple, office-like light strips. Similarly,
there are several styles of fluorescent suspended
ceiling lights – such as raised or embossed panels – that
add a personal flair while maintaining a professional
ambience. When it comes to paint, home offices
need not be confined to the traditional whites and
greys of the ‘business’ décor. Warm, welcoming tones,
along with attractive, high-grade flooring, are a good
way to ensure your office will draw you in, not drive
you out.
Nearly everyone has smiled, at least once, at the
thought of a home office. Whether it is to do their job,
write letters, manage a business, trade stocks, keep
memoirs, do research or something else altogether,
nobody is without a use for a well designed work area.
Perhaps the biggest obstacle they face is finding the
space, though there are options in most homes: an
unfinished room in the basement, an underused guest
bedroom, and of course the more complex but more
flexible option of building an addition. Whatever you
choose, a skilled office design team will employ their
expertise in lighting, décor, furniture, technology and
all other elements of an office to use the space to its
fullest. That way, once the job is done, you can too.
38 Find Your Local Professional in our GoldSource section
Photo courtesy of Royal City Design
HomeSpaceToWorkPlace.qxp 3/9/2007 7:38 PM Page 38
39Your House and Home Resource Magazine
Welcome
Home
Not everyone has time for a
cottage – and that includes a lot of people
who own them. After planning, packing,
buying supplies and spending a whole after-
noon on the 400, the weekend up north
that was supposed to be an escape can feel
more like a chore. For those with unrelent-
ing schedules it can be hard to get away for
more than a night or two, and it often feels
as though you are already planning the trip
back home the moment you arrive. The
simple fact is that cottages aren’t always
such a great place to relax.
As a result, many people are becoming
reluctant to buy property up north, while
others are looking to sell cottages that have seen far less use
than expected. A great deal of that time, attention and
money is being redirected into landscaping projects, as
homeowners discover the potential to create the same
peaceful and rejuvenating atmosphere in their own back
yards.
Cottages are beloved for their seclusion and simplicity:
there is something inexplicably energising about being
intertwined with nature. A landscape contractor may not be
able to recreate the dazzling stars or crisp air of a Muskoka
night, but they can design a functional garden that meshes
perfectly with the natural environment around your home,
harnessing, retaining and even augmenting its beauty
instead of ignoring or disrupting it.
In order to do so, they have begun to re-examine
some long-standing traditions in landscape design. Why, for
example, is the deck almost exclusively positioned against
the house, even on an estate-sized property? A powerful
new tactic is to push the deck away from the home,
surround it with gardens, trees and other natural elements,
and perhaps even sacrifice a large patio space in favour of
several small, floating structures.
Deck space can then be incorporated into a multi-
roomed layout, where the landscape is compartmentalized
with hard and soft barriers – flower beds, dwarf trees,
masonry structures and changes in paving material to name
a few – forming a series of connected areas, each with its
own ambience and degree of seclusion ranging from bright
and open to cozy and practically hidden. With such a
design, relaxing on the deck doesn’t just mean turning your
back to the patio door for a few hours, but rather escaping
to a semi-private retreat, surrounded by nature, where you
can feel enclosed and temporarily removed from the house.
An overall natural look is essential to creating this
atmosphere, and a good contractor can pick the right design
elements to achieve it. One of the first and most dominant
features considered is often the flagstones: natural stone is
the preference, with manufactured interlocking products
that simulate the natural look gaining ground as a flexible
and less expensive alternative.
Another common tool in modern landscape con-
struction is wood, chosen for its innate character and
beauty – a century-old barn beam, weathered and worm-
holed, can become any number of magnificently crafted
garden centerpieces. Water features are always popular,
and the current trends lean towards small, subtle install-
ations like waterfalls and bubbling rock structures whose
main contribution to the garden is pleasant white noise.
Homeowners are discovering the
potential to create the same
peaceful and rejuvenating
atmosphere of “cottage life”
in their own back yards.
Photo courtesy of Montana Raven
WelcomeHome.qxp 3/9/2007 7:39 PM Page 39
Landscape contractors, especially when faced with a
property that is mostly flat, will suggest ways to enhance
the natural topography with a variety of aesthetic and
functional structures such as a low stone ‘seat wall’ running
through a chosen part of the garden. Getting the most
out of a feature like this is all about the details of its design:
letting the top coping stone sit forward and hang over the
edge of the wall will keep snow from collecting on the rest
of the masonry; when combined with some subtle lighting,
this becomes not only a twenty-four hour, year-round
display, but one that is perhaps at its most radiant on a cold
winter’s night.
Plant life is often chosen for the same reason: dwarf
trees, perennials, ornamental grass and other elements of
an all-season garden are more popular than ever. Their
positioning, and indeed the layout of the entire garden, will
depend on the surroundings. Those lucky enough to have
property that backs onto a natural setting, like a forest or
conservation area, will want their gardens to become one
with the adjacent land; those who are in close-quarters with
roads or other homes may want a design that offers total
seclusion. In most cases, it is a combination of both:
shaping the landscape to accentuate pleasant views and
favourable surroundings while blocking out or at least
minimizing the impact of anything undesirable.
Ontario boasts some beautiful cottage country –
nobody can deny that. But it also boasts many beautiful
houses and plots of land, many talented landscape con-
tractors and many busy modern families. It’s no wonder the
tendency has arisen to bring rest and relaxation close to
home, instead of leaving it at the far end of a cottage-week-
end marathon. In fact, the trend isn’t limited to landscaping:
from home theatres to home spas, many of today’s most
popular upgrades to a living space focus on replacing going
out with staying in.
Whether you’ve got a busy career, a small business,
kids in school, a baby to care for or all of the above, odds
are you’re not too enthusiastic about setting out on a six
hour drive every time you have a weekend free; add in
conflicting schedules, homework, sports leagues, music
lessons and chores around the house and it’s often not even
possible. With the help of a talented contractor the land-
scape can be a custom-tailored retreat that is easily accessi-
ble to the whole family, which means your new travel plans
will be simple: take a stroll down the garden path.
40 Find Your Local Professional in our GoldSource section
Photo courtesy of Renaissance Landscape Group
WelcomeHome.qxp 3/9/2007 7:39 PM Page 40
Even the most intricate and authentic natural-style
landscaping projects often include a nice, clean-cut front
yard. After all, in most homes, the front yard serves a very
different purpose: the main garden is a place to relax, play
and entertain, while the front is primarily a display piece.
This means that most homeowners want to give it a
personal touch that distinguishes it from other houses on
the block without spending a large chunk of their time and
resources on it or letting it become flamboyant and
overwrought: simplicity is the key. More and more home-
owners are opting for two or three choice varieties of plant
life to create an elegant, understated motif, sometimes
combined with the same type of stone ‘seat wall’ and
low-key lighting that are popular aesthetic features in the
back yard.
Landscape architects also stress that the driveway
should not break up the view – too often it is a hulking,
brutal slab that cuts through the grass and flowerbeds and
into the garage. Blending it with its surroundings using
walkways, colours and plants can reverse this effect and
bring the whole front yard into harmony.
Most homeowners also want their front garden to be
low-maintenance, so much so that many are installing
putting-green style artificial grass. Modern nylon grass
products come with twenty-year guarantees and are virtually
indistinguishable from the real thing, even under close
inspection. Though some people are relutant to give up
genuine grass, there is always something attractive about
saying goodbye to sprinklers, lawnmowers, fertilizers and
pesticides on the front lawn.
41Your House and Home Resource Magazine
Photo courtesy of Forestell Designed Landscapes
A professional contract is important
for any landscape
The Front Lawn
Photo courtesy of Montana Raven
WelcomeHome.qxp 3/9/2007 7:39 PM Page 41
42
H
Find Your Local Professional in our GoldSource section
DontForgetTheFloor.qxp 3/9/2007 7:32 PM Page 42
People are drawn to hardwood for many reasons.
Its beauty and ambient effect may be foremost, but there are lots of
secondary benefits as well.
Hardwood flooring is more popular than
ever – it is a powerful fashion statement as well as a sound
investment in your home. It seems that nearly every new
construction and major remodelling project involves hard-
wood in some or all parts of the house, and suppliers of
natural and engineered wood are expanding their offerings
every year, opening up diverse new design possibilities.
Whatever the demands of your tastes and lifestyle, there is
a hardwood product that is up to the task.
The flooring you choose will set the aesthetic tone
of every room it is in, so it’s vital that it suits the décor
you hope to create. Natural hardwood can achieve many
different looks through the choice of lumber – Red Oak
and Maple are always popular and abundant in Canada –
and the finishing treatment, anything from simple stains to
hand-scraped, wire brush effects or realistic weathering and
distress.
When it comes to engineered wood there is an even
greater catalogue of designer colours and textures available.
Most manufacturers supply flooring pre-stained in many
warm, carefully crafted tones of brown, red, tan and cream
that can be subtle but stunning or bold but balanced in any
atmosphere. They also make use of cutting-edge research
and the latest scientific advancements to create protective
coatings that are UV and scuff resistant but don’t affect the
appearance of the finish, helping to ensure that fading and
damage won’t diminish the beauty of the floor over time.
The other design element of hardwood flooring is its
layout and construction. Many homeowners are combining
different types and finishes of flooring to build patterns and
borders that accent pieces of furniture and alter the visual
flow of the home. Some opt for complex custom patterns
while others want simple twists like diagonal planks or a
frame around a chosen room. The options here are again
somewhat more diverse with engineered wood, since it can
be cut into much wider planks and laid in more complex
arrangements than natural hardwood, which reacts too
drastically to moisture.
43Your House and Home Resource Magazine
Don’t forget the floor
as decor!
Suppliers of natural and engineered wood are coming up
with new design possibilities every year.
The flooring you choose will set the aesthetic tone
of your room.
There is an ever expanding range of textures, effects
and patterns to choose from.
DontForgetTheFloor.qxp 3/9/2007 7:32 PM Page 43
Making and committing to so many long-term choices
is not easy, which is why many homeowners are employing
the help of flooring experts for a complete hardwood
solution, rather than shopping for store-bought products
and hiring a team of installers. There are many advantages
to working with one group of professionals from start to
finish, not the least of which is that many of these experts
employ interior designers and consultants to visit your
home, listen to your needs and help you with the tough
decisions, or co-ordinate with your own interior designer on
a larger project to ensure the flooring fits the master plan.
When choosing natural hardwood, there are several
technical considerations that also call for the help of an
expert. Natural wood reacts to moisture and temperature,
and if the climate of the house isn’t properly checked and
controlled then there is the possibility of cupping, gapping,
buckling and other damage to the floors.
A professional team will acclimatize the wood to your
home by leaving it there for around 72 hours prior to
installation, thus preventing any immediate shifting as the
wood settles into its new environment. They will also be
able to find the places that hardwood should not be
installed – on a solid concrete basement floor, above a
crawlspace, or anywhere else that allows moisture to come
up from underneath. When building a new home
with the hopes of installing hardwood, the experts
recommend putting a dehumidifier in the basement
the moment it is enclosed: there are always gallons
of water trapped as moisture in a newly built home,
and it will be absorbed by everything – especially
natural lumber.
Even when perfectly acclimatized and installed,
natural hardwood needs good climate control and
will likely still form a few small gaps in the winter as
it dries out, and tighten up again in the summer.
Nonetheless, a little air conditioning and heating to
keep the house at an average temperature is usually enough
to preserve the floors in all seasons and for years to come.
In homes with wood stoves or electric heat, both of which
can create dry conditions, a humidifier is sometimes
needed to prevent creaking or cracking – flooring experts
suggest a constant humidity of around 45-50%.
Although natural wood will always have a unique allure,
the extra care it requires has prompted many homeowners
to choose engineered wood for its superior stability. There
is very little difference in price between natural and
engineered products, and manufactured wood reacts far
less drastically to changes in climate. This, combined with
the extra-durable finishes and coatings, makes it a very
low-maintenance option.
People are drawn to hardwood for many reasons. Its
beauty and ambient effect may be foremost, but there are
lots of secondary benefits as well: real estate agents often see
hardwood flooring as the easiest feature to sell a home by,
which in turn means banks are ready and willing to put
money up for it in a mortgage-funded construction or
renovation. Whatever your motivation, the end result will
be the same: a fashionable and highly personalized canvas
on which to paint the décor of your dreams.
44 Find Your Local Professional in our GoldSource section
DontForgetTheFloor.qxp 3/9/2007 7:32 PM Page 44
Before hiring a flooring team for a complete
solution, most homeowners still want to have a
look around to see what is available to the
consumer. Unfortunately, without full knowledge
of hardwood flooring, they are left to place their
trust in salespeople and catalogues when com-
paring products and price-points. Whether you
are looking to buy or just on a fact-finding
mission, there are certain indicators you can use
to evaluate the products you see.
As usual, the best indicator is price. This is not
to say that every homeowner needs top-end
designer hardwood for $17 per square foot, but
they should be wary of bargain rates like $3.99. In
general, good quality and worthwhile flooring
starts at around $7, uninstalled.
Higher quality wood generally comes in longer planks
and should have fewer knots, discolorations and other
blemishes, unless it is a line specifically chosen for variation
and character, so it is important to ask questions and keep
a critical eye. Inquire about the finish as well: better floor-
ing, especially engineered wood, will be much more durable
and fade-resistant, and will come with a longer warranty to
prove it.
The problem is, there are still many factors in the
quality of hardwood flooring that are difficult for the
average homeowner to evaluate just by looking at a sample
board. If the product is not milled properly and precisely,
there will be gaps at every cross-seam, and a greater chance
of problems arising because of moisture. This is one of the
reasons why the advice of a trusted flooring expert is often
irreplaceable.
45Your House and Home Resource Magazine
Shopping for Hardwood
DontForgetTheFloor.qxp 3/9/2007 7:32 PM Page 45
46 Find Your Local Professional in our GoldSource section
Choosing a professional to work on your home
can be a daunting task. The architect, contractor and other
experts behind a major project will shape the changes to a
living space, and many homeowners become hesitant to
make a final decision.
When it comes to landscaping, this is perhaps doubly
true. Modern trends all lean towards getting the most use
out of a garden: discreet lighting for comfort late into the
night, ‘garden rooms’ for privacy and the impression of
added space, and year-round designs that retain their
beauty even in the middle of winter. Since many people
are opting for complete garden overhauls, there is pressure
to hire the best of the best: a landscape architect who can
meet your needs while making you feel comfortable and
confident.
In today’s market, homeowners can shop around and
compare reputations, price points and areas of expertise –
but the job is more demanding than reading labels. The
lucky ones feel the beginnings of an excellent working
relationship at their first or second consultation, others not
until their sixth.
When choosing a landscape architect, be ready to have
an hour-long chat with a handful of different professionals.
Much of the decision will be intuitive, depending on your
impressions and comfort level, but there are also some
points to keep in mind throughout the process and bring up
at your various meetings.
Can they listen to your needs and match your style?
Some landscape architects specialize in a particular
Choosing A
Landscape Architect
Consider the following factors as you shop for and compare landscape professionals.
Photo courtesy of Brydges Landscape Architecture
ChoosingLandscapeArchitect.qxp 4/19/2007 1:08 PM Page 46
style or part of landscaping, such as water
features, lighting, natural stone, outdoor
kitchens – and the list goes on. Still, most
take pride in their ability to fulfill a
client’s desires without imposing their
experiences or personal tastes on them.
In an initial consultation, the suggestions
and options they present will help you
judge if they understand, and are able to
match, your tastes.
Are they landscape experts, in theory
and in practice?
Different professionals in the land-
scaping field offer different degrees of
service: there are architects providing
plans that can be passed on to a land-
scape contractor, as well as design and
build teams that offer a complete service.
Both ends of the scale have drawbacks
and advantages, and finding the right
balance can be tough.
It is very important that architects are
experts in landscaping materials, not
just conceptual design. If they lack the
knowledge of natural stone, concrete,
wood and the other structural elements
of a garden, there is no guarantee that
their plan will be practical or even
possible for a contractor to execute. On
the other hand, design and build teams
can draw up plans with a detailed know-
ledge of the difficulties, expenses and
time periods involved, but they are rarely
as experienced or adept when it comes to
the nuances of garden design.
Somewhere in the middle there are
the true artisans of landscaping, who
have combined their talent for con-
ceiving a beautiful outdoor space with the
knowledge and organizational skills they
need to see a project through to com-
pletion. In consultations with architects,
it is good to probe their technical know-
ledge and dedication to their work,
alongside your questions about style and
vision.
How big is their repertoire of connec-
tions?
If you find an architect who is pre-
pared to manage the other professionals
involved in a landscaping project, your
next question should be: where are those
47Your House and Home Resource Magazine
Photos courtesy of Brydges Landscape Architecture
ChoosingLandscapeArchitect.qxp 4/19/2007 1:08 PM Page 47
professionals going to come from? A landscape architect’s
connections in the field can make or break the end result of
the project. The best architects – those who take real pride
in their work – will not only have a list of tested and trusted
contractors, but will be willing and eager to work closely
with them, or at least supervise construction at various
stages, instead of simply handing off their designs.
A large repertoire of contemporaries in different fields
will also open up more possibilities for your garden.
Features like pools and spas, large trees, irrigation systems
and outdoor kitchens all require the involvement of suppli-
ers and specialists; a good architect will save you another
shopping expedition and quickly find the best product at
the best price.
Are they cognisant of budgets?
The simple fact is that everyone has one, and they don’t
want to feel pressured to overextend it. Many landscaping
projects are major investments: potentially as high as 30 to
40 per cent of the cost of the home. You should always
discuss your budget in the early consultation phase, other-
wise you might end up with unfinished
work or an expensive design that you
can’t use. Your landscape architect
should be prepared to help prioritize
your wants and needs to maximize the
money spent, or offer short and long-
term phasing plans that can be modified
over time. When it comes to budget, comfort is the most
important thing, and the best professionals will strive to
retain it.
Will they be helpful, available and communicative from
start to finish?
When it comes to landscaping, the design on paper is
never exact. Even if no unforeseen obstacles crop up during
construction, you will almost certainly be struck with new
inspirations as you watch your garden take shape.
Experienced architects know this and will encourage you to
express yourself at any stage of the project.
Considering these factors will sharpen your intuition as
you shop for landscaping professionals, and asking ques-
tions about some or all of the points will help you gather
relevant information at every consultation. The architects
will want to learn about you as well, in order to decide if the
project is right for them, so it helps to be prepared with your
ideas, your budget, and some visual aids. Combine clip-
pings from magazines and landscape portfolios with photos
you take throughout the day whenever a garden element
catches your attention – even if it’s just a
single colour, feature or finish. At every
meeting, be aware of the architect’s
experience, commitment, level of
involvement, and practical knowledge.
With open lines of communication, the
right relationship will be unmistakeable
when it forms.
48 Find Your Local Professional in our GoldSource section
Photo courtesy of Brydges Landscape Architecture
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49Your House and Home Resource Magazine
Outdoor Lighting
make your garden accessible all night long
Lighting is such a highly customizable, efficient way to enhance so many aspects
of the garden that it should be given as much attention as all other aspects
of a landscaping project.
There may be no more sensible investment for
your home than outdoor lighting. Even beyond the fact that
every home can benefit from the beauty of professional out-
door lighting, there is a long list of advantages that call out to
every proud home and garden owner. In today's home
improvement industry there are professionals that have
dedicated themselves to lighting, offering an impressive
array of customized systems and products that have become
an essential part of landscape design.
Without a doubt, lighting increases the value of your
landscape investment by making your gardens and hard-
scapes accessible all night, whether to use or simply to gaze
upon and enjoy through the living room windows. For many,
a busy work schedule takes up all the daylight hours, and
landscape lighting is the best way to enjoy their garden
throughout the evenings. An hour of unwinding can move
from the TV room to the patio; a late dinner can be cooked
on the barbecue.
Lighting extends not only the hours, but the season as
well. A popular trend in modern landscaping is to have a gar-
den that is radiant all year round; the careful use of grasses,
perennials and dwarf trees to ensure picturesque fall and
winter scenes is infinitely enhanced by garden lights. In fact,
images of snowy nights are often the most impressive part of
a lighting designer's portfolio.
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Another major benefit of landscape lighting is security.
Whether it is their first interest or not, homeowners
inevitably come to enjoy the peace of mind they gain when
they are suddenly able to open the curtains and look out
over their property at night.
Lighting experts can design and install a system that
brings all these advantages to the table, while matching the
variety of your landscape, taste and lifestyle.
The most dominant goal in modern landscape lighting
is simple: the natural look. Just as most landscape projects
today opt for natural stone, wood and water features over
their engineered counterparts, the favourites in lighting
fixtures lean towards simple and natural finishes: elemental
materials like copper and brass that blend and disappear
into the landscape. In fact, the number one philosophy
among lighting professionals is that you should see the
effect, not the source. By using lights with shields and in-
ground well lights, the problems with glare in your eyes are
over. Gone are the days of intrusive plastic fixtures that
invade the garden setting.
In most cases, there is no need to even think about
fixtures when considering a lighting installation – they are the
tools of the experts, used to set the desired scene. It is much
more important to decide what role the lighting will play,
what chores it will perform and what luxuries it will supply –
in short, how it will change your setting.
The Functions of Outdoor Lighting
A professional will devise a practical plan to meet your
goals by dividing the elements of the lighting system into
three main categories of functions. The first, task lighting,
covers the parts that make your garden more functional.
These are the fixtures that light walkways, barbecues, decks,
hot tubs, pools and children's play areas – each task light has
a specific purpose and meets a distinct need. The proper
planning and installation of task lighting makes the land-
scape safer and more convenient.
But many of these lights go far beyond their simple duty
and contribute ambience and character to different parts of
the garden. Others are installed with only this impact in
mind, and perform no particular tasks.
These aesthetic elements fall under the
heading of mood lighting, and are an
integral part of a good installation.
A common trend in landscaping
is the creation of garden 'rooms' by using
barriers like trees, walls, walkways and
the natural topography to break up the
outdoor space, and carefully placed
mood lighting is an excellent way to
achieve and enhance this effect. The
right installation can create separate
atmospheres around the garden, adding
weight to the natural barriers and
increasing the impression of privacy and
detachment.
Curb appeal is heightened
through architectural lighting: fixtures
selected and positioned to highlight the
exterior of the home. These are espe-
cially popular in the front yard, where
they can single-handedly create a warm
and welcoming frontage that will please
the family and their guests alike. For
many people, the primary role of their
garden is to highlight and enhance the
appearance of their home, so architec-
tural lights become the most important
part of their installation.
Of course, many elements of
landscape lighting transcend the borders
between two or all three of the function
categories. A task light on the porch, for
example, might feature a bulb chosen to
create a specific mood, and be posi-
tioned to illuminate the walk-out patio
50 Find Your Local Professional in our GoldSource section
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doors, bay windows or some other feature of the house.
There is also a wide selection of specialty lights that can add
final touches: things like perforated hanging fixtures that cast
a 'starry night' pattern on the flagstones, lighting from behind
waterfalls or within pools and streams, and floating fixtures
that mimic lily pads.
Customized Designs
One might think that controlling a comprehensive
system like this could be complicated, but landscape lighting
professionals offer a range of central control systems, all
customizable to individual needs. At the basic level, there
are simple 'All On / All Off' switches, or systems that divide
the lights into a handful of separate areas. More advanced
controls allow the creation of presets to deal with different
outdoor situations: settings that activate the mood lighting
around various features – hot tubs and barbecue pits, or just
certain flowerbeds, benches and other choice areas – as well
as the necessary task lighting to reach them. A single button,
on a keypad or even a remote control, can prime your out-
door space for any event, whether it is a family barbecue, a
big garden party or a relaxing evening on the patio.
With all the options for landscape lighting solutions, it is
virtually impossible to create the perfect effect without the
help of a professional. Lighting installers have access to a
range of high-end fixtures and, most importantly, bulbs –
products that are not easily found in stores. There are
upwards of 40 types of bulbs to choose from when designing
an installation, each with a different beam, intensity and
colour, and the experts know how to bring these tools
together to set the best scenes possible with optimal effects.
The essential things to prepare for a consultation is a list of
needs and wants, and a firm idea of your budget – complete
installations cost an average of five to ten thousand, but can
easily soar much higher for larger properties or more
intricate designs. A lighting installer can even plan a phased
project with constant room for expansion.
In fact, most homeowners opting for a complete solu-
tion can benefit from this tactic as well. The landscape is not
absolute, and it's often worth paying a little extra up front to
make sure the lighting won't be either. The pros can install
an adaptable system that is geared towards future alteration
and expansion as you add new features to your outdoor
space, or as your schedule, habits and lifestyle change.
Lighting is such a highly customizable, efficient way to
enhance so many aspects of the outdoors that it should be
given as much attention as all other aspects of a landscaping
project. Even on a limited budget, the extra time you can
spend in a well-lit outdoor area makes it a worthwhile invest-
ment, and if necessary it is often worth sacrificing some
other plans to allow for the perfect lighting solution. Many
Canadian homeowners are paying added attention to land-
scaping in recent years, with a distinct focus on maximizing
use and convenience. If you are one of these people who
recognize the benefits of outdoor lighting, then a pro- fes-
sionally designed and installed landscape lighting system is
the perfect step to creating that warm, hassle-free outdoor
space for the whole family.
51Your House and Home Resource Magazine
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An Alternative to
52 Find Your Local Professional in our GoldSource section
Photo courtesy of Tri-City Solar Solutions
WindowFilm.qxp 3/9/2007 7:46 PM Page 52
Window Films are a refreshingly fast and easy way to upgrade your home and
achieve an immediate, noticeable effect.
Installing new windows can be an expensive
and disruptive renovation, and when it only involves
upgrading to better glass, it’s not the most exciting or
creative project either. Many people with old homes or
low-grade builder’s windows could benefit from modern,
energy-efficient replacements, but just aren’t willing or able
to invest the necessary time and money.
Homeowners in this situation can consider the alter-
native of window films: adhesive sheets applied to the
existing windows for better performance. Many people
associate this idea with tinted windows, but today’s sun-
filtration technology can in fact be incorporated into
transparent window films that are designed to be virtually
undetectable. Window film specialists can provide quick,
easy and seamless installation throughout any home.
There are many potential benefits to window films, and
several different products are available to meet the needs of
different households – your choice will dictate the final
effect in your home. Some of the advantages come with
all high-quality films in varying degrees, while others are
built only into specialty products for those with specific
requirements. When shopping around or consulting a
professional, remember the five main functions of window
films, and balance them against your goals.
Protecting your Décor
Colour fading has plagued decorators for all of history,
and unfortunately it’s a fact of science that can never be
avoided – at least not without sacrificing the lively, sun-filled
rooms that are a homeowner’s joy. Luckily, window films
offer a way to slow down the process by filtering out large
portions of the solar heat and ultraviolet light that together
account for about 65% of fading.
Visible light is responsible for about 25%, so a tinted
film will go even further to preserve your décor, but clear
window films are still the choice of many homeowners.
Modern technology allows even virtually invisible films to
block all but one or two per cent of ultraviolet light: the top
culprit when it comes to fading.
Improving Climate Control
In the summer, windows let a lot of extra heat into a
home. Not only do they increase the general toll on air
conditioners – often accounting for as much as 70% of the
total load – but they also create hot spots that are frus-
tratingly difficult to eliminate. High-quality window films
combat this effect by screening out about three quarters of
solar heat, allowing you to enjoy the brightest summer days
instead of closing half the blinds for the sake of comfort.
Most homeowners experience a significant improvement in
the temperature consistency and a drop in air conditioning
bills.
Getting the Most out of your View
A clear day’s sunlight reflecting off the pool or a fresh
blanket of snow is a beautiful sight – or rather it would be,
if you could see it through the glare. Homeowners with lots
of windows know that the sun can be so bright as to even be
painful when it catches their eye throughout the day – yet
another reason they are so often forced to block out the
light rather than enjoy it. Many window films on today’s
market can take the edge off the harshest glare spots, so
you’ll be able to gaze outside without squinting.
Altering the Ambience
Though the improved power of today’s clear window
films has made them the most popular choice, there are
many situations or parts of the home where a tinted film is
still desirable. New products in designer colours have made
tinted window films an element of design, instead of its
Your House and Home Resource Magazine 53
Window Replacement
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WindowFilm.qxp 3/9/2007 7:46 PM Page 53
enemy. Options like bronze, silver and slate grey offer
gentle ways to complement the décor or create a new
mood, while still reaping all the practical benefits of tinted
windows.
Strengthening your Windows, Safeguarding your Home
All high-quality films have the added advantage of
protecting your windows from daily use and the elements,
strengthening them and prevent-
ing scratches and scuffs.
Meanwhile, some are designed
with extra safety in mind: special-
ty products that reinforce the
glass and hold it in place if it
shatters. These safety films
protect your windows from the
unstoppable forces of nature like
wind, hail and young kids, and
eliminate the potential hazard of
flying glass shards in an accident.
Moreover, they are an excellent
deterrent to thieves: even though
they aren’t as resilient as the
high-security films used on
businesses and storefronts, the
additional obstacle they create is
enough to send most would-be
burglars on to their next target.
A window film specialist will help you find a product
that combines these factors to meet the needs of your
home. Installation can be finished in a day, and requires no
more preparation than clearing a path to the windows.
Amidst the many large and complex renovations that weigh
on most homeowners minds – some that seem urgent,
others merely tempting – window films are a refreshingly
fast and easy way to upgrade your home and achieve an
immediate, noticeable effect.
54 Find Your Local Professional in our GoldSource section
before
Photo courtesy of Tri-City Solar Solutions / Bekaert Specialty Films
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Ontario has a case of New Home Fever.
Communities, subdivisions and rural homes are springing
up practically overnight, while builders are expanding and
updating their design portfolios to meet the needs of
modern families and fashions. Rarely have there been more
options for the hopeful shopper, touring showcases and
model homes.
But variety, no matter how great, cannot satisfy every
home-seeker, and choosing your home for years or decades
to come is still as difficult as ever.
This doesn’t mean the perfect living space is out of
reach: some are patient enough to track it down or lucky
enough to stumble across it, others opt to create it in an old
house by redecorating, remodelling and building additions.
For those committed to a new home, house-hunting on a
deadline, bearing specific needs or all of the above, the
same exciting word inevitably comes to mind: custom.
The fun and uniquely rewarding option of a custom
home is no longer exclusive to those with the means to hire
an independent architect and contractor. Many of today’s
designers offer packages that bridge the gap between a fully
custom house and an off-the-shelf builder’s one.
This is accomplished with a large selection of flexible
building plans that can be combined, extended and
modified, in most cases without the need for complete
redesigns or whole new architectural drawings. It gives you
55Your House and Home Resource Magazine
New Home Fever
CUSTOM HOME DESIGNERS
Many of today’s designers offer packages that bridge the gap between
a fully custom house and an off-the-shelf builder’s house.
Photo courtesy of Fabbian Fine Homes
CustomHomeDesigners.qxp 3/13/2007 4:20 PM Page 55
the opportunity to tailor the size, layout and configuration
of the home and choose many of the features, design
elements and materials, all within a prepared framework
that is devised to be as customizable as possible.
56 Find Your Local Professional in our GoldSource section
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If you’re in the market for a custom home, odds are
you’ve visited a few model homes, looked through some
magazines and toured various neighbourhoods, and now
you have a pretty good idea of what you want. Nonetheless,
the first step – communicating those mental images to a
home designer – is a challenge. But like so many home
design challenges, it’s also an exciting and engaging activity.
As an understanding emerges and the ideas begin to
flow, specific decisions will have to be made. Certain
features make the top of nearly everyone’s list: large,
luxurious en suites with whirlpools and built-in showers are
a popular added room, and hardwood is chosen as a
dominant or accenting material in the majority of today’s
homes. Builders offering customizable designs are
especially prepared to accommodate these and other
common requests.
The kitchen is a major focus for many, and builders
have made it one of the most highly configurable rooms in
their plans, with hundreds of upgrades to choose from.
Extra windows are also popular for the many improvements
in lighting, ventilation and ambience they supply. Apart
from offering several design options, custom builders will
also ensure the windows meet the airflow and insulating
needs of the home – just as they will help solve all the
functional challenges of other desired features: half-walls,
breakfast bars, custom staircases, arches, columns and glass
doors to name a few.
The designer’s advice is equally irreplaceable when it
comes to the size and layout of the various rooms and the
hallways that connect them. Too many new-home-seekers
compare plans on the sole basis of price and square footage,
without paying close attention to where the space goes and
how well it is distributed through the home – which is
ultimately the more important factor, since some interiors
can feel larger than those with more square footage but infe-
rior design.
Even if you are aware of this consideration, odds are
you don’t have the necessary experience with floor plans to
properly judge and visualize actual rooms based merely on
measurements and two-dimensional renderings – but the
designer does. With information about your lifestyle, the
way in which you use your home and your specific desires
for various rooms and features, they can offer guidance in
choosing or customizing a plan with the best division and
layout of the available space.
Before you embark on the trip to a custom home,
there’s one thing you can do to prepare that will pay off
every step of the way: set up a detailed, comfortable and
above all flexible budget. Simply setting a firm dollar total
for the whole project will only lead to stress and disappoint-
ment as unexpected possibilities and concerns crop up – as
they will from the initial consultation right until the day you
turn the key.
The first step to getting the most out of a custom home
– and enjoying yourself in the process – is a more fluid
budget with specific allocations and buffer zones for
different stages: fundamental things like square footage,
layout, windows and utilities; fixtures and built-in elements
like flooring, lighting, showers, cabinets, counters and
fireplaces; and the finishing touches from paint to furniture
to accessories. Though some specific dreams will, no doubt,
be hardwired into the whole plan, the freedom to change
your mind or leap on an unforeseen opportunity will result
in a more personal home.
Designing or revising such a budget is yet another task
that calls for the designer’s help. With their intimate
knowledge of products, price-points and construction
methods, and your list of finance and lifestyle needs, they
can help ensure you are spending money where you will get
the most use and joy out of it, never wasting it on things you
won’t need or appreciate. With a comfortable financial
foundation, a good custom builder and the right design
choices, your home can be not only perfect, but distinctly
and uniquely your own.
57Your House and Home Resource Magazine
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58 Find Your Local Professional in our GoldSource section
There may be nothing more desirable in a
landscape than trees. They are one of the most potent and
adored symbols of nature, and their beauty, character and
longevity have captivated minds the world over for centuries.
Many people embarking on a major landscaping project
look into planting one or more trees as a way of shaping and
defining their gardens. Ontario’s nurseries and tree services
are there to meet the needs of any plan.
In most cases, your landscape architect will be co-
ordinating the installation of large trees, often with a tree
service they already know and trust. But since trees are such
a central part of a landscaping project, as well as a large
portion of the expense, it is also common for the home-
owner to consult directly with an expert from that tree
service and pick their trees by hand.
Making a decision that is right for your property means
entering the world of trees: a fascinating and expansive field
of study that is near-impossible to navigate without the help
of a professional. Even though in the Caledon Mountain
area and other colder parts of Ontario there are fewer
exotic, imported trees that can survive, there is still a wide
selection of species and varieties to explore. Favourites
include the white spruce or pine, the sugar maple, the
Colorado green or blue spruce, and of course the Crimson
King: the red leaf maple.
Part of choosing a tree will always come down to its
aesthetic qualities and your personal taste, but there is
usually a practical side to keep in mind as well. Large trees
can be used as tools to accomplish many different garden
effects: blocking out one part of the view while framing
another, offering privacy from a neighbouring property,
shading a chosen area or creating a natural barrier in a
garden with several ‘rooms’.
Of course, this means there is also the possibility of
mistakes on these fronts. The wrong tree in the wrong place
could grow to disrupt a favourite view, or cast its shade over
a deck, pool or other unwanted spot. The experts have an
intimate knowledge of the many trees available – not only
of their state at the time of planting, but of the way they
will develop, grow and change over the years and decades.
With their help, the trees you select will be sure to become
seamless and elegant parts of the landscape.
There are also various possible obstacles that are unique
to every piece of land and must be investigated by the tree
service before a final decision can be made. Different soil
types can partially limit the choice of species, gas and water
lines must often be relocated or worked around, and the
available means of accessing the property can even make
delivering trees a challenge. For all these reasons, planting
one or more large trees always starts with an on-site con-
sultation involving the tree service, the homeowner and the
landscape architect.
Despite the many factors at play in these projects, every
homeowner finds themselves with dozens of viable ideas for
employing trees in their garden. Those with large estate
properties have an especially long list of options: some
major installations in the area have involved as many as 150
and even 300 trees – planted along the perimeter for total
enclosure and privacy, or clumped to form a veritable
private forest. Such projects often continue for years, with
ongoing grading and construction, the building of retaining
walls and the steady addition of new trees.
But even those with strict space limitations may be
surprised by the many grand and stately trees that could be
meeting their needs. Even a single tree has a drastic effect on
a landscape, and there are many more species of narrow,
disciplined trees than people imagine. Tree services present
such options as an English Oak, an Emerald Cedar, a large
Nature’s
Trees are a wonderful gift, not only to yourself
They are remarkable expressions of style, for they
often drift between these states with the passing
NaturesFinest.qxp 3/9/2007 7:49 PM Page 58
juniper, a pyramidal maple tree like the Armstrong Red, or
something that grows tall and narrow like a Serbian Spruce.
Once trees are planted, they require very little in the way
of maintenance. Weekly watering is important, and many
professional irrigation suppliers offer special drip fixtures,
specifically designed for watering large trees, that can be
incorporated into a garden system. Sometimes a little fertil-
izer will help spur a tree along, and removing the cones from
a freshly transplanted pine or spruce can help by directing
more energy into its growth, but for the most part trees are
wilful and tenacious enough to take care of themselves.
Trees are a wonderful gift, not only to yourself and
your family, but to future generations. Every tree has a
unique presence and character, and each one quickly
becomes a familiar and friendly face in the garden. They are
remarkable expressions of style, for they can seem grand,
playful, mournful or noble – and often drift between these
states with the passing of the day or the changing of the
seasons. Trees can bring the full beauty of nature to bear on
a landscape, and help complete the paradise that everyone
seeks to forge in their garden.
Grading Trees
Every professional tree service has its own scale for
grading the quality of any given tree, but all are based on the
same basic factors. When browsing the trees at a tree service
office or a nursery, it can help to remember the factors that
affect the appearance and health – and thus the grade and
cost – of a tree. The highest quality specimens will always
display the same qualities:
One main leader
Except in the case of clump-style trees, it is generally
desirable for a tree to have one primary trunk from
which the limbs grow.
Good branch structure
The branch structure is evaluated based on both its
visual appeal and the presence of any weak unions
that are likely to break under a load of snow or as a
result of ice damage.
No blemishes on the trunk
The finest trees are free of any dead branches,
scars, mechanical wounds or other visible
imperfections.
Dark leaves
A full, dark leaf colour is not only more attractive,
but indicates health and strength as well.
No girdling roots
Some species are prone to ‘girdling roots’ that
wrap around the main stem of the tree and
restrict the flow of water and nutrients. A spec-
imen that is already forming them at the time
of transplanting has little chance of survival.
It is vital to choose only healthy trees, since a weak
specimen will only remain that way or worsen after
transplanting, looking stressed and sick for years. As trees
begin to decline, they attract the pests and diseases that are
what usually finishes them off. Tree experts have extensive
knowledge of all these factors, and can help minimize the
chance of any problems arising.
59Your House and Home Resource Magazine
Finest
and your family, but to future generations.
can seem grand, playful, mournful or noble and
of the day or the changing of the seasons.
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When it comes to investing
in a home, there are certain areas that call for extra care and
attention. Somewhere near the top of that list is the top of
your home: the roof. It is a popular choice for a home
upgrade since, of all the major structural elements of a
house, the roof is the most readily accessible for modifica-
tions or replacement by a skilled professional.
With many homeowners focusing on eliminating
chores and maintenance around the house, steel is con-
stantly gaining popularity as a roofing material. Modern
steel roofing is incredibly resilient, featuring a PVC coating
that resists the elements better than any other material. The
range of finishes – along with matching screws and washers
from the best suppliers – means a steel roof can match any
home; since the colour is in the PVC coating rather than
painted on, it will never fade and need replenishing.
With your roof, as with anything else, you get what you
pay for: steel roofing is more expensive than asphalt and
shingles, but its quality and durability make it a far more
solid investment. There was a time when shingles could last
upwards of twenty years, but that was when asbestos was still
used in their construction, and before recycled core materi-
als were introduced. The pro-rated warranties offered by
most suppliers only cover them for a few years, and the
ever-rising cost of oil means that replacement shingles are
likely to be more expensive, since they are a petroleum
based product.
Steel roofs, on the other hand, are essentially mainte-
nance free and come with warranties that cover them for as
long as fifty years. Their longevity is their number one sell-
ing point, since many homeowners – from young couples
with budding careers to retirees seeking relaxation – simply
don’t want to worry about maintenance issues like budget-
ing for a re-shingling ten years down the road. Steel roofs
offer unparalleled peace of mind.
Unless you are building a new home, odds are you
already have an asphalt and shingle roof over your head.
Another main attraction to steel is that it can be installed right
on top of the existing roof, without the need to strip so much
as a single shingle. The best installers use a ‘cross-strapped’
construction, where layers of perpendicular beams create a
natural ventilation system with no pockets of trapped air.
This method adds structural integrity, levels out uneven
roofs, reduces air conditioning costs and offers excellent
soundproofing – although the belief that steel roofs
are noisy in the
rain is itself
a myth.
There is also a long list of secondary benefits that come
along with a steel roof. They shed snow quickly and easily,
without any intervention, which is an important considera-
tion wherever there is heavy snowfall; blockers can be
installed above doors, paths and driveways to keep them
sheltered. Steel roofs also tend to lighten the load on your
eaves troughs – most homeowners dig out a lot of shingle
pebbles during their annual cleaning. When combined with
mesh guards that block debris while allowing water to pass
through, a steel roof can drastically reduce the difficulty and
the frequency of eavestrough maintenance.
Since steel roofing is a major investment – one that has
a significant impact on the structure and value of your home
– it is worth spending the money on superior quality mate-
rials and installation. Obviously you’ll want to get the best
product within your budget, and when it comes to steel
roofing the best way to do this is by shopping locally.
Many roofers get pre-fabricated steel from suppliers in
the United States, despite the fact that these products have
several drawbacks. For starters, if a warranty claim is ever
necessary, it means dealing with distant offices and long wait
times. Also, many U.S. manufacturers lack the specific
knowledge and expertise that is relevant to our colder cli-
mate: their long steel sheets have been known to pop their
fasteners when they shrink in the winter.
The best Canadian steel roofers manufacture their
product in house, and have altered the methods of con-
struction to meet local challenges, using smaller steel panels
that allow for expansion and contraction. Ontario has an
abundance of steel suppliers, so these roofers shorten the
entire circuit by shopping locally for their own raw materi-
als as well. Any warranty claims or repairs can be dealt with
quickly, and replacement materials are easily obtained.
An investment in your roof quite literally covers your
whole home, and steel is one of the smartest choices, offer-
ing unmatched quality and durability and increasing a
home’s resale value considerably. A high-end Canadian
made steel roof means decades of confidence and peace of
mind, without the need for maintenance or, usually, any
second thoughts at all.
Things Are Looking Up
Make an investment that covers your whole house.
60 Find Your Local Professional in our GoldSource section
Photo courtesy of Superior Steel Roofing Systems
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The variety of finishes and styles avail-
able means there is a place for stone in
nearly any décor, whether it is put in a
dominant role or saved for accents and
finishing touches.
T
61
here are very few things that stick around
unchanged for centuries, but the art of masonry – just like
the ancient castles and other architectural marvels that bear
its signature – is one of them. Modern masonry pro-
fessionals sometimes sum it up in two words: Stone
Forever. It is beautiful, long-lasting and maintenance-free,
and it remains hugely popular in today’s home and
landscape industry.
Masonry is a natural choice when trying to create that
old-fashioned atmosphere in a home, but the variety of
finishes and styles available means there is a place for stone
in nearly any décor, whether it is put in a dominant role or
Your House and Home Resource Magazine
Stone Forever
Photo courtesy of Beam Masonry
Photo courtesy of Beam Masonry
StoneForever.qxp 3/9/2007 7:59 PM Page 61
62 Find Your Local Professional in our GoldSource section
Photo courtesy of Beam Masonry
Sequatchie Flagstone
StoneForever.qxp 3/9/2007 7:59 PM Page 62
saved for accents and finishing touches. The sheer number
of visual options has prompted a change in design trends to
include blended decors, where two, three or four different
stone finishes are used in different parts of the home and
garden.
The first decision to make when it comes to masonry is
between natural and artificial stone. This is one area where
the changing of the times has made its mark: in the past, no
manmade product could rival the appeal of natural stone,
but modern engineered stone has achieved impressive new
levels of reality, even with extra thin veneer products.
There are many advantages to engineered stone, not
the least of which is the savings. Despite an abundance of
quarries in Ontario, natural stone remains expensive
because it is a labour-intensive product – in fact, stone
imported from foreign countries is sometimes cheaper than
stone coming from places as close as Owen Sound.
Manmade products beat out both.
Artificial stone also boasts the attraction of being light-
weight, which in turn increases the number of opportunities
for masonry around the home. An attractive veneer –
chosen from one of the fifty plus types of manmade stone
available – can be easily added to a fireplace or ‘feature wall’
without the need for foundation reinforcement or other
structural alterations.
Nonetheless, given a sufficient budget and the time and
energy for a larger project, a lot of homeowners will still
choose genuine stone. The natural variations in shape,
texture and colour that characterize real masonry give it an
appeal that may never be matched by artificial products.
Combinations of the two are a common solution, especial-
ly outdoors: natural stone walls, water features and flag-
stones are an utter delight in the back yard, where they
will be used, appreciated and enjoyed, but high-quality
manmade stone is usually enough to serve the front yard’s
simple and primarily aesthetic purpose.
Many of the different visual effects in masonry, both
natural and artificial, are not achieved through the choice
of material and finish, but rather through the style of con-
struction. Each tile can be textured and edged differently,
either at the manufacturing stage or during installation.
Options range from a clean, chiselled edge to a roughened
look with chunks of stone removed, or a bulging face that
can be trimmed back even further for added depth.
The method of mortaring can be altered to accommo-
date different styles as well. Neat, even, recessed mortar
adds to a formal décor and leaves the focus on the stone,
while messier ‘bag joints’ – where the mortar is smeared up
onto the edges of the stone – become their own attraction
in an old-fashioned design. Natural stone expands the
possibilities to include the uncut, ‘country home’ style of
construction. Here even the placement of individual pieces
becomes a design tool – rotating or moving one large stone
can have a drastic impact on the balance and atmosphere of
a room.
In the garden, flagstones present similar opportunities.
Square-cut natural or engineered stone is available in a
variety of sizes, patterns and colours for a contemporary
look; another popular choice is a mosaic surface, with
broken pieces of all sizes mingling haphazardly but
harmoniously. Often, different construction styles and types
of stone are used in different areas to help create the
‘garden room’ effect so sought after in modern landscaping.
Masonry, with the long list of available styles and
finishes it presents, is a possibility for nearly every home-
owner. Even those with structural or monetary limitations –
or just unique, hard-to-match decors – are sure to find
engineered stone products that meet their requirements,
and will likely be surprised by their beauty. Whether it is in
the garden or the home, stonework comes with a sense of
permanence, strength and quality that is hard to match,
while still being adaptable to any homeowner’s taste.
63Your House and Home Resource Magazine
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here are some parts of the home that seem to
slip from the owner’s mind quickly and easily, falling into
disuse or disarray as they miss out on the proper care. One
of the greatest culprits, and the greatest losses, is the garage
- a large and valuable space that often never gets used for
much other than last-resort storage.
It might be because garages tend to be cold, insecure,
boring or just plain ugly. Reclaiming a lost garage starts
with changing how you feel inside it, reducing the chores
and enhancing the comfort so you can be enthusiastic about
putting it to use. Other homeowners already make extensive
use of their garages, as workshops or otherwise, but are still
hindered by the maintenance required and the conditions
inside. There’s an easy first step to meeting these
challenges: replacing the garage door.
A lot of houses still have the builder’s doors, which are
rarely top-of-the-line and, in older homes, tragically out of
date. Whether you push the garage from your mind or
spend time there every day, there are several reasons to
consider buying a new garage door:
1. Give your garage a personal flair
Your garage door does not have to look like every other
one on the street. High-end manufacturers offer over a
dozen pre-finished, baked-on colours. The doors them-
selves come in a wide variety of modern styles, and can be
64 Find Your Local Professional in our GoldSource section
8 Reasons to Replace Your
Garage Doors
The garage door can represent over a
quarter of the entire front of the house,
and it almost always draws the eye -
either in a good way, or not.
T
Photo courtesy of Automated Door Systems Ltd
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accented with a choice of windows and other finishing
touches. It’s easy to find something that blends perfectly
with your home, your front lawn and your personality.
2. Lower your heating and cooling bills
Insulation technology is constantly moving forward, and
modern garage doors take control of the latest advance-
ments to reduce heat transfer. Metal is the material of
choice, and a top of the line door includes a thermal barrier
between the outside and inside surfaces, PVC weather strips,
and a rubber seal along each edge. Combined, these features
create a seal that will protect the garage’s contents from
extreme weather conditions and cut heating and cooling
costs. For those who use their garage as a workshop or
recreation room, or who have guest bedrooms or other
living spaces above it, this can mean extensive savings.
3. Reduce maintenance time and cost
Wooden garage doors need a yearly scrape, patch and
paint routine to keep them in good condition. It’s a lot of
work, and without it they quickly become weathered and
unattractive. The best metal doors, with their wide selection
of durable pre-finished colours, are low to no-maintenance
and require only soap and water for cleaning. For an
additional boost, a coat of spray-on car wax in the spring
and fall will keep the door looking its best for years.
4. Increase security
A well insulated metal door weighs in at least 1 3/8”
thick - much harder to kick in or drill through than its
un-insulated counterpart or a wooden door. With so many
vulnerable builders’ doors around, it’s a near-sure deterrent
to thieves. Modern remote door openers are programmed
to use rotating signal codes, so the more measured
approach won’t work either. With a good garage door, you
will never worry about keeping tools, equipment and other
valuables there, and it won’t create an easy entrance to your
home.
5. Get the benefits of local products
Canada is home to its share of high-end garage door
manufacturers. Owning a garage door from a Canadian
manufacturer can cut costs and make repairs or finding
replacement parts much easier in case anything goes wrong.
6. Make some use of the place!
If your garage is just wasted space, a new door can
really kick start you into action. Once the garage becomes a
more pleasant place to look at and work in, it becomes hard
for homeowners to decide which of their many plans for it
they should put into action. For those who have a two or
three-car garage that isn’t full, or who simply don’t keep
their car there, the possibilities are almost endless - a work-
shop, art studio, playroom, heated storage room, home
theatre or music room could fill all that empty space (or
replace all that clutter.)
7. Increase the value of your home
Even with a single car garage, the door can represent
over a quarter of the entire front of the house, and it almost
always draws the eye - either in a good way, or not. Real
estate agents will confirm that it’s easier for them to sell
homes with clean, stylish, maintenance-free doors. From
their point of view, the first thing a potential buyer sees
when they pull into the driveway is very important.
8. Reduce the risk of injury or damage
Most old garage door openers are not equipped with
photoelectric eyes, which have now become mandatory.
These sensors will restrain the door of they detect some-
thing in its path - standing in the way, or moving through the
entrance as it closes. A garage door can do a lot of damage
to a car or seriously hurt a person, and it’s a risk every
homeowner should eliminate.
Perhaps the best reason to invest in a high quality
garage door is to get it done early. Even if you can live
with the limitations of your builder’s door for now, odds are
that won’t be the case forever - and shopping for home
renovations is always best done before the urgency sets in.
A top end insulated metal door with a durable baked-on
finish will last for years without any maintenance beyond the
occasional wipe down, and will make your garage more safe,
secure, comfortable and eye-catching for life.
65Your House and Home Resource Magazine
Photo courtesy of Automated Door Systems Ltd
GarageDoors.qxp 3/9/2007 8:01 PM Page 65
66 Find Your Local Professional in our GoldSource section
Remote Irrigation Management
Whether you want to beautify your garden, save on your water bill, or just cross one
more job off your list - remotely managed irrigation can do it.
N
Photo courtesy of AWS Irrigation Management
urturing a garden to its full
potential all season long is a full time job,
and most people are not lucky enough to
have time for it. From planting to tending
to fertilizing and more, there’s almost no
end to the chores a beautiful outdoor
space can entail. For those who have busy
schedules, estate properties or both, a
new and ingenious concept in lawn and
garden care has arrived to lift one giant
weight - watering and irrigation - off their
shoulders.
Water management systems have
been around for some time, but their
inefficiency and need for attention leave
something to be desired. Without
constant manual adjustments, they will
continue to irrigate the lawn with the
same amount of water every night. But
soil moisture is not that consistent: it
depends on the amount of water that is
absorbed versus the amount of water that
evaporates, both of which are variable
and depend on a number of factors.
This is why high-end irrigation
systems suppliers are now offering
Remote Irrigation Management services,
letting you turn the task of watering over
to a central computer.
Remotely managed irrigation takes
all the factors that effect soil moisture
into account to ensure maximum
efficiency and ideal soil conditions
throughout the season. The information
is gathered in two stages. First, a rainfall
monitor on your property sends daily
precipitation data to the off-site control
centre. The management service’s
computer combines this information with
up-to-date local weather factors such as
temperature, humidity and wind speed,
all of which have an impact on water
absorption. The calculations also include
pre-programmed data on the unique soil
composition and slope of your land.
RemoteIrrigation.qxp 3/9/2007 8:09 PM Page 66
Once the calculations are complete, instructions are
sent back to the site and all necessary adjustments to the
watering rates are made. If there is a situation that requires
attention, a warning will be raised on the control panel in
your home - but even this is rarely necessary. The manage-
ment system is capable of creating very detailed programs,
customized to run the gamut of conditions that might assail
your garden.
The two primary benefits of Remote Irrigation
Management are the impact on your garden, and the huge
reduction - up to 40 or 50 per cent - in water usage. On large
estate properties this can reduce the need for ground
staff and slash water bills significantly. Sometimes such
properties present special challenges, especially when they
include things like hilly areas, large trees or ponds and
waterfalls. To overcome these obstacles, a supplier can
employ additional measures like extra rainfall monitors and
localized soil-moisture sensors for inconsistent areas.
Communication with the central station is wireless.
Most providers can contact your site by phone or internet,
and many have their own private radio networks stretching
across their primary area of operation, dedicated to
managing the properties of their clients.
Installation of a Remote Irrigation Management system
need not be a hassle. Suppliers can co-ordinate with your
landscape architect during a new project, or they can
skilfully install a system in your existing garden, leaving it
clean and virtually seamless. The best in the business come
armed with skilled engineers, advanced equipment and the
ability to bury wires and pipes directly without digging
trenches, or burrow under a driveway without ripping it up.
Since the central computer is in daily contact with your
site, it can manage the maintenance and repair of the system
alongside the irrigation levels. If any part of the install-
ation shuts down or behaves strangely, it is immediately
deactivated, an alarm is raised at the management centre,
and a repair team is dispatched to your home. Remote
Irrigation Management tends to expedite service calls on
large properties, where repairmen would traditionally have
to trudge back and forth from the indoor control panel to
test the different outdoor components. Now, with the help
of a cell phone, they can instruct technicians at the central
site to activate and deactivate the various sprinklers, pumps
and sensors as they make the rounds.
The majority of the time, Remote Irrigation
Management is a set-it-and-forget-it solution for your
garden. Many homeowners are astounded at the difference
it makes to the beauty and vigour of their garden, or
delighted when they get their first water bill after installation.
Most are just grateful to scratch the job off their list of
chores. Any one of these notions might attract you the most,
but with remotely managed irrigation, every homeowner
will reap the benefits of all three and soon come to wonder
how they ever tended their properties before.
67Your House and Home Resource Magazine
Photo courtesy of AWS Irrigation Management
Photo courtesy of AWS Irrigation Management
RemoteIrrigation.qxp 3/9/2007 8:09 PM Page 67
68 Find Your Local Professional in our GoldSource section
Custom Stair Design -
People take a lot of pride in their entryways. A guest’s first sight
upon coming through the door is a matter of top concern for decorators, and
they choose from a variety of centrepieces – a piece of antique furniture, a
plant, a grandfather clock – to draw the eye. But there is one centrepiece at
the front of many homes that will be there whether you like it or not: a flight
of stairs.
Though they are functional necessities, staircases can be designer delights
as well. Today’s custom stair builders offer a long list of options for the reno-
vator and the new home builder alike. A custom staircase adds a powerful
stroke of character to a home, and the array of choices available at every stage
of the design means the final product will speak loudly – or softly – of the
homeowner’s personality and taste.
For those building a new staircase, either in a new home or an addition,
there are many possibilities for shape, style and construction. The choices are
more limited when remodelling an existing staircase, since they almost always
serve as critical structural elements of the house. Nonetheless, a custom stair
designer will present several options depending on the home’s layout and
construction, and the scale of the project you want to undertake.
Whatever your situation, the first consideration is the staircase’s
construction. The three general types of staircases are closed stairs,
with a wall on either side, open-sided stairs, which run against one
wall with the other side open, and double-open stairs, without a wall
on either side.
New builders can consider all three options, as well as more
decorative constructions like flares and curves. Renovators can look
into the possibility of removing one or both walls on all or part of a
staircase. Those with open-sided or double-open stairs often have several
options in terms of flairs and other features. In all cases, openings, curves
and flairs must be carefully designed so as to be structurally sound and
adhere to building codes. A good professional designer will come armed with
this knowledge, and can co-ordinate with your architect and other hired
professionals on a large project.Photo courtesy of Stairworks
Photo courtesy of Stairworks Photo courtesy of Stairworks
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Even if your house, your budget or the degree of work
you are willing to endure limits your options for the design,
there are plenty of ways to make a staircase your own. In
fact, choosing the materials, railings, hardware and acces-
sories can be the most enjoyable part, since these things
often contribute the most to the visual impact of the stairs.
The first choice is the species of lumber. Native hard-
woods like oak and maple are favourites as always, but more
exotic options like jatobá wood are available too. The choice
of wood helps define the overall look of the stairs, so it’s a
great way to blend and balance them with the rest of your
décor. The chosen wood might match a favourite piece
of furniture or the accents in other rooms, or it might be
something completely different – a bold and unexpected
statement at the heart of the home.
Once the stairs themselves are beginning to take shape,
its time to consider the railings and, for those with segments
of open-sided or double-open stairs, the posts and balusters.
This is where the options become almost countless, with
dozens of materials, styles and finishes to mix and match.
Wooden railings are a popular option, and modern staircase
designers are offering combination designs in which metal
balusters are capped with wooden rails, without the need for
fully welded metal rails underneath. Both materials come in
a wide array of finishes, and the various combinations can
create distinct styles. The railings can be built to match the
primary lumber, or a different wood can be chosen to
compliment, contrast and accent the stairs.
The metal balusters, which are typically made of steel,
can be thoroughly customized to match any décor. Blacks
and browns are favourite colours, especially on decorative
balusters with an old-fashioned appeal. At the other end of
the spectrum, simpler balusters with modern finishes, like
hammered steel for a veined metal texture, can create a
sleek, contemporary look. For those with closed stairs, most
of the same options are available for the mounting brackets
and other hardware.
Custom stair designers offer many ways to further
customize your staircase. Even before the choice of finish,
there are balusters and brackets with various ornamentation
and other features to choose from. For wooden posts, there
are different finial caps that give a decorative touch, avail-
able in metal or wood and in many different styles, from
simple shapes to things like acorns and pineapples. It’s also
possible to choose accessories like pet and baby gates, in
materials and finishes to match or just co-ordinate with the
stairs, posts, balusters and railings, doing away with the need
for imperfect, store-bought solutions.
Of course, some homeowners have a more personal
and elaborate vision. With the right patience, space and
budget, a custom staircase designer can bring those dreams
to life. Many complicated ideas can be realized, and pro-
fessional designers have turned out such creations as a
rustic, cottage-style staircase with massive stringers, no risers
between the steps and uncut, branch-like railings; other
projects have included things like glass stairs and free-
standing staircases.
Many of these ideas were sparked by magazine photos
and designer portfolios – two of the best sources of inspira-
tion when it comes to custom renovations. Homeowners
looking to add some flair to their stairs will find designers
willing and eager to help sort out the jumble of likes and
dislikes into a comprehensive design that fits their home and
budget while being structurally sound and up to code.
Even a simple redesign – new railings and balusters, or
just new finials to dress up the existing posts – can make your
staircase something to be proud of. If your stairs seem to get
in the way of your décor, there is no need to avoid, ignore
or distract from them. A custom staircase has the opposite
effect: it deserves and draws attention, and is a fun and
effective way to take your home to new heights.
69Your House and Home Resource Magazine
take your home to new heights
Photo courtesy of Stairworks Photo courtesy of Stairworks
CustomStairDesign.qxp 3/9/2007 8:11 PM Page 69
70 Find Your Local Professional in our GoldSource section
As winter comes to a close and homeowners
start to embark upon their summertime renovation projects,
a desire tends to arise in a large number of families: a
fireplace. Today’s fireplaces have achieved new levels of
efficiency in delivering heat to a home, and the many differ-
ent designs available, combined with the infinite possibilities
for mantles, masonry and other finishing, makes them a sure
winner as the centerpiece of any room.
Depending on the situation and the needs of a given
home, there will be a different list of possibilities for the
basic type of fireplace. Built-in fireplaces are the most sought
after, and modern developments have made this option
more readily available than ever before.
In the past, building a fireplace into the wall meant
finding enough room to leave a considerable amount of
insulating space around it, to account for the heat it would
put out in all directions. The advent of zero-clearance fire
boxes has eliminated this need. Their heavily insulated steel
shells can be inserted into a standard framing construction
in the wall, without the need for extra space or any special
precautions.
Many older homes have beautiful wood fireplaces that
go unused because, as is often the case, they are inefficient
and too much hassle, or in a state of disrepair. In this
situation, homeowners have the option of a fireplace insert
that brings all the benefits of modern technology while
making use of the existing construction. All homeowners
can also choose a freestanding stove with its own flue system.
Regardless of which type you are installing, there are
dozens of fireplaces to choose from, each with a unique style
and character, as well as the possibility of customizing and
accessorizing for a truly personal piece. Whatever your
decorative vision, you’ll have no trouble finding a fireplace
to match it.
A European-inspired ‘clean face’ look has become
increasingly popular, especially for built-in fireplaces. These
designs opt for sleek, simple fire boxes, often with a single,
unbroken pane of glass and no ornaments or louvers – an
understated style that is usually balanced by putting extra
focus on accents like the mantle and surrounding decora-
Who Doesn’t Want A Fireplace?
Start planning now to ensure that
next year’s snow falls on a warm
and cozy family
Photo courtesy of Fergus Fireplace
Fireplaces.qxp 3/9/2007 8:18 PM Page 70
tions. Equally popular is the more traditional Victorian style,
tailored to suggest coal-burning stoves. These intricate and
ornate fireplaces are themselves a work of art.
Custom designs, especially when it comes to free
standing constructions, are also common. Starting with a
simple steel box, homeowners can dress and decorate the
fireplace with their choice of glass fronts, handles, hardware,
ornaments and finishing – to blend with or act as the starting
point for a room’s décor.
Whatever style of fireplace you choose, it’s only half of
the final piece – the surrounding finishing and accessories
are every bit as important. The balance between the two can
be struck at many points, from simple, low-profile fireboxes
with eye-catching mantles to elaborate freestanding fire-
places backed by understated stonework. In all cases, it is the
interplay between the two that will dictate the final visual
impact.
Still, there is a common trend towards installations
with minimalist fireplaces wherein the finishing is the main
decorative element. The reason for this may be as simple
as the sheer number of exciting possibilities for fireplace
finishing, made possible by today’s professional installers: by
co-ordinating with product suppliers, masonry experts and
other trades people, as well as your architect or decorator in
a large project, they have made it easier than ever to create
the perfect piece.
Stonework, as always, is one of the most popular
finishing choices – either to house a built-in fireplace, or as
backing and a raised dais for a free-standing one. Many
styles can be evoked through the choice of stone and the
construction method, but the weight of natural stone can
sometimes present a structural obstacle. For those who
would sooner avoid costly and time-consuming reinforce-
ment work, or those whose tastes and décor call for a very
specific colour and texture, there is a wide variety of
designer engineered products to choose from, including
ultra-thin veneers that are a breeze to install.
Tile is another popular finishing, and it is even being
combined with stone in many modern designs. Both tiling
and manufactured stone come in countless styles, colours,
textures and patterns, and can be installed in several ways to
achieve different effects. To go in a different direction, some
homeowners have incorporated wooden elements like old
barn beams for a country-home appeal. There is also the
option of a wooden cabinet mantle that houses a firebox,
placing the fireplace into the décor like a piece of furniture.
There are of course many important technical aspects
of choosing the right fireplace. Professional retailers and
installers not only have showrooms to exhibit the many
styles available, but can also help choose the right fuel
source and BTU output, find the best spots to install a
fireplace, and suggest ways to improve air flow and heat
distribution throughout the home. The best way to help
them do this is by bringing floor plans to the initial consulta-
tions, along with a list of your own design ideas and a
scrapbook of clippings from magazines and catalogues.
Visiting showrooms is a source of design inspiration and
a chance to see different fireplaces in action – to mentally
situate them in your home amidst fresh memories of a
radiator winter. But it’s important to remember that the rag-
ing amber flames of a warehouse-sized sales floor might not
be practical in the house. For starters, yellow fire is an indi-
cation of low efficiency – it’s impossible to get the biggest
bang for your heating buck without the blue flames that
indicate maximum output and minimum waste. Moreover,
huge roaring fires will quickly overheat most homes and
become uncomfortable despite their visual attraction.
Luckily, these obstacles can be overcome and full
aesthetic prowess of a fireplace isn’t off limits, even to
smaller homes. A high-end fireplace, properly installed with
a well-designed flue, offers a great deal of control. A tight,
hot flame can take care of all your daily heating for quick
adjustments and constant comfort, but can be quickly
tailored into a roaring centerpiece for a dinner party or a
cozy winter’s evening on the couch. Of course, this means
using a less efficient yellow flame as well as opening up the
flue to vent excess heat outside – both of which result in
higher heating costs. But the close control offered by
modern fireplaces, along with their efficiency during other
heating hours, means a few extra dollars can buy several
hours of exquisite, if slightly indulgent, warmth and beauty.
Whether a fireplace is to be your sole
installation or the starting
point for a summer-long
71Your House and Home Resource Magazine
project, the spring is a
great time to start
shopping. There are
so many choices and
design avenues to
explore at every stage
of the project that the
only way to find the
perfect fireplace is to
be careful and com-
fortable throughout
the process, not
rushed by the turning
leaves and looming
winter. With a little
inspiration and the
help of the profession-
als, a fireplace will
rejuvenate you home,
energise your décor
and ensure that next
year’s snow falls on a
warm and cozy family.
Fireplaces.qxp 3/9/2007 8:18 PM Page 71
72 Find Your Local Professional in our GoldSource section
Every day, more and more homeowners are choosing to remodel,
renovate and expand rather than buy or build a new home.
Unfortunately there are many cases in which building an addition is an
unattractive option because of space limitations, the price or - especial-
ly when it comes to old family homes - a desire not to disrupt the
original architecture.
But many homeowners forget the potential that lies right beneath
their feet: an unfinished, underused basement. A professionally remod-
eled basement comes with a lower price tag and less hassle than an
addition, but still adds value and square footage to a home. And you
can forget the common mental image of a basement: dark, dingy, wood
paneled and depressing. Like every other focus of interior design, the
basement has become an art form, with its own subset of professionals
dedicated to making it a part of the home to be proud of.
There are lots of good reasons to go to a professional when finish-
ing a basement. Home-spun jobs, while often satisfactory, can only
take a basement so far. An experienced team can overcome the many
limitations often found in basements, like steel columns and duct-work,
and blend them seamlessly into the final design. They will also take
care of hiring and coordinating the many other trades people involved
in a major project, choosing only from their list of trusted, reputable
professionals. In general, a good design team will take on the majority
of responsibilities throughout the renovation, ensuring the work
doesn’t fall behind schedule, soar over budget, or come out all wrong.
Choosing the best team for your basement can be tough. For
starters, there are so many possibilities to consider for all that neglect-
ed space: will it become a well-equipped home office? A hi-fi theatre
room? A fully stocked wet bar? Those with larger basements can even
consider multiple rooms or complete guest houses. Walk-out base-
ments, which are very popular when the property permits, feature
doors that open directly into the back yard. Your needs, wants and
dreams will shape your initial consultations, but when shopping for pro-
fessionals in your area, there are several things to find out and take note
of in order to make the best decision.
How much experience do they have in basement renovations?
Remodeling a basement can differ from renovations in the rest of the
house. There are many things to take into consideration when
choosing finishes, including products specially designed for use in the
basement or anywhere else that dampness can be an issue. A team with
a long history of related work will adeptly meet the unique challenges
common to basements.
Are they insured, professional and above-board? Renovation specialists
are no different from any other professional, and it’s important to
make sure they have all the proper licensing and liability insurance for
potential accidents. A good team will also provide building permits and
be well versed in the building codes ad bylaws of your area.
Will they provide design assistance to help you make your ideas a
reality? Designing basements to function well is one of the most
important and challenging steps in the renovation process. The best
professionals can take your list of desires and turn it into a fully-
realized, working layout, drawing on their experience to offer guidance
and alternatives when the need arises.
Do they guarantee their pricing? In home renovations, the final cost is
rarely identical to the initial budget, but a certain degree of consistency
is still important. Your remodeling team should work with you to draw
From The Ground Down
Photo courtesy of Harrison Design-Build / Tigerlily Designs
Photo courtesy of Harrison Design-Build / Tigerlily Designs
FromTheGroundDown.qxp 3/9/2007 8:21 PM Page 72
up a detailed budget long before starting the work, with an
itemized list of every expense included in the project. As the
work progresses and other decisions have to be made, a true
professional will be ready with information and options to
help you make any choices that affect the final price tag.
What about their time estimates? A reliable timeline for the
project will help you plan your life around the disruptive
renovation period. No project of this scale ever goes exactly
as planned, but a good design and build team will offer a
detailed schedule, work vigilantly to power through any
delays, and finish the job on time.
Will the rest of the home be protected while they do the
work? In nearly all cases, the builders will be entering and
leaving the basement through other parts of the house, so
there is a lot of potential for dirt and damage. The team
should come equipped with drop clothes, plastic sheeting
and anything else necessary to safeguard other rooms, and
should have a good cleaning policy for when the job is done.
They should leave the basement and the rest of the home
clean and neat, with no damage to any of your furniture or
finishing.
All these factors are important when choosing a profes-
sional team to finish your basement, so that means asking
questions - on first contact and at initial consultations, but
the best way to decide if a design and build team is right for
your basement is by looking into their work history. True
artisans will have expansive and impressive portfolios that
include recent work, and you will probably want to lean
towards those with significant experience in basements.
Every team will have a unique portfolio, and not only is
browsing them fun, it will no doubt give you new ideas for
your basement (and maybe the rest of your home).
Even more importantly, the best professionals will
supply long lists of references - usually at least ten. Don’t be
afraid to call some or all of their former clients, since they
have the best insight into the design firm, its reliability, its
quality of work, and how it conducts itself. Clients who have
had truly good experiences will be eager to recommend a
professional, and those with bad opinions will be happy to
save you from making the same mistake they did.
Many basements are just wasted space, and few reach
their full potential within a home. Since professional remod-
eling often tallies up as little as $30 per square foot, a fresh-
ly finished basement is an extremely cost-effective shot in the
arm for your living space, and with the right design team
nearly anything is possible. So when you’re looking to
update and expand your home, consider starting from the
ground down.
73Your House and Home Resource Magazine
Photo courtesy of Harrison Design-Build
/ Tigerlily Designs
FromTheGroundDown.qxp 3/9/2007 8:21 PM Page 73
74 Find Your Local Professional in our GoldSource section
Glass in Your Home
Don’ t le t i t go unnot iced.
There are a handful of materials that come
together to form a home and the fixtures, accessories and
pieces of furniture that fill it. Concrete, wood, brick, stone,
steel and brass have all been around in some form for
decades or centuries, and every house is built and
decorated with some or all of them. Though a well-designed
and cared for home is always more than the sum of its
parts, the impact of the basic materials on the final piece is
undeniable, so selecting and applying them is a top concern
in all new homes, additions and remodelling projects.
Many of these choices are structural and technical, with
limitations dictated by the professionals. Some materials will
be highlighted or eliminated because of your budget or your
tastes; some will already be dominant in an existing home.
But in every case, one material will almost certainly play a
role: glass.
When most people think about glass, the first things that
come to mind are windows and patio doors – and indeed,
these areas have undergone a revolution in form and
function. Designers are offering creative new styles and
constructions, and modern technologies are achieving
never-before-seen levels of energy efficiency.
But after some consideration, most people realize that
glass is a larger part of their home than they initially thought:
from door inserts to mirrors to furniture, it’s everywhere,
often going quietly unnoticed. Many homeowners seek
wood and stone-work for their natural character, but forget
that glass is also one of the oldest and most elegant basic
materials, with just as much decorative potential and its own
practical advantages.
A common approach is to make glass the dominant
material in one or two chosen rooms. This can produce a
powerful effect, especially in the bathroom where one can
employ so much glass it feels as if the whole room were
made of it – precisely the delicate ambience many look for
in a master en suite or a guesthouse bathroom.
One favourite new feature in such bathrooms is the
frameless glass shower: a floor-to-ceiling shower box with
all-glass walls and no additional framing or support structure.
Glass sinks that sit above the countertop are popular for the
same reasons: they are extremely easy to clean and present
fewer of the nooks and crannies that become breeding
grounds for bacteria; they are visually stunning, and when
combined with lighting, mirrors and accessories, they can lift
the bathing experience to new levels of luxury.
Glass is also a popular motif in the kitchen, where it can
be incorporated in many ways: glass lattice on the cabinet
doors, etched glass or mirrored trimming beneath the count-
er and cabinetry, and thick glass blocks behind stoves and
sinks – it is sleek and easy to clean, and can tie the kitchen
décor together with display cabinets and glass kitchenware.
Some trends from en suites have also found their way to the
kitchen: the glass sink has made an appearance in a few
modern designs as an accessible extra sink positioned on a
central island.
There are many ways to bring glass out of a single room
– to string it through the home as a fundamental theme, just
as one might with hardwood flooring or a pervasive colour
scheme. One of the best means to this end lies in glass doors
and partitions, which present many decorative and function-
al options in and around the home, not just for walk-outs
and patios. The frameless construction used in shower
boxes can be applied to partial or full room dividers and to
interior doors throughout the hallways and between rooms.Photo courtesy of Merit Glass Ltd / All Weather Windows
GlassInYourHome.qxp 3/9/2007 8:26 PM Page 74
When most people think about glass, the first things that come to mind are
windows and patio doors. But glass is a larger part of their home than they
initially thought: from door inserts to mirrors to furniture, it’s everywhere,
often going quietly unnoticed.
Your House and Home Resource Magazine 75
Photo courtesy of Merit Glass Ltd / C.R. Laurence
The main reason glass is such a prime choice for a
house-wide door and partition material is its ability to meet
a wide range of functional and aesthetic demands – impor-
tant, since the list of such demands is always diverse: a
simple door to the study, a double-wide walkthrough to the
breakfast room, a privacy screen in the guest bedroom and
a walkout from the kitchen to the patio all serve very
different purposes. Add to this the fact that each is in a
different room with a subtly or drastically different décor,
and choosing partitions with any sort of theme seems nearly
impossible.
Glass is one of the few materials that can rise to meet
this challenge. It can be insulated with gas-fills and low-E
treatments where heat loss or gain is an issue. It can be big
or small and thick or thin, and as a door it can be sliding or
swinging and framed or frameless, allowing it to overcome
many structural obstacles. It can be tinted, etched, sand-
blasted or colour-coated to the most exacting specifications,
striking the perfect balance of privacy, sunlight and ambient
effect in any situation while remaining an open canvas for
colour, texture and pattern – the basic aesthetic elements
that are the foundation of every décor. But in all its mani-
festations, even when it is installed with generous variety
throughout a home, it is always unmistakeably glass.
Built in fixtures, surfaces and partitions aren’t the only
way to bring glass into a home. Those who prefer glass as a
secondary, accenting material, or those looking for subtle
ways to bring a larger glass motif into certain rooms, will
find that it is an equally powerful material when it comes
to accessorizing.
One of the most popular examples of this is the glass
table: an old favourite that is undergoing a modern
renaissance. Glass tabletops today are often as thick as three-
quarters of an inch, giving added weight and presence, and
the list of possibilities for exotic edges and fashionable
finishes is unprecedented. Again, its ability to retain its
character while running the gamut of style – as well as the
fact that it is functionally effective as a dinner, kitchen, patio,
coffee or end-table – makes glass a great choice for those
seeking that difficult balance between the consistent and the
eclectic.
Another common means of accessorizing is with
mirrors – a functional necessity in some parts of the home,
and a delightful addition to others. Mirror walls were once a
highly-sought favourite, typically as the dominant feature of
a single room, but they have been mostly discarded in
favour of a variety of framed accenting mirrors, positioned
care-fully in relation to furniture, lighting and other
accessories. As anyone who has looked through a few
decorator catalogues knows, these accent mirrors are avail-
able in literally hundreds of shapes, sizes and styles. As an
interesting twist, some homeowners mount sheets of etched
glass on the walls instead. Such a sheet can play the role of
a simple, patterned veneer, or it can be intricately designed
and hung like a painting or tapestry.
These design possibilities only scratch the surface.
Glass has found its way into some stunning projects
– as three hundred feet of deck railings surrounding a boat-
house, or as the brass-trimmed, half-inch thick walls of a
glass walk-in closet. Such ideas arise from the collaborations
between ambitious homeowners, skilled decorators and the
experts in glass for construction and décor. Beautiful homes
must embrace the materials that comprise them; glass, far
from being an obstacle to this, is a source of limitless creative
potential.
GlassInYourHome.qxp 3/9/2007 8:26 PM Page 75
Many of the best features of modern land-
scapes have been made possible by newly developed,
man-made materials. Some elements of construction and
design have been improved, while others have simply been
made more accessible and affordable. Though it’s obvious
that engineered products are powerful tools, with potential
applications in nearly every garden, a quick look at past and
present tastes and trends makes another fact equally clear:
natural materials aren’t going anywhere.
There may be no better and more time-honoured
example of this than wood. Engineered stone presents
attractive advantages as a paving material, and some home-
owners are installing front yards of near-perfect artificial
grass, but solid Canadian cedar has held its title as the
material of choice for decks and patios – and not without
reason. The functional and aesthetic advantages of cedar
have yet to be matched by even the best man-made
alternatives.
Right at Home
The Cedar is a tree of wetlands and swamps; it held up
to insects in British Columbia when spruce and pine were
falling apart; it meshes perfectly with local landscapes – in
other words, it belongs here.
As a deck material, the advantages of this are twofold.
It’s durable and inherently acclimatized to this environ-
ment, enabling it to outlast most other materials under
pressure of the elements. It’s also an aesthetic extension of
the natural landscape: one of the most sought after qualities
in a material for modern garden designs, which favour
harmony and a gentle touch when building garden retreats
and places to gather with family and friends.
Built to Last
Though manufactured products attempt to build all the
necessary strength and durability into the material itself, any
good architect or builder knows that it still means very little
without proper design and construction. When it comes to
wood and other natural materials, their inborn quality is
evoked by skilled craftsmanship – as it must be, and has
been for centuries.
A good cedar deck is designed to eliminate all the
places that water might get trapped – seams are minimized,
and those that are necessary are sealed with caulk. As long
as the structure doesn’t hold water, the cedar will be
immune to warping, swelling and other water damage.
Fabricated deck kits consisting of water-treated materials
tend to forgo this level of care in their design, and are often
fastened with clips instead of screws at many points. The
76 Find Your Local Professional in our GoldSource section
Cedar Decks
Beautiful by Nature, Reliable by Design
CedarDecks.qxp 3/9/2007 8:28 PM Page 76
result is a deck that not only traps water – sometimes even
still resulting in damage several years down the road – but
that can also feel cheaper and less solid beneath your feet.
Genuinely Maintenance Free
When the natural quality of cedar is combined with
attentive, efficient design, the final product is long-lasting
and self-sustaining. In fact, these decks don’t even require
an initial coat of stain or sealant to be completely main-
tenance free. The only deterioration, visible or otherwise, is
the gradual, natural greying of the wood over time. Six or
seven years down the road, there is the option of a light,
biodegradable stain to reawaken the surface and restore its
lustre, while the cedar itself remains as sturdy and reliable
as ever.
If you’re looking into composite materials, plastic
woods and other decks that are labelled maintenance-free,
it’s worth checking the details of this promise. Many
products turn out to require annual, bi-annual or otherwise
regular treatments that are somehow justified as reasonable
upkeep for a ‘maintenance-free’ deck.
Flexible and Fashionable
Within the framework of a proper, water-releasing
structure, there are still countless design options for the
shape and appearance of a cedar deck. The best decks are
made from much larger planks – generally two-by-sixes, and
often as long as 20 feet – for two reasons. Firstly, larger
planks come from older, stronger trees and as such are an
indicator of high quality – but they also improve the deck’s
appearance. Shorter planks, especially when used in large
decks, will frequently need to be lain end-to-end, resulting
in a seamed and disjointed aesthetic, while 20 foot planks
can span large portions of the deck and easily be cut to fit
small or intricate areas.
Since some seams will always be necessary, deck
builders have developed many creative ways of laying out
the surface planks to create pattern and flow among the
planks. The deck can be further stylized through the choice
of railings, from simple wood designs, possibly accented
with latticework or post-toppers, to more contemporary
fashions involving combinations of wood, metal and even
glass. In all cases, the best-made railings will leave few or no
visible screws and fasteners.
Decks, patios and other wood features are increasingly
popular elements of landscape design: modern architects
are thoroughly exploring their potential beyond the
traditional house-adjacent walk-out. Wraparound decks,
boardwalks, bridges, gazebos and floating patios are
dispersed throughout many of today’s gardens – but despite
the diversity of design, most of these features are installed
with common goals: they must be low-maintenance and
long lasting, and they must merge with a subtle, nature-
driven décor. Cedar is tried, tested and home-grown; when
combined with skilled design and craftsmanship, it’s the
perfect addition to a fashionable, functional landscape.
77Your House and Home Resource Magazine
Photo courtesy of DecKing Around
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78 Builders Showcase
Eastv
Guelph & Wellington
BuildersGuelph & Wellington’s House & Home Resource Magazine ShowcaseShowcaseShowcase
Fergus
6
Elora
2nd Line Rd
South River Rd
1st Line Rd
Sid
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6 N Grand RiverG
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Water St W Water St E
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Colborne St
East Mill St
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Garafraxa St
19
Belwood
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St Andrew St
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www.wrighthavenhomes.com
WrightHavenHomes
WrightHavenHomesL I M I T E D
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79Where do you want to live?
case
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80 Builders Showcase
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81Where do you want to live?
519-856-9580
Finest New
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82 Builders Showcase
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83Where do you want to live?
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84 Builders Showcase
Small Town
519-787-6699100 McQueen Boulevard, Fergus
or visit us at www.wrighthavenhomes.com
WrightHavenHomes
WrightHavenHomesL I M I T E D
WrightHaven Homes is a premier builder, well known for exceptional building quality and
design. We take pride in creating homes that satisfy homeowners now, and for generations to
come. Our commitment to you continues long past move-in-day. We have an excellent service
rating under Tarion Home Warranty Program and have been nominated four times for the Emest
Assaly Builders Award Program for excellent customer service.
At WrightHaven Homes, we are working for you every step of the way.
Let us build the “Wright” home for you!
BuildersShowcase.qxp 3/12/2007 9:28 AM Page 84
85Where do you want to live?
WrightHavenHomes
WrightHavenHomesL I M I T E D
Warmth &Beauty
Quality WorkmanshipQuality WorkmanshipWrightHaven Homes is presently building in Southern Ontario’s most desirable locations:
Highland Ridge in Fergus and South Ridge in Elora. We have many premium lots to choose
from including greenbelt and basement walk-out properties.
BuildersShowcase.qxp 3/9/2007 8:31 PM Page 85
If you’re looking to purchase a new home in charming Fergus or Elora, chances are you’ll decide on a WrightHaven Home. With the opening of their 2 new sites, Highland Ridge (Fergus) & South Ridge (Elora), WrightHaven Homes captures the market with location, beautiful home sites, excellent quality, outstanding service and a reputation that is second to none.
WrightHaven Homes is a local area builder well entrenched in the community. From meagre beginnings in 1990, Steven Wright of WrightHaven Homes has grown his company into one of the premier builders of the Fergus / Elora community. Wright says, “the foundation of his company is based in the premise that by providing an excellent quality product and good value for the dollar and combining it with great locations, hard work, honesty and pride in what you do, then the market will make you the most desired.” It appears he is right. Whether you are moving up, moving down, just starting out or retiring, WrightHaven Homes has a location & product that is just “Wright” for you.
WrightHaven HomesWrightHaven Homes captures the market
Advertorial
For information on these opportunities, feel free to call locally (519) 787-6699 or visit their website at www.wrighthavenhomes.com
The Galloway 1,865 sq.ft.
Highland Ridge the first of the two new sites is a collection of 35 single-family bunga-low and bungaloft homes on 50 foot and larger lots in a quiet crescent type setting uniquely located in the south end of Fergus. House sizes will range form 1300 sq.ft. to 2000sq.ft. With close proximity to shopping, downtown, hospitals, schools and a newly updated community centre, it is easily the prime location of Fergus. The site is embraced with common element areas adding to the uniqueness and flavour of the community. It will include footpaths with landscaping, exquisite perimeter fencing with stone entrances, landscaping packages, mature trees…both existing and to be planted, decorative lamppost streetlights, optional home maintenance packages, and professionally manicured common element grounds. The site will also feature the preservation of the original Cherry Hill Orchard homestead…the residence of the first postmaster and the master of education for the community, James McQueen. This unique new enclave is a must see if you are considering a new home in lovely Fergus.
The unveiling this spring of the second site, the South Ridge Subdivision(Elora) is WrightHaven’s largest undertaking to date. This 220 lot subdivision in the south end of Elora will have all the beauty and charm of the village itself. Sensitive to the mystique and old world charm of the village, WrightHaven will capture the natural aspects in the community with winding walking paths, naturalized areas and footpaths throughout the subdivision leading to the Cataract Trail adjacent to the site. Parkland and landscaped berms will feature the entranceway that will lead you into the most exquisite subdivision ever built in the area. This site will offer 45’ – 60’ lot frontages with all styles of homes available from spacious bungalow townhomes to executive single detached two storeys. House sizes will range from approximately 1200 – 3000 square feet.
WrightHaven’s latest collection of prime subdivisions will surely continue to contribute to the companies great success. It will provide opportunities for future new home buyers to the quality, value, and pleasurable experience so entrenched in the WrightHaven name. Owning a WrightHaven home is a solid investment. A decision the company respects greatly and works hard to ensure is never compromised. WrightHaven’s track record of never missing a closing and the homes in communities to which they are built have proven themselves and have stood the test of time. The pride put into the construction of your home will be yours to be shared and felt each and every time you pull into your driveway.
Visit WrightHaven’s newest model home in Fergus in their Highland Ridge siteand come and see for yourself the wonderful opportunities they have to offer.
The Dundee 1,485 sq.ft.
86 Builders Showcase
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87
Air Conditioning Contractors
Fergus Fireplace And Home Comfort
180 St Andrew St W, Fergus
519-843-4845 ..................888-871-4592
(See our ad under Fireplaces)
Savard Mechanical
RR2 Ariss
savard@bellnet.ca ..........519-886-6894
(See our ad this page)
Appliances-Major-Sales & Service
Vernon Smith Furniture & Appliances
5461 Highway 6 N, RR5 Guelph
.........................................519-824-0382
(See our ad this page)
Builders-Homes
Air Conditioning - BuildersGoldSource
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88 Builders - Concrete GoldSource
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89
Builders-Homes
Concrete Contractors
Meadowville Garden Centre
Edinburgh, Guelph .........519-822-8208
Hwy 24 N, Guelph ..........519-822-0840
(See our ad opposite page)
Decks & Patios
DecKing Around
Box 1041 Puslinch ..........519-821-9584
(See our ad this page)
Hickory Dickory Decks
www.decks.ca
Guelph
519-829-3224 ..................800-263-4774
(See our ad this page)
DecksGoldSource
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90 Electricians - Fireplaces GoldSource
Electricians
Nelson Electric
www.nelsonelectric.ca
info@nelsonelectric.ca
Guelph.............................519-710-9783
(See our ad this page)
Fireplaces
Fergus Fireplace And Home Comfort
180 St Andrew St W, Fergus
519-843-4845 ..................888-871-4592
(See our ad this page)
Wellington Fireplace & Leisure
138 Main St N
Rockwood .......................519-856-0498
(See our ad opposite page)
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91Fireplaces - Flooring GoldSource
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92 Flooring GoldSource
Flooring
Bigelow Flooring
www.guelphflooring.com
450 Woodlawn Rd W Unit 5
Guelph.............................519-821-0256
(See our ad this page)
D. Centurione Guelph Classic Tile
705 Speedvale Ave W Unit 2
Guelph.............................519-822-2215
(See our ad this page)
Zimmerman Custom Flooring
www.zimmermanflooring.ca
17A Industrial Dr
Elmira ..............................519-669-3933
(See our ad previous page)
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93
Florists-Retail
Sublime Flowers & Décor
215 St Andrew St W
Fergus .............................519-843-1560
(See our ad this page)
Furniture Dealers-Retail
John Thomson And Son Furniture Ltd
www.johnthomsonfurniture.com
157 & 173 St Andrew St W,
Fergus .............................519-843-1502
(See our ad next page)
Morette's Furniture Inc
www.morettesfurniture.com
519-855-4905 ..................519-855-4906
(See our ad this page)
Continued Next Page
Florists - FurnitureGoldSource
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94 Furniture GoldSource
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95FurnitureGoldSource
Furniture Dealers-Retail
Vernon Smith Furniture & Appliances
5461 Highway 6 N,
RR5 Guelph.....................519-824-0382
(See our ad this page)
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96
Garage Doors
Automated Door Systems Ltd
www.automateddoor.net
adsl@bellnet.ca
1-567 Silvercreek Parkway N,
Guelph.............................519-829-3777
(See our ad this page)
Gazebos
Bosman Home Front
Teviotdale........................877-343-3456
(corner of Hwy 109 & 23)
(See our ad opposite page)
Garage Doors GoldSource
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97GazebosGoldSource
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98
Glass & Mirror
Barber Glass
167 Suffolk St W,
Guelph.............................519-824-0310
(See our ad this page)
Flooring GoldSource
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99
Granite
City Stone
8-620 Davenport Rd Waterloo
.........................................519-885-0999
(See our ad this page)
Granite Gallery
871 Victoria St N Unit 12 Kitchener
.........................................519-742-1452
(See our ad this page)
GraniteGoldSource
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100 Home Cleaning - Home Decor GoldSource
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101
Home Cleaning Services
Homemaid Cleaning Service
519-848-6243 ..................519-835-3215
(See our ad opposite page)
Home Decor Items
Duncan-McPhee - The Gift Collection
1 Quebec St Guelph
519-821-1260 ..................888-262-7787
(See our ad this page)
Sublime Flowers & Décor
215 St Andrew St W
Fergus .............................519-843-1560
(See our ad opposite page)
Home Designers
Accuvision 2000 Inc
www.accuvision2000.com
380 Sheldon Dr Ste 8,
Cambridge ......................519-624-9446
(See our ad this page)
Home Decor - Home Designers GoldSource
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102 Home Theatre GoldSource
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103Home Theatre - Hot TubsGoldSource
Home Theatre Rooms
Autosonics Stereo Plus
www.autosonics.com
10 Speedvale Ave E,
Guelph.............................519-837-9330
(See our ad this page)
Station Earth Inc
766 Tower St S Fergus ...519-843-3474
(See our ad opposite page)
Hot Tubs & Spas
Pollock Pools And Spas
www.pollockpools.com
pollockpoolsandspas@bellnet.ca
3 Watson Rd Guelph ......519-780-1777
(See our ad this page)
Continued Nex Page
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104
Hot Tubs & Spas
Wellington Fireplace & Leisure
138 Main St N Rockwood
.........................................519-856-0498
(See our ad this page)
Interior Decorators
Sara Ness Interiors
134 Wyndham St
Guelph.............................519-763-3334
(See our ad this page)
Interior Designers
Duvet & Pillow Company, The
32 Wilson St Guelph
.........................................519-763-7651
(See our ad this page)
Interior Designers
Tigerlily Design
5 Douglas St Unit 301,
Guelph.............................519-780-2415
(See our ad this page)
Irrigation Systems & Equipment
AWS Irrigation Management
www.awsim.ca
info@awsim.ca
.........................................519-826-5752
(See our ad opposite page)
Hot Tubs - Interior Designers GoldSource
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105Irrigation SystemsGoldSource
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106 Kitchen Cabinets GoldSource
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107
Kitchen Cabinets
Almost Anything Wood
205 Breadalbane St
Fergus .............................519-843-7500
(See our ad opposite page)
BND Woodworking Inc
www.bndwoodworking.ca
sales@bndwoodworking.ca
66 Arrow Rd Unit 1.........519-836-9028
(See our ad this page)
Nu-Way Kitchens
5 km. North of Guelph on
Hwy #6 ...........................519-836-1832
(See our ad opposite page)
Roberts Creative Cabinetry
RR4 Arthur ......................519-848-3223
(See our ad this page)
Kitchen CabinetsGoldSource
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108
Landscape Architects
Brydges Landscape Architecture Inc
Member ASLA, CSLA,OALA
paulbrydgesla@sympatico.ca
.........................................519-766-1331
(See our ad this page)
Landscape Contractors
& Designers
Alterra Contracting
Serving Guelph & Area
.........................................519-831-5692
(See our ad this page)
Dreamestate Landscaping
Office ...............................519-823-9287
Mobile .............................519-835-9287
(See our ad page 112)
Forestell Designed Landscapes
www.forestell.com
info@forestell.com
Guelph.............................519-362-1194
(See our ad page 110)
Meadowville Garden Centre
Edinburgh, Guelph .........519-822-8208
Hwy 24 N, Guelph ..........519-822-0840
(See our ad page 111)
Continued Next Page
Landscape Architects - Landscape Contractors GoldSource
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109Landscape ContractorsGoldSource
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110 Landscape Contractors GoldSource
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111Landscape ContractorsGoldSource
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112
Landscape Contractors
& Designers
Renaissance Landscape Group
www.rlgroup.ca
RR#1 Puslinch ................519-822-8668
(See our ad page 109)
Speedside Construction Ltd
......................................519-836-5959
(See our ad this page)
Landscape Contractors GoldSource
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113
Landscape-Lighting
Moonlighting Outdoor Lighting
.........................................519-767-6774
(See our ad this page)
Landscaping Equipment &
Supplies
Guelph Building Supply
500 Maltby Rd Guelph
.........................................519-780-0400
(See our ad this page)
Landscape Lighting - Landscape EquipmentGoldSource
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114
Lawn & Garden Equipment &
Supplies
A&W Recreation
Hwy 6 N Guelph .............519-767-1434
(See our ad this page)
Masonry & Bricklaying
Contractors
Beam Masonry
7 Patrick Blvd, Elora........519-846-6610
(See our ad this page)
Ponds, Waterfalls, Water
Gardens & Fountains
Lawn & Garden - Ponds GoldSource
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115
Renovations & Home
Improvements
About The House
www.aboutthehouse.ca
519-848-3128 ..................519-831-6662
(See our ad page 118)
Emerald Renovations & Construction
Inc
RR6 Guelph.....................519-821-8946
(See our ad this page)
Harrison Design-Build
26 Ontario St Unit 113
Guelph.............................519-830-9159
(See our ad page 117)
Continued Next Page
Renovations GoldSource
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116 Renovations GoldSource
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117
Renovations & Home
Improvements
Nelson Construction
www.nelsonconstruction.ca
info@nelsonconstruction.ca
24 Green St Guelph........519-767-5766
(See our ad this page)
Pioneer Craftsmen Ltd
1244 Victoria St N,
Kitchener.........................519-743-4461
(See our ad opposite page)
Reno Diva
24 Green St Guelph........519-710-5766
(See our ad this page)
Royal City Design
RR2 Elora ........................519-846-8772
(See our ad opposite page)
Continued Next Page
RenovationsGoldSource
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118
Renovations & Home
Improvements
Scott Hoegy Building
hoegybldg@golden.net
RR2 Elora ........................519-846-0163
(See our ad this page)
Renovations GoldSource
There are certain areas in and around your home that will need periodic maintenance to help prevent deterioration.
It is easier to get into a routine of doing the simpler home maintenance projects by checking and cleaning,
Than it is to try and sort out a situation when the problem has really set in.
There are also things that only a professional can check and repair.
Gutter Cleaning
• how often you need to clean your gutters will depend on where you live, the climate and the trees
• a general rule of thumb is at least a twice a year clean out with a careful look over during the rainy season
Roof Maintenance
• be on the look out for tile movement and discoloration - especially during a windy season
• missing tiles or visible dips in the ridge beam of your roof support should be dealt with immediately and professionally
Home Winterizing
Home Winterizing is often overlooked, yet it is an important part of the upkeep of your home. Fall is a perfect time for these projects.
Sealing windows, unused doors, appliance vents and window air conditioning units can significantly lower your heating costs.
Outside, once the trees have lost their leaved, clear all the debris from your yard and eavestroughing.
If you have a pond or water feature be sure to remove the leaved from it as well to avoid clogged filters.
GoldSource.qxp 3/13/2007 4:54 PM Page 118
119Roofing ContractorsGoldSource
Roofing Contractors
Superior Steel Roofing Systems
www.superiorsteelroofing.com
sales@superiorsteelroofing.com
107 Malcolm Rd,
Guelph.............................519-822-4818
(See our ad this page)
GoldSource.qxp 3/13/2007 4:55 PM Page 119
120
Septic Systems
Pioneer Septic Solutions Inc
Guelph.............................519-763-3349
(See our ad this page)
Siding Contractors
G Frey Contracting
415 Arthur St S,
Elmira ..............................519-503-7378
(See our ad this page)
Sprinklers-Garden & Lawn Stair Builders
Stairworks Ltd
www.stairworks.ca
info@stairworks.ca
295 Southgate Dr #8,
Guelph.............................519-823-1921
(See our ad opposite page)
Septic Systems - Stair Builders GoldSource
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121Stair BuildersGoldSource
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122
Swimming Pool Contractors &
Dealers
Pollock Pools And Spas
www.pollockpools.com
pollockpoolsandspas@bellnet.ca
3 Watson Rd Guelph ......519-780-1777
(See our ad this page)
Swimming Pool GoldSource
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123
Tree Service
Douglas Wood Large Tree Service
www.douglaswood.ca
1-800-353-3019 ...............519-856-2771
(See our ad this page)
Upholsterers
Lewis Upholstery
800 York Rd, Guelph.......519-821-8927
(See our ad this page)
Tree Service - UpholsterersGoldSource
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124
Window Treatments
Tri-City Solar Solutions
www.tricitysolar.com
1486 Victoria St N Unit 1
Kitchener.........................519-743-0163
(See our ad this page)
Windows & Doors
Merit Window & Door Design Centre
www.meritglass.com
info@meritglass.com
61 Arrow Rd Guelph.......519-822-7470
(See our ad opposite page)
Windows GoldSource
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125WindowsGoldSource
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126
Air Conditioning Contractors
Savard Mechanical . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .87
Appliances-Major-Sales & Service
Vernon Smith Furniture & Appliances . . . . . . . . . . . . . .87
Builders-Homes
Charleston Homes . . . . . . .87, Builders Showcase 78-86
Fabbian Homes . . . . . . . . .87, Builders Showcase 78-86
Wrighthaven Homes . . . . .89, Builders Showcase 78-86
Concrete Contractors
Meadowville Garden Centre . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .88
Decks & Patios
DecKing Around . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .89
Hickory Dickory Decks . . . . . . . . .89, Inside Front Cover
Electricians
Nelson Electric . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .90
Fireplaces
Fergus Fireplace And Home Comfort . . . . . . . . . . . . . .90
Wellington Fireplace & Leisure . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .91
Flooring
Bigelow Flooring . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .92
D. Centurione Guelph Classic Tile . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .92
Zimmerman Custom Flooring . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .91
Florists-Retail
Sublime Flowers & Décor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .93
Furniture Dealers-Retail
John Thomson And Son Furniture Ltd . . . . . . . . . . . . .94
Morette's Furniture Inc . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .93
Vernon Smith Furniture & Appliances . . . . . . . . . . . . . .95
Garage Doors
Automated Door Systems Ltd . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .96
Gazebos
Bosman Home Front . . . . . . . . .97, Masthead sponsor 7
Glass & Mirror
Barber Glass . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .98
Granite
City Stone . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .99
Granite Gallery . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .99
Home Cleaning Services
Homemaid Cleaning Service . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .100
Home Decor Items
Duncan-McPhee - The Gift Collection . . . . . . . . . . . .101
Sublime Flowers & Décor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .100
Home Designers
Accuvision 2000 Inc . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .101
Home Theatre Rooms
Autosonics Stereo Plus . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .103
Station Earth Inc . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .102
Hot Tubs & Spas
Pollock Pools And Spas . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .103
Wellington Fireplace & Leisure . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .104
Interior Decorators
Sara Ness Interiors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .104
Interior Designers
Duvet & Pillow Company, The . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .104
Tigerlily Design . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .104
Irrigation Systems & Equipment
AWS Irrigation Management . . .105, Front of Magazine
Kitchen Cabinets
Almost Anything Wood . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .106
BND Woodworking Inc . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .107
Nu-Way Kitchens . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .106
Roberts Creative Cabinetry . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .107
Landscape Architects
Brydges Landscape Architecture Inc . . . . . . . . . . . . .108
Landscape Contractors & Designers
Alterra Contracting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .108
Dreamestate Landscaping . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .112
Forestell Designed Landscapes . . . . . . .110, Back Cover
Meadowville Garden Centre . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .111
Renaissance Landscape Group . .109, Back Inside Cover
Speedside Construction Ltd . . . . . . .112, Opposite Page
Landscape-Lighting
Moonlighting Outdoor Lighting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .113
Landscaping Equipment & Supplies
Guelph Building Supply . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .113
Lawn & Garden Equipment & Supplies
A&W Recreation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .114
Masonry & Bricklaying Contractors
Beam Masonry . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .114
Ponds, Waterfalls, Water Gardens & Fountains
Renaissance Landscape Group . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .114
Renovations & Home Improvements
About The House . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .118
Emerald Renovations & Construction Inc . . . . . . . . . .115
Harrison Design-Build . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .117
Nelson Construction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .117
Pioneer Craftsmen Ltd . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .116
Reno Diva . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .117
Royal City Design . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .116
Scott Hoegy Building . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .118
Roofing Contractors
Superior Steel Roofing Systems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .119
Septic Systems
Pioneer Septic Solutions Inc . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .120
Siding Contractors
G Frey Contracting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .120
Sprinklers-Garden & Lawn
AWS Irrigation Management . . .120, Front of Magazine
Stair Builders
Stairworks Ltd . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .121, Front of Magazine
Swimming Pool Contractors & Dealers
Pollock Pools And Spas . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .122
Tree Service
Douglas Wood Large Tree Service . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .123
Upholsterers
Lewis Upholstery . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .123
Window Treatments
Tri-City Solar Solutions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .124
Windows & Doors
Merit Window & Door Design Centre . . . . . . . . . . . . .125
GoldSourceADVERTISER / CATEGORY INDEX
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