Style at Home: Celebrating Canadian Designers

Room Design &  Photo by:  Carol Reed

There's truly nothing I'm prouder of than being Canadian so I was thrilled to be invited to share my favorite space last month for a special Canada Day feature on the Style at Home website.

You can read all about why this is my favorite client space here.  It was an easy decision to chose Gail's kitchen for all the reasons that are mentioned in the article.  Further to that on a personal level it was the first project I documented in its entirety on social media from initial meeting to magazine cover - I blogged and tweeted the progress. To eventually see the completed kitchen on a recent Style at Home cover was such a perfect finale. (for more posts on this project you can search "Gail's Kitchen" in the side bar).

Not only is this room one of my favorite spaces, this image is one of my favorites too - prior to the extensive reno this is a view that wasn't even possible due to a large catwalk that cut thru the cathedral space and hovered over the eating area.  Removing the catwalk was the very first thing on my agenda and it was impactful!  Exposing this cathedral ceiling added great volume and light, and,,,,this incredible sightline from the loft space above.

Thanks to Elaine Song for putting together such an wonderful feature, I thoroughly enjoyed reading the inspiration behind the 10 other celebrated Canadian spaces.

Style at Home: Gather Around

Style at Home Magazine February 2013.  Photography by Donna Griffith. The publication of Gail's kitchen in the February issue of Style at Home is an exciting full-circle moment of sorts. Its the first project since having this blog that I've documented the process from initial meeting to magazine right here on the blog and on twitter.  Its been a long process to complete this circle including a year since the time of the shoot to publication.  Gail and her family have been enjoying this new kitchen (and also the renovated family room and adjoining mudroom) for two years now and she loves it as much, if not more today then when she moved into it in the late fall of 2010.   I've enjoyed a glass of wine and delicious food at this island several times over the past two years and to see the joy in Gails eye's as she thrives in this new space is truly gratifying for me.   The absolute best part of any job for me is when I actually see the completed space being used just as I had envisioned in even my earliest sketches.  Its rare to actually see her kitchen empty like this, as its the hub of this home and always, always buzzing. Without a doubt the most satisfying compliment for me is when visitor's tell Gail, even though its all new and is in a addition to the house, that they feel like this kitchen has always been there, that it feels like it originally belongs to their century old house.  And that, for me, is exactly what I was hoping to achieve. You can check out the full feature in the current issue on-line to digital subscribers at zinio.com and on news stands this week across Canada.  I absolutely love how photographer Donna Griffith so beautifully captured the space and how Ann Marie Favot's simple styling had the perfect touch.  I'll be posting some more photos from my own portfolio shoot (also shot by Donna) at Gail's in the weeks ahead.  Thank you Donna, Ann Marie, Bethany and the entire team at Style at Home! You can check out older posts on Gail's kitchen thru the links below: Floor Plans, Before Photos and Inspiration The Kitchen Cabinetry Construction Progress Almost Complete and Custom Details Completion and a Sneak Peek

Gails' Kitchen: Sneak Peek

I don't think most people realize how much time will elapse from the day they decide to take on a renovation project to the day you can actually move your belongings back into the space, including all your own personal touches, and,,, begin living in it.   It can take even longer for the final finishing touches to be put in place and for those much dreamed about "after" photos to be taken.  Gail's kitchen was a project I started in January 2010, you can read all about the project and see before photos here, design drawings here , site progress here, and here. The project involved the renovation of not only her kitchen but an adjoining mud room and family room.   Construction wrapped up 10 months after my initial meeting with Gail, and just in time for her to use her brand new kitchen for Thanksgiving 2010.  But even at that point there was still a short list (ok, she might have called it a long list) of small details still to be completed. 

Flash forward almost a year later and I've finally had the chance to return to Gail's and take some 'after' photos.  (This could have happened sooner but coordinating shoots like this in the summer months is just too challenging.)  Its been an amazing experience to return all these months later and see Gail still gushing over her new kitchen like it was just revealed to her yesterday - she's literally giddy with disbelief and excitement that this is 'her' kitchen.  Its so satisfying to me to see the pure joy on her face when she's in this space and to listen to her tell me of all the parties and special meals that have been experienced.

Having any of my projects professionally photographed, or even photographed by myself, requires a huge investment of my own time (and money!) as well as the complete cooperation of the homeowner.  In all honesty its a challenge to find this time.   It can also take a couple of months to get into a photographer 's schedule depending what time of year it is.  Once scheduled,  prior to a shoot I'll spend a day picking up fresh flowers and food accessories and then I'll spend the next day at the house making sure everything is in place and camera ready.   The third day is spent at the house overseeing the shoot.  Did I mention,,,,,,,these after photos,,, require a huge amount of time!!??  

I was thrilled to work with the super talented photographer Donna Griffith just two weeks ago photographing 'after' photos of Gail's kitchen project.  I don't even have the final photos yet but I thought I'd share a sneak peek at some of the beautiful details that have come to life from all those design sketches and visions I had in my head almost two years ago.  Its a huge room and these images are literally a small 'peek',  capturing only a fraction of the complete space.

Please note the images below are just a few of my own candid shots, not the photographers.

Here you can truly see the beauty and character of hand made subway tile.

As Donna said when she arrived,,,,"I just want to sit down and have breakfast".  I bought the topiaries to dress the table but everything else I set out on the table belongs to Gail.

A huge oversize lantern I had custom made for the two story space. 

Even a year later the timing still wasn't ideal.  There was a construction crew working on the pool deck in the backyard but they were so accommodating every time we asked them to move their tools out of view! 

All Photos:  Carol Reed