Lunenburg New Build & Luxury Vinyl Flooring

when the destination is a journey

“…it changes to a dirt road then you will travel several dramatic rolling hills of farm land. At the end you will see an open gate with a little white picket fence and a prominent community sign. Continue through the gate along past all the little seaside cottages to the very end of the private road where you’ll find our cottage”.

Rolling country hills of Lunenburg County

When the directions to your newest client’s project sound like the makings of a scenic road trip you know you’re about to discover a special place with a special owner.  Even though this project, a new build, was already far along in the construction stage and quickly nearing completion, its exciting to jump on board at any time. 

Exterior scaffolding - Lunenburg New Build

jumping on board

Although Its not ideal for a designer to come in at such at late stage its still possible to provide tons of valuable input prior to finishes and fittings being installed. Inevitably you’ll spot things you wish could be changed or corrected but doing so can cause serious delays and added expense, so if that ship has sailed, its simply time to focus on working with what’s there and prioritize outstanding decisions so work can continue with a co-ordinated and cohesive vision.  Time isn’t on anyones side so the homeowner has to trust in the Designer’s experience to navigate them through countless decisions and selections as efficiently as possible.

For this project I was introduced just as drywall priming was completed but all the decisions beyond that stage still needed to be made.  I quickly got up to speed and focused on the most pressing issues first - assisting the owner with selecting the flooring, the trim work, and all paint finishes.  Once that was sorted we’d turn our attention to bathroom tiles, staircase details and then, cabinets, counters and light fixtures. 

On board the New Build Project - Day 1. View from family room into kitchen.

The home is situated ocean front on a peninsula inlet in Lunenburg NS, complete with its own beach and dock for all the waterside activities.  This new cottage is replacing the old family cottage of this single mother and her daughters. Although it won’t be their primary residence they will spend extended periods of time here joined by extended family and friends.  The goal for the interior was for it to have a bright, relaxed and contemporary coastal vibe, outfitted with practical materials and comfortable furnishings for easy living in every space. Longevity was the key objective, It was especially important that everything be of enduring style and lasting quality for low maintenance over the long term.

View from the mail floor up to the second floor.

As you enter the house from the road side its a two storey design with a double height main floor family room, bedrooms with cathedral ceilings area upstairs plus there’s the added bonus of a full walk-out basement level on the waterside.

Partial view of the family room

PICTURE POST CARD INSPIRATION

The homeowner hadn’t amassed the usual inspiration images of interiors but what she had tacked to a wall by her desk was more interesting - a series of coastal art post cards.  These images were the inspiration for the palette and mood she wanted the interior to have.  Without wasting a minute, we decided on the trim work before I left, and then I got to work sourcing options for the flooring which, once selected, would inform the direction for all other finishes.

The build had progressed to this point with an exterior rendering and a set of plans that depicted the interior floor plan and kitchen and bathroom elevations but no specifications for any interior finishes or trim.

For the flooring the homeowner had already sourced and narrowed down a couple of options but after reviewing them I recommended we look at some alternates.  I fully agreed with the direction she was going, which was a wood look vinyl plank, or luxury vinyl flooring, but I didn’t feel the colour or quality of the options she was considering were the best choice based on style or performance.

Client’s original vinyl flooring samples.

what is luxury vinyl flooring (lvf)

LVF or LVT is a term you’ll hear and see a LOT of these days - its the hottest thing in flooring.  Its a performance product in that its designed for durability and practicality. Just like marble look porcelain, LVF is a product of the digital era, with advanced technology and high resolution digital imagery these vinyl planks or tiles can replicate the look of the natural materials so convincingly you won’t believe your eyes, you’ll have to touch it to see if its real and even then you’ll wonder? With real-wood good looks paired with the practicality of vinyl, its the fastest growing flooring product out there. Here are some pro’s and con’s I’ve created to help weigh the benefits:

styles: LVP & LVT

The product is made in individual tiles. Plank shapes that replicate wood are referred to as LVP, Luxury Plank Flooring, typically 6-8” wide, 48” long. When made in square, rectangular or octagon tile shapes to replicate stone or ceramic its referred to as LVT, Luxury Vinyl Tile. Generally its ALL most commonly referred to as LVT but I simply refer to them collectively as LVF. Lately, we’re sourcing them for primary residences, cottages and seasonal home projects alike.

Example of an engineered Luxury Vinyl Tile Installation in progress on a different job site earlier this year. Ceramic look LVT by Armstrong Flooring.

LVT: standard VS. engineered

STANDARD = GLUE DOWN: Standard LVP and LVT are glue down installation, they have a bendable vinyl core with a composite backing (usually made of recycled material) to facilitate glueing to the substrate. LVT products also have the option of adding grout to enhance the tile look. This standard category also includes self-adhesive varieties, and some loose lay types.

ENGINEERED = FLOATING: Engineered with a rigid composite core and attached underlayment (pad). The edges are tongue and groove so they click and lock into place, designed to be a floating installation (much like real engineered wood flooring) but adhesive can also be used for added stability. Engineered planks/tiles are generally thicker than standard LVT. The thicker the product, the more added stability and comfort underfoot.

My descriptions above may differ slightly from mfg’s categorization, you’ll find some hy-brid types which are a cross-over between standard and engineered but in general the two main types of LVT are glue-down, or floating.

RIGID CORE: SPC & SWC

Engineered vinyl planks/tiles have solid rigid core’s made from either a stone plastic composite SPC, or a wood plastic composite WPC and topped with a durable wear layer.  These make the tile extremely hard/resilient, SPC are in fact as hard as a stone tile, while SWC are less hard. 

thickness: what to look for

Each product will have two thicknesses noted on the label or specs, the total product thickness and the wear layer thickness.

PRODUCT THICKNESS: is measured in mm, ranging from 2mm to 12mm for residential products. The thicker the product the more stability and comfort under foot.

WEAR LAYER THICKNESS: typically measured in mil, but sometimes mm (ie; 0.5mm). Wear layers range from 4mil to 20mil, 20mil being the highest standard for residential, 28mil+ is commercial grade. 8 - 12 mil is suitable for most residential applications.

QUALITY: ITS ALL ABOUT THE WEAR LAYER

With the huge range of types and quality of LVF,  you simply get what you pay for. In both glue down and floating (locking) grades the thickness of the actual plank or tile is not necessarily what reflects its quality. The key difference in quality is the wear layer thickness.  The wear layer is what protects the digital pint image and is what what gives the product is durability (scratch resistance, dent resistance, etc). The thinner wear layers scratch easier and show wear much sooner than a thicker wear layer so factor that in to your choice for high traffic areas.

Here’s a look at 3 different manufacturers that were available at a local flooring dealer as an example of the styles available.

All of the above options are an engineered LVP , with rigid stone cores and locking installation. Retail pricing ranged from $3.05sf to $6.99sf. (all had wear layers of 20mil or higher).

Although I found more than one option that could work perfectly at this new build project they ultimately didn’t go with any of these due to delivery lead times. (I mentioned time wasn’t on our side!) So we selected an in-stock option form a local building centre to keep things moving along on site.

A few boxes of samples were brought to site and this was the final selection. Its a locking (floating) LVF and while it still has a subtle weathered grey effect it has a lot more natural wood tone in it than the original samples the client had selected. Its lighter, warmer, without having yellow or orange tones and the variation in colour will make it very forgiving.

Sampling paint colours for the stair treads.

Here’s a look at the vinyl install in progress and a peek at the staircase finishing. It ended up having more colour variation in it then we anticipated even after dry-laying a sample box but we were still really happy with it knowing what other finishes were still to come. For the stairs, a much consideration the client opted to go with painted treads and risers instead of leaving them natural hardwood. We tested several coloured paints for the treads which will be topped with a bright colourful rug runner. More on the interior paint palette in an upcoming post.

Here’s a sneak peek of the flooring install in the kitchen several weeks later when the cabinet install was in progress. More about the kitchen and that fabulous huge awning window (it opens up to a bar counter on the exterior) in an upcoming post.

WHERE TO BUY

Available everywhere flooring is sold, certain brand names are only available through authorized dealers. If you’re investing in a large quantity my advice is to select from a product line available through a local retail dealer, I prefer the retail dealers rather than a big box store because they’re better informed and you’ll get a higher level of service, including installation co-ordination if you need. Any retail flooring dealer will have at least 3 or 4 different mfgs product lines to chose from. Compare the specs versus the level of durability you need. Borrow the large samples and view them in your space or better yet go online and order your own free sample from the mfg and put it to the test at home.

DIY

Ultimately the quality of the product performance is dependant on a quality install. I don’t recommend DIY’ing the engineered products. Proper preparation of sub-floor and allowing for expansion/contraction is critical and the rigid cores can be difficult to cut. These should be installed by experienced installers.

WHEN TO CHOSE LVF

The stone and ceramic look vinyl tiles are a great option for those who don’t want the hardness or cold feel of real tile in their kitchen or bathrooms, but desire a higher quality look than regular vinyl. And no worries of tiles cracking!

Personally, I’m loving the possibilities of the wood-look LVF, but its not a substitute for real wood nor is it simply a less expensive wood alternative. Higher quality LVF is comparable in price to hardwoods. Real wood has an elegance and distinct warmth and every single piece has unique original character - that simply cannot be duplicated in an LVP. Like it or not real wood will age and show wear over time, some people desire this character and embrace it over its long lifespan. While the luxury vinyl is a near dead ringer in looks, its super powers are in the mfg advancements which make it a durable, waterproof and low maintenance option for areas where real wood wouldn’t be suitable. So if practicality is your priority then LVF is a great choice.

For more than you ever wanted to know about LVF for your residential projects, including recommendations, download this handy reference guide I’ve created for my clients.

Or Pin this for Later!

This post is not sponsored nor associated with affiliate links. All opinions are my own.

My Top 10 Cottage Make-Over Tips

From the West coast to the East Coast, I think most Canadian’s would agree the ultimate summer past-time is cottaging! That being true, one might say the second favourite past-time is searching for that ultimate summer cottage to call your own, but often the reality of what’s available or affordable can look more daunting than dreamy. But don’t discourage - just learn to focus on the potential. I’ve compiled my top 10 favourite ways to update and transform a dated, dysfunctional drab cottage interior into your dream retreat, without the need to take a sledgehammer to it. This is a refreshed post from 2015 but all my tips remain the same. The focus is on affordable quality materials, editing fixtures and neutralizing the palette to net you enduring style and functional ease.

1. TAME THE WOOD:

Wood on wood on wood, furnished with more wood,,,is simply too much wood. Everything in wood just looks like a sea of brown (or orange).  If you love wood and want it to be a feature,,,,,then you must paint some of it out, this will in turn will highlight the natural unpainted wood so it can be appreciated for all its beauty, not drowned out.

2. CLEAN SWEEP:

Remove wall to wall vinyls and broadloom and replace with light to medium coloured character grade wood planks or natural stone slate tile (available in every imaginable size). These super affordable but high quality natural materials will be durable, forgiving, easy to clean and age well. When ultra low maintenance, budget, and practicality is the priority check out wood or stone look LVF (luxury vinyl flooring) or porcelain tiles that mimick stone or wood. Layer natural fibre area carpets and flat weave kilims for luxurious comfort and coziness.

3. UN-OBSTRUCT THE VIEWS:

Strip the windows of fussy ruffled fabric or boxy valances and heavy dark coloured blinds. Replace with fully retractable simple rollup blinds, shades or swing open shutters. There are loads of inexpensive ready-made options that can even be cut to size in-store. Less is definitely more when it comes to window coverings. My go-to’s are matchstick and bamboo blinds or cotton roman shades, mounted above the windows. Alternately or additionally use cotton or linen drapery panels on a dark metal or wood rod and rings that fully stack back to reveal the outdoors but can easily draw closed for privacy. Selectively clear away overgrown bushes and trees that are blocking views or robbing interior spaces of daylight.

4.  COUNTER POINTS:

Many old cottages have plastic laminate, tile or plywood counters that are chipped, stained or dated in colour.  A new solid wood counter will add instant quality and substance. Custom made ones can vary greatly in price point depending on species, joinery and edge details but you can also find ready-made and easy to install solid wood countertop material at Ikea and most building supply stores. Perfectly suitable and charming for kitchens and bathrooms. Alternately a pre-formed laminate counter-top from the building centre, in white is a super inexpensive way to instantly freshen and brighten those surfaces.

5.  SINKS:

A simple sink swap out can add more function and style. Replacing a small kitchen sink with a larger size will make clean up a breeze (or hide the mess til later), or swapping to a smaller size can net you more precious counter space.  Adding a second sink makes the kitchen doubly functional for two cooks or family gatherings.  In bathrooms, replacing a stained or retro coloured sink with a new vessel or drop in style is an affordable, easy install even onto an existing counter - no custom fabrication required!

6.  FAUCETS & HARDWARE:  

A new faucet and cabinet knobs are an instant style update to kitchens and bathrooms and interior doors.  Look for styles that will enhance your cottage character and evoke vintage, shaker, or rustic charm, in dark or aged metal finishes. Large gooseneck spouts, industrial pulldown sprays, classic bridge style or convenient single levers with high arc spouts. Splurge on fixtures made with solid brass cartridges and you won’t be replacing these anytime soon. 

7. APPLIANCES:

Replacing older mis-matched appliances is not only an aesthetic upgrade but the newer models are more multi-functional, energy efficient and space saving. Today you’ll find a wider choice of sizes and finishes available so you don’t have to default to the same sizes that were put in place 20 years ago. Most cabinetry can be modified fairly simply if needed.

8. LIGHT IT UP:

Replace generic looking lighting with simple vintage or rustic style fixtures to enhance your cottage character and create a cohesive style.   Evoke rustic or coastal charm by selecting fixtures with aged or painted metals. (Black metal or oil rubbed bronze are my favourite!). You can add wall sconces, pendants and swing arm task lights without hiring an electrician - just use plug-in style fixtures that can be mounted to walls or suspended from ceilings wherever you need more light (which will be mostly everywhere!) and create ambience, all you need is an outlet nearby. Book shelfs, step lights, wall art, under kitchen cabinets,,,with LED lighting there is almost no where you can’t install lighting, even wirelessly.

9. SHELF IT:

Shelves are the easiest and most affordable solution for adding storage without the cost of built-ins. Install wall mounted shelving and brackets or ready to assemble shelves to not only organize but add purpose and function to any under utilized or cluttered area. Wanna amp up the style factor, use reclaimed wood, vintage metal brackets or wood corbels to create shelving that’s also a one-of-a-kind statement piece.

10. PAINT IT:

If you want a relaxing, calming, serene space that lets the outdoors be the main attraction,,,then paint over any loud, bold, intense hues on the walls in a light neutral palette that will compliment your view of the great outdoors and not detract from it. In small cottages, keep the walls and trim tone on tone for low contrast. Transform cabinetry with paint - an accent colour will highlight good quality wood kitchen and bathroom cabinets and make an instant style statement, or, simply neutralize lesser quality or unattractive cabinetry by painting them out.

11. PANEL IT:

I couldn’t stop at 10 without including my final and favourite way to add instant character and durability to walls and or ceilings - add panel moulding, v-groove, shiplap or beadboard panelling to walls, ceiling, islands, or backs of cabinets.  When painted with an enamel paint its also a great inexpensive alternative to tiling around bathroom or kitchen sinks and provides a sturdy backing for installing hooks and shelves (see tip no.9!). 

To see how I applied all of these strategies in this family cottage make-over check out the links below for individual before & afters:

Cottage Master Ensuite

Kitchen Progress

The Guest Bathroom Progress

The Guest Bathroom Before and After

The Boathouse Bathroom Before and After

The Boathouse Before and After

Photos By:  Carol Reed

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E-Design Floor Plan & Ensuite: Century Home Renovation

floor plan: reconfiguring THE SECOND FLOOR

I first began working on the redesign of this century home for an e-design client a few years ago, beginning with designing a new open concept main floor kitchen. The homeowners are a young active family of 3 with a big picture goal of a whole home renovation and are approaching the re-design of the home with a lot of preparation, initially working with an architect to draft up floor plans to reflect their general wish list. From there, they reached out to me to review and assess their proposed plans and develop the interior design further. With the new plan for the main floor now detailed to completion, we recently took on the task of assessing the second floor.

Here’s a look at the existing floor plan, along with the initial concept they had drawn up for the second floor reno. The current layout is 2 + bedroom and 1 bath, the “+ bedroom” being an oddly small room originally referred to as a ‘carriage room’ in the old days. They’re awkwardly too small to use for a bedroom (and don’t meet minimum code dimensions for a bedroom) and not quite large enough to function as much else other than a tiny office or storage. You’ll notice that even in the client’s proposed plan the room hadn’t been utilized for a new purpose. (note the secondary back staircase was already planned to be removed for the main floor kitchen reno.)

Existing Floor Plan

Client's Renovation Plan

When I assessed their plans I saw some missed opportunity to add more value to their reno investment - the small carriage room wasn’t being utilized for a new purpose and I saw this a valuable space. I can appreciate the desire to maintain the feature of a 3rd bedroom but this space wasn’t functional for that by modern day standards and by maintaining it, it was preventing them from adding more functional upgrades like a second bathroom and bigger closets. Typically the incentive for renovating these homes is to increase the number of bathrooms and closets where ever possible.

What I liked about their plan was the large master bedroom at the back of the house, and its walk-in closet, but what was lacking by today’s standards for a newly built or renovated home was a master ensuite, although I could see there was definitely potential to add one. My viewpoint on this was that I didn’t see any added value in keeping the tiny carriage room, but if they could create an ensuite in addition to the main hall bathroom and a larger second bedroom they’d not only be adding value and function but greatly enhancing their day to day enjoyment of their rooms.

I immediately explored the potential to add that ensuite to the master. Above is a quick block plan of just one way that could be possible . Although this was perhaps the most straightforward approach from a layout perspective, we didn’t develop this any further, instead we opted for a more efficient approach of keeping the two bathrooms back to back (which would also stack them above the power room below.)

Below is a look at the final before and after plan for the second floor.

The new plan keeps the master bedroom at the front of the house where it currently is (not shown on plan the intent is for the window to be enlarged to match a new larger window on the main floor below) and it enjoys a 4 piece ensuite and separate walk-in closet. Their son now gets a more spacious bedroom, for a queen or twin beds along with a full wall of buitin storage. The hall bath is compact but doesn’t lack anything, it has a 36” vanity and full size tub/shower combo. The hallway is nicely proportioned and is spacious enough to accommodate some furniture pieces which is a wonderful bonus that always makes a hallway live larger than it is.

Now that the floor plan was finalized we moved on to designing the master ensuite. Here’s a look at some of the inspiration images my client had collected on Pinterest which provides some insight to her style objectives.

Inspiration images are quite different than mood boards which are typically more abstract in imagery. The method of curating room images is incredibly helpful for e-design clients to communicate to me what they like in terms of style, colour palette, and architectural features. From these I can comprehend their design language and spot consistencies in what they’re drawn to. In this case, it was simple, clean lines, modern, white, light natural wood tones, touches of black and a hint of mid-century modern. A floating, double vanity was top of her wish list.

This is one option we presented for the vanity, designed to float on a wall of warm-white glazed tiles that add a distinct texture. The floating vanity was configured using standard Ikea Sektion sizes +/-” so this would give them the flexibility of having it either fully custom made or going with an off the shelf solution and adding custom drawer fronts only in a light wood tone with shelves to match.

Material Samples for Master Ensuite | Carol Reed Interior Design Inc.

Sample materials for the ensuite design included a mix of glazed wall tile, large format porcelain floor tile, white and grey marble slabs, and a grey and white geometric marble mosaic in the shower.

There’s always a unique solution for every space as each homeowner’s requirements are different. The concept above is a preliminary version of the final concept that was delivered to our client.

One of my key pieces of advice for bathroom reno’s, particularly if you’re not working with a designer, is to avoid trendy tiles, or attempting to create a complex tile scheme - use restraint, stick with finishes in timeless neutral palettes, use natural materials (or their man-made look-a-likes) that have interesting textures and classic patterns installed with consideration as to how each enhances and elevates the other. There’s plenty of space to inject your personality into the room with light fixtures, artwork and accessories, these can be changed up anytime without demolition.

If you need help with a challenging floor plan, check our E-Design services on thedesignshop.ca

For more peeks at full-service and e-service design projects you can follow us on Instagram @carolreeddesign