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A SP ECIAL INFORMATION FEATURE FROM THE GLOBE AND MAIL
APRIL 201 4
Dynamic
ydining rooms
container
creating a
women’s home
gardening tips
backyard plan
must-haves
LAKEHOUSE DELIVERIES
ELIZABETH INTERIORS
409 BRANT STREET, BURLINGTON
LIZ HOME
2269 FAIRVIEW STREET, BURLINGTON
905.333.6670 | 1.888.846.7845
ELIZABETHINTERIORS.COM
905.631.6000
www.lizathome.ca
HOME DECOR 3
Get Creative with
Container
Gardening
From creating curb appeal to growing
vegetables, pots and planters are the answer
M
ost of us are impatient to throw off
all vestiges of the winter we had and
put on some spring colour. Although the
May long weekend is a few weeks off and
the weather is too temperamental to dig
in the garden, it’s possible to get your
green thumb jollies with containers.
Long considered an accessory,
containers are now the whole landscape, according to Amin Datoo,
manager at Sheridan Nurseries’
Avenue Rd. and Lawrence Ave. location (www.sheridannurseries.com).
“Container gardening now spans the
entire year.”
Containers require no digging, or
weeding, no battles with tree roots,
provide immediate visual drama and cost
less than a perennial garden. And if one
pot wilts during summer, just move it to
a better location.
Sheridan designers can make up
planters in a variety of price ranges.
“Burgundy will be big this year, as well
as blue, orange and pink,” Mr. Datoo
says. “For spring, you need something
bold, shocking even.”
Or you can take the clean, classic
approach. Fresh Home & Garden
(fresh.ca), president Duncan Fanning
opts for keeping things simple. His
Eastern Ave. store offers fibrestone (a
resin-fibreglass mix) or cement planters,
with large terra cotta urns from Mexico.
Fibrestone, which comes in slate black in
very clean, simple shapes, goes with virtually every architectural style. Planted
with long, wavy grasses they give a great
modern look; with glossy boxwood,
they’re classic; and with trailing ivy and
white blooms, they go traditional.
In a simple colour palette, dark or
lighter grey, you can mix and match
different shapes — tall taper with low
cube, for example. They also go well
with the real terra cotta.
For condos, containers are the way
to go. The tall, thin rectangular fibrestone planters (eight inches wide), when
planted with grasses or boxwood, create
Container gardening can
fit into any setting, from
a backyard to a condo
balcony. While urns on
either side of a door are a
traditional use, containers
can create a whole green
landscape. SHERIDAN NURSERIES
a privacy hedge between your suite and
next door.
Although most condo balconies are
tiny, some are massive and require
sprinkler systems and huge containers.
Sheridan offers a personal shopper
service and installation, regardless of
balcony size.
Mr. Fanning says you should select
the containers after you’ve chosen
patio furniture.
Everlasting, artificial but extremely
well made copies of cedar or boxwood,
works well at condos because it withstands exposure to the harsh balcony
climate and requires zero maintenance.
Containers are the best way to grow
veggies. If you’re planting herbs, Mr.
Datoo recommends rectangular planters
at least two feet high to give you enough
soil. Herbs can easily be mixed in the
same container, since some like rosemary,
sage and basil grow upright while oregano,
thyme and peppermint trail down.
You can also mix lettuces and greens.
Any container will do, but metal tends to
get too hot. Mr. Datoo has had success
growing tomatoes, peppers and lettuce.
For eggplant, peas or beans, a tall planter
allows the plants to trail down, or a trellis
attached to the wall lets them climb.
A lot depends on soil. The Sheridan
house brand, Parkwood, is called potting
soil but intended for indoor and outdoor
use. Combined with vermiculite and
pearlite and compost, it’s lighter than
DIY container gardening
If you prefer to make up your
own container garden, you can
mix perennials and annuals, says
John Nusca, who’s been creating
containers for 25 years. Perennials
like ivy, periwinkle, pachysandra,
creeping lamium flower for a long
time, trail nicely over the side
of the pot, and in the fall, can be
planted to grow as ground cover.
Start with the tall plants in the
centre. Add shorter plants in
coordinating colours to surround
the centre, and add the trailers
last. Allow enough space between
plants to have room to grow. Mr.
Nusca recommends fertilizing
once a week.
For advice on container gardening from a Master Gardener, check
out torontomastergardeners.ca/
index.php/askcategories/container-balcony-gardening.
topsoil. You don’t want soil too heavy in
the container, because if you get a full
day of rain, it will never dry out, and
you risk root rot. In winter, water not
allowed to drain turns to ice. For the
same reason, your containers need to
have drainage holes.
4
HOME DECOR
HOME
DECOR
A SPECIAL INFORMATION FEATURE
director, client engagement
and custom content group
TEENA POIRIER
manager, special reports
and new product development
ANDREA D’ANDRADE
brand partnership manager, special reports
KEITH RYDER
advertising service representative
8
SONJA LEIGH
art director
LAUREN HEINTZMAN
senior sales manager
GOTTFRIED WIRTH
associate sales manager
MARK IKER
account managers
IRENE DOROSH
ARISTOS PAVLIDES
MICHELE WELLS
CINDY MCKINNON
DENA BOODOO
PENNY DEVEAUX
Spring’s a time of renewal for our winter weary spirits,
and when our thoughts turn to renewing our environments indoors and out.
You’ll find some inspiration in these pages for how to
give your home, garden and yard a spring makeover
whether you have a major project in mind or are in
need of quick, easy and affordable solutions.
Mixing and matching is a big trend. Learn how to use
this trend to create a truly unique dining room and how
to incorporate cherished vintage pieces into a modern
setting. Discover what is on women’s must-have list for
their home and determine what your design style is.
Glean tips on how to start a room’s decor with a beautiful, handmade rug and learn about a quick makeover
that can rejuvenate a room without a major investment of time or cash. If you are concerned about your
family’s health, we’ll share what eco-friendly flooring
options are good choices.
The backyard has become an extension of our living
environment. See some spectacular backyard designs
and use an expert’s advice on how to create a series of
‘rooms’ in your own yard. Read how container gardens
can create spectacular looks for your yard or balcony
or can even grow vegetables for your table.
Visit this report online at
globeandmail.com/homedecor2014
COVER PHOTO by Betz Pools
After all that work renewing your home and yard,
you’ll want to relax with a good cup of coffee. Read
about a fascinating business built on coffee and how
you can bring the gourmet coffee experience into your
own home.
Enjoy!
Contents
3
Creative container gardens
6
Mixing the past and present
8
Dining room drama
10
Defining your design identity
12
Decorating with rugs
14
Beautifying the backyard
18
What women want & a
quick makeover
20
Bringing the gourmet coffee
experience home
22
Healthy flooring choices
SPRING 2014
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6 HOME DECOR
Mix & Match the Past & Present
Antiques and reclaimed wood pieces
belong even in modern homes, condos
E
verything old is new again, as
antiques and vintage furniture pieces
find their way into contemporary condos
and modern houses, as well as older
traditional homes.
“Antiques are back in style,” says
Michelle Kozak, who with husband
Alfred owns Alf’s Antiques in Toronto
(www.alfsantiques.com). She notes
there’s a wave of baby boomers giving
heirloom pieces to their grandchildren.
“There’s something to be said about
pieces that have been acquired over
time and passed on.”
It doesn’t matter if your home is old
or a new — antiques can fit in. The era
of a specific design trend is fading, with
homeowners mixing and matching.
“Use your imagination and your
individuality and be creative,” advises
Ms. Kozak. “Buying antiques is money
well-spent, because they reflect good
taste and good craftsmanship. When a
look is based on mass-produced pieces
and you see it everywhere, it loses its
appeal quickly.”
Ms. Kozak says it isn’t difficult to
incorporate older furniture into a
modern design. “With the right colour of
paint or grasscloth wallpaper, you can
create a contemporary setting where
you can add antiques.
“Antiques are a wonderful accent.
You can build a room around an armoire,
This harvest table, made of reclaimed
boards, would be a good fit in a modern
kitchen where its warmth would offset the
coldness of stainless steel appliances and
stone countertops.
hutch, chest of drawers or a sideboard.”
For 20 years, Ms. Kozak and her husband have been making furniture from
reclaimed wood sourced from old barns.
“We pioneered this look,” says Ms.
Kozak. “We went to England in 1988 and
were taken by a table that had belonged
to Shakespeare’s mother-in-law, Anne
Hathaway. We said ‘wouldn’t it be fabulous to shy away from shiny, polished
tables and offer tables with soul?’”
Using reclaimed boards fit with her
husband’s appreciation of the beauty of
wood and the couple’s respect for the
environment (fitting, their new location
is on Bermondsey Ave. in Toronto in a
former Habitat for Humanity ReStore).
Ms. Kozak says a harvest table made
from reclaimed wood makes a wonderful
kitchen centrepiece for kitchens and
warms the coldness of stainless steel
appliances and stone countertops.
“When you enter a condo or new
home, it can be very sterile. It’s nice
to bring natural elements in,” says Ms.
Kozak. “When you are feeling the lovely
grain of a wood table, the soul can
relate to it.”
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8
HOME DECOR
Drama
Dining Room
in
the
T
he dining room has become downright daring as the winds of change
have swept through this once staid space.
“The biggest change in our dining
room is that nothing is conventional,”
says Elizabeth Law of Elizabeth Interiors
in Burlington (elizabethinteriors.com).
“Alternative choices have given the tired
old dining room an exciting new look.”
It’s no longer sequestered from the
rest of the home, but part of the great
room, kitchen or even the front hall. “The
walls have come down,” says Ms. Law.
Gone are matching table, chairs, buffet, sideboard and china cabinet, except
for those who favour extremely formal
entertaining.
Forget about identical chairs. They
can be mixed and matched or upholstered in contrasting or complementary
fabrics. Seating can be on benches or on
This formerly stuffy room is a space
where creativity can rule
settees dressed up with accent pillows.
“We did a home in Muskoka where
we did two Parson-style host chairs side
by side at the end of the table. It looked
very cool, almost like a love seat,” says
Ms. Law.
China cabinets are passé, but if
there’s still one in your home, reinvent it
by taking the doors off, putting baskets
on the shelves or covering the back
with grasscloth or a mirror. Instead of a
buffet, try a trolley or bar unit.
While wood tables are still popular,
metal and stainless steel tables are making
their way into the dining room with marble slabs and mirrors serving as tabletops.
Jim Sublett, owner of Manderley
Manor (www.manderleymanor.com) in
Toronto that carries Stickley furniture,
says another trend is to invest in quality
and people are choosing craftsmanship
pieces rather than “disposable furniture.”
Stickley developed Mission furniture
and while that style is still popular, Mr.
Sublett says the latest designs are more
transitional, “still elegant, but not as
stuffy as our grandparents’ furniture.”
New lines include black lacquered pieces
and a wide array of condo-sized pieces.
Or people will buy a single Mission piece
to mix and match with other pieces.
“The mismatch trend is finding its
way even to the smallest items,” says
Ms. Law. “China and glasses don’t have
to match and you could use one pattern
for forks and another for knives. It’s
really very nice.”
Don’t be afraid to contrast, says Ms.
Law, whether it’s mixing modern and
traditional, high end and low, or colour
and texture.
Dining room light fixtures are getting
Mixing and matching pieces is a big
trend in the dining room, where vintage
and modern pieces meet, lighting
fixtures get inventive, natural light pours
in and seating can be on chairs, stools,
benches or settees.
interesting. For a long table, hanging
two chandeliers overhead and adding
a centrepiece creates a beautiful look,
says Ms. Law. One client she had didn’t
want to part with her old dining fixture,
but it was given an updated look by
replacing its eight lamp shades with new
shades in different colours.
For intimate evening dining, ambient
light is popular and there’s far less use
of pot lights (which aren’t that effective
where ceilings are more than eight feet
anyway). “Ambient light is softer and
that’s why candles are big.”
Wallpaper is making a comeback “but
it’s not your grandmother’s wallpaper,”
says Ms. Law. “It’s being embellished
with texture and shimmer. And we are
no longer ignoring the fifth wall, the ceiling. We are painting it beautiful colours
and adding moulding.”
Heavy draperies have been dispensed
with in favour of treatments that just
frame the window or blinds that allow
the outdoors to come in. A bank of
mirrors on a wall or over a buffet reflects
even more light.
“There is less use of area rugs,” says
Ms. Law. “There is less use of area rugs
because unless you go custom, the size
is usually so the chairs are half on, half
off it. We’re letting floors be beautiful on
their own.”
10 HOME DECOR
Do you have a
This dining collection by
Canadel Furniture is Urban
Loft style. Chunky square
table legs with exposed
hardware, varigated wood
tones, simple linen fabrics,
graphic window frames,
a brick wall, and industrial
lighting with Edison bulbs
complete the look.
DESIGN
IDENTITY
CRISIS?
Relax — all design styles are
just variations of a basic three
W
This bedroom collection by Durham
Furniture is an example of Sophisticated
Modern and features colour blocking, where
two contrasting stains or paints are used (as
in the drawer fronts), a trend that is gaining
in popularity.
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hile it may seem like there are a
mind-boggling number of design
styles to choose from, there are really
very few.
Designer Julie Elridge of
Swiss Interiors in Oakville
(www.swissinteriors.com) says most
design styles are variations of the basic
three: traditional, contemporary, and
country. Updated versions include
Classic Casual, Sophisticated Modern,
and Urban Loft.
If you enjoy continuity and symmetry in a comfortable and inviting
atmosphere, Classic Casual is a good
choice. It creates a warm and welcoming space, includes rich wood surfaces,
comfy sofas and chairs, with a variety of
colours and patterns.
If you prefer understated simplicity with crisp contrasts, Sophisticated
Modern is a style that’s gaining in popularity. It blends the comfort and warmth
of traditional furniture with the clean
profiles and neutral colours of contemporary designs. Fabrics have little pattern
but an abundance of texture and accessories may have bold pops of colour.
If you appreciate open spaces, edgy
industrial pieces and chunky natural
elements, you’ll love Urban Loft style.
It has evolved from rustic country and
has become more industrial in feel,
defined by materials such as wood,
metal and concrete.
Martin Daniel Interiors in Toronto
(www.martindaniel.com) carries
Italian-made furnishings and groups it
into three styles: Modern, Contemporary
and Classique.
Modern is urban and avant garde,
featuring clean lines, sleek style and
materials such as glass, chrome and
leather. Contemporary is the evolution
of Art Deco, with high gloss finishes and
exotic woods, combined with chrome
accents, bold patterns and interesting
shapes. Classique looks are timeless and
elegant, steeped in tradition with handcarved details, exotic woods and gold
and silver leaf accents.
Alf’s
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12 HOME DECOR
Versatile rugs can
define décor scheme
Fine handmade rugs can be investments that
appreciate in value
W
hen decorating your home or
condo, start from the ground up.
“Start with a rug and it makes your
life a lot easier,” says Vino Kapoor,
owner of Taj Rugs (www.tajrugs.com).
“Upholstery can be changed and paint
doesn’t cost much. Unfortunately, most
people make the rug the last decision.”
The rug should come right after
you’ve selected your flooring.
“The colour of the floor will inherently influence the colour of the rug,”
says Michael Pourkavil, owner of
Weavers Art (www.weaversart.com).
“Dark brown hardwood is the most neutral, as it provides a beautiful backdrop
and you can go with something rich
and exotic. It’s like when you go to a
jewellery store and they show diamonds
on black velvet.”
Don’t choose based on a web image.
Find a local dealer who will let you
take a rug home. “It could look amazing on a computer screen, but not the
same at home,” Mr. Pourkavil says.
“Light changes throughout the day and
changes the colour of rugs and walls.
Because it’s a big ticket item, insist on
seeing it in your home.”
Choice can be overwhelming, especially in large showrooms. John Kozoronis
and his wife, Helen, have certified
designers on staff at Imperial Carpets and
Home Inc. (www.carpetandhome.com)
to educate clients and rugs are organized
by style to make viewing easier.
Swiss Interiors
Furniture & Home Decor
Rugs can define spaces in an
open-concept layout, add warmth
or bring a wow factor to a neutral
decor. And they can be an investment.
Handmade rugs from countries such as
Nepal, India and Iran are like artwork
and appreciate in value. The more knots,
the greater the detail, the higher the
price.
“In the past, if you wanted a high
quality rug, it was usually a traditional
Persian rug with medallions and borders, but with those patterns, you had
limitations,” says Mr. Pourkavil. “The
medallion would be in the centre of
the rug, but your window would not in
middle of room or the fireplace offset, so
it would be not symmetrical and look out
of place.
“One area where the medallion rug
looks amazing still is the dining room. You
can create balance by centring it under
the table or chandelier,” he says. “Or you
can use it in an entrance or hallway where
there are not many furniture elements.”
In the last 20 years, rug design has
changed, due to connectivity provided
by the Internet, says Mr. Pourkavil.
Influences include nature, historical
elements and architecture. His designs
have been inspired by everything from
a piece of concrete to the entrance of a
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HOME DECOR 13
highrise building.
Mr. Kozoronis provides customers
with small samples in the latest colour
palettes and patterns so they can determine what style they like or design their
own rug.
“Things are changing very rapidly,”
notes Mr. Kapoor. “The current trends
are more transitional than modern,
geometric designs of three or four years
ago.” Mr. Pourkavil says greys have come
into play and are getting softer, with
shades of silver and warmer tones such
as cream and orange.
Homeowners who like to change
décor every four or five years may not
want to buy as an investment.
“It is important to pay for quality
but you want it to serve a purpose in
your décor; don’t get too hung up on it,”
Mr. Kapoor advises. “You want it to be
pleasant and suit your needs, lifestyle
and taste.”
He says machine-made rugs have
improved dramatically, so that’s an
option. “But there’s not enough product
being made in wool and if you want that,
you might as well get a handmade rug.
Machine-made rugs will never be investment quality.”
“Nothing beats wool in practicality
and durability,” says Mr. Pourkavil. “When
Historical elements, nature
and architecture are
among the influences in
current rug designs. Wool is
the best quality material to
choose for its durability and
natural stain resistance.
you apply pressure to wool, it springs
back up and it has natural lanolin, so it’s
best in terms of removing stains.”
To create shine, rug makers have
been blending silk and wool for about 20
years. “The more silk, the more expensive,” says Mr. Pourkavil. “But 20 to 30
per cent silk is enough to add elegance
without taking the price to whole different level.”
In the old days, a sign of prosperity was to have an identical pair of
fine rugs, says Mr. Pourkavil, but that
trend is gone. “You don’t want matchymatchy, but you want flow and if the
rugs are drastically different, those
rooms won’t connect. Keep a consistency of colour. We did matching rugs
twice in small spaces and it looked
amazing. But 99 per cent of the time,
you shouldn’t match.”
Leave artwork at home when you go
rug shopping.
“People will want to match the
colours of a panting with the rug, but
that’s wrong,” says Mr. Pourkavil. “Rugs
are a personal item, just as important as
art. It’s the element that connects the
other elements in the room. If you don’t
have the right rug, the flow in that room
won’t be natural. A carpet is a backdrop
to everything else, and you want to
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14 HOME DECOR
Beautifying the
Backyard
Determine your wish list
and envision your yard as
a series of rooms
W
hen it comes to planning a design
for your backyard, think of it as
a series of rooms rather than as one
large space.
The ‘room’ approach is the most
common way to start creating a plan for
a lifestyle background, according to Marc
Luff of Betz Pools (betzpools.com), a
company that has won national and international awards for its backyard designs.
“When you are entertaining in your
house, everyone doesn’t sit in one room
and talk over one another. The party
breaks into smaller parties and spreads
to several rooms,” he explains. “The
backyard is the same. You can have a
dining room, a living room, a sun worshippers’ room or a shade room. By moving and creating three different rooms,
you are going to get different exposures
during the day.”
Of course, before you can begin creating your backyard rooms, you have to
know how much you can spend.
“You can get what you want on a
budget. You don’t have to have a million
dollars to have a lifestyle backyard,” says
Mr. Luff. “Everything has a good, better
and best option. From barbecues to fire
pits to pools to the wood you build your
deck with, there are so many ranges.”
Well-designed lifestyle backyards feature
several ‘rooms’ such as for dining,
sunbathing or conversing. Fire and water
features are still popular to combine with
a pool, and hot tubs are worth considering
as an addition. Even pools made of
traditional materials can look modern if their
rectangular shape is elongated by a couple
of feet. BETZ POOLS.
For example, he says everyone wants
to have real flagstone for their patios
and walkways and there is a lot of stone
coming from China and India available at
a fraction of the cost of that from Owen
Sound, Halton or Credit Valley. Mr.
Luff is not a fan of the imported stone,
as it doesn’t have a natural, Canadian
look and soils easily. Flagstone prices
can vary widely, he says, depending on
colour, porosity, etc.
For homeowners on a budget, he
says architectural concrete is the most
viable, cost-effective way to go and it
has great versatility. It can be stained,
coloured or acid washed, laid out in
large rectangles or made to look almost
identical to real stone.
“And the price range for it doesn’t
move. It’s $18 to $26 per square foot. It’s
good value.”
Mr. Luff typically starts by asking
clients to put their dreams on paper. “If
it doesn’t work, we can step back and
see what we give up or what we can
add later.”
Also think of how the backyard will
be used by your family members.
“At my house, nobody sunbathes, so
we threw our chaise loungers away and
replaced them with a couple of chairs
and a table. It’s relaxing to sit by the pool
with a cup of coffee and a newspaper.”
Mr. Luff says a well-thought out
design will create somewhere to go in
the backyard whether it’s hot, sunny
or rainy. A retractable roof, cabana or
pavilion can protect an outdoor ‘room’
from the elements.
Another popular option is to use a
large umbrella to provide shade or shelter from drizzle.
If you have a pool and children or a
lot of guests and don’t have easy access
from the yard to a powder room or
washroom, consider adding an outdoor
washroom. Yes, it’s an additional cost, it
does have to be cleaned and be winterized, but may be money well spent. An
electric compost toilet is an option to a
conventional toilet, Mr. Luff suggests.
Continued on Page 16
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16 HOME DECOR
Backyard beauty ….Continued from Page 14
TRENDS
Fire and water features: “Obviously, we
love water in our backyards and fire and
water has been a trend for 10 years,” Mr.
Luff says. “Fire can create a conversation piece at the edge of the pool.”
He is not a fan of water features. “I
try to talk people out of them. They
want a waterfall and most of the time,
they want it so they don’t hear neighbours or traffic. But it’s another static
noise and you have to elevate your voice
to talk above it and that’s not relaxing. I
would rather fill the air with music with
a good quality sound system.”
New style patio doors
facilitate indooroutdoor living
Hot tubs: Mr. Luff recommends adding a
hot tub in conjunction with a pool —it
creates another area for people to gather
and when summer nights are chilly, it
offers warming relaxation. Mr. Luff has
one in his backyard and he says inevitably, more guests wind up there than in
the pool.
Outdoor man caves: Men who wouldn’t
dream of venturing into the kitchen are
the driving force behind big barbecues
and grand outdoor cooking areas with
sinks, beer fridges and bars. Of course,
they also want outdoor TVs.
Bigger is not better: Smaller pools are
more popular than large ones, as people
don’t want the costs associated to heat
and maintain bigger pools. For someone
who likes to work out, a swim current
can be installed.
Modern love: The modern look that has
been increasingly popular in architecture and interior design is finding its way
to the backyard.
“Contemporary, linear, minimal —
that’s what people want,” says Mr. Luff.
“A lot of people like a contemporary look
but are afraid of it falling out of style, so
want a timeless look.”
He suggests creating a slightly longer,
rectangular pool. “Generally the proportions of a pool are two to one — for
example, 16 by 32 feet. By elongating it
by two feet to 34, it gives a little more
sleekness, it’s a modern design but you
can use traditional materials.” Plantings
can reflect a contemporary vibe. “We are
doing a lot of formal and group plantings, with very structured gardens.”
Exotic wood: Brazilian hardwood, or
ipe, is very popular and like teak, is low
maintenance, requiring an occasional
oiling. Mr. Luff is not a proponent of
artificial wood.
Low maintenance: This is a requirement of most homeowners, says Mr.
Luff. They want a backyard they can
enjoy and entertain in, but don’t want a
lot of upkeep.
CONSIDERATIONS
Energy and resource conservation: Most
conserving and efficiency measures have
environmental rather than cost saving
benefits, but Mr. Luff says they are still
worthy. Consider systems that reclaim
water from roofs or collect rainwater that
can be used in sprinkler systems. Look
into energy efficient pool pumps, heaters
and outdoor lighting.
Municipal bylaws: Check municipal
rules, as these can impact your plans.
In Toronto, trees of more than a foot in
a diameter require a permit to be cut
down and rules for ravines lots are more
stringent. Toronto also does not allow
for yards to have more than 50 per cent
hardscaping, so water can seep into the
ground and contribute to the aquifer,
rather than all of it running into sewers.
Listen to a professional: It’s challenging
when a customer is not taking the advice
of the professional he hired. “There’s a
reason why we build and design that way.
Trust your providers,” says Mr. Luff. Hire
a professional with credentials, such as
through Landscape Ontario. Betz Pools,
for example, is a member of Landscape
Ontario and has a landscape architect,
designer and technologist on staff.
With the trend to indoor/outdoor living showing no signs of
slowing, the good old patio door is
back in fashion.
There was a time when people
associated those doors with frustration because they were cold and
didn’t slide well, but those days
are gone, says Hank Vanderbrugghen, sales director for Dayside
Windows (dayside.ca), a Canadian
company that’s been manufacturing windows and doors for 40-plus
years. “The doors today are well
insulated, slide well and are beautifully energy efficient.”
The doors can also come with
blinds installed between the
panes of glass, which don’t require
any dusting, and at lesser cost
than mounting exterior blinds.
Patio doors can also be painted on
the exterior to match the colour
of the home and stained on the
interior side.
Patio doors are available in up
to widths of up to 16 feet, which
can really open up the back of the
home to the outdoors and let natural light pour in. “That’s a pretty
amazing wall of glass,” says Mr.
Vanderbrugghen, but he cautions
if homeowners are opening up
a large part of wall to install the
wide doors, they will likely need a
header beam to provide support
and will need to follow municipal
building codes.
Other options to help bring the
outdoors inside include swinging
garden doors that come with two,
three or four panels and choice of
different hardware packages or
tilt-and-turn European-style doors
that can be made in very large
sizes, tilt in at the top with the flick
of the wrist for air circulation or
swing in for easy cleaning.
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18 HOME DECOR
What Women Want:
Home features that simplify their lives
W
hat do women want when it comes
to the design of their homes?
They want convenience above all
else, and a way to simplify their busy
day-to-day lives, according to Gene
Maida, president of Georgian Custom
Renovations (georgianreno.com).
Mr. Maida held a series of focus
groups to determine what women desire
in their homes and launched Georgian
Smart Design, a service that designs
from a female perspective, as a result.
“The way we’ve used houses has
changed. The living room is dead space
and the kitchen has become a theatre
where you can entertain informally and
people gather around the island,” says
Mr. Maida. “Women make 91 per cent
of the decisions related to the home,
and they are juggling a career and their
home life.”
Here are women’s top
must-haves:
Butler’s pantry: This utilitarian
space stores glassware and cutlery
and may include wine fridge,
espresso maker, cold drawers and
cook top. Set between kitchen and
dining room, it serves as a prep or
serving area.
Family locker: This rear entry
space is for de-cluttering where
knapsacks, sporting equipment
and coats are stored in closets and
cabinets with soft-close doors.
Spa-like ensuites: The master
ensuite is a retreat to de-stress.
Women prefer showers with
features such as rain shower heads
and steam to tubs.
Kitchen: Must-haves include drop
zones for cell phone chargers, keys
and mail, and a message centre on
cork or white board.
Laundry rooms: Beautifully bright
with storage, countertops and pulldown ironing boards. Installing
two washers and two dryers allows
for twice as many clothes to be
cleaned at once.
On women’s wishlist: stylish laundry rooms,
highly efficient ‘family lockers’ and walk-in
closets. GEORGIAN CUSTOM RENOVATIONS
Quick, easy makeovers for a fresh room look
New throw pillows and a throw in luxurious
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room’s style. ANDREA HYLTON HOME
I
s your home décor tired and in need
of a fresh look, but you don’t have the
time or budget to do a major makeover?
Not to worry — there are solutions
that won’t weigh heavily on your schedule or bank account yet give your rooms
an updated look.
One of the simplest things you
can do — and one that will add a big
impact — is to change the accessories on your sofas and chairs. Andrea
Hylton, owner of Andrea Hylton
Home (andreahyltonhome.ca),
sells throw pillows in fabrics such as
cotton, velvet, jacquard, cashmere and
Glencheck suiting and coordinating
throws in luxurious materials such as
alpaca, mohair and Merino wool.
Ms. Hylton, who had a background
in finance, found herself on her current
career path after she remodelled a home
she and her husband bought in Waterloo
but found it hard to find finishing touches
in affordable yet beautiful, quality fabrics.
She has 14 different collections in all,
sold online (where customers can shop
by colour collection or product), through
retailers and pop-up stores.
“Most people feel they have to define
their style but they don’t know what it
is,” says Ms. Hylton. “I don’t get caught
up in trying to define what your style is.
The easiest way to understand the kind
of space you like is to look in your closet.
You’ve got your cashmere blazer with
cotton slacks, and crisp cotton blouse.
That’s a look most people understand,
and it translates into our collection.”
Many of her clients have fall/winter and
spring/summer looks, changing up the
accessories every four-six months, then
may move the old ones to a guest room.
Ms. Hylton has also turned her knack
for pulling coordinated rooms together
into another offering, Room in a Trunk,
going beyond the bed-in-a-bag concept,
using high quality fabrics purchased
directly from Italian mills, along with
must-have decor accessories.
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20 HOME DECOR
Bringing an exquisite espresso
experience home
Traditional or automatic espresso makers are a
coffee lover’s dream
I
t’s a chilly Tuesday afternoon, and the
Faema café is hopping. People come,
people go, cell phones or Bluetooth
tucked to their ears, talking with their
hands, or talking to their table mate.
With its high ceilings and wraparound
windows, polished ebony bar with brass
hand and foot rails, honed marble floors,
gleaming espresso machines, chalkboard
specials, and giant Nutella jar atop glass
cases filled with profiteroles and zeppoles, this could be a café bar in Milano.
Instead, it’s at the corner of Christie
and Dupont where the 20,000-squarefoot Faema showroom and café has
expanded to the point it almost fills the
entirety of the historic Ford motor plant.
The barista, dressed in traditional
black pants, shirt and apron, produces
a latte with lacy swirls of frothy milk
etched into the dark espresso.
Rocco Di Donato, one of four brothers who run the Faema operation with
their father, explains how his 82-yearold father, Mike, still works from the
original location on St Clair. When he
first came to Canada from Italy in the
1950s, a cup of coffee ordered at the
Eaton’s lunch counter led him to realize there was a large gap in Toronto’s
understanding of what coffee could
be. So he called his mother, who ran a
caffe in San Nicola, Italy and ordered
the same espresso machine she had —
a Faema — so he could open a caffe
here. He started distributing espresso
machines out of his garage. Each son
started working nights and weekends.
The explosion in North American
coffee drinking habits catapulted the
business into expansion mode. There
Faema’s line of espresso machines
allows budding baristas to produce
lattes, macchiatos and espressos in their
own kitchen.
are now five locations around the GTA,
with showrooms, cafes, and training/
tasting/demonstration facilities.
Floor-to-ceiling shelves are stacked
with one-kilo bags of Trucillo, Segafreda,
Caffe Mike, Caffe Incas, and Faema
Premium coffee beans. Priced at $25 to
$30, each bag provides about 142 cups,
which works out to about 14 cents a cup.
Brothers Pat, Lorenzo, Rocco and Joe
read just about every study going that
demonstrates the benefits of espresso.
They use the best coffee beans, made
in Italy, in a blend of 90/10 or 80/20
Arabica and Robusta.
The machines are chrome or stainless, though two vintage-style — one in
baby blue enamel, the other cherry red
— punctuate an otherwise monochromatic landscape.
The two brothers demonstrate
various machines and produce cup after
cup for sampling — latte, hot chocolate,
macchiato, espresso from a cold cup,
espresso from a warm one.
It’s heaven for a caffeine junkie.
Espresso machines come in two
main categories: traditional and super
automatic. Mostly for coffee purists,
the traditional machines come either
as steam-operated (less expensive,
heats water which is pressed through
the coffee like a stovetop pot) or pump
driven. Machines with pumps have
either a boiler or thermal block, a dry
heating system. The bigger ones have
a heat exchanger which has a copper
line, keeping the water which heats
the machine separate from water that
makes the coffee.
Traditional machines include Italianmade chrome Faemas and die-cast aluminum Rockets, Spanish-made Ascasos,
and less expensive Portuguese-made
Capresso machines. Most are heavy
and solid, but the external body isn’t as
important in making good coffee as the
internal equipment is.
The Rocket, the “Rolls Royce” of
espresso machines ($1,800 to $3,000),
has a double boiler, or heat exchanger,
one for producing steam, the other for
making coffee, so steamed milk and
coffee can be made simultaneously. In
addition to a water reservoir, there’s
a connection for hooking up to sink/
plumbing water.
For the ultimate coffee experience
without the effort, there are automatic
bean-to-cup machines. Swiss-made by
Jura, these grind beans, dispense correct
doses, self-clean, and can make anything
from espresso to hot chocolate.
“The way of the coffee world is these
super automatics,” says Lorenzo. “Coffee
is such a big thing now most people want
to make it themselves. Once they try out
the Jura, they’re hooked.”
Ranging from $900 to $3,000 (one
with double capacity for $6,000), the
machines let you know when it’s time to
de-scale, clean (and then self-cleans),
when you run out of beans, or water.
They come with water reservoirs but
also hook-up to a water source. An internal water softener filters and de-calcifies
on demand. Soft water produces better
crema (the foam on top), coffee tastes
better and there’s less calcium build-up.
And they’re super-fast — 30 seconds
from start to finish.
Then there are accessories: cup
warmers and grinders. A warm cup
doesn’t let the espresso cool too fast,
and grinders can make a huge difference
in the quality of coffee. There’s manual
— a box with crank to hand-turn the
burr wheel inside. There are electric
grinders which grind using wheels, and
the closer the wheels the finer the grind,
and there are dosers which use burr
wheels to grind precise cup dosages.
Grind determines the best coffee,
says Pat. “If the coffee is too fine, it
comes out too slow, if it’s too coarse, it
flushes out. You want a smooth, golden
flow that’s rich looking.”
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22 HOME DECOR
H
Flooring choices
for healthy living
Options that are easy on the environment and on the lungs
Oiled wood floors, such as this from Stevens
Omni, are low maintenance and don’t
contain chemicals. Vinyl plank floors, such
as this from Moduleo, look like real wood,
are highly durable and contain up to 50 per
cent recycled materials. Wool carpet can
help filter dust particles.
omeowners are becoming more
discriminating about choosing flooring products that are environmentally
responsible and contribute to a healthy
indoor environment.
But some myths exist about
some so-called eco-friendly options,
says Alexanian Carpet & Flooring
(alexanian.com) spokesperson Shelley
Alexanian. One example is bamboo flooring, regarded as eco-friendly because bamboo can be harvested without killing the
plant. It can be a good choice, but check to
see how eco-friendly it actually is.
“It’s not always the greenest product,”
says Ms. Alexanian. “Some certifications
are more lax than others. It’s important
to check that it has Forest Stewardship
Council (FSC) certification. And a lot of
manufacturers use glues with high levels
of formaldehyde that can have adverse
health consequences.”
What other options are there for
‘green’ flooring?
Natural cork is sustainable and a great
insulator against cold and noise, says Ms.
Alexanian. “It’s really resistant, biodegradable and has few binders holding it
together. You have to be cautious if it’s
been made into a laminate, as formaldehyde may have been used.”
Oiled wood floors are a good environmental choice and some brands are made
in Canada. The floors have no urethane
and are low maintenance, requiring an
occasional re-oiling with chemical-free oil.
A vinyl product from Moduleo in
Belgium made with recycled materials is
“a fabulous alternative to wood or stone
flooring and has the same look,” says
Ms. Alexanian. “It is easy to maintain, it’s
scratch and scuff resistant, and takes a
day to install as opposed to three days.”
Many people believe that carpet is bad
for indoor air quality, but that’s a myth,
says Ms. Alexanian, if it’s made from a
natural fabric with no chemical dyes and
has natural jute backing. She says some
synthetic carpets use latex and glue, so
ask what certifications a carpet has, and if
the certification monitors Volatile Organic
Compound off-gassing.
She’s a fan of wool carpets. “On a
sunny day, you can see a layer of dust on
hardwood floors. Wool carpet acts like
a filter and takes dust out of the air. It
doesn’t necessarily have a lot of colour
because of the natural dyes that are used,
so it’s a more natural palette.” She says
wool can be very reasonably priced.
New from the Mohawk is SmartStand
carpet made from a renewable polymer
made in part from corn.
“It’s really soft and virtually stainproof and it’s particularly child and
pet-friendly,” says Ms. Alexanian. “It’s an
amazing product.”
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