New project from McGill Design Group

I recently heard from James of McGill Design Group, an architecture and design firm in Toronto. We had blogged their work back in '08 and '09, and he wanted to share with us one of their latest projects. This project was a full renovation and addition to a lovely older 5 bedroom home located in Rosedale, one of Toronto’s most prestigious neighbourhoods. The addition was needed to extend and open up the kitchen and family room at the back of the house and also to allow for a more gracious master suite above. McGill Design Group was put to task transforming the previously dark and splintered layout by putting together an architectural plan that would speak to the home’s stately demeanour. Once a new configuration was in place, the addition of beautiful full height paneling and plaster crown moulding helped layer in the traditional architectural details that had been lost in previous renovations to the home. Plum Furniture and Design Solutions decorated the main floor to give it a fresh and colourful feel to match the new open and light filled space. The owners of the home were empty nesters who, instead of downsizing decided to upsizeto their dream home after their kids went off to University. They were ideal clients in that one of them is a prominent local commercial real estate executive so he understood how to empower people to get things done. They trusted us and were decisive which made the process very smooth. What a gorgeous and elegant home - the kitchen is heavenly! Perfect for empty-nesters - no kids to wreck the place!

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Paul Bernier +1

A second look at Canadian architect Paul Bernier. A departure from his timber boxes with voids and perforated floors climbing up like treehouses, this home sits solidly in a grove, its stone walls anchoring it firmly to the earth. The monotonal greys are reminiscent of Belgian interiors, clean lined and spare but with a modern, contemporary feel. As striking as this house looks in its wintery setting I cannot help imagining how different it will be when the trees are green and leafy. A cool retreat in the forest.

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Paul Bernier

Canadian architect Paul Bernier explores the ideas of distillation and purity in his designs. He questions whether floors need to be solid, walls fixed and how a door opens. This does not make his designs gimmicky though. The simplicity of line and the use of natural materials particularly timber make his homes intimate and personal. I love the slatted floors in both these houses, the amazing overhead shot of planted roof and shady garden below as well as the bathroom with wall slits in the second home. Spaces that are interesting as well as beautiful.

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Sophie Burke Design

Classic and contemporary, elegant and livable. It's a refined aesthetic with a limited palette but loads of style. Vancouver based interior designer Sophie Burke mixes old and new, high and low to create beautiful rooms.

  

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Kyla Bidgood's office redo

Interior designer Kyla Bidgood emailed us about one of her latest projects - and it's a doozy! It is the office of an up and coming tech company in Victoria, BC. She has turned an ugly commercial space into a fun and energizing work space that should generate all kinds of creative techie juices flowing. The vintage industrial vibe rocks and the accents of red really pop. LOVE IT! (So jealous - I'd die for my cubicle to be this cool). Here is some info from Kyla:

Our mandate for MediaCore's new office was to create a vibrant, environmentally friendly, 'non-officey' looking office that could accommodate the company's needs now and as they grow. Working within a modest budget, we chose affordable finishes and injected calculated pops of color and whimsy to give the space it's playful personality. 

- yep, those are ikea kitchen cabinets

- we had all the the cabinet pulls and door hardware custom powder coated red 

- carpet tile throughout main area, created a 'walkway' with green accent tiles (under $5/sf)

- sourced the custom meeting room lights from a great gal on etsy 

- dry erase white board paint on all the walls in the meeting room

- large letter M was the W on a Vancouver Safeway in it's previous life

- Also many of the items in the space now, and future purchases for them as funds free up, can be found on my MediaCore pinterest board 

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