Customize Me

When most people spend their family day with loved ones, I spent all my time with my contractor in my bathroom.( David the contractor is really starting to feel like family).

I put together my vanity this afternoon. I purchased it at Ontario Bathrooms. It was a great price and exactly what I wanted. In the process of putting it together, we ran into a small issue when trying to put the marble under mounted sink into place: it did not fit.

We spent some time using a jigsaw to carve out enough space to make room for this bowl of the sink.

This is a shot of the sink from inside the cabinets. Cutting this groove took a ton of work

The beauty of a custom home- outlet on the left side of the sink- for us left handed people!

The marble grey and white sink topper and under mount sink bowl with the 12 inch neck on the faucet- this is perfect for me as i love a high tap.

Testing the placement of the lighting to ensure enough space for the mirror. This will fit my hieght exactly-The legs on the vanity brings it up 4 inches so very litte bending is required to wash my face or brush my teeth!

 When we finally got  the bowl and everything else into place, it dawned on me that the end is in sight!

This week the tile guy and the plumber will be finishing off the bathroom. All that remains to do is: paint the walls, install the floors, the lighting, the kitchen cabinet doors, back splash and quartz counter tops.

A refresher of what the ugliest bathroom looked like 3 weeks ago.

The beauty of a renovation is that you can customise everything to your own liking. The bathroom has my finger prints all over it (literally and figuratively) and was designed for me, by me! If you want to be connected directly to any of the miracle workers that I worked with on my bathroom, let me know and I will be happy to make an introduction!

All things Shiny- Lighting, Faucets, Appliances

In my opinion, faucets are the eye candy of a home and lighting are the diamonds. Appliances are the backbone of a kitchen serving important roles of practicality and esthetics.

Lighting, faucets and appliances can be the most expensive pieces of any renovation and can blow a budget. However, if you shop around and find the right sales and deals, you are golden.

Here is what I did:

Lighting: Royal Lighting, Lawerence and Avenue Road
http://www.royallighting.com/

This is for the dining room - The others are a surprise



Amazing selection and helpful sales staff. I was able to purchase 6 different types of chandeliers, each one on sale ( and yes I am putting one in my kitchen). Ask for Brittany- She has great taste.

Vinpow- Ontario Bathrooms
http://ontariobathroom.com/

The single faucet is the best and most modern option

This one is pretty, but not practical in my opinion

Vinpow is the best priced bathroom vanities, shower stalls and faucets I have ever seen. I highly recommend taking a look.


Appliances- Dixie Eletronic Outlet 5120 Dixie Road, Unit 11
Mississauga, Ontario  http://www.eoutletcanada.com/

Appliances are standard these days in stainless steel. The problem is that these items come with a massive price tag. However, if you do some bargain hunting, you will end up here. I bought all four appliances from these people. Ask for Saleem, tell him Alana sent you.

Samsung is the new Kitchen Aid :)

The key to shopping for these big ticket items is to do lots of research. Once you priced it out, head to the stores with an interior designer. They are always given a little extra discount ( ranging from 5-20 percent) off sale and regular items. Even though I did not have it in my budget to hire a designer, I highly recommend it. Here are some excellent young and hip notable Toronto Interior Designers:

Carly Nemtean

mailto:carly_nemtean2@hotmail.com

Stacey Cohen
sc@interiorsbystaceycohen.com