As designers, we constantly get asked questions! So here are our favourite questions, and our answers!

Question 1: What is the biggest design trend, happening NOW?

The colour white!  We are using a lot of white in both our residential and commercial projects. We are seeing a trend with white painted walls, white lacquered kitchens, and white ceramic accessories.   

Question 2: How do we deal with real life clutter – TV and wii remotes, magazines, chargers, and every day crap that fills our counters and living rooms?

The best way to organize a space is to reduce the clutter in it. Make dedicated cubbies, and baskets for chargers and remotes! Big Storage ottomans are great for extra blankets and xbox games.

Question 3:  What is the one change anyone can make to achieve high impact in their space?

Wallpaper!  Yes, wallpaper is BACK, and it’s transforming our homes once again. With new technology, its easier, faster and less expensive to turn a room into a stunning show stopper! It’s safe to say that wallpaper has reinvented itself.

 1. Get Inspired:

Planning your new home is the most critical moment of the process and the most fun. Capitalize on the magical inspiration every project needs to make a house a home!. Write it all down; keep a scrap book, bookmark pictures in books and magazines, search the internet, take pictures, whatever your preferred method. Then review your inspirations with your Designer to consolidate the ideas into a cohesive design.

Exterior Elements

 

Interior Details

 2. Find a Scheme:

Your Designer will work through several schematic design concepts to find the scheme that best fits your needs. Design concepts can be freehand sketches or AutoCAD drawings to capture the essence of a plan under consideration. They can be as simple as paper napkin sketches or professionally illustrated drawings. All are valid tools and each serves the purpose to convey a concept. This can typically take about 1-3 weeks.

Floor Plan - Hand Sketch

Building Elevation - Hand Sketch

 3. Reality Check:

Now that all of your ideas and dreams have been put to paper, it is time to get the project cost estimated. Your Design Professional can coordinate the professional services of a Quantity Surveyor (QS) to estimate the construction cost and feasibility of the project financially.  The QS will produce a report that outlines all the trade categories for the project and what it will cost to build each component of the building in today’s market. This report will set the budget for the project and how much it will cost to build before moving forward into more detailed drawings. This process should take about 2-3 weeks.

Cost Estimate Budget

4. Design Development:

This is the phase of the process where dimensions are added to the drawing, zoning bylaws are reviewed to ensure everything fits. Your schematic design will be developed into a dimensioned and professional drawing. With a conceptual design roughed out, scheme chosen, a theme decided upon and problems on the site ironed out, all the pieces of the puzzle are fitting together in this step. This stage should take approximately 2-6weeks.

Site Plan - Typical Design Development Example

Exterior Elevations - Typical Design Development Example

 5. Construction / Building Permit Drawings:

The design drawings are now developed into a fully detailed set of plans that can be submitted to the city or district for building permit and used for pricing (Tendering). This should take 2-6 weeks.

Working Drawing - Floor Plan

 6. Tender Process:

The tender stage involves issuing the project out to several general contractors (GC) recommended by your Design Professional to obtain pricing to build the project. It is typically recommended that you receive quotes on the cost to build from three GC’s. The selection of your GC will be based on price, references, and recommendations by your designer. This can take 4-6weeks.

7. Construction Management:

Once the job has been awarded to a GC and construction begins management is one of the most crucial steps to ensure the design concepts are built properly. Use the skills and years of experience of your Designer to help guide the construction process. This can be achieved with weekly meetings on site with the Client, Contractor, and the Designer to work out problems that arise. A small investment of time will ensure all the design details are met and will lead to a lifetime of happy surroundings.

Coordinating Exterior Details - During Construction

Site Review of Exterior - During Construction

When these steps are adhered to, the process and final result will be amazing. The home owner will have a house that is built on time, on budget, and captures all the magical elements that make a house a home.

A true “day in life”  Follow along as she starts the design process on one of our new residential projects!

8am:  First thing’s first; Coffee!

Hows a girl to choose?

9am: Meeting with the lighting designer Susan from Robinson’s Lighting  We selected all the fun and decorative fixtures!

Searching catalogues for the perfect ones!

This could work for the dining room?

Lets add some glam in the powder room!

10am: Off to see the kitchen designer, Rob Love from The Kitchen Studio.

We picked a two tone kitchen…The surround in a painted antique white finish, and the island with a black rustic rub!  I brought along my floor plans and a few images I found online for inspiration!

Feeling inspired? Love the black island

The samples!

The cabinet hardware!

11am: Time to refuel…literally!  Ginger cookies and gas!

Take note of the sunny day in Kelowna

Made with love from Tripke bakery on Bernard

12 noon: Off to pick carpet! Dennis from Jordans is my go-to-man! He helped me pick the perfect carpet for the basement and the bedrooms!

Area rugs, shags and berbers! So many!

What do you think, black and white carpet?? Maybe too risky?

2pm: Last stop of the day…Smalls Tile. Together Carry; the owner and I picked all the floor and wall tiles!

I brought along a few images to show him what I was thinking:

I am going to copy that shower floor detail!

Inspiration for the ensuite

Smalls Tile even have tile that looks like wood!

We picked the kitchen backsplash too:

Inspiration for the backsplash

We picked a crackle-glaze high gloss ceramic!

Well thats enough selections for one day!

Tomorrow the fun continues, we still need to pick granite, plumbing, spindles, and doors!

A dedicated area of a house, such as a basement, workshop, or garage, where a man can be alone or socialize with his friends

Make it your own- stadium seating, astroturf, and framed jerseys

By incorporating a few of our design ideas, your man can have the ultimate man cave!  {need our help? we have more ideas to share…contact us for a consultation}

The first thing we need to think about is Beer!  A kegerator is undoubtedly the centerpiece of almost any man cave. The kegerator is perfect for dispensing cold brew to your friends while watching the game!

Find the right keg at www.kegerator.com

The second most important item is the seating!  Sticks and Stones carries the best furniture lines for the ultimate cave! We have all the fabrics too!

This cushioned high back reclining chair, any fabric, any colour!

Bar stools - Have some fun with colour!

Inspired by World War II fighter planes, aluminum body with exposed steel screws, the leather seat has the softness of a vintage bomber jacket.

We think that paint Colors play an important role in setting the atmosphere for your man cave.  Whether its your favourite team colours, or rich vintage colours, like Deep Garnet, Walnut Bark and Rich Navy, the perfect colours can rock your space!  {need help with the paint part? Paint consults start at $100)

We can match any logo, with any name brand paint!

And lastly, MAKE it your OWN! Fill the space how you want to…after all its your sanctuary.  A place where “guys can do as they please” without fear of upsetting any female sensibility about house decor or design. Hang your sports paraphernalia, install a giant mural, cover the floor in AstroTurf. Be proud to hang that stag head you got while hunting with the boys!

Here are a few of our favourite man spaces to inspire you!

We have just the thing:  Our TOP  decorating ideas for Kids Rooms!

#1 Large Wall Murals:

At Murals Your Way you can select an image or create your own, Add your kids name within the mural or find a graphic pattern that suites their style. www.muralsyourway.com

Fast Flying Friends SKU# XD2002 with custom name caption

Flower Power SKU#SX3009

Skater SKU #XC2024

#2 Kids ‘Designer’ Furniture

Zuo Furniture now carries a line of Kid size ‘Designer’ Furniture…Call us today for pricing! http://www.zuomod.com/en/modern/collections/kids

Phante Chair 25.5"long x 15.5"w x 16.54" high

Wacky Table: 23.62" wide x 19.3" high

Baby Spire 10.5"wide x 10.5" deep x 22.5" high

Baby Wire 13" wide x 12.5" deep x 11.5" high

#3 Kids Bedding!

There are so many options for Kids Bedding these days, If you need help finding the right pattern, give us a call, we can help!

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#4 Modular Floor Tiles

Check out the many options with FLOR. http://www.flor.com/

If you’d like to see more of Sticks and Stones’ recent projects, visit the projects gallery.

Fireplaces

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Exterior

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After

Need to Revive that old and tired Exterior?  Contact us today for a Consultation.

Interior

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Night and Day Transformation!  Contact us today for a Consultation.

Commercial Space Transformations!

Tutt Street Optometry

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Check out the remaining photos under Our Projects!

Thanks to everyone involved, Lipsett Photography Group, Kascade Developements, Total Office, Glass Canada, Smalls Tile, NFP Imports, Emtek, Johnsonite, 3Form, Kohler and Moen! So nice to finally see it all come together! ….want your office to look like this? call us! were really good at it

Take a look through our Project Gallery to see more photos from these projects.

What can we do for you

• Plan a room, office or whole home layout, we are trained to see the big picture.  We use AutoCad, SketchUP and other software to visually represent the space to our clients
• Recommend everything from finishes (flooring, tile and paint), fixtures (plumbing, appliances and lighting) and colour pallets, to furniture, fabrics and accessories.

Accreditation

• Find a designer that has experience and who has had training at a recognized design school
• Interior Designers differ from interior decorators in the sense that interior decorators  furnish a space with fashionable and beautiful things” whereas “Interior Designers apply creative and technical solutions within a structure that are functional, attractive and beneficial to the occupants’ quality of life and culture” www.ncidq.org Interior Designers can decorate but Interior Decorators can not design.

How to Find an Interior Designer

• Word of mouth from friends or family whos homes you admire
• Local or national decor magazines
• Contact provincial interior design associations that will have a list of designers in your province (you can find links for lists via the Inteiror Designers of Canada website www.idcanada.org)
• email us: Alberta Office Location: abdesign@sticksandstones.ca, British Columbia Location: bcdesign@sticksandstones.ca

Questions to ask when hiring a Designer

• Look at their portfolio, find photos of their work on their website
• Ask to see drawing packages of work they have done
• Ask for references and ask to visit some of the homes they have done
• What is their approach? Do they charge hourly or fixed fee?
• Ask for an initial consult to determine if they are the right designer for you

Special Tips

• Hire a designer as soon as you start thinking about redesigning to take advantage of their expertise in space planning
• Take your house plans with you to the initial consult so they can get a sense of the space and can provide you with a more accurate quote
• Know what your needs are, and distinguish your needs from your wants
• Take magazine clippings with you to your first meeting and tell the designer what appeals to you in each image, is it the style, the furniture, paint color etc.