Toronto Home Design tips

Toronto home design 2016

Toronto Home Design Tips 

 

Seemingly, everyone who owns a Toronto home is trying to renovate it in some way, shape or form. I thought it would be helpful to provide some easy-to-understand tips on what good Toronto home design 2016 should be based on.  Everyone at one time or another has walked through a home with bad design. The ones that you leave wondering, “What were they thinking.”? Through the years of designing Toronto homes we have come across a few key things always to pay attention, no matter how small or large your home is.

 

Toronto Home Design 2016

 

  • An open ground floor plan is better then not

This is so true for our small Toronto home design. Especially when it comes to our ground floor spaces. We have small homes with small spaces, and to chop that space up into even smaller spaces just doesn’t make sense. Too many times has a small ground floor has been butchered with a split living room, dining room and kitchen area. One feels as if they are walking through a tunnel to get from the front to the back of the home. Your small ground floor needs to be open. It shows the limited space better and gives you the much-needed light from both the front and the back of the home. Those front-to-back views give the sense of space where there actually is not that much.

Good design, especially with smaller spaces, must be based on simplifying things. De-cluttering the spaces by opening them up makes sense and allows travel flow from front to back.  Smaller floor plan designs demand more attention, especially when successfully executing an open concept. One must pay attention to continuity and be able to delineate different areas. All are notable challenges, but the rewards of a well-executed open-concept floor plan are well worth it.

 

  • Natural light is your friend

This is another problem that is shared with a lot of our homes and is a stumbling block for any Toronto home design. Natural light needs to find its way into every room possible. Especially stairways and hallways, nothing makes a home feel dark and gloomy more than a lack of natural light. Given that we all live close to our neighbours, getting natural light into our homes can be tricky. The best way is always a window or skylight; if that isn’t possible, look for glass placement in interior walls. Allowing the light from one room to be brought forward into some of the other darker spaces. You can play with all kinds of decorative glass to make this feature really shine.

 

  • Proportion is king

This is critical in our smaller spaces, the scale and size of what you want to put in is as important as the thing itself. Suppose you have a living room with 8ft ceilings, maybe 12ft square. It is not the place to install a massive stone mantel and coffered ceilings.

However, each of those features is stunning by itself in the right settings. Applied in the wrong conditions, they can look out of place and work against the space itself. Some things just need a bigger space in order to work, and if you pay attention to that, your home and your eyes will thank you.

Use smaller, more subtle details, such as beautiful doors with a slightly wider trim and a back band. With these sorts of accent treatments, any small room will get a bit more pop and not feel overdone. This is probably the best Toronto home design tip we can give you.

 

If you want to hire Woodsmith Construction for your next project, please check out our Design-Build Services for more information.

 

Woodsmith Construction completed a project for us in a timely and professional manner. The quality of their workmanship is superb. Communication between them and us was informative, courteous and collaborative. We would highly recommend them.

Rick Wilson
Rick Wilson2020-03-31
Google

Cristina Blesa
Cristina Blesa2023-12-06
Google

Woodsmith Construction is first and foremost one of the leading contractors serving the GTA. We at Rigid Frame Structural Engineers Inc. provide structural engineering consulting for them. Woodsmith always adhere to the drawings and regulations in all of their construction projects. We also find Chris and all his crews to be very respectful. We recommend Woodsmith to all our clients who like to tackle renovations.

Woodsmith construction just completed a gut job and garage addition for my husband and I and it was the best experience I could have hoped for especially given all the renovation horror stories we have heard. They were so professional, helpful, diligent and responsive and the quality of the renovation was first class. I would recommend anyone to hire Woodsmith construction for all their needs whether it is a renovation or a new build. We could not be happier with the outcome and our newly renovated home.

Emmanuel Moysis
Emmanuel Moysis2019-03-31
Google

We worked with Chris Smith and Woodsmith Construction Inc. on the design for a garage addition, and the experience was fantastic. The project included adding attic trusses to create a new walk-in closet and laundry room that seamlessly connected to our existing main bedroom. Chris’s goal was to make the addition feel like it had always been part of the home, and he absolutely nailed it.From the start, Chris took the time to understand what we needed and came up with a design that not only maximized the functionality of the space but also kept the style consistent with the rest of the house. He paid close attention to every detail, from the layout to the finishes, ensuring everything worked perfectly with our main bedroom.The design makes such smart use of the space, and it feels like a natural extension of the home rather than an afterthought. Chris was great to work with—responsive, creative, and incredibly knowledgeable. He even provided advice on how to approach the construction phase, which made us feel confident moving forward.If you’re looking for someone to bring your vision to life with a thoughtful and practical design, we highly recommend Chris Smith and Woodsmith Construction. The design he created for us has truly enhanced our home. Our construction is well under way and we are already seeing the great design come to life!

Steve F
Steve F2024-12-03
Google

We worked with Chris Smith and Woodsmith Construction Inc. on a large-scale renovation of our east-end semi and we couldn’t be happier with the finished product. The project included adding a third floor, underpinning the basement, and updating the interior throughout the house. Chris handled both the design and the build, and he is incredibly knowledgeable about all stages of the process. He was professional and responsive and always had our best interests at heart. His team was hard-working and respectful and they were all a pleasure to work with.Chris was professional, calm, and reasonable in working with our neighbours at all stages of the process and earned a very positive reputation among people on the street who saw the process and admired the result. The final product maintains the same exterior character of the home while updating the interior and making it a hundred times more functional for our family. It is a total transformation from what it used to be and we thank Chris for his vision and guidance throughout the process.Chris and his team were organized, professional, and always on top of the details. They kept us in the loop throughout the project and made sure everything was done to the highest standard. We would not hesitate to recommend Woodsmith to anyone undertaking a residential renovation – he is one of the hardest-working people we know and we are very grateful for his expertise and dedication.

D Volpe
D Volpe2024-12-01
Google

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