A Store Like No Other
When it comes to gift giving, even if that gift is to yourself, a “must stop” shopping experience while on your travels should be Arthur Cash and Carry, located in lovely Arthur, Ontario. This amazing retail store boasts 4,000 square feet of beautiful and unique home furnishings, lighting, linens, cookware, and just about everything else you can think of, that you just won’t find anywhere else. Fran Turnbull, owner of Arthur Cash and...
Business Profile: Janssen Design / JDC Custom Homes Inc
Starting a successful family business is one of the most difficult things a person can do. And keeping that business successful over the generations is even more challenging. A successful business must develop their capabilities in communication, business finance and planning, as well as leadership development and training. We recently had the distinct pleasure to sit down with Paul and Margaret Janssen, owners of JDC Custom Homes...
Downsizing in Style
Downsizing, purging, changing area codes, and building a home from the ground up, sounds a little daunting. However, when you pair an incredible couple, with Kevin Vanleeuwen, Owner of Exact Construction Ltd. in Fergus, Ontario, what you get is a stunning, loft bungalow, cleverly designed, and beautifully decorated. The couple who paired with Kevin, to design this home, wanted a space, closer to their grandchildren, and smaller than...
A New Showroom
Things are buzzing in the home renovations market, these days. An indicator of the vibrancy in the business is the new showroom NAK Cabinetry will soon open to the public located on C-Line in Orangeville. Customers can currently visit by appointment. Proprietor Oliver Muhs calls the showroom “a work in progress that is almost finished.” Nevertheless, there is a significant offering for people entering the premises in search of...
A Long Way From Home
Life is such an interesting journey. We’re all faced with ups and downs, and sometimes with life changing situations where some difficult decisions need to be made. Difficult decisions are not always the result of something negative, but they can divide our hearts and heads, and ultimately become eventful life experiences. For this renovation/revitalization project, we were thrilled to meet homeowners who have made a major life change...
Elegant, Bright…Perfection!
For this particular kitchen renovation, I had the pleasure of sitting down with Diane Smith, owner of KitchenArt, the boutique countertop and cabinet design showroom, to have her share a recent project where she had the privilege of applying her beautiful design. This project was part of a larger “top to bottom” renovation of a Victorian home in Orangeville, ON. The entire home was gutted, reframed, insulated, and the floors were...
Love Your Space
Countless pages of this magazine have been dedicated to the importance of a trusting bond between client and contractor, when it comes to home design and renovations. There are the usual aspects that need to be agreed upon; price, work and payment schedules, and contractual guarantees. Beneath the surface, however, there should be an understanding that the contractor shares the spirit of a project, as well as possessing the ability to...
Learn About the Ontario GreenON Program
You do not have to be a real estate genius to understand the benefits of having new windows installed in your home. They add instant value to the house’s resale value, immediately improve its aesthetics and are constructed to retain heat in the winter and coolness in the summer; thus lowering the hydro bill. A potential drawback would be that the homeowner may not have the financial resources to manage such a project. A provincial...
Business Profile: Kamelyan Window Coverings
When you hear that a business is celebrating its 40th anniversary, you can be assured of several factors contributing to its longevity. Some clichés come to mind; such as having a sound business model, proactive management and a keen eye on market niches. Yet, there is one factor that just might supersede all the aforementioned. A company prospers for four decades because that company is passionate about its product and its craft....
Abandoned But Not Forgotten – Guelph Correctional Centre
The next stop in our Abandoned Spaces series is one steeped not only in history, but includes progressive influences, and political ownership. We introduce you to the “Ontario Reformatory”, or as most now know it, the “Guelph Correctional Centre”. It all began with a progressive idea from Ontario’s Provincial Secretary, William Hanna. Hanna believed that society would benefit from certain prisoners being...
Character is What Solid Wood Furniture is All About
There is an intrinsic value in a piece of custom-made, solid wood furniture that cannot be measured in mere dollars. That custom dining room set you just purchased may be brand new, but it is somehow already a family legacy. Those who crafted it did not only produce a well-functioning furnishing, they also manufactured history. Mike Taylor, co-proprietor of Great Canadian Solid Wood Furniture in Orangeville, has been in the business...
So Much To See! The Plumber’s Wife New Design Centre
Celebrating 10 years in business is quite a milestone. While this lovely store in Arthur, ON always had many products and services to offer, as they reached their 10 year anniversary, owner Paula Coffey figured out a way to make it even better! Expanding her existing space into the back portion of the building was a big undertaking as well as an exciting vision, but one that has now come to fruition and it’s been well worth the wait....
Getting a Beautiful Start on a Lifetime of Happiness and Memories
What does a young successful entrepreneurial couple do, when not only do they run a business or two, but are also planning a wedding? Well, they design and build their very first home together, and do so from the ground up, of course! It was the dream for this young couple, to create a home where they could begin their new life together in a simple, elegant manner, and also make for an inviting space for family and friends! It’s a...
What’s New in Kitchen & Bathroom Design?
When it comes to redesigning, (and, in fact, redefining) a room, homeowners often need help envisioning the new setting. There are so many styles and ideas that could suit a client perfectly, but she/he may not have thought of them. In fact, there are existing renovation and design solutions that a client might not even be aware of. To overcome this, professionals in the field have found that a showroom is a great way to open people’s...
