A few helpful hints before starting a design project...

I wish I had not selected my colours in the store...

Don't buy anything under fluorescent lights in a store...Lighting can change the way colours appear, and you may get a totally different look than what you were going for...

Take paint samples home and ask for fabric swatches...I say buy a paint deck from your favorite paint store, always pull your colours from the fabric in the room, and always make large painted boards (2 coats of paint, at least) of your favorite colours to see exactly how the paint looks in your room with your lighting at different times of the day, if you are going to use the room in the evening, how does it look in the evening?

There are so many colours of paint and only so many fabrics, pick the fabric or area rug first...

If only I'd placed my orders sooner...

It can take up to three months to get the stone tiles you ordered for your kitchen floor. Custom cabinets? Expect to wait at least 10 weeks...Waiting for items to arrive can turn a three month renovation into a half year undertaking...To keep delays at a minimum, place orders two to three months before work is set to start...

A lot of though goes into a great kitchen, make sure all your supplies are on hand before hammering apart the old kitchen...

I wish we had talked more about our individual tastes...

Before you start any furniture buying or renovation, go through magazines and catalogues to find at least five items you and your partner can agree are beautiful. It sparks great conversation and will ensure you're both happy with the design direction of the project....Just saying you are both like traditional is not enough...Traditional can mean very different things to different people...last thing you want to do is argue in front of your salesperson, designer or contractor...

Fun, colorful, child-like Traditional

Modern, Calming and Classic Traditional

I wish I had been more specific about how I wanted my flooring put down....

Before your carpet is laid, discuss where you would like the seams to be, do not assume installers care...they might run a seam through the centre of the room instead of over in front of a cabinet where no one walks to often...the seams in high traffic areas will flatten and wear faster with time. Ask them to make a drawing of the seam location...this might cost more but it is worth the price if the carpet is down with no problems years longer...

It is equally important to be specific when laying tiles...do not assume tradespeople will lay tiles the best way for the room... Have your tiler do a mock layout on the floor so you can agree on a direction and where the partial tiles will lie.

You will want to be just as specific about the grout, ask to pick the grout color and ask what the distance will be between the tiles, so you can visualize what 1/8 or 1/16 of an inch looks like...

Image a seam down the middle of this wall to wall...you would see it and it would always bother you...always!

If this tile (inside a 6" boarder) was on a 45 degree angle it would give the allusion of a wider entrance...but you need to dry fit them to see the difference!

Oh, it doesn't fit? I never thought about that...

Before purchasing any large furniture... take a note pad with these measures in it...height and width of all doorways and hallways...not forgetting the size of the elevator for those of you that live in an apartment or condo...another hint, sofas are the worst to manoeuvre, so ask if the legs, backs or arms are detachable? In a basement maybe all that will go down the stairs is reclining furniture that comes with detachable backs...

Not every front door is this wide...

I wish I had thought about wall hangings before we built the wall...

Decide where you are going to hang things like towel bars and cabinets before you put up the drywall...to securely mount hanging items, you need a backing, like a piece of plywood, to drill

screws into... Without a backing, you will need to use wall plugs, which tend to come out over time...

Look at that wonderful double towel bar...wouldn't it be even better if you never had to worry about your children pulling it out of the wall when putting their towels away...

I wish I had gotten a signed change order...

What you think is a small change could be more costly than expected...a simple decision like choosing tile A or tile B can make a job go three weeks or more over schedule because the new style is not available...speak to your contractor about the ramifications of all changes, regardless of how minor they seem and have the effects on cost and time put in writing...

These are great tiles...but what would happen if you changed to the ones below...

These are great but are they in stock or will you have to wait, weeks for them to arrive?


I should never let the contractor choose the baseboard trim...

Hire a finishing carpenter to do the baseboard trim; the attention to detail will pay off!

If you do not speak up about what you want, you'll get the basic baseboard trim...that should only be painted out the wall color...it is to small to be a contrast color and look good.

Now this baseboard trim is fancy and tall enough to be painted in a contrast paint color and look good...should be at least 5 to 6" tall to be a contrast color.