Love Your Home

If you’re a décor enthusiast and love looking through design magazines and watching HGTV, you’ve probably heard that one of the best ways to add interest to a room is through texture. But texture can refer to almost every surface in a room so where do you start? Adding or layering texture properly can make the difference between a well-orchestrated room and leaving the room looking like a mish mas...

Hot water tanks are designed to hold water for years and years but flushing them should be part of your regular home maintenance schedule. Following our instructions in this podcast make this is a simple DIY task you can do yourself. You can find complete notes for this episode on our blog at: How to Drain Your Hot Water Tank We welcome your rating on this episode, and look forward to having you f...

Whether you've been in your home for a few months or for a few decades, every home could use a little TLC. But how do you pay for those much needed renovations? Whether it's a small update or a major overhaul, you need to figure out where the money is going to come from to pay for it. We offer a few ideas of how you can pay for your home repairs and renovations. You can find complete notes for thi...

For many reasons, multi-generational homes are becoming more and more popular. Adult children and their kids are moving back home to live with their parents. Elderly parents are moving in with their adult children. There are advantages and disadvantages to multi-generational living but in most cases, the positive far outweighs the negative. We explore what forms the basis of multi-generational liv...

One of the biggest challenges our kitchen renovation clients face is how they are going to deal with meals without a kitchen. It can be very expensive to eat out at restaurants all the time. It can also be quite a challenge to figure out what to feed the family, washing up dishes and even how to cook or where to prepare. In this podcast, we offer solutions to those problems to ensure you feed your...

Everyone wants to save as much money as possible when doing renovations. You want the job done well but you don't want to spend more than necessary. When it's a big project you're doing, hiring a general Contractor to head up the project can add 10% to 20% onto the overall cost. So, should you consider being your own general contractor? We explore this idea and talk about a couple of cases that we...

Bathrooms are probably the most popular renovation project homeowners do. Updating your bathroom adds value to your home, and because they are smaller than a kitchen, they are an easier project to undertake. It’s important to form a balance between your creative and aesthetic wants and your functional needs. We discuss our top 7 must know bathroom renovation tips to ensure you have a successful pr...

Classic white continues to be one of the most popular colours for kitchens. They never look dated and always remain “in style”. When my clients ask my opinion on what colour they should select for their kitchens, I always recommend that they consider white. You can always add some interest to your kitchen through the use of colour and texture elsewhere in the room. In this podcast, we explore the...

Spring is the perfect time to get your house in shape! We’ve put together a spring maintenance checklist that will help you find the small problems in your home before they become big ones, and will ensure you keep or improve your home’s value! Make sure your home is safe all year long by downloading our free Homeowner's Guide to Seasonal Maintenance. Just click here for your free download. You ca...

Being prepared for a big renovation such as a kitchen reno is the #1 key to a successful renovation. The more you plan ahead and the more knowledge you have going in, the less stress and the fewer problems you will encounter. In our Love your Home seminars, we teach home owners the keys to successfully renovate their kitchens and bathrooms. In this podcast, we explore the starting points of planni...

Having another bathroom in your home is never a bad idea! This is especially important if you currently don’t have a bathroom on your main floor or don’t have an ensuite bathroom. Adding another bathroom typically yields you 100% return on your investment. According to a study by the National Association of Realtors, adding another bathroom can add up to 24% to the value of your home! But if space...

Recently kitchens have become multi-purpose rooms and really are the heart of the home. Kitchens are not just used for meal prep but are also being used for homework, list making, eating family meals and as a home office. Having the right lighting in a kitchen can be key for function and décor. We explore the different types of lights you can have in a kitchen and how best to use each. You can fin...

When space gets tight in your home and you want to find ways to create more living space without building an addition, converting your garage into a new living space can be an option. We discuss the basics of this project along with some of the zoning and legal issues. We’ll also help you understand the pros and cons to converting your garage to a new living space. You can find complete notes for...

With the global pandemic of 2020, we have all been stuck indoors for extended periods of time, only going out for essential needs. The interiors of our homes then made a big difference (more than usual) to our mental well-being. Consequently the 2021 interior design trends are a move toward natural, organic and simple. This becomes a celebration of the earth’s raw materials and subtle use of colou...

Kitchen designs have changed a lot over the years but the one thing that has remained consistent in recent years, is the kitchen becoming the heart of the home. Kitchens are no longer just for cooking meals. It has become multi-functional and a more open space to accommodate everyone’s needs. The global pandemic has reinforced this more than ever as families are working and even educating from hom...

Without a doubt, the most significant trend we will be seeing in 2021 in all aspects of our home is a move toward nature. We are all searching for close contact with nature and natural surroundings. This is leading designers to start blurring or even completely erasing borders between the exterior and interior, and between architecture and nature. This podcast is going to help you get inspired wit...

Basement renovations are a very popular project that increases your home’s value and provides additional square footage of usable space. Whether you have a completely unfinished basement or just want to renovate an existing space, it’s important to plan effectively to ensure the space becomes exactly what you want and need it to be. Good planning is the key to any successful renovation and basemen...

Picking just the right tile for your renovation project can be a difficult task. You may think all you have to do is pick one you like the looks of that matches the rest of the décor in the room. But there is much more to consider than just the appearance of the tile. This podcast is your ultimate guide to selecting the perfect tile for your next renovation project. Want to learn how to select the...

Our lives have changed a lot since Covid! Many of us are working from home now, maybe permanently. Our children and grandchildren are returning to school now, some with modified schedules and some opting for home schooling. The need for a functional home office has become more prevalent. Check out of 10 ideas to help you easily find space within your home to create the perfect home office. You can...

You’re anxious to get started on your renovation! You’ve been looking through every design magazine imaginable and watching every home improvement show on TV. You think you now know everything there is to know about renovations…..but do you? We explore 7 more common mistakes you can avoid when doing home renovations. You can find complete notes for this episode on our blog at: Renovation Mistakes...

My clients ask for help with many aspects of their bathroom project. However, they most commonly need help with picking out the right fixtures. With so any options these days to choose from it’s hard to know what’s good quality and what isn’t, what will fulfill your needs effectively and what is a good value for your hard earned dollars. We bring our 30 years of experience to this podcast to provi...

You can never have enough storage, right? I love to maximize every inch of available space I can for storage. This is particularly true in kitchens. Finding extra storage space isn’t necessarily about adding extra square footage to your kitchen. There are many ways you can utilize existing space within your kitchen for storage, and some of them are pretty unique. Check out our suggestions for find...

Kitchen renovations are a big investment and most are a relatively big renovation project. In today's podcast, I discuss some of the key elements of kitchen renovations that our clients have the most difficulty with. You'll learn some insights into how you can make your kitchen renovation run a little smoother right from the planning process. With some real life examples, we'll talk about some way...

With the colder weather just around the corner, now’s the time to prepare your home for fall and winter. Doing regular maintenance to your home helps maintain its value and helps to prevent the small problems from becoming big ones! Listen to this podcast to learn over 20 things you should do to prep your home for fall and winter. For a very thorough guide to cleaning your gutters, click here. You...

Sometimes doing a big renovation is overwhelming but if you still want to refresh the look of your home, what else can you do? Plenty! In Part 2 of this 2 part series, we give you 10 more ideas of small projects you can do around your home to update the look and increase the value of your home. You can find complete notes for this episode on our blog at: Small Jobs That Update Your Home and Increa...