Designers are people too! They have homes -- not always extravagant -- which they find themselves renovating just like the rest of us. Most importantly, it doesn't always happen on TV, like Sarah's House, House of Bryan, or Home to Flip with Peter Fallico. It happens with unreliable contractors, unforeseen issues that can't be magically solved with throw-more-money-at-it solutions, and all without time-altering editing -- designer Glen Peloso's reno of his quaint Toronto home dragged on for six months!
After visiting Glen at his painstakingly-completed home (SPOILER: we're launching him as the latest expert to help out with your Design Dilemmas in the next couple of weeks!) and talking shop, I thought it would be very interesting for you all to compare notes on the renovating experience. (See gallery below for more details.)
So I got me some of his "Before" photos, and grilled him on the dirty details -- you may be surprised to learn that designers are just like us!
Elana Safronsky: What a lovely home!
Glen Peloso: I've downsized. I was in a 5-bedroom Victorian, and I finally realized: who needs all this space!? This place is perfect for me.
ES: So I see that the place was extra gorgeous when you got it, where did you even start?
GP: Well it felt small, I won't lie, and that awful Pepto-Bismol pink didn't help. It was all broken up into these tight little spaces so I had to take down walls. After that I looked to a unified colour palette -- with furniture and paint colour -- to enhance the feel of one open space. I also took out the 'formal' dining space that shared the living room space and created the informal bar. I turned the back room into a more sit-down dining space, where I think people will naturally congregate if I'm cooking.
ES: What type of ‘look’ were you going for?
GP: Clean-contemporary with a neutral palette and pops of colour.
ES: Did the reno go according to plan?
GP: No! I had to change contractors twice! It was awful. The reno took six months where it should have taken three.
ES: Anything you would have done differently?
GP: Um...not really. I'm pretty happy.
ES: Biggest challenge?
GP: The tiled pillar. I love it now, but it's actually the furnace chimney. It was in the wall we took down -- which was a bit of a surprise. I could have moved it for a zillion dollars, or live with it. So I turned it into an architectural feature by skinning it in some rich, textured tile. Also because of it I had to lose one of my kitchen cupboards, and was forced to fill the gap left by the hindrance with a custom panel. That panel was a story in itself because my Italian imported kitchen has a perlized, high-gloss finish, which believe it or not, no one could reproduce for me. I had it painted at an auto-body garage! It's not exactly the same, but very close.
ES: Biggest splurge?
GP: The backsplash and pillar tile. It's a mixture of marble, granite and glass mosaic. It's made by X Tile, at approx. $22 per square foot. But it was worth it.
ES: Where did you save?
GP: On materials: I had a lot of stuff left over from other design jobs, like the slate kitchen tile, and the hardwood floor was already there, I just refinished.
ES: Did you get a lot of labour comped/discounted? Or did you pay like the rest of us?
GP: Well of course I have my connections, but labour is labour -- people have to eat. And like I said, I had a lot of bad luck with my contractors.
ES: Did you reuse a lot of your old furniture or did you buy new stuff?
GP: I came from a period Victorian, so none of it fit, really. I bought mostly new stuff.
ES: Can you give us a ballpark figure?
GP: The reno was approx. $170, a square foot, which is average to low. Just so you know, new-build is about $150 per square foot on average, and to reno an older home is about $225, on average.
ES: How did you find the whole experience?
GP: Well, I do this a lot for other people, but doing it in my home meant I could really get into it. I like helping out with hauling tiles, taking off doors, taking out bags of construction waste -- I like being on site. I want to know what I'm asking people to do. Conversely, I want to know what contractors say they can't do -- if I've done it, I'll know if they're being truthful or lazy!
Gallery
You need to upgrade your Flash Player to 9 or greater
What are some of your reno experiences? Care to share?
Related: