house design parry sound, north country design and build, home design, residential design,  jen schwindt, cottage design, cottage design parry sound

A good designer will plan for the future. Invest in your home. By doing so early you may save yourself time, money and effort in the future.

How often do you move your furniture? Do you move it once a year to fit the Christmas tree in for a season? Perhaps every spring you move it, clean under it and put it right back where it was? Maybe you move it a lot more often? Personally I tend to fall into the "a lot more often" category. I like to move things from room to room, finding new ways to display things, making our furniture and our stuff work for our family and how we are currently living and using the space. Th

So how do you add antiques to your home and style it so it looks right? I'll show you three ideas. I love incorporating old antique items in my home. It's not too hard to come up with new ways to use old things. Be creative. I like things that have a story to tell, things with character, that have a beautiful worn patina and are maybe a little rough around the edges. The imperfect. Recently I was gifted 3 new (old) items. Since garage sale and antiquing season is upon us I t

Happy New Year! Hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas holiday and is settling into 2016. While you are thinking about your plans for the year and your goals, don't forget to look ahead and think about your house or cottage projects. If you are planning on a renovation, addition, or a new build now is the time to start planning and getting everything ready to go for the spring, summer or fall. It feels as if we are still at the start of the winter season seeing as most of us

Today, I am just going to share a tiny little simple detail a lot people over look when they are putting up their tree. Keeping this in mind can help you create a magical looking Christmas tree. You need to create a sense of depth for a great looking tree. To start, this is the order that I always follow when I'm putting up my tree. We have a fake one….it wasn't the most expensive tree and without it's decorations it does not exactly look super great. Step 1 - build the tree

What does BCIN mean, who needs it, why is it important? BCIN stands for Building Code Identification Number. Anyone who is offering design advice or who provides drawings to the public, besides an Architect or an Engineer must have a BCIN to legally be a Qualified Designer in the province of Ontario. In order to get a BCIN an individual must pass at least two exams. One must be a legal exam on the Ontario Building Code Act. The second is a technical exam in the individuals ar

Does this ever happen to you? Do you ever think, "Oh I should've done this or that" when you are finished a project? You come up with your ideas after you see the final product. This happens to me all the time when I am cooking or making up a recipe. I will be sitting down to eat, taste it and say, "hey, you know this would be even better with this or that ingredient". I am not a chef and I know this, if I wanted a perfect meal or even suggestions to get the perfect meal I wo

The importance of Lighting Lighting is one of the most overlooked aspects in designing a space. It's something most people don't give much attention to until it becomes a problem, by that time it's very hard to change what you have. There is a large list of things to consider about lighting alone when you are designing a space. In order to have a good lighting plan you need to consider three main lighting concepts. Task lighting. Is there enough lighting to perform the task i