Vancouver and Chicago Interior Designers - Kalu Interiors Blog - All About Interior Design » Pip’s Commentaries

Finally…..Project Updates!

phyllis — Mon, 07 Nov 2011 20:10:06 +0000

Wow….long overdue but better late than never I guess! It’s been a whirlwind of a year with lots of projects finishing up. We’d like to share with your some of our favorites!

False Creek Apartment

This is one of those projects that looked like a totally different place in the end. Client wanted to update their apartment to a modern sleek place to entertain. This one was fun because it is so our style. We were ecstatic with the results!!

Kitchen Before

Ensuite Before

Powder Room Before

Powder Room - After

Ensuite - After

Ensuite - After2

Vancouver House

This was a new build and the client took a leap of faith with us considering it is nothing like anything that we’ve ever done. They wanted a traditional house with some contemporary and youthful elements. Now that is is completed, it’s absolutely stunning!

Kitchen1

Kitchen2

Living room

Girls Room

Master Ensuite

Richmond Home

This one was fun!! Mainly just furniture and prettying it up. Clients wanted a modern space but were restricted by the elements of the house. Using textures and colours we worked with the existing paint to pretty up the space.

Living Room - Before

Dining Room Before

Kitchen Nook - Before

Living Room - After

Dining Room - After

Kitchen Nook - After

West Vancouver Home

This one actually just wrapped up. It was a house that much needed updating and some rethought. We opened up the kitchen wall and changed the shape from a galley style kitchen to an L-shape with an island. The result was much more efficient and overall it looks much bigger.

Kitchen Before

Kitchen Before2

Ensuite Before

Kitchen After

Kitchen After2

Ensuite After

Ensuite - After2

Downtown Condo

This project is still ongoing but just a sneak peak at the completed second bathroom.

Bathroom - Before

: Bathroom – Before2

Bathroom - After

Bathroom Vanity - After

Please feel free to let us know what you think!

“Tron Legacy” Interiors

phyllis — Wed, 05 Jan 2011 16:15:14 +0000

Had a chance to go watch Tron this past weekend. The movie was ok but couldn’t not get enough of the a-m-a-z-i-n-g interiors in the movie. I think my favorite was either the all white Eames lounger (shown in the background) or the white Bergere chairs with stunning damask fabric. Doesn’t it make you want to redo your place in all white?!

Image from http://roost-home.blogspot.com

Happy New Year!

phyllis — Wed, 05 Jan 2011 16:00:44 +0000

Happy New Year everyone! We hope that your holidays were filled with much joy and happiness! Now that 2011 is upon us, we’re so excited to start a new year of new designs, new trends and new projects! Cheers to an awesome one!!!

Kalu Project Sneak Peeks

phyllis — Fri, 12 Nov 2010 16:00:46 +0000

Boy it has sure been a busy busy few months. Have barely even found time to breathe….never mind blog =)

Finally got a chance to take some pics around town to show you what we have been working on. Hope you like!

Project 1 – Richmond Townhouse:

This Richmond townhouse had a lighter tone colour scheme which the client really did not like. That along with the speckled granite countertops made it alot less contemporary than the other dark colour scheme in the building. We made a few relatively inexpensive “upgrades” to the place without breaking the budget. Will go into more detail once it is all completed.

Powder Room -

Dining Room -

Master Bedroom:

Vancouver House:

Very excited that this one is also nearing completion. Clients were building a new house in Vancouver and needed a few finishing touches to make it amazing! Here are a few teaser pics. More to follow once furniture is in!

So happy with how this is looking so far…..the wallpaper is amazing!

Our House Reno

Thought I’d also give you an update on how our own reno is progressing. Walls have now been framed in and electrical and plumbing complete. We’re going for inspections tomorrow. Once that is done it will be boarded up and it should go faster from there!

Heres what it currently looks like. Tile was laid today! Hubbie and I went back and forth on how the tile should be laid……in the end he won and got them stacked instead of in a brick pattern…..arrggh….looks ok (I guess ;)

Invisible Switches!

phyllis — Fri, 12 Nov 2010 15:30:46 +0000

Image from http://www.forbesandlomax.com

Came across these switches by Forbes and Lomax that pretty much blend into the wall. Now you won’t have a big switch in the middle of your pretty wallpaper!

5 great pendant lights

phyllis — Fri, 10 Sep 2010 16:10:50 +0000

In my kitchen reno madness I’ve come across some great pendant lights. I find with pendant lights it really depends on what your intention is for them…..do you want them to grab someone’s attention the second they walk into a room? Or do you want them more just for function so in that case they should blend into the backdrop more and let something else in the room take center stage. I like to think of pendants as the jewellery of the room or as the finishing touch so I do like the ones that have some sparkle to them.

Here are 5 of my fav’s:

Bocci "14.1" - $268.20

Global Lighting "Frost s70" - $1460.06

Metalarte "Josephine T" - $1219.60

Eureka "Snowlab 1"

Studio Italia "Lace" - $935.88

Kitchen Reno Update

phyllis — Fri, 10 Sep 2010 16:05:27 +0000

We’re officially in “permit process”……must say we are getting a bit antsy and tired of this waiting process! Now I know how our clients feel! =)

We have managed to make a bit of progress in the meantime though. We were able to make a decision on the appliances recently. Ever since we started looking we knew that we loved the sleek and modern look of the Fisher Paykel appliances. Keep in mind we didn’t even bother looking at the Viking and Wolf appliances. We didn’t see the point in looking at the Porche when the Audi was a stretch! So we finally closed our eyes and pulled the trigger! Here’s what they look like…..what do you think? Can’t wait to actually use them!

Fisher Paykel Fridge E522BRXFD

Fisher Paykel Gas Range OR36SDBGX1

Fisher Paykel Double Dish Drawer DD24DDFX6V2

Modern Mosaics

phyllis — Fri, 10 Sep 2010 16:00:40 +0000

Designer Michael Smith has recently designed some mosaic tiles for the presitious tile company Ann Sacks. I saw some of these designs in the latest House and Home and must admit I died a little. The designs are absolutely stunning but are quite steep in price……apparently they start at about $188/ square foot retail. Hmmm…..Can we say accent band?

Michael Smith "Venice"

Michael Smith "Valencia"

Michael Smith "Palais Royale"

Michael Smith "Chanilly"

Michael Williams "Crete"

Our Kitchen Reno Update!

phyllis — Tue, 10 Aug 2010 16:30:09 +0000

So our kitchen reno is progressing…..s-l-o-w-l-y but surely. I FINALLY managed to choose some finishes…..not sure why I have soooo much trouble choosing for ourselves and no problem at all choosing for other people. Must be one of those things….everyone is always their own toughest customer and critic!

I had talked a little bit about the reno a little while ago: Previous Post

I’ve decided against the original white shaker cabinet idea. Decided in the end it’s not what I really like and I know hubby tends to lean towards a more modern look as well. So here is where we are at with the finishes so far…..it looks like quite a dark scheme but it won’t be. We have no upper cabinets on one side of the kitchen and the backsplash will go to the ceiling. This will dramatically brighten everything up.

Finishes:

Everything is in permit process so construction will hopefully start in September if all goes well. Will definitely keep you updated on how things go! In the meantime, feel free to let us know your thoughts! It’s not too late to make changes! ;-)

Project Update: Richmond House

phyllis — Tue, 10 Aug 2010 16:00:59 +0000

We’re so excited……one of our summer projects is almost complete! It was a fun project and we’re so pleased with the end result! The house was from the 70′s I believe and hadn’t been renovated much since. It needed a massive overhaul which is what we did for the clients and within a reasonable budget. Now the space shows the fun and youthful vibe of the people who live there.

Here are a few images to tie you over until we can get some fully completed pictures! We’ll be sure to give you a more detailed look into what was done soon!

This first image is the kitchen before. As you can see, it is typical of a home of that age.

Kitchen Before

As you can see, it is still not complete but I think it gives you a good idea as to how drastic the change was…..

Kitchen After

The living room before had a lovely railing detail to it. As much as I loved it, it had to go =)

Living Room - Before

Living Room - After

Next we have the tub area of the Main Bathroom. Not sure why the coloured tubs and toilets were so big back then but let’s hope it is a trend that doesn’t come back. Not a big fan especially of the pink toilet fad.

Main Bathroom - Before

Main Bathroom - After

The Master Bath area was tough…..it had a vanity that was open to the bedroom as in hotel style and an accordian door to the rest of the washroom. We had to completely reconfigure the whole room to make the washroom more attractive. You can sort of see from the after picture that we changed the orientation of the room.

Master Bath Vanity - Before

Master Bath Vanity - After

more to come! Let us know what you think so far!