Ever wondered how those Pinterest photos of beautiful spaces came to be? Think HGTV has all the answers? My goodness, was I in for a surprise!

If you’re new to this blog, Earlier, I mentioned here that my husband and I had bought our first home together - an apartment in Vancouver!

To give you some insight on our renovation… the apartment complex was built almost 12 years ago, which was not too long ago, but the developer at the time used “cookie cutter” solutions to build the entire complex. The finishings weren’t great, a lot of it was damaged from wear & tear and the space simply wasn’t optimized enough to what we needed to use & invest in. Mike and I wanted to invest in this property to hopefully earn a little $$$ from it when we sell it eventually - so we had to make sure it was optimal for a buyers market!

We had bought our place for our current needs, we needed a little more space, a bit more storage, and something to potentially grow into. I loved & created content in our previous apartment and it was a challenge (not to mention tiresome!) to always stage & shoot product. Our goal for this apartment was to fully utilize every square foot and to increase the storage capability. It’s a great apartment with a lot of windows… but then we lose walls to have storage! If you remember the before photos from my previous post, the kitchen island was not very big, the fridge took up 1/3 of the space along the wall next to the stove… and there was a strange flex space that didn’t have any organized storage solution. Ally’s (our interior designer) solution was to move around the appliances & to invest in building more storage! We moved the fridge over next to the entrance of the flex space, turned the flex space into a pantry, and created a new island that was long enough to go up against the window. We added a speed oven/ microwave in the island, along with the dishwasher, sink & garbage recycling to FULLY maximize the space!

Quick tip for renovations: I’ll admit, it’s not an easy process for couples. I am incredibly creative & visual, and my partner does not see things the same way. My best advice if you are ever going to renovate, or are lucky enough to build a project; communicate as much as possible. One creative mind can see one thing, but it doesn’t always match what the other creative mind sees.

So, what do you do when you need to picture a space as a whole? You find vendors, trades & try to make your space come to life before making a purchase! With the help of Ally, a bottle of wine (or two), and AutoCad, we started the process of piecing each room, from tiles, to colour codes all the way down to how high the baseboards were going to be.

Step 1: Inspiration and concept

I sifted through Pinterest for some ideas and we agreed we wanted neutral tones so it would be easy to style whenever you want & to accommodate every all kinds of colourful furniture! See below for a few of our Pinterest inspo:

With all these inspiration images in mind, Ally produced layout designs & furniture packages to help us see each room a bit more visually. What I love about working with her is that she documented what furniture & belongings we wanted to keep and added a few more accompanying items that would fit the space. Our goal was to have a space that was inviting, modern, cozy, minimal & has the ability to change by season, lifestyle and eventually accommodate a little one.

Step 2: Observe the space in daylight and night time

Before even choosing the colours, observe the space! Does it have a lot of natural daylight? Which direction are you facing? Where is going the sun going to hit at what time? What do you think you’ll be doing during that time while living there? Obviously you don’t have to go into too much detail, but it definitely helps when you choose your colours!

Step 3: set a budget, Research your vendors & find an interior designer

We had a budget we wanted to stay under, but we didn’t know what went into a full-scale renovation. So always be prepared that you will go over budget. What we learned most about the entire process, was that the most $$$ you’re going to invest in, is the labor. Timelines get stretched if items are not delivered on time, problems almost always arise when you are in the discovery or gutting stages of you site, items arrive broken, or don’t fit… the list goes on. Our timeline was supposed to be 3 months after permits were approved. It turned into a 10 month timeline! It was all due to weather, deliveries, unfortunately, one broken kitchen sink, several leaks, and some trades were challenging to work with. Lesson learned!

Anyway, there are tons of retailers & wholesalers who supply everything you need for a renovation, but before you start spending time & trips (trust me, there will be more than you want!) Get an interior designer to help! An interior designer is also a great problem solver (and has the magical ability to make spaces look amazing) and they also normally get discounts from vendors! Ally is the best decision we had in the entire renovation, we definitely dodged a lot of potential mistakes that would’ve set us back by weeks! Research what you would like in your space (hardwood or tile? Type of texture of paint (glossy? pearl? eggshell?). What your countertops would be (quartz? Caesarstone?), where you want to find fixtures (perhaps with the best discount & selections). There are design houses who can bring all of that two you without having you need to make trips to vendors, but this project is pretty personal for me, so I wanted to map out our decisions closely!

Step 4: Choose the larger footprint items first

Your biggest spaces will be the walls, doors, countertops, millwork and flooring. So my best advice is to look for those larger components first. Most vendors should be able to provide you samples (usually for free!) and put them all together and see if you like how they look together visually,

Step 5: Paint samples on the walls

What I didn’t know about choosing paint was that it looks different in every room especially at different times of day. We had a specific gray for two of our rooms, one of the gray swatches turned green! It was the strangest thing ever in my eyes. Same goes for your larger samples - lay the tile & hardwood on the floor, along with your millwork, countertop, textiles (piece of rug). Let the samples sit for a few days and go back to the site and see how they look at different times of day. This will also help your lighting decisions! Sometimes, a paint colour can make a room look smaller. I prefer brighter colours on the walls, with the occasional accent.

Step 6: Fixtures, Finishings, Furniture… and Appliances! And do they fit?!

So you have your larger choices made and now is where your problem solving skills come into play! Ally made us furniture packages which were SUPER useful! What I loved about them the most is that she took the furniture we were keeping from our old place, organized them by room (knowing the measurements and if they would even fit in a room), and added on items that were currently available to purchase that would potentially enhance the space!

For the fixtures, finishings and millwork, always lean on your designer. Measurements and CAD drawings are super vital for not only making what you pick out at the store to look good together, but to see if they fit, function & place properly! A top mount sink will give you less counter space to work with… if you’ve got a small bath! Are the lengths of the wall-mounted faucets long enough? Will they pour water into the middle of the sink? Are the lights properly mapped out so they’re directly over the proper appliances etc? How high should the baseboards be? How thick will the door frames be? If you’re building storage on the wall AROUND your bed… will your bed fit when you install it??? These are things you can’t just decide on a whim, this is where an interior designer comes in. (ps our baseboards are 6 inches high and door frames are 4 inches… a quick response from Ally when we were trying to figure this out!)

Step 6: order and plan out your order timelines

This is SUCH a crucial part of a renovation timeline! Because it affects when your trades come in. Time is money at this point and you need to be prepared to order things in a timely matter & prepare for emergencies. Ally worked with a contractor/ foreman who listed out the steps of what should happen, and we planned our orders based off of the first schedule. Also be aware of anything that can break in the transit, our kitchen sink arrived with a GIANT crack down the middle… so check toilets, mirrors, light fixtures as soon as you receive them!

step 7: demo day!!!!

Honestly, I was SO EXCITED for this to happen. I also love watching Master’s of Flip with Dave & Kortney Wilson. My favourite part is always when Kortney announces “it’s DEMOOOO DAY!!!”… so that basically was me on first day of demo :P

It was not what you see on tv!!! At least if you’re living in a multi-family complex… you have to be surgical… and make sure you don’t break any pipes! The WORST thing that could happen is if you accidentally broke a pipe, or set off the sprinklers, flooded not only YOUR apartment… but the ones below you too… #$$$$

But here are a few snaps of our demo day :)

I’ll be posting room reveals next! Comment below which room you would like to see first :)

with love,

Veronica