My favourite part of renovation design is determining which walls can come down. I love wide open spaces and many of my projects reflect this. The picture above is looking into the dining room and staircase from the living room. Once it was determined that the wall was not load bearing, down it came!
The wall to the left was also cut back to give the dining room a much grander feeling of space. The Dining room was not overly huge but I wanted to be able to view the magnificent great room from not only the Dining but the Kitchen as well. I chose beautiful maple hardwood in this space and the flow of the hallway through to the dining room turned out perfect.
Here is another angle of the dining room before
And After...
The light fixtures throughout the second level were Forecast Lighting and suited the contemporary architecture while also being warm having the wood accents.
The kitchen had very little work space for it's size and it also had an eating area adjacent to the dining room which is a design no-no in my book! I really wanted to salvage the wallpaper...totally kidding, and the door between the two mismatched windows was walled in. I also had them remove the wall between the dining room and the kitchen to really maximize the kitchen.
having two kitchen windows that were the same size was also a priority in this kitchen and you can see in the finished picture the fantastic light all the windows and patio doors let in.
The kitchen is one of my favourite rooms in this home. The challenge from the beginning was to provide ample workspace within a fairly narrow space. 
The kitchen cabinets were solid maple from Merit kitchens and the stain is Carriage Black. It is more of a black brown and is a fantastic contrast to the warm Maple brown floors. The Thermador cook top is a beautiful appliance and the wall oven cabinet beneath actually extends about 2 inches to break up the large bank or cabinets.
The counter top is Caesarstone: Misty Carrera and is one of my absolute favourite colours. To add drama to the cabinet doors the hardware pulls were 9 inches long!
The right side wall originally was going to house the oven beside the fridge. I guess the electrician didn't get the memo and I didn't get my oven outlet! So instead the microwave and fridge ended up being paired together and the cabinets were staggered back to make the space feel wider. The Fisher&Paykel fridge was regular depth as opposed to counter depth due to the budget. But by staggering the cabinetry it worked out beautifully.
The mosaic back-splash was a total find from the Home Depot in the USA and I actually made two trips across the border hunting down all I could get my hands on to complete the look. The mosaic came in little 3x12 strips and I'm very thankful for my very patient tile setter and wonderful homeowner who had to painstakingly remove all the little plastic covers from the 1x1 stainless tile after it was grouted! I think I still owe her a manicure.
The kitchen before looked out onto a rotten deck with a rickety awning...
Now it looks out to a fabulous backyard and a new deck with glass railings.
The Great room had "oodles" of potential but certainly wasn't great to start with.
This is the backside of the wall in the previous pictures looking into the dining room. once it was removed it was time for the Feature wall to get a proper Focal point!
You can see the outline on the wall where the original brick fireplace extended to. It actually made the ceiling feel low and the beam just seemed to protrude for no reason. 
Once the floor to ceiling cultured stone was mortared into place the ceiling soared! The living room before had a ton of directional pot lights and above the sliding doors was an odd ledge that had no purpose at all.
By removing all but two pot lights, directed at the fabulous new fireplace, and adding 3 to the bulkhead over the sliding doors the lighting plan was far more dramatic. 
The builder also had me stage the home once it was complete to give it's best chance on the market showcase.
The casing, crown and baseboard were also replaced throughout. it can be a challenge in a space that has so many angles and vaults so the Crown was used only in rooms that had level ceilings and in the hallway. The hallway before was somewhat dungeon-like.
The fresh crown,casing and baseboard made you want to explore down the hall to the other rooms rather than turn and run!
The bedrooms didn't require too much structural change, however the 70's rage bulkhead-for-no-reason were removed. The Master bedroom had a beautiful ocean view and the colour I chose was Benjamin Moore CC-606. The pale green brought the exterior colour in and the colour from the water in the bay.
Before:
After:
Before: Nasty Vanity complete with mirror and Make-up lighting (UGH)
After: Perfect nook for a long dresser.
Now let's head into the en suite...
The nasty "cave" that was the en suite was completely gutted in every sense of the word. I think there may have even been a critter nest removed from the ceiling above the shower, talk about "heebie-jeebies". I was only in that room to take a quick picture and would go back in for my measurements until after it had been completely gutted.
This was one of the smallest en suites I've worked on and so to maximize the feel of the space I chose a mosaic tile floor that continued from the shower out to the rest of the floor so visually it seemed wider. The wall tile was a fabulous ceramic that looked like ledge-stone and the glass and metal mosaic accent tile was another great find from Home Depot.
Rather than choosing a pedestal sink I found a modern beautiful vanity from Art Bathe that provided much needed storage. the mirror was custom made and the shower glass company, White Rock Glass. They did a beautiful job on both seamless showers in this home.
The second bedroom was a nice size and also took advantage of the front facing view. The original window did nothing to improve the view however!
After taking out the divider between the two windows and installing one large window the bedroom felt much bigger.
The main bathroom was another cave-like tunnel.
The door swung open into a wall and the tub area had a drop ceiling and was very narrow.
I replaced the door with a pocket door and had the wall on the right removed as it housed a linen closet on the hall side. 
There was nothing above the tub area so by removing the whole area it expanded the bathroom by almost 34". This allowed a soaker tub and shower combination. For more pictures on this bathroom transformation you may wish to read on of my archived blog "Bringing a Bathroom Drawing to Life"
The home features 3 bedrooms on the second floor,main living level. The smaller bedroom was a very cute space that really appealed to me. It had a wonderful large window and tons of potential.
I decided to stgae this room as a little girls room as the other bedroom seemed more masculine wiht the strong chocolate accents. Ikea is so great for white furniture and I think it turned out great.
So now that you've seen the second floor transformation all that is left is the main level that includes a basement suite. For that please visit my previous blog, "1970's Beach Grove Home Get's a New lease on Life"
This beautiful home is still available and more info on this active listing or if you wish to attend the next open house this is the MLS#V795177
The location is wonderful, the setting picturesque, and is basically a new home inside and out.
Be sure to Stay tuned for more of my projects currently on the go, I don't get to blog near as often as I'd like but hope to have my latest New Home Design up and blogged by Christmas!!
~Emily
Emily Hagerman Design.
