Energize your outdoor living space

Published Darla Grant-Braid - April 8, 2016

Home » Decorating & Design » Energize your outdoor living space

With the arrival of spring, homeowners are looking to revive and refresh different parts of their home —and the outdoor living space is no exception. In fact, Canadian homeowners are dedicated to turning their decks, pools, and gardens into truly spectacular spaces.

With that in mind, EiEiHome spoke with Hannah Taylor of Hotwire Electric, a GTA electrical company specializing in custom homes and new construction, about some creative ways that an electrical contractor can help energize a home’s outdoor living spaces.

“Adding lighting and accents throughout the space is usually started by a consultation with a lighting expert like we have at Hotwire,” Taylor says. “Or even in collaboration with your landscape architect or designers”.

Gardens and Walkways

Landscape lighting in gardens and walkways creates a magical palette of shadows and light. The interplay allows you to enjoy the beauty of your outdoor space in a different way than you would under the sun.

“[To make this happen] we work closely to integrate the space, the use, the client’s vision along with the latest in lighting products,” Taylor says.
“We assign a foreman and lighting expert to the site to conduct a thorough needs analysis. [During this meeting] we discuss the vision and bring along samples of products so the client can see the actual fixtures we will install”.

Decks

What we are seeing now is that the deck is truly a room on its own. The old, dusty patio set is now a sectional that rivals the living room seating, the bbq has become an outdoor kitchen, and those old patio lanterns are now a beautifully integrated lighting scheme.

“Decks are a fantastic use of space,” Taylor states. “[When it comes to lighting] how about adding stair lighting? Or perhaps in-floor lighting?

“So many options are available and with the right design, lighting is everything to space”.

Pools

Of course, lighting isn’t the only way that an electrical contractor can help homeowners maximize their outdoor living spaces. If you have a pool or are thinking about having one installed, you’ll want to speak with an electrical contractor about heating technology, even if you’ve been considering heating with solar.

“Like other heating methods, solar heating does have its drawbacks: What if the sun’s not out? On windy or cloudy days solar energy obviously, won’t do the job adequately. [It’s] best to have a backup natural gas or electric heater if you want to swim on those days”.

For those with concerns about the cost of using a traditional pool heater, Taylor explains how recent advancements have improved their efficiency.

“There are now automation panels that save energy and are on schedules all automated from a touch of a button on remote,” Taylor says.

To learn more about how Hotwire Electric can help energize your outdoor living space, view their listing here on EiEi Home.

Home » Decorating & Design »

Kitchen Reno High and Low

Published Darla Grant-Braid - March 31, 2016

www.realtorpankajpatel.com

Planning a kitchen reno? Here’s how you can get the look you want at a price you can afford. Because let’s face it, renovating your kitchen is expensive. There’s no getting around it. Although considering the fact that this is arguably the most important room in your house, it’s fairly understandable why a kitchen renovation would be a costly endeavor.

When you rework a living room, more often than not you’re looking at some paint, some furniture, and maybe flooring. However, with a kitchen, the list of details is expansive. You have countertops and flooring, cabinets and backsplashes, faucets, sinks, specialty lighting and appliances… and these are only the basic surface items. Oftentimes, a kitchen renovation can involve plumbing and electrical needs as well.

The good news is that there are many areas where you can save money on your kitchen reno.  Here is a look at some high priced and lower priced items to consider.

Countertops

Image Source: Decorpad & Simple Details

A big focal point in any kitchen, the countertop is where homeowners can spend a lot of money during a renovation. Ideal kitchen countertops should be durable, as resistant to staining and burning as possible and of course attractive. To a lot of homeowners, this means granite or marble.

But if your budget won’t allow for these more expensive countertop options, don’t despair. While laminate countertops may have gotten a bad rap, thanks to poorly done versions of yesteryear, today’s laminate has greatly improved.

Faucets

Image Source: Home Depot Canada

If you haven’t shopped for kitchen faucets in a while (or ever) you might be in for a bit of a shock at the checkout.  Many of the sough-after faucets in those kitchens that so many homeowners dream about on Pinterest or in décor magazines come with a fairly hefty price tag. In fact, some of them can range into the thousands!

Of course, for every high-priced faucet, there is a lower priced version that can provide a similar look. However, take note –some of the higher priced varieties offer the added benefit of being touchless. So if the idea of having an automatic faucet appeals to you, then this may be one place where you’ll want to spend a bit more.

Lighting

Image Source: Restoration Hardware, Veranda Interiors & Home Depot Canada

Decorative items will always run the gamut of prices. These price fluctuations can definitely be seen in the world of decorative lighting fixtures. The good news is that even if you can’t find the exact replica of a light you might have your heart set on, with lighting trends, you can certainly find something similar in looks, but at a lower cost.

Backsplash

Image Source: House Trends & Duchess of York

The backsplash is one place where you can really spend as much or as little as you like and still end up with something pleasing to look at. However, price shouldn’t be your first consideration here. What you want to look at first is how you use your kitchen. If you do a lot of cooking then your best bet is to start looking at kitchen backsplashes that are easy to clean. This means staying away from porous materials like slate and limestone.

In terms of cost, natural stone can also cost you a good deal more than glass or ceramic tile.

Your Air Conditioner needs spring cleaning too!

Your Air Conditioner needs spring cleaning too!

Home » Heating & Air Conditioning 

Published Darla Grant-Braid - April 1, 2016

www.realtorpankajpatel.com

It’s that time of year again. Spring! For most of us, that means shaking off the salty remains of winter, getting organized and preparing for the warmer days ahead. In other words, spring cleaning! While you undertake the task of preparing your home for spring, remember that this is also the time to maintain your air conditioner.

EiEiHome spoke with Dustin McDonald from Martino HVAC  —a Greater Toronto Area heating, air conditioning and indoor air quality specialist, about how to get your air conditioner ready for spring and summer.

“For most homeowners, spring is the ideal time to schedule an air conditioning tune-up”, McDonald says. “After sitting idle all winter, your system may be a little rusty and have few kinks [and] a tune-up is the best way to eliminate any negative impact the winter may have had”.

Why Maintenance Matters

While the temptation for some homeowners may be to neglect regular air conditioning maintenance, McDonald assures us that it is just as important as vehicle maintenance.

“Maintenance that is performed early in the season can identify or prevent many small problems from becoming more expensive problems later on when the summer heat really kicks in,” McDonald says.

“You’ll also beat the long waits and higher prices that come during the summer months, when peak demand occurs…and when you really want your air conditioner to be working”.

What Needs to Be Done

First and foremost, McDonald asserts that air conditioner maintenance is not a do-it-yourself project. “[…] there are high voltages and high currents involved,” he says. “Let a professional do it”.

During your service appointment the technician will check on the various components of your air conditioning unit, including coolant levels and the air filter. The evaporator will be cleaned, along with the condenser coils and drains.

Among those things, checking the filter is especially important.

“Clogged, dirty filters block normal airflow and reduce a system’s efficiency significantly,” McDonald says. “[…]Replacing a dirty, clogged filter with a clean one can lower your air conditioner’s energy consumption by 5% to 15%”.

McDonald explains that during a service call, your technician will also be looking out for any red flags that may lead to larger problems.

“If your coolant is low, it’s not because it got burned up the way your car burns gas,” McDonald says. “It means there’s a leak, and that’s a problem because coolant is toxic. [It] will also lead to compressor failure”.

How Martino HVAC Can Help

The experts at Martino HVAC offer basic air conditioning services as well as long-term maintenance plans, serving homeowners throughout The GTA. Don’t sweat the threat of summertime air conditioning malfunctions. Contact the experts at Martino HVAC, today.

Transform your home today to stay safe tomorrow

(NC)

While many can only dream of the day they'll retire, for Baby Boomers, that dream is becoming a reality. But retirement doesn't necessarily mean relocating to a senior community. More and more, adults choose to “age in place,” remaining in their current home, even after retirement. Here are a few ways to add extra convenience today – and ensure a safe home in the future.

Change Up Common Areas

When thinking about the long-term, start with the layout. In a perfect world, it's ideal to have all the key living spaces – bathroom, kitchen, and bedroom on the first floor. If your home wasn't built with a first-floor bedroom or bath, and stairs have to be a part of your plan, install no-slip strips on the edge of each stair to limit trips and falls.

Next, make sure there's plenty of room to move. Aim for doorways that are at least 31 inches, though 35 inches is ideal. Tight corners and doorways are a challenge for those with walkers or canes. For stress-free opening and closing, change out door handles from traditional knobs to lever handles for an easier grip.

Then, focus on the flooring. Installing carpeting can provide warmth and cushioning for you to enjoy now, and offers an added element of safety when it might be harder to maneuver around in the future. Choose a low pile carpet to minimize tripping – too much shag is a safety hazard. Area rugs are a major no-no, as unsecured rugs and loose carpet are one of the main causes for slips and falls. If you can't bear the thought of losing your area rug, use carpet tape to secure it firmly to the floor.

Boost the Bath

If you can only update one place in your home, make it the bathroom. The bathroom typically offers the most opportunities for injury. In fact, one in three seniors will experience a fall in their home each year, as stated by the Public Health Agency of Canada. An easy way to incorporate safety is to install grab bars. Today's grab bars are stylish, fitting in seamlessly with your space, rather than seeming obtrusive and sterile. Install them near the toilet, (make sure you have a comfort-height commode for easy sitting and standing) as well as in the shower. Some models, like the corner shelf with grab bar from Moen, pull double duty, adding an element of additional storage where you can store your shampoo, while also helping keep you safe while entering and exiting the bath.

A handheld showerhead, like the Magnetix from Moen Canada, is an ideal option for those who may want to be seated while they bathe. Magnetix hand showers are also handy for cleaning, by eliminating bending and squatting. Finally, at the vanity, choose a faucet with lever handles – they're easiest to grip and turn – and install sconces near the mirror for additional lighting.

The most important advice for any room in your home is to think efficiently. Locate items that work together near each other to make tasks easier.

Commuter Life: Is Living Outside Of The City Worth The Hassle?

A writer from Hamilton crunches the numbers.

BY RHIANNON RUSSELL

Photo by MrDanMofo from the Torontoist Flickr Pool.

I really did enjoy it at first. Sitting on the GO train for two hours every day—from Hamilton to Toronto, and back again—offers a glorious, uninterrupted opportunity to read. During the first month of my commute to my job downtown, I devoured six books. I hadn’t read six books so quickly in years. In the mornings, the train ride felt like a gradual easing-in to the day, and in the evenings like decompression, a chance to mentally unwind after work. One of my coworkers told me it seemed very European, taking the train into the city every day.

The novelty wore off fast. I began to understand why, when I first told friends and colleagues I was commuting in from Hamilton, they recoiled in horror.

An eight-hour workday becomes a 12-hour one when you live cities away—80 kilometres one-way, in fact. I leave my house at 7 a.m. and I’m rarely home before 7 p.m. It doesn’t leave much time for anything else. I commute, I work, and I go to bed early so I can rise at the crack of dawn the next day and do it all over again.

I moved back to Ontario last fall, to my parents’ house in the Hamilton suburbs, and started a six-month internship in Toronto. Commuting made sense. I wouldn’t be making much money—not enough to afford living in Toronto—and my parents kindly offered up their place rent-free. I’d save my money, and once the internship ended, I’d move to the city. Taking the GO train was preferable to driving, given the out-of-control congestion on the QEW and the Gardiner Expressway every day.

It takes an absurdly long time just to get to the train station. I spend nearly an hour each day bumper-to-bumper, staring at brake lights, swearing at other drivers on Highway 403. Lately, when I finally make it onto the train, I’m so tired I struggle to keep my eyes open. I have not read six books in the last month. And at the end of the day, I merge with the throngs of people surging along Front and Bay Streets toward Union Station. All in the name of saving money!

I don’t regret the decision to commute. But when I calculated my expenses about two months into my internship, I was surprised to find I wasn’t saving as much money as I thought I would:

Monthly costs

GO train	$370
Car insurance	$200
Gas	$120
TOTAL	$690

I know I could find an apartment, with roommates, in Toronto for that much. When I lived in the city a few years ago, I paid $650 per month.

I wondered: Is it worth it, financially, to live outside Toronto and commute in?

---

Rent in Toronto is notoriously high. According to the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation’s fall 2015 rental market report, the average rent of a bachelor apartment in Toronto (excluding the suburbs) is $983. Add to that the cost of a Metropass to get to work every day and you’re paying about $1,100 per month, less if you’re bunking with roommates. (Rent for a Toronto two-bedroom is $1,651, on average.)

Here, a breakdown of the estimated cost of living in GTA neighborhoods and hopping on public transit to get into the city.1

GTA commuter costs. Map by Sean Marshall.

---

I have about two months left until my internship ends, and I’m going to stick it out on the train for the remainder. The ride itself isn’t so bad—rush-hour commuters take a business-like approach to their daily grind. We’re polite, but not friendly. We know and abide by the etiquette: no small talk, no sprawling baggage, no smelly food, and absolutely no staring at the others around you, packed like sardines into the train car. Professional commuters are masters of the averted gaze.

For me, the commute means long days that infringe upon my productivity, social life, and sleep—that’s the part that I hate. If you’re saving money, it’s all worth it. But I’m counting down the days until my move to Toronto, when I can throw my hard-earned dollars at a landlord rather than at GO Transit.

---

Are you sick and tired of commuting? 

Thinking of how can we replace long commute by time for yourself? 

Save your valuable time and save your hard-earned money!!

  There are many ways to cut down and eliminate commute. Make a brief meeting with me and we will make it happen! Live close to where you work,live life fully for what you have thought in your dream, not for you have to! 

Get registered for V.I.P. Platinum Pricing & save thousands of dollars!

Finding Your Dream Home has never been this easy!

Recessed Ceiling Designs: The Best Way To Accentuate A Room

BY ERIC · MARCH 9, 2016

Having a recessed ceiling can definitely be a great decorative feature for any room in the house because it can serve to accentuate the beauty of the room even further. It will make the room appear just right in size; not too big, but not too small and either. Aside from this, it will be a structurally sound design addition that will help you increase the longevity of the room for sure. Here are some examples of photos that you can use as a basis for your own recessed ceiling in the future.

If you want to go for an all white color scheme for your dining room, a recessed ceiling will be a good way for you to accentuate the design without doing anything more than necessary.

Source: hgtv

Additionally, you can play around with the architectural design of the recessed ceiling as well. Notice the two levels of the ceiling in this picture. The inner level served to frame the lights of the room. In turn, this added to the beauty of the design for sure.

Source: studiomint

You can also use different shapes in terms of a structural design for the recessed ceilings. This will be a good way for you to experiment with architecture as well as designing for your home.

Source: hgtv

Here is a small recessed ceiling that will definitely add an impact for your hallway designs in the future. You should definitely use it if you want to have a uniquely designed hallway in the end.

Source: marcusdesigninc

This is a clever way to use the recessed ceiling because it helps hide the lighting fixtures for the particular room. The reflection thus creates an even more dramatic effect for the room.

Source: decorextra

You can also take this opportunity to create a contrast in design by making a part of the recessed ceiling darker than the rest of it. Just look at this picture to see what I mean.

Source: rocahomes

If you have a white recessed ceiling, having a darker shade of gray can give your bedroom an even more sophisticated look in the future. You should definitely try it out as soon as possible.

Source: houzz

In this picture, you can see a reverse contrast in the recessed ceiling by having the inner part as the white one and the rest gray.

Source: hgtv

You can also use different materials for the recessed ceiling if you want to. Look at the middle part of the ceiling in this picture. It is covered by a wooden plank.

Source: hgtv

As a last option, you can also add some wood paneling for your recessed ceiling. It will definitely be a great addition to your design plan for sure. Why don’t you give it a shot and see how it works out?

Source: decorextra

9 ways to start an urban garden

by Brandon Bastaldo

29/02/2016

As someone who lives in downtown Toronto, I can tell you first hand that some of the preconceptions about the Big Smoke are spot on: it’s smoggy, there’s not a ton of green space so it’s hard to get those essential nutrients and, sometimes, it can even be a bit suppressing when it comes to getting that fresh air we all so desperately need.

With the recent influx of condos popping up in every previously unoccupied nook and cranny of the city, Torontonians are quickly losing much of our green space. Despite these eco obstacles, we can thank crafty humans, Pinterest and the Internet at large for helping to spread the green love. Urban gardeners and green thumbs from around the world have united on the Internet to deliver awesome options and ways for urbanites to start wonderful, space-saving urban gardens that provide us with essential nutrients and fit into tight living spaces. Without further ado, check out our list of nine ways to start an urban garden:

Vertical iron rod garden

Photo via www.insideout.com, photographer Sharon McGrath

This vertical iron rod garden is a great example of how to plant efficiently and also in style. By creating an iron rod framework, this urban garden ensures all-out stability as well as presentation using these cute terracotta pots. This grid comfortably fits 44 pots, which is definitely more herbs and veggies than most humans can handle.

Cactus paradise planter

Photo via Marie Claire Maison

If you’re one of those people who has trouble keeping a pet goldfish alive, this cactus paradise planter is going to be ideal for you. Whether they’re potted or planted, featuring a variety of cacti in your urban garden is the definition of non-committal beauty. These cacti create a tropical, exotic look in your backyard and the best part is that if you forget to water them for a week, they’ll be just fine!

Wall-mounted herb garden

Photo via brit.co

No space? No problem! This wall-mounted herb garden is the perfect urban garden solution for anyone living in tight quarters. The other awesome thing that this mason jar garden offers is a very inexpensive solution to starting your own herb collection. With very little maintenance, set up or clean up needed for this petite urban garden, the wall-mounted herb garden is a sure-fire way to get your greens.

Staircase garden

Photo via skinnymom.com

Small-space dwellers are familiar with having to come up with ingenious ways to save space and still get what they want. This staircase garden is a great example of taking that attitude to the next level as this clever planting system places this delicate greenery right under your very feet. Whether it’s decorative or for consumption, being able to plant between the lines like this allow true urban green thumbs to make an awesome, eco-friendly urban pad.

Recycled hanging soda bottle planters

Photo via gardeningclan.com

The great thing about this urban garden concept is that it addresses two key issues with one solution. By reusing inexpensive, two-litre soda bottles and hanging them on your railings, these hanging soda bottle planters allow urban planters to save money and space. You can even decorate the soda bottles to jazz them up a bit and make them fit in with your decor.

Balcony terrarium

Photo via myplantemonbonheur.com

Looking for a gardening solution that adds a little more pizzazz to the balcony? The balcony terrarium is a great solution for urban gardeners with an eye for design and an interest in growing exotic plants. The beauty of this design is that because the terrarium traps warm air inside, plants that would typically not be able to handle colder climates or adverse weather conditions are able to live longer.

Earthy rooftop relaxation zone

Photo via 1001gardens.org

For those who are not interested in tending to fruits and vegetables, but instead just crave the beauty of the outdoors, a earthy rooftop relaxation zone like this may be just right for you. With the emphasis on creating a zen, laid back atmosphere, this urban garden uses a simple design and a lush wild garden to create the cottage effect. A great place to crack a beer and enjoy the sunset.

Rustic garden wall

Photo via 1001gardens.org

Simplistic in its design and easy on the eyes, this rustic garden wall makes a great addition to any urban space that features some beautiful exposed brick. The great thing about an urban garden like this is that it’s relatively low maintenance and can be used to grow vegetables as well as delicate flowers that will accent your already rad looking hangout spot.

Hanging clay pot garden

Photo via thehorticult.com

When in need of space, look up! This hanging clay pot garden is a great solution for urban dwellers in desperate need of somewhere to plant their roots. This clay pot garden is easy to assemble and looks great. You can also make sure that your plants get as much sunlight as possible if you’re able to hang them in the direction of the sun.