DESIGN PROJECT

WASHROOMS WITH WOW FACTOR

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Beautiful tile, perfectly paired wallpapers, lighting that dazzles -

these washrooms create some serious wow factor!

If you have had a design meeting with me, chances are you have heard me say “I love to design sweet little powder rooms, they are like the little jewel box of your home!” I say it a lot, because, quite frankly, I just believe in it that much. That’s a space where you can have fun, get creative and really give your guests something really unexpected when they open the door.

Lisa presenting different selections for a residential renovation

However, as of lately, we have been so fortunate to work with such amazing and trusting clients, that this “jewel box” philosophy has worked its way into the everyday functional washrooms, too!

Here are a few of our favorite washrooms and powder baths with wow factor of the years, no particular order, just beautiful spaces that make us happy!

CHARMING SOUTHERN STYLE WASHROOM

When designing the guest bathroom for this custom home last year, we wanted it to be bright and airy, but have a bit of southern charm, to match the style of the whole property. So we had fun with textured tiles, wallpaper and tiles that showcased hand painted patterns. I love how the window in the shower allows the room to be flooded with natural light. See the rest of the property tour here.

Lisa Gilmore Design | LaBram Custom Homes | Seamus Payne Photography

ABSTRACT ART INSPIRED POWDER ROOM

This powder bath was truly an interesting situation! When diving into the renovation of this home, the house only had 2 full bathrooms… and one awkward hall with lots of doors and a weird closet. Our pal, Brooke, the awesome kitchen & bath designer of Bee Studios, who we collaborated with on this project had the great idea to rework the space and fit in this really great powder bath. So the LGDesign team got to work to make this new washroom a stylish new addition. Beautifully selected tiles paired with chic metal tones all topped off with a great hand painted mural from one of our favorite local artists!

Lead Interior Design: Lisa Gilmore Design | Kitchen & Bath Design: Bee Studios Design | Native House Photography

HIGH STYLE POWDER ROOM

For this modern high rise property we went full throttle with color, pattern and texture. The raspberry hues flow throughout the condo and do not rest in the powder bath. Mixing different tones of marble create an elegant nod to design, while the fun wallpaper, lighting and hardware make it layered and modern. Loving this vibe? Check out the whole property tour here.

Lisa Gilmore Design | DHM Construction | Seamus Payne Photography

BOHEMIAN MODERN WASHROOM

This is another one of the bathrooms we had fun working on with Bee Studios, in the same house as mentioned above with the added powder bath. This bathroom turned out so sweet, just as intended for the 4 year old it was designed for! The house is an older home, so keeping some historic referenced tiles made perfect sense. Then we had fun topping it off with whimsical and modern lighting. All in all, it’s fun, beautiful and something she will be able to grow up with over time! To see more of this modern bohemian renovation check it out here.

Lead Interior Design: Lisa Gilmore Design | Kitchen & Bath Design: Bee Studios Design | Native House Photography

FASHION FORWARD WASHROOM

This next washroom is fresh out of the design vault! As in literally, our client just got certificate of occupancy a week ago! We can’t wait to get this pretty space professionally photographed, but for now - this iPhone photo will have to do.

There are so many beautiful things to talk about in this space, it’s hard to say what we love most… so in this case, we will just let the photo do the talking! Stay tuned for when we reveal the rest of the project in the near future.

Lisa Gilmore Design | LaBram Custom Homes

Which of these projects above speak to your personal style best? Are you ready to take your washrooms up a notch with the design? They can be such great conversation starters and provide spaces to really showcase some unique style!


WHEN TILE STEALS THE SHOW

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Artfully selected tile, turns this property into a showstopper!

There are so many elements that go into designing a beautifully curated custom interior. So many get overwhelmed, rightfully so! This is why it is so good when clients know their strengths and weaknesses and when it is time to hire a professional.

What’s even better? When clients allow their designer to push the ordinary boundaries and really allow them put on their creative thinking hats, this project is the perfect reflection of that…

Condos tend to be pretty basic white boxes, you are often limited due to building construction constraints. Sometimes the location of an electrical box in the ceiling isn’t ideal, but it’s not easy to move it due to the building shell. Or maybe it’s not the ideal situation with the floor to ceiling windows to hang drapery, because the ceiling construction just won’t allow you to mount them up there…. the list goes on.

So we have to get creative on ways to bring in the style. With this project, one big way was through tile. With the custom kitchen, we opted for a soft pretty washed white palette, it almost has a nice champagne tone to it, the island a darker gray hue, our all over flooring was a faux porcelain marble. We decided to let the backsplash be the main character of this space:

Lisa Gilmore Design | Custom Kitchen: DHM Construction | Seamus Payne Photography

One thing I can count on almost always saying is “In design, it is important to let it flow, not all the pieces can be a showstopper. It’s like a movie - we need a main character, then we need some pretty important supporting roles to make it all work.”

With this kitchen, I did not waver from that philosophy at all. The beautiful backsplash is so perfectly complimented with the custom hood, the large hardware gracefully dances amongst the cabinets, the counter top is just as beautiful as the backsplash, but a calmer art piece to not compete.

Lisa Gilmore Design | Custom Kitchen: DHM Construction | Seamus Payne Photography

I loved designing this backsplash so much, playing with the beautiful shades of marble to create the shapes. The design flows so seamlessly from the walk up bar to the rest of the kitchen where the range and hood rest. While this is a very busy and bold choice, due to all the other elements, I personally find it quite calming with the rhythm it creates.

To compliment the kitchen, we paired beautiful custom barstools that nestle perfectly within the waterfall edges of the island. Brass details and leather sing with the space and provide a little warmth.

Lisa Gilmore Design | Custom Kitchen: DHM Construction | Seamus Payne Photography

This kitchen is truly a piece of art, a place to entertain friends and family or equally calming to have a nice Sunday brunch at home!

However, the tile eye candy didn’t stop at the kitchen…

I absolutely love having fun with powder bathrooms and turning them into “little jewel boxes” and this powder bath became a jewel box indeed. We installed a beautiful eggplant moiré wallcovering, providing so much saturated color and depth. A custom vanity complete with custom design and fabricated hardware stood proudly in front of this gorgeous marble tile that we lined the wall with from floor to ceiling.

Lisa Gilmore Design | Custom Vanity: DHM Construction | Seamus Payne Photography

We inlayed a mirror on the vanity wall to seamlessly blend with the tile, mounting a sconce directly on the mirror. The space was topped off with a Chihuly style chandelier crown…

Lisa Gilmore Design | Custom Vanity: DHM Construction | Seamus Payne Photography

Isn’t tile with serious style pretty amazing?! I love how you can transform a space from average and expected to an extraordinary showpiece!


5 REASONS WHY YOU SHOULD PAINT YOUR WALLS BLACK

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Lisa Gilmore Design | Seamus Payne Photography

In an era of bright and white instagramable spaces (yes, we swoon over those too!) - we are think you should paint your walls black. It’s no surprise that I am a fan of dark moody spaces. I try to slide in some saturated color into a project every. single chance I get. So here are our top reasons why you should say yes to that darkest color swatch on the paint color fan deck.

1. MAKE IT COZY

Lisa Gilmore Design | Seamus Payne Photography

A dark room (especially black) has the ability to wrap you in color and create a cozy inviting space that light colors simply can’t achieve. It’s almost like the room is opening its arms to you and pulling you in for a big bear hug.

2. BENEFIT FROM CONTRASTS

Lisa Gilmore Design | Native House Photography

Other colors will contrast and bounce off like you would’t believe, so the end result is actually bringing more life to the space.

3. BLACK IS SEXY

Lisa Gilmore Design | Seamus Payne Photography

Everyone looks sexy in a black room. A black interior is flatering. Your skin tone will thank you.

4. YOUR ART WILL LOOK PHENOMENAL

Lisa Gilmore Design | Seamus Payne Photography

Your art will look PHENOMENAL. It doesn’t matter if you are an avid fine art collector, pick up art from the thrift store, have only a few key pieces and a massive collection. Your art will sing on the dark moody backdrop.

5. NO NEED TO FEAR

Lisa Gilmore Design | Seamus Payne Photography

It will not feel small, we promise. Okay - so a few factors do come into play with this promise. One, your ceilings really can’t be lower than 8 ft, and if they are, make sure you balance that dark wall with some of the following: light or bright area rugs and drapery OR light and bright furniture, also varying wood tones add interest to a dark space. (really, any space.) Additionally, if you don’t have a lot of natural light in the space, be sure to add ambient lighting through chandeliers, floor lamps, table lamps and/or wall sconces

Lisa Gilmore | Roohi Photography

 

GO AHEAD, PULL THE TRIGGER ON THE BLACK PAINT.

There you have it, I rest my case. Hopefully you are now dreaming up which room (or maybe you should just go for it and paint your whole place black!) that you will tackle with this amazing color. And if you get a little scared, don’t worry, we’ve got your back.

With love & design-y dreams,

Lisa Gilmore