A Great Cause Needs Your Support

Giving back to the community is something every business should do. Whether it is to support the bigger and well known charities such as CHEO or United Way or to select something or someone close to your heart, the community as a whole benefits and the business is remembered by those in the community.

I had the opportunity this morning to attend the Kanata Chamber of Commerce breakfast meeting with Cyril Leeder, President of the Ottawa Senators, as the guest speaker. His topic was community involvement. We all are aware of the extent they go to and contribute to the community. Albeit, on a much smaller scale, CPI Interiors supports the community with charitable donations as well. We offer gift certificates for an hour of my time to support “silent auctions” at many charities and donate prizes of all types. Most recently I have been approached to participate in:

"20-4-20 DESIGNER DAY - A Fundraiser

On October 20,2010, 20-4-20 Designer Day offers homeowners a 20 minute session with an professional designer for $20. All proceeds raised through the event will go to Stephanie Lanctot. Stephanie has been diagnosed with cervical cancer. At just 25 years of age, Stephanie is forced to take treatments outside of Ottawa, meaning she can no longer work as she is healed of the illness. Many of the costs associated with seeking treatment are not covered by OHIP, including staying in Toronto and travel to and from her home in Ottawa. Gendron Antiques is raising funds to help support Stephanie through these trying times. The event listing can be viewed at http://homestars.com/on/ottawa/events/20-4-20-designer-day-a-fundraiser

The times are filling in and it looks like we will have a busy day meeting people. I hope others will support the cause and book a time. If you are interested you should call Gendron Antiques at 613-831-2186 and book your 20 minutes!!

Wonderful Project

I have just finished a wonderful project that I thought I would share with you. It was a renovation of kitchen and family room. The family room is sunken and in the kitchen an oak railing that overlooked the family room.  I have done 100s of kitchen renovations over the years but what made this so unique was the client’s need for more of an area to entertain and still allow for a functional family space.  The oak railing between the two rooms with a two step difference in height created a challenge to make it all come together as one.  With such a large room, we decided to do built-ins in the family room along the long wall and float the sofa in front of it.  The challenge was where to put a TV and for a designer that is always an issue.  The solution was to design a TV cabinet below where the railing sits and on the kitchen side put a bank of drawers and a wine rack.  Our cabinet maker was even unsure on how this was going to work, but after a number of consultations we got it to look great!!  He had to make the cabinet at two heights which was a bit tricky, but it turned out great.  The granite top extending over both sides provides a wonderful area for serving hors d’oeuvres and drinks to guests.  Take a look at the project on our website, some of the pictures are shown under “kitchens” and some are shown under “living room/family rooms.”  Post a comment or send me an email and tell me what you think.

2010 Platinum award winner for Interior Design

I have a soft spot for the communities of Kanata and Stittsville. I have been living in one or the other of these two communities most of my adult life. CPI Interiors was recently voted the 2010 Platinum award winner for Interior Design by readers of both the Kanata Kourier-Standard and The Stittsville News newspapers. It is a great honor to be chosen by the residents on both these great communities. We would like to thank everyone that voted for us. It is an amazing feeling and very humbling to have our clients step up and take the time to vote. In the 12 plus years we have been in business we have worked in every part of the greater Ottawa area, and we continue to do so. We have assisted people in over 3,000 homes and 65% of these have been in Kanata or Stittsville. So thank you Kanata and Stittsville!!!