Comparing Reality to Television

I just wanted to write a quick blurb about renovating and decorating. Many misinterpret the length of time certain projects take because of the television shows the public watches.  The  ‘Do It Yourself’ projects or just a regular home makeover shows completed in one weekend.  Please keep in mind proper space planning is a must, you cannot just order pieces of furniture that look good and pray that they fit. You need to plan ahead. You cannot just put one coat of paint on and it will dry immediately – ready for the next coat! If you are doing a kitchen or bathroom renovation, mediums take time to set, like your grout, plaster, etc., not to mention the lead time for working drawings, cabinet builds etc. . Again, I just want to avoid the surprise when you hire your designer and they inform you of the time needed to fulfill your project. These are just a few examples that are not shared about reality on television. Also, this timeline does not include any unexpected occurrences that may arise during the redesign or renovation. This is reality, not television. But reality makes everything exciting and every project is a great experience for both me, the designer, and you, the client. Have a great day!

What kitchen style are you?

I thought I would share some examples of different kitchens descriptions in light of CPI Interiors holding a kitchen design seminar next week.

Galley Kitchen – When there is a lineup of cabinetry along one wall or line of cabinetry along two walls facing each other; usually known as a walk through kitchen. This type of kitchen does not contain enough room for an island when there are two wall of cabinetry.

L-Shaped Kitchen – When cabinetry is arranged along two connecting walls and meets in the corner. Islands can be used in this type of kitchen.

U-Shaped Kitchen – This type of kitchen has three walls of cabinetry. From a top view, it is in the shape of a ‘U’. Also, this type of kitchen usually has room for an island.

Block Kitchen – A block kitchen is a ‘U’ or ‘L’ shaped kitchen with the stove or both stove and sink are located in the island. With this island, it creates a block with all areas of the space covered.

These types of kitchens are the most common kitchen layouts. You may come across other kitchens that have breakfast nooks or double sided cabinetry with large pantries. All kitchens are different, they have their own flare or may lack in certain areas depending on space available and budget. Kitchens are a reflection of you so work closely with your designer to add the extra flavor to the most important space in your home.

Client and Friends Appreciation event

Giving my speech

Patrick Mullin, great entertainer!!

Jerome &  Catherine Pulcine, Patrick Mullin

I am very late in getting this posted and for that I apologize, where does the time go??? .  On July 11th CPI Interiors held a client and friends appreciation event at Cedarhill Golf and Country Club A very good friend of ours, Patrick Mullin put on an amazing two set concert which, based on the comments after, everyone loved. I gave a speech that evening to thank our clients and the friends who made CPI Interiors happen.  I thought I would just post that speech here so the ones that couldn't make it that evening could see what I had to say.

My speech, July 11th:

Thank you all for joining us this evening.  It is such a pleasure to have our clients, suppliers and friends to help us celebrate and to thank you for your ongoing support. 

Now into our 14^th year of business I must say it has been an exciting ride and one that we can’t see as ever ending.   It has been very rewarding.   It has been my pleasure and reward to have clients that have followed me through the 22 years I have been in this industry.  We have had the opportunity to be in more homes in this city than you can imagine.  In 2009 we hit the 3000 client mark and to this date have help decorator or renovate over 3400 homes in this city.  It is often said in the office if you would like to know how to get anywhere in this city, just ask Catherine, she’s probably been there.  I think that’s a fair assessment.  That’s not to say I don’t get turned around sometimes but usually I could give some taxi drivers directions without GPS.   We will have clients call to ask about something that was done in their home 6, 8, 10 years ago and it may not be a name I will recall, but give me address and chances are I will remember. 

We have our staff here this evening that you have met when you came in.  Karen Jackson, is our Office Manager has been with us for more than 11 years.  She came to us as a new graduate from her business school and recently married.  Today she has 2 beautiful children and her oldest has just turned 10.  She and her husband Kevin have just celebrated their 12^th wedding anniversary.  She has been a steadfast and loyal employee that we appreciate very much.  So many times when we go to the trade shows with our designers, we are asked and which one is Karen.  We say back in Ottawa at the office.  Karen is the backbone of our operation.  She runs the show and is the one that stays behind the scenes and keeps us all going.  If we need to know anything in our office from the corners you will hear “Kaaaren”.  She is tough to stump.  Thank you Karen for everything you do.

Allison Parsons has been with us a couple of years now and Terri-Lynn Boulet has been a more recent addition to our team.  Allison and Terri are both graduates from Algonquin College Interior Decorating program and work as Design Consultants.  We sincerely see them becoming” Karens” too.   Jerome, my husband and business partner is the Management side of our operation.  It is asked frequently of us, how do you do that?  Work with your husband, one woman I recently spoke to was commenting that she considered working with her husband for about 10 seconds and realized she would probably go insane, how do you do it, she asked.   Jerome and I have very different strengths.  I have my role in the design side and working with our clients.  I work with our design staff in making certain we are presenting to our clients the best look possible and work with their budgets.  Some people say I get to do the fun stuff.  It isn’t without challenge but I do love it.  Jerome is the one who keeps us front and centre and is always promoting our services in the best ways possible.  We respect each others role and know that neither can do the others job.  That’s not to say that is always a “yes dear” but we do work well together.  He did say he would make me famous one day and to a small degree he has.  I had a cute thing happen one day in the grocery store with a little girl looking at me and finally telling her mother “That’s the lady on our fridge”.  Her mother may have attended one of our many seminars and received a note pad that was on their fridge.  I noticed she used it for her grocery lists. 

Working with people is certainly interesting and sometimes humorous situations arise.  We have had designers out on appointments that call and want help in locating not only how to get to a clients house but also to have us tell them where they are.  One particular incident involved a designer off to see a rural client and she called on her cell phone to say she didn’t know where she was or how she got there never mind be to the clients’ home.  When asked what road she was on, sincerely expressed that she was on a dirt road with a corn field on one side and large oak tree to the other.  I’m guessing since Oak trees are less plentiful than a maple that would have given an indication as to where she was.  Jerome very patiently – yes for those who know him – he CAN be patient – helped her through where she had been and put her on her right direction.  She did make it to the clients’ home and on time.

It is always interesting to receive some of the phone calls and email requests that we get asking for advice.  Some give us verbal tours through their home and believe we can give them paint colours – sorry that’s not possible.  Others are a little more complex.  I had a man call to ask, and this was for real, how did you make it so when you get to the top of the stairs you don’t hit your head on the roof.   Apparently he was building a house, by himself, without plans, or permits I discovered and he had no idea how to build it.  I suggested he should stop what he was doing and find a contractor that could help him through the process and get permits for the house.

Another one that is always interesting is the person who buys their furniture that is the proverbial good deal only to discover it really isn’t when the furniture doesn’t fit.  We had one client that upon arriving at their house to see an extremely large sofa on one side of the room with an equally large loveseat on the other, an oversize ottoman nicely in the middle to join them all together and a chair and half on the other side.  There wasn’t an inch of floor or walking space available.  They couldn’t return it as it was a deal and it wouldn’t go anywhere else in the house.  Needless to say they weren’t very happy. 

One of our most favourite though has got to be the person who calls to say they have torn out their kitchen and now discovered they haven’t any idea of what is involved next and thought that choosing cabinets was all that was essential to updating their kitchen.  There is so much more.

As always you have people in your life that make all things seem easier no matter the circumstance.  We have those people in our lives too.  To Jerry and Lynn Jordan who are there no matter the crisis to help, we love you.  To Barry and Wendy Bell, our dear friends and we thank you.  To Paul Sheldon and Heather Munro we value your friendship.

Patrick Mullin, our entertainer this evening is an accomplished musician who has traveled this country over 25 years to play his music in many small towns with his family in tow.  From Newfoundland to Northwest Territories, he has made his living playing and entertaining crowds both large and small.   He has produced a CD of original material that you will hear this evening and we had the honour of being present at the launch of that CD entitled NORTH.   Patrick and his wife Carol have been long time friends of ours.  It was with them that we mulled over our decision to start this company.  Over a bottle of wine and dinner, very concentrated conversation took place and pros and cons of starting it.  The die was cast and we set our course.  When we had our first office, it was Carol and Patrick that came to lend his handyman help and I must say is a wonderful craftsman too.  Over the years we have followed them to many locations that Patrick has been employed as the entertainment in a variety of venues.   We have traveled to Myrtle Beach where he played for several months and to Orillia, London and Windsor to mention a few.   They always have a welcome home and good times.  When we decided to present this evening we couldn’t think of a better way to say thank you to you all, including Patrick and Carol. 

Without further adieu ladies and gentleman please welcome Patrick Mullin. 

A-TV Morning Show

It has been a very busy spring so far.  I hope it never ends.  It is so exciting when people are doing projects in their home and I get to be a part of it.  I was on A-TV morning show this morning and I thought you might like to take a look: CPI Interiors on A-TV

Till next time,

Catherine

Kitchen Design and Renovation Seminar

I want to thank everyone at Cedarhill Golf and Country Club for the wonder venue to hold our Kitchen Design and Renovation seminar last night.  We had a full house which thrilled us because mother nature was not be very kind to us. My staff did an amazing job with setting up the displays and my business partner and husband, Jerome, did a wonderful job with the slide presentation.  A huge thank you to our very close friend, Jerry Jordan, for taking pictures and recording a video for us.

Jim Levie, from Homescope Ottawa, also participated with a 15 minute overview of the renovation work itself. Thanks Jim.

Everyone that attended seemed very pleased and a number of people book appointments with me so I know for sure they were happy.  You never know when you hold these events just how much information you can give someone and for how long, before they go into overload. I walked everyone through the process of a kitchen design and renovation from start to finish. Most people are very surprised at how much goes into doing a new kitchen.  So many think that it is all about the cabinets.  Well that is a very important element, it is just one of many.  You have to think about things such as , who is doing the tear out of the old kitchen.  What about hardware for the cabinets and sink and blacksplash, flooring, lighting...the list goes on and on.  The key of course is in the planning. 

I know it is going to seem self serving, but I would highly recommend that you should never do such a major renovation without the help of an interior designer, if not CPI Interiors, do yourself a favour call another designer before you begin.

Till next time...

Catherine

My first Youtube video

Hi again everyone, well today I have recorded my first video to be uploaded to Youtube. It seemed so strange to do this. I have been on TV many, many times and never felt as nervous as I did today doing this short video. It is weird speaking into a camera with no one talking to you and no one asking you questions. Much harder than I thought it would be. My husband and business partner, Jerome, has been after me for a long time to do this and he finally got me to sit down so he could record it. So take a look and let me know what you think. I am trying to explain in the video about our first contact with a new client and what happens. I promise as I do more of these videos that I will get better. Enjoy.

Be Careful When Doing It Yourself

Recently I had the experience of meeting with a client that was looking at installing large format tile himself. He was asking my opinion on choosing paint and a coordinating backsplash tile to go with the tile colour and not necessarily about the size, style or how to install it. I felt it my responsibility to mention that when using the larger format – in this case they were 12” x 24” – the style in which they are to be laid will certainly create an effect. The tile chosen was quite contemporary in style, unfortunately the space wasn’t. He was only translating what had been seen in a picture and the taste of the salesperson in the tile store that had never been in his home to know what it was going with. Since it had already been purchased he felt obliged to keep going. I did caution that he had that opportunity to make the change now before installing it and it would be a small cost at this point rather than compounding things by doing the installation. He agreed. The tile colour was ok and we made the change to a 16” x 16” tile that could still give the look that he was hoping for, works with the style of the cabinets and in all honesty was what he was thinking all along.


The other item that drew my attention was the lack of the subfloor for the tile and a distinct slope in the floor area. That would have to be levelled out to allow for the installation to be trouble free. He was thinking he could install the tile directly on to the aspenite subfloor of the house. I suggested he either do a 5/8” plywood subfloor or use the Schluter – DITRA mat system. The system is easy to install and the tile lays well. Some things to think about when doing it yourself!!

References and Photos

It is always interesting when speaking with potential clients for the first time to be asked “what style do you work in”? My response is always – “in your style.” It is so important to know that interior design and decorating should be done for each individual client’s tastes and to suit their home style. It is their home, not mine or for that matter it isn’t the neighbours or their sisters either. So many people are intent on getting opinions of others that really have no bearing on what is done for their own space.

It is important to know that when looking at photos on the website, that there may be things that strike you as wonderful however there may be others that you can’t understand why someone would have done that. Everyone is different and our job is to be sure that the basic principles of design are followed but the choices made are always special to the project being done. Colour, style and finishing are what the client wants or at least expressed what they would like.

When asking for what was done in another project, the thought has to be directed to what was intended and does it apply to another space. Sometimes clients ask to duplicate a picture and when reviewing it with them it becomes evident that it may be not in keeping with the style of their home, or in the end there are things that don’t translate well into their environment.

Keep and open mind and experience the difference. You will be amazed.