Ever wonder what interior design work garners the laurels? Here’s a look at the fabulous winners of the Canadian Decorator’s Association (CDECA) awards. According to the judges, entrants for 2009 were of an impressively high caliber all around — as evidenced by the tie in one category, an unexpected occurrence for this event. Very contemporary styles with modern clean lines were dominant this year. If you happen to be a fan of home magazines, the overall themes may look familiar to you - updated, yet classic and enduring. However, the judges weren’t merely scoring on looks alone as eco-friendly and sustainability factors of the projects were equally important considerations.

A small warning before you proceed — these before and afters may inspire the urge to update your decor, or even more so, make one desirous of hiring professional talent. Much appreciation to Tobi Brockway, CDECA Director of Marketing, for providing the details and images.

Awards Ceremony (and winners) images by Dana St. Louis Photography.

Category: Renovation

1st Valerie Rowley Schomberg, Ontario (pictured with presenter Tim Craik)

Bedroom Before

Bedroom After

Bedroom Before

Bedroom After

Ensuite Bathroom Before

Ensuite Bathroom After

2nd (Tie) Sharyn Kastelic North York, Ontario

Kitchen Before

Kitchen After

2nd (Tie) Camille Savage Vancouver, BC

Dining Room Before

Dining Room after

Category: New Construction

1st Lisa Geisler North Bay, Ontario (with presenter Marianne Fenniger)

The Winning Loft

2nd Christina Mogk Etobicoke, Ontario

Studio Before

Studio After

Category: Interior Decoration < $25,000

1st Victoria McKenney Vancouver, BC (pictured with presenters Laila Radage at left, and Sara Nadeau)

bedroom before

Bedroom After

2nd Elizabeth Metcalfe Caledon, Ontario

Living Room Before

Living Room After

Category: Interior Decoration > $25,000

1st Lisa Geisler, North Bay

hobby room before                                                               hobby room after

2nd Christina Mogk Etobicoke, Ontario

bar before                                                                    bar after

About CDECA

The Canadian Decorators’ Association (CDECA) is a professional not-for-profit association representing both Student and Accredited decorators and designers, and Affiliate businesses across Canada. Its goal is to foster the growth of the decorating industry in Canada; provide advocacy respecting policy matters; promote a positive image of the industry through proactive activities and events; and offer its members continuous upgrading of skills and knowledge. Visit www.cdeca.com.

by Guest

Designer: BiglarKinyan Design

Location: Queen and River Street

Description: complete redesign of loft

Reason for renovation: Previous space lacked the modern feel clients desired; Lack of flow and harmony

“When we were selected to work on this redesign project we were thrilled,” says Fardid Biglar of BiglarKinyan Design. “We love modern projects because we can break convention and do something really unique and special.”

Their clients described their dream space as “cold and institutional” and the designers weren’t going to disappoint.

The Redesigned Loft

The BiglarKinyan re-designed loft is a beautiful example of the Minimalism movement, with influences by some of the great architects of our time like Mies Van Der Rohe and Tadao Ando. The material palette consisted of polished concrete floors, honed gray limestone, lots of stainless steel and frosted glass, custom charcoal cabinets from Miralis with stainless steel interiors, Blizzard White Ceasarstone, and soft white shears.

Mr. Biglar explains that although they selected modern materials, they also had resale-value in mind, hence choosing materials that have intrinsic beauty and are likely to age gracefully and maintain their appeal and aesthetic. “We stylized the space so that the architecture can speak for itself, however our client as well as subsequent owners can dress the space up or down if they choose to.” Says Kenneth Ho, principal at BKDP.

Before any of the interior design elements could be implemented, many site preparations were required. BiglarKinyan Design’s scope of work included completely demolishing the existing walls and platforms in the space, reworking all of the plumbing and electrical and rebuilding everything to the new design.

“The previous owner must have really liked stairs,” says Mr. Biglar, “There were stairs up to the kitchen, stairs up from there to the washroom, and you even had to step down into the tub.”

They did rebuild to minimize the number of levels and improved the flow.  The kitchen area was extended to include an entertainment area with a large cantilever stainless steel bar where guest can mingle, the bathroom was zoned to have private areas (toilet and tub) behind a “S” shaped partition and semi-private functions (sinks) behind a frosted glass partition wall to animate the span of wall in the kitchen.

The frosted glass also allowed an abundance of light to make it to the kitchen area, situated in the middle of the loft space.

In the kitchen and closets, an abundance of drawers and organization solutions keep clutter out of sight and let the homeowners live in a minimalist space without having to make any sacrifices.

A modern space should also have modern conveniences and this loft does not disappoint. Motorized remote controlled drapes, integrated Sub Zero 736 fridge and cabinetry inserts from the Blum Dynamic Space program become a topic of conversation.