Professional, personalized care every step of the way
BRIAN MCCULLOUGH
Postmedia Content Works
Good service, good materials, good workmanship, good guarantee.
Any homeowner who has ever contemplated renovations will tell you that the toughest part of the process is figuring out who to give the job to. When your most valuable asset is in play, there is a lot riding on your choice of contractor.
Orléans residents Daisy and Dave were facing this particular dilemma when they decided to visit the Ottawa Home & Remodelling Show at the EY Centre last January. With retirement on the near horizon the couple felt it was time to update the main and ensuite bathrooms in their 25-year-old Sunridge neighbourhood home. But which company to choose?
“Finding a good contractor was our biggest concern,” Daisy said. “We talked to a lot of contractors at the show. When we stopped at the Westend kiosk, we got a very good feeling. Their setup was professional, and they answered all of our questions. When they told us that they would supply one crew to be with us for the entire job from start to finish, we were sold.”
Westend Bath and Kitchen has often been singled out for their worry-free, one-stop shopping style of project management. If the job calls for a plumber, an electrician or a cabinet maker, Westend makes all the arrangements and guarantees the work.
This was just the kind of reassurance Daisy and Dave were looking for when they spoke with designer Sarah Stott at the Home & Remodelling show. They would not be disappointed.
“Daisy and Dave have a timeless, classic design to their home so we maintained the style in their new bathrooms,” Stott said. “They wanted both rooms to complement each other, so we used many of the same materials with subtle changes. We chose strong, flagstone grey water-based stained cabinets and contrasting Cambria quartz countertops. The large format 12” x 24” porcelain tiles look like beautiful natural stone with realistic veining and tones. The cultured marble shower base in the ensuite is a durable material that comes in many different colours, which makes it easy to choose something that works with the tiles.”
Stott’s decision to include a vertical tiled waterfall accent behind the ensuite’s shower fixtures added an attractive dynamic to the space, and made a nice change from the horizontal accent she used in the smaller main bathroom to create a strong visual sense of a larger space.
On their visit to the Westend showroom to choose their materials and colours, Daisy said she and Dave were delighted to find that Stott had already put together a sample of materials for them to look at. “She made it so easy for us. I was looking for a neutral colour palette that would be current today and in the future, and that’s what she had ready for us.”
Dave said he dragged his feet initially over the design for the main bathroom because the new pieces — the tub, toilet, and vanity — would be following the same basic floor plan.
“I thought it was going to look the same, but I was wrong,” he said. “It looks bigger because of the tile going all the way to the ceiling, it has better storage space, it has better lighting — it’s got style. Sarah made our design ideas a whole lot better. When we asked if we could change the ensuite shower to a doorless entry, Sarah came up with the idea of arranging the shower doorway on the diagonal. I would never have thought of that. I was thinking in straight lines.”
For Daisy, the reimagined ensuite is everything she hoped for. “It’s my little spa, and I can’t believe it’s mine,” she said. “It’s beautiful.”
“We wanted good service,” Dave said. “Good service, good materials, good workmanship, good guarantee — we got what we wanted.”
The Westend Bath & Kitchen showroom, located at 1660 Woodward Dr., is open Monday to Saturday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. You can also visit www.westendbk.ca, or call 613-226- 7701 to schedule a free estimate.
