Space Solutions is proud to announce that we have won an award in Homestars’ Outstanding Toronto Contractors and Renovations list. Every year Homestars compiles a Best-of list, with winners determined based on quantity and quality of reviews. For the first time, Space Solutions has been given a Best-of award, in the category of Organizing Products & Services. We’re thrilled, of course, and hope to make this an annual appearance!

Homestars is a a fantastic resource for consumers, providing an independent forum for people to share compliments - or complaints, as the case may be - with the rest of the public about their experiences with a company. The testimonials are moderated by Homestars, not the businesses, so you know that what you’re reading is honest and fair. Whether you are looking for a closet company, a roofer, a plumber or what have you, Homestars takes some of the guesswork out of it for you, and helps you make an informed buying decision.

It takes a lot of hard work to make projects go smoothly from beginning to end, and we want to send a big thank you to all of our customers who have taken the time to post reviews of our work online, or told their friends. A sizable portion of our business comes from referrals and word-of-mouth, and your satisfaction is what makes us successful.

Click the Homestars picture above and have a look at what people are saying about us - and if we’ve done work for you, maybe write a review yourself!

So we finally have winter in Toronto. Who’s excited about that? <cricket… cricket…>  Okay, so maybe it’s pretty cold out today, and even though there’s not a lot of snow on the ground yet, winter has definitely arrived. So that likely means that you’re spending more time indoors in your home, and turning your attention towards the projects you’ve been meaning to get to.

Closets

Closets are the basis that Space Solutions was founded upon, and continue to be a huge part of our business - “We make small closets BIG”. With new colours coming out every year, you can really tailor your closet to your tastes. Popular colours this year have included Antique White Wash, Silken Maple, and the ever popular Chocolate Pear Tree. Of course, you can never go wrong with standard options like White and Antique White. As always, our custom closet solutions are made as unique solutions for you - we make everything to order, and with no standard sizes or predetermined configurations you will get unmatched quality and storage options.

Built Ins

With all this extra time spent indoors, you’re no doubt looking for ways to dress up your home, do away with any visual clutter. Our Built In solutions offer endless options for bedrooms, family rooms, home offices, basement storage and dens. The cabinet shown here is an excellent example of what you can achieve by keeping things simple. This wardrobe has been built using Hardrock Maple melamine, with flat doors and drawer fronts. A more economical solution than using profiled thermo frontage, complementing the structure with these interesting Asian-influenced handles in oil-rubbed bronze dresses this cabinet beautifully. Wardrobes, of course, are a great way to deal with lack of adequate closet space.

Doors

Our in house sliding door program continues to expand. Now offering two door profiles in two finish options, we have also expanded the offering for door inserts! Choose from white lami glass, mirror, woodgrain and solid colour laminates, and backpainted glass in every colour of the rainbow. Effects are possible, too: etched backpainted glass combines colour with the subtlety of frosted; combining glass inserts of different colours, or combining glass with board allows for infinite possibilities. And our smooth-rolling hardware will leave you wondering why you didn’t get these doors sooner.

Radiator Covers

Many older homes throughout Toronto still have operating radiators.  And as much as we love the heat they provide, we don’t always want to see them. Rad covers are a great solution, and allow for additional purpose. Let’s say you don’t mind seeing your radiators - let’s even say they are somewhat attractive - you don’t necessarily want to put things directly on top of them.  Building a rad cover around your radiator will provide additional storage, whether cupboard storage or simply a surface, and still let the rad do its job, and radiate. Our rad covers will allow you access to any valves, and with a large selection of MDF and metal insert screens, can be an unique as your home. Finally, select any colour from the paint deck and our painter will provide a gorgeous finish which will last for years.

And of course, it’s cold out - you don’t want to go outside! So Space Solutions will come to you, and provide a free in-home consultation to design and quote on any of these projects. Call the showroom at 416.322.5575 during business hours, or use this handy form to submit your request online, and one of out staff will phone you to set something up.

Space Solutions is pleased to announce that we will be exhibiting at the 2012 Interior Design show later in January. This year’s show takes place at the North Building of the Metro Toronto Convention Centre, on the 300 Level. You’ll find us at booth #2147, along the south wall of the exhibit hall.

Space Solutions will be exhibiting Closet solutions, a Murphy Bed and exciting new colours and options for our sliding door and room divider program. The 2012 Interior Design Show runs from Thursday January 26 through Sunday January 29. Please come visit us and see what’s new for 2012 - we look forward to seeing you!

Update January 27: here’s a photo from last night’s opening night event. From left, owner Barb Larocque, Senior Designer Christopher Willems and showroom manager Andrew Wencer with a double Murphy Bed. More pictures of the show to come!

We’re rapidly approaching the holiday season - in fact, you might say we’re already in it - and we just wanted to share a quick note about our closings for Christmas and New Year’s.

CLOSED: December 24 through December 26

CLOSED: December 31 and January 1, 2012.

All other days we will be open for regular business hours. Enjoy your holiday season.  Now booking installations for mid January 2012!

Space Solutions is pleased to announce that Harry Levinson has joined our sales team. It has been a very successful year for Space Solutions, so for the first time in quite some time we have made an addition to the sale force. Harry has over 25 years experience in the industry, and brings to the table his knowledge and know how. Designing custom closets, Murphy Beds, home offices and more, you’ll get the same great sales experience with Harry that you have had before, now backed by Space Solutions’ commitment to fine workmanship and quality, and our lifetime guarantee.  Welcome aboard Harry!

You may be new to our website, having seen our insert in today’s Globe and Mail. If so, welcome!  As you can see, Space Solutions offers a wide-range of custom storage solutions for every space in your home.  We’ve been making small closets BIG since 1986, but we’re more than just closet organizers - we do Home Offices, Murphy Beds, Mudrooms, Garages and more!   Visit our showroom at Bayview and Eglinton where we can show you examples and samples of the things we can do for you, or arrange for a free in-home consultation. One of our designers can come to your home, take measurements, go through portfolio ideas with you and put together a plan and a quote for your project.

Have you ever wanted to read about the work that Space Solutions has done from a customer’s perspective! Well you can, and there’s a couple of places you can do that.

It’s one thing if we tell you the feedback that we ourselves have received from our customers, but even better is to hear directly from them.  Reviews posted on outside websites are not going through the hands of the business, giving that extra legitimacy so that you know they are sincere and honest.  A great resource to look at is Homestars.  On their website, you can find listings and reviews for all sorts of businesses in the home improvement industry, including plumbers, roofers, flooring companies, and yes Space Solutions under the Closet category.  Homestars moderates all reviews, to make sure that they are legitimate and fair, making sure that they aren’t simply misleading filler posted by a business while also weeding out any malicious false reviews.  You can see what people are saying about us by clicking the link below.  If you are one of our customers, by all means sign up - it costs nothing to join - and write about your experience with us!  You don’t have to use your full name if your prefer, but it is easier to thank you and respond to any comments if you do.

Another great new place to check is by n49, where again you will find us in the Closets category. Similar to Homestars, n49 moderates and posts reviews submitted by customers. Again, there is no cost to you to sign up, and as an added bonus, when for every review you write n49 will make a $1 donation to your choice from a list of charitable organizations. As always, you may post anonymously, but remember we can respond and thank you more easily if we can identify you! Read what people are saying about us there by clicking on the link below.

Today our friend, stylist Stephanie Saunders presented a makeover of her condo on CityLine’s Home Day that we contributed a closet renovation towards.  She’s done a wonderful job of bringing modern and traditional looks together, and shows you that white need not be boring!  You can watch the entire episode by clicking here.

This reach-in closet interior (click the image to view the original sketch of the layout in a new window) is constructed in white melamine, with high-gloss white drawer fronts. We’ve provided clothes hanging on either side of the tower, and ample shoe storage below the long clothes hanging; Stephanie has selected some of her favourite shoes to sit in a prominent space atop the bank of drawers. It looks great. We’ve also closed off the closet with a set of our sliding doors. The aluminum hardware uses the Niagara profile, and features mullion strips on top of high-gloss white insert panels, carrying the look that she has employed in the rest of the bedroom to the closet, both inside and out. Stephanie’s entire project looks great, and Space Solutions is proud to have been a part of it.

Here are a couple of quick images from the production, so you may see the finished product in more detail.

Space Solutions designs and builds all sorts of closets. Sometimes we hear, “It’s just a closet.”  Well, there are closets and then there are closets.  From one to the next, closets vary in size, style and purpose, as unique as their owners and the homes they are within.  We wanted to talk a bit about closet styles and variances to help give a better understanding of what we can do for you.

Reach In Closets

A typical reach in closet is about two feet deep. Width and height will vary from home to home. In Toronto, many older homes (say, from the early 20th century) and newer condos will have reach in closets exclusively. Even in some larger houses and condos, the entrance closet is commonly a reach in, and bedrooms may have them as well. Depending on the type and size of the doorway, a typical solution for a bedroom will be to place a tower of shelves and/or drawers in the center, with a combination of single-hung long clothes and double-hung short clothes on either side, like in the picture to the left.  You may add a shelf or two for shoe storage below the long clothes section. While not always the case, you are probably less likely to add a lot of decorative detail to a reach in closet. Some things, like moldings or baseboard details will eat up a little space, and in a smaller closet that isn’t always practical. The closet to the left is white, but changing the finish, or in the event of drawers, you may add a decorative profiled face to them, which can beautify the space without reducing capacity.  Linen closets and closets in spare bedrooms, dens and such are also often reach ins, even in a larger home.

Walk In Closets

Now a Walk In closet, as the name implies, is a closet deep enough to walk into.  Again, they will come in all sorts of shapes and sizes: some condos in Toronto have walk ins that are long but narrow, sometimes resulting in using the space as an L shape; other walk ins may be more square, allowing for a U shape in what goes inside, assuming the doorway is centered on one wall.  We’ve encountered walk ins which have angled walls, spaces that have more than four sides, and even closets with windows in them - all things that we can work around. In a walk in closet, there is naturally more room to work with, so decorative detail is more practical.  The closet shown to the left features built-up trims on the gables and shelves that beef up the appearance, and there is also a simple base detail.  A walk in closet may be a shared space, in which case each person using the closet may get a side, with the balance of the space being shared.  A man’s side typically will have less long clothes hanging than a woman’s side, unless he prefers to hang his pants long by the cuff.  Whether one or two people are using a walk in closet, there will often be a bank of drawers or two, with the goal of letting you do away with a potentially bulk dresser out in the room.  There’s also the potential for a tower for shoes and handbags, a jewelry drawer, even a wall mounted mirror. But walk in closets aren’t just for bedrooms - we’ve organized them for entrances, mudrooms, pantries off the kitchen, even general storage in the basement.

Dream Closets

A Dream Closet is a walk in closet, fully dressed. This usually means that whatever arrangement we build, it likely has a base detail, flutes (columns), crown molding, perhaps decorative moldings on shelves, and back panels throughout. A dream closet generally wraps around all available space, and will have a lot of decorative upgrades. The one shown to the left is in Antique White, has the aforementioned flutes, base, moldings and backs. You’ll also note the upgraded drawer faces, crystal knobs (to match the chandelier), doors with glass inserts and a vanity mirror - not to mention the island. Not every walk in closet can accommodate an island, as you need to leave walking space between your clothes and the cabinets. But if you do have room for one, it is a great touch to have. This island even features a bench area, so you may sit and tie your shoes in your closet!  A dream closet can double as a dressing room.  We often find ourselves designing dream closets in an unused spare bedroom, which is when working around a window may come into play.  This example uses a somewhat traditional style in its detailing, but we can certainly achieve more contemporary looks by using more urban looking profiles, hardware and finishes.

What if I don’t have a closet?

Let’s say that for some reason, your bedroom does not have a closet attached to it. Maybe the house has been renovated, and the bedroom expanded at the expense of the closet. Now what? Well, there’s a couple of things we can do. For one, Space Solutions can design and install a custom wardrobe in the room. Something like this does not need to run wall to wall, and can be positioned and laid out according to your preferences. The wardrobe in the picture on the left, again in Antique White with a traditional style, features deeper sections on the ends that have clothes hanging within; the middle section is recessed and had drawers below with shelves behind doors above. That recess makes the overall appearance less imposing in the room, and provides an attractive, effective solution to the space. Again, you can achieve different looks depending on profiles and color options. (We have found this look to be quite popular, and have replicated it for multiple customers!)  As an alternative to building a wardrobe, consider using our sliding doors - choose either the Niagara or Aventura profile (now available in Wenge!) and choose from a wide range of insert materials, and we can install doors along the end of the room to section off part of the bedroom and then fill that space inside with organization.  Don’t want to go wall to wall? No problem. The doors are made to order and if you prefer, we could take a portion the space, install panels at the place you wish to have them stop and make a smaller closet.

At our showroom in The Sunnybrook Plaza we have examples of reach in and walk in closets, and portions of the dream closet above are on display here too.  As always you can request a free in home consultation by filling out and submitting this simple form, or you may call the showroom during business hours to speak to one of us.

Space Solutions is pleased to announce that we have some new offerings for our sliding door program! First, as you can see from this image, we now have a new hardware colour for our doors - Wenge. The Wenge finish is applied to the aluminum frames and tracks, and is a dark brown woodgrain colour. Use it with the popular White Lami glass panels, mirror, or board options. Wenge will look great with high gloss white board, for example. And, as with the standard aluminum finish, you may use mullion dividers for either a visual effect, or to separate materials within a door panel, such as mixing glass with board.  The Wenge hardware is an upgrade, and will add about $30.00 to $50.00 to a typical set of doors.

We are also pleased to introduce a new profile design to our line.  The existing profile is called Niagara, and features a curved edge, which usually is positioned on the front side when using these doors in a closet application.

The new profile is called Aventura, and is more of a square edge, and is identical on front and back, making Aventura an excellent choice for room dividers.  Aventura is priced the same as Niagara, and also comes in both aluminum and Wenge.  You will also have the same options for insert materials available for the new hardware.

We have samples of the new hardware options at the showroom now, and expect to have full doors built with the new options on display in the coming weeks.