Terry from Old Toronto

Cole Residence – Woodlands Not trying to boast, but our family lives in a pretty much “picture perfect” setting with a forest in the back yard and with some remarkable unobstructed water views. That’s why; we could not move! We considered it as our home was in need of a number improvements but we decided to renovate instead and hired Stephen Sutch to help us with all of the Design specifications. All three of us have a variety of tastes and opinions in this house and they are sometimes very different from where some of our friends would like them to be when it comes to our taste in home décor. We had a challenge in front of us and Stephen from Barrel of Monkeys Design helped us conquer this. His job was to not only understand our family dynamics but find a way to give us all the “must haves” to make sense of our new home renovation project. Our home had to be not only beautiful, but completely functional plus withstand incredible indoor/outdoor traffic with the family and pets. It also needed to reflect three very distinct and different personalities; myself, my husband and our son. This project was not just a renovation, but a full re-build. This home was the only home we plan to live, in and we want it to make sense. We hired an architect and a contractor as well as Stephen with Barrel of Monkeys Design for all of the design specifications. Budget was always on the top of the list as this is such a huge project and we did not want this to go sideways like many other projects we have heard of in the past. We had no idea where to even start and Stephen pulled the project together so quickly and efficiently and it was totally in sync with all of our needs, wants and quirks. We don’t know how he did it, but it was amazing……we could never have done this project without him. Stephen listens and actually hears all of your requests. He thinks about the practical things, he’s detailed and he is always very punctual and on budget. Stephen totally kept us grounded in this department. Stephen sourced all of the interior product for our home. I.e.: flooring, tiles, cabinets, all the bath and kitchen plumbing, fixtures and hardware, counter tops, lighting and carpets. All of his product quotes were firm quotes and he had everything ready on time. Wow! We all enjoy waking up daily in our newly renovated home. It actually feels like a new home was just dropped on our old property, but then we realize that the old staircase is still there in the same location. Just freshened up! We now live in a Beautiful and functional space with the same great views outside but now we have them inside too. Stephen Sutch and Barrel of Monkeys Design were incredible and have added true value to our home. We would totally recommend him for any upcoming project. Kathy, Terry and Sam