Designing Within a Community
As interior designers, our work is not just about design but also about the fabric of our community that we call home. We consider the notion of home to be a collective of everything around us. When we create functional and sustainable spaces, our client’s lives are enhanced which in turn improves the communities they inhabit. We like to think that by participating and contributing to our community, we can better understand how our clients relate to their community. It is also through community that we gain knowledge and discovery of new makers, artists, products and services that allow us to support local.
Designing for the Kawartha lifestyle and enhancing client’s lives at the community level.
Local art from our Colborne Street Gallery that shows us where we’re from!
Community Involvement
Being involved in a community like Fenelon Falls and area provides us with not only the ability to contribute to our home town but at the same time we gain valuable insights into what enriches our client’s lives. Through my new board work (hello it’s Chris!) with the Kawartha Lakes Community Futures Development Corporation (KLCFDC), I can contribute my business and financial expertise to help further enhance life in the Kawarthas. With Tim’s past Chamber of Commerce work and his time spent with the Kawartha Downtown Revitalization Committee, we both play an active role in the economic and social well-being of the Fenelon Falls community. It is with this involvement that our client’s know we are truly committed to the Kawarthas and to enriching their lifestyles at the same time.
Building and now fundraising for The Grove Theatre is our passion project and part of a long- term strategy to make Fenelon Falls into a world class theatre destination!
This mural installation in downtown Fenelon Falls is one of the many ways that community involvement can work to improve buildings, add cultural significance and create landmarks.
The Moorings on Cameron Lake in Fenelon Falls is one example of how design contributes to how the development will seamlessly fit into the landscape. The Moorings will provide residents with a residential option that will offer a more turnkey lifestyle than a cottage.
Art fundraisers and other events provide opportunity for residents to come together and work toward a common goal of community improvement.
The annual pumpkin walk at The Grove Theatre provides the community with a cultural experience while encouraging social interaction through a unique way to gather.
Social Fabric
When we design interiors that complement living and working, we put ourselves in our client’s shoes and we can actually improve their quality of life. Through commercial design we can enhance community engagement, connectivity and education. Designers are also part of the collective art and culture that a community is known for. Different designs make more sense in different regions and although we can mix the two, integrating design into our regional culture builds an aesthetic that we begin to identify with as a community.
Through the arts, communities connect and create diverse opportunities for personal expression.
Wall of smalls at The Colborne Street Gallery feature local artists from the community making art accessible to all.
Sustainability
Our goal is to always tread lightly with our design footprint and the overall intent is to integrate design with environment. Our approach is holistic in that we strive to create form, functionality and minimize environmental impact. Our Kawartha community is special and we seek to negate the impact of the built environment. Creating timeless spaces means our clients can stay in their places longer. It means that our selections and finishes are built to last, and that quality takes precedent. We want our designs to grow with our clients so they have flexibility with their lifestyle.
This sauna design for a client utilized all recycled materials and blends seamlessly into the natural landscape. Read more about this interesting and unique project here.
In our exterior designs, sustainability is at the forefront. In this instance, a parterre garden makes use of what would have been wasted space and now acts as not only a garden but a prime location to take in a Kawartha sunset or two! By creating a formal setting and making use of symmetrical patterns with gravel and greenery, we allow the garden to become part of the natural surroundings.
Leaving a gentle footprint in our precious Kawartha Lakes means designed spaces integrate into the natural environment. The first thing we ask ourselves on a site visit is: “what is the view and how do we design around that.”
Using natural materials in design to bring the outdoors in. The birch kitchen pendants will bring nature inside for our Balsam Lake project. Even in a modern design with high ceilings and curtain window walls, using natural materials can soften and add interest indicative of the build location.
Cultural Heritage
Designing in the Kawarthas means we pay homage to the history of our community while creating the path forward. By seeing the larger framework for what Fenelon Falls and the area can look like, we know that our design philosophy will always have a bigger picture in mind. We have so many interesting landmarks, historic stories and the role culture plays in our region is always front and centre. Tim, voluntarily sits on the Kawartha Lakes Cultural Centre Feasibility Task Force and this expertise will lead to what we hope, will be a cultural centre within Kawartha Lakes. Designing community is a creative process not unlike our residential and commercial work. We enjoy including the stories of our region into our work and giving life to local cultural influences. We see our role as one of preserving history and legacy through design.
Cottage Appin, one of the oldest standing cottages at Sturgeon Point. Our mission was to renovate while preserving the historical integrity. Sturgeon Point is a great example of cultural heritage being maintained while updating cottages for a more contemporary lifestyle.
Cottage Appin rendering which is used as a tool to demonstrate to our client exactly what the vision will be. By including elevations along with design features, clients get a more accurate idea of how their project will render.
This hunter green tile meant we could design to a specific time period for Cottage Appin, keeping its historical charm but making it new again. Hunter green has long been associated with old world elegance and provides a connection to the surrounding forest.
Incorporating art like this painting by Joan Horsfall Young, of the Sturgeon Lake Sailing Club (SLSC) paired with sailboat wallpaper, is an example of connecting community history through art and design.
Placemaking
We find that our commercial design provides the opportunity to create design around people. When we put people first in our commercial design projects, we bring people together, we help foster well-being and a sense of belonging. Creating educational hubs, productive places of business and places where art and culture interact is how we can improve the economic vitality for the Kawarthas. By promoting accessibility and keeping our community mobile, we “placeshape” where we live. Being a key tourist destination makes this goal even more integral to future growth and prosperity in and around our region.
Ampere in Lindsay is a STEAM hub bringing educational programs to the community. Our commercial design creates spaces for business productivity and hubs for community learning. This project is currently nominated for Best Commercial Design in the Kawarthas through the Lindsay Chamber of Commerce.
Thrive in Lindsay, is project whereby we created a shared coworking community offering a place for businesses and entrepreneurs to work and share ideas.
We can begin to see the important role that design plays in guiding and representing what a community stands for. Design is transformative and seeing our community and the people at the heart of that, is what drives our involvement and deeply personalized approach to design. Every design project for us, is viewed as a social project. Whether that is for a specific client and their family, or for a business or the town as a whole, we look to strengthening our community and people’s lives through design.
Myself and Zoie Sutherland with the help of Marylee Boston from the Fenelon Falls & District Chamber of Commerce during Small Business Week.
Our Home by Tim + Chris team, doing what we do best, connecting people’s homes and cottages to their communities and Kawartha lifestyle through design!
