As we've dealt with a number of times, unfortunately, this client came to us after a bad experience in designing and building his previous home. Ready to retire from his large engineering practice, he wanted to downsize, and ultimately spend more time at his other properties found in warmer climates. I can’t fault him for that! But downsizing or not, he wanted to get it right this time, and he wanted a better experience, so he chose Marre Design.

This client shared my love of running.  So much so that after he found this river front property while running along its waterside pathways, he bought it.  And I can’t fault him for that either!  The views out the front, down the river valley and with the downtown skyline as a backdrop are really incredible, and certainly influenced the design.  He wanted something “traditional”, but still unique and a little different.  We chose to work in a sort of “Art Deco” style from the 1930’s and 40’s--or at least be influence by it—and he loved it! 

We try very hard to far surpass the expectations of every client, regardless of their previous experience with past projects.  And it’s particularity fun when we walk through a finished home with the clients and only then do they realize exactly why we’d detailed the home in a certain way.  Sometimes that happens after a client has been living in the home for a little while and we’ll get an excited call or email about how much they love living there becuase of it.  That’s such a satisfying part of what we do, and it happens often.  Sometimes it’s not easy for someone to articulate, other than it just works, or makes sense, or it just “feels” right and good.  As so it did on this project. 

One of my personal favorite details on this home, was the full glass roof above the entire stairwell.  Because of the open stair design, light was able to filter it’s way all the way down all three storeys and floods each floor with natural light, even though a duplex normally would tend to be darker inside becuase of the shared center wall.   I still get excited when I do my site visits… I can’t help myself.  And that glass ceiling detail is one of the parts of this project that still makes me smile.

"Tom Chute (Marre Design Group) is outstanding, takes his work very seriously and is very enthusiastic. His designs truly reflect the needs and wishes of his clients, and are very innovative. Tom is very meticulous and he doesn't miss a detail.

Because of his background in construction, his designs are a builder's dream and are very cost effective for his clients. I have really enjoyed working with Tom. He is very easy to relate to and is very down to earth.  I highly recommend him!" 

Parkdale Duplex client, homeowner