Basement Oasis

The uniqueness of my situation made my choice of builder critical.  I was away 90% of the time during the planning and building stages of my house construction and my old house was falling down around me.  I needed a reliable and motivated design/build firm to execute the project within a certain time line.  I found a house I liked online and sent Marc the link.  From the pictures and rudimentary floor plan he and Lara drew up the plans and designed the house to accommodate my demands for green SIP construction.  Finalizing the design of a house can be a little daunting with all the details.  Lara made sure to have only 2 or 3 suitable choices of each layout, fixture or sample so I was able to make decisions without being overwhelmed.  Marc and Lara proved to be very accommodating with my ideas and their communication was open and easy.  In all, the project ran for almost one year start to finish and I now live in a beautiful and comfortable new home.

I had a complete kitchen renovation done by Ellenwood Homes. Lara oversaw the design and Marc the construction. I had an idea of what I wanted, along with some pictures. Lara was able to bring together these threads and help me put together a fabulous modern kitchen. Not only did she do a lot of leg work [materials sourcing] and construction drawings, she also did construction supervision along with Marc. Lara is a very experienced designer. She was easy to work with and came up with great options and sensible solutions. My job was small, but both Marc and Lara gave it top-notch attention. I love my new kitchen! The work was very good quality and we stayed within budget. I would happily hire them again for my next project.

Ellenwood Homes did renovations of approximately $120,000 for us, which included completely redoing the 3-bedroom main floor (including the kitchen and bathroom), structural changes in the basement (including the addition of a legal suite), and some exterior and garage work.  We were extremely happy with the quality of the work, the process, and the pricing.  When we were initially getting quotes, some contractors would tell us what we wanted was very complicated, but Marc Brillon told us it was do-able. We were very impressed by how he was able to handle any problems with ease.  Ellenwood's pricing was very competitive. Throughout the project Marc was very conscious of costs and would provide options for more cost-effective solutions.  Marc was also an excellent project manager - he handled the acquisition of materials and the management of subcontractors extremely well!  In addition to doing excellent quality work cost-effectively, Marc was very helpful in accommodating our family's needs as we lived through the renovations. It was a real pleasure to have Ellenwood Homes do our renovations! Not only are we extremely happy, we are constantly getting compliments.

Our newly-purchased home was built in '93 and when the realtor arranged a first showing in late 2016, my wife said, "This place has potential value but it needs a serious updating".  At the same time, I kept thinking, "I think this house has good bones".  So we bought it, moved into it and embarked on updating it with the help of Lara and Marc from Ellenwood Homes. All excellent decisions.

Lara is educated and experienced in building and furniture design; Marc in construction and budgeting.  Add to that the varied skills of their main onsite contractors, Corey and Scott.  What a team!  We've never known better and if we were to tackle another job like this we'd choose these folks again...in a flash!

After a winter of renovating and selecting of new furniture - all guided by our team, we are totally thrilled with the outcome.  On top of that, we've gained very good friends in the process...

I have completed three high-end, successful and significant residential renovations with Lara Ellenwood during the past 11 years.  Lara is a uniquely talented Interior Designer. She is a pleasure to work with - quiet, thoughtful, pleasant and sensitive. She is very well trained, professional and highly organized. I met her initially as a client of Ledingham Design, where she handled their interior design. She excels in design and in liaising with suppliers and trades whom she knows well and who hold her in very high regard.  I understand why! She is more than willing to listen to her clients and their personal needs, and bend her choices in their direction. Additionally, she enriches their choices, adds new ideas, presents fine concept sketches, then detailed plans, and absolutely aces the colour palette after the required contemplation work. She then supervises the actualization process from beginning to end, has the best resources at her disposal, and brings together all the disparate elements together, successfully.  Whoever you are, you are fortunate to be able to consider working with her.