Sasen Renovations is excited to be amongst the ranks of our most skilled peers as one of the Ovation Award finalists. We thought we would share some of the story about how this project came to be: Purpose of the project: To turn a tiny spare room that became a haven for junk storage into a usable and magical study land for two sisters. The room is located in the basement of the home and so it was important to make the room cozy and warm in order to make the most use out of it. The Scope of work (redacted): Install custom day bed with one off valence and coffered barrel vaulted canopy Install two custom desks Fabricate and install one hanging barn door Panel and refinish walls Install wall covering and heritage trim Install ornamental additions including pulls, handles, cover plates etc. and theme specific lighting The Key Features of the job: The door: Our past blog post covers this door and how it was created. The door was salvaged from 100% recycled 2X6 Douglas Fir. This came from a renovation project of a colleague on the North Shore. Originally, this wood was part of the framing in a 70 year old home. The material was then hand crafted by Matthew Senf and finished by our designer, Lucy Tartaglia. For a video, visit our blog post How to Reclaim Wood Barn Door. The Walls: The base of the walls are trimmed out with an overheight baseboard and a thin profile, beaded wainscoting topped with a heritage cap rail. All the wood panel and trim have been finished with a three-part antiquing process comprised of base coat, distressed top coat and pigmented glaze finish to give the whole room a patina of well lived in warmth. A heavily patterned and theme specific wall paper makes up the balance of the field of wall topped off by a 4″ roman Ogee crown moulding painted and antiqued to match the millwork. The Desks: These desks, and their accompanying chairs, were rescued from being thrown away. The chairs had some appliqué details added and were recovered to match the day bed. The desks, once appliqué, moulding and routered details were added, were antiqued and finished with the same patina and technique as the wall panelling, trim and millwork. We want to thank Lucy for her hard work on this project and congratulate her as well. Thank you also to all of our subtrades who worked with us on this room to create a masterpiece out of a small space. What do the kids think? “The room is very warm and cozy…it’s fun to do our homework there now and to hang out with our friends.” Mission accomplished! Ovation Awards Finalists Before Image: After Photos of the Cinderella Study:  

Sometimes a project is not about getting it done quickly, it’s about craft and vision. In this case, it’s the vision to produce a reclaimed wood barn door. Barn doors and sliding doors have been popular in the past few years. Not only do they produce an interesting look, they  can often be used for practical solutions when looking to avoid the space a swing door requires. A sliding door could be used for any style of design, from modern to heritage. In this case, we are looking for a finish that is antiquated and ornate. The extra work that is required to achieve this look will be worth it, as the door will be one-of-a-kind and will match the aesthetic of the rest of the home.   Reclaimed Materials: The barn door is made from 100% recycled 2X6 Douglas Fir. This came from a renovation project of a colleague on the North Shore. Originally, this wood was part of the framing in a 70 year old home. When you can re-use materials from a demolition, do! You never know what you will find and rather than have usable materials end up in the land-fill, with some TLC, they can become something new! Building the Reclaimed Wood Barn Door: Matthew Senf, principal of Sasen, milled the 2X6 wood down. He then biscuited, glued and clamped the wood. The design was his own, and he added other details for aesthetic purposes only. These include: strap hinges, a knocker, clavor and handles (all of which are wrought or cast iron). These were sourced and ordered online. The roller hardware for hanging the sliding barn doors is a simple barn door hardware package purchased from one of our trusted suppliers, Windsor Plywood. This was then modified by Matt, as the door is 4’4″ and there is no basic set available for a door this size. Finishing the Barn Door: The finishing of the door is what enhances the aesthetic we were looking for with this barn door. We worked with Lucy from Tartaglia Designs. Lucy’s talent is more than just design: her artistic abilities to paint and finish materials adds a one-of-a-kind touch. Lucy worked her magic with basic stain, glaze and varnish.  The amount of distressing was minimal since the lumber was already peppered with holes, damage, nails etc. which makes up the lovely antique patina. The rest is her skill. If the wood was new, distressing wood would be required in order to get the rustic, antiquated look we are going for.   Lucy explains how she will finish the barn door:

Sasen’s community extends far and wide, but in this particular renovation, our community was the St. Timothy’s Anglican church just around the corner. Sasen began this renovation partnering with key members of St. Timothy’s leadership and supported by the members of the church  in order to complete this renovation. The goal of the project was to renovate the kitchen in order to better the food ministry, including the use of the church kitchen by the Food Bank. The rigours of meeting the requirements for a commercial kitchen are certainly, well, rigourous. After many hurdles, we have managed to complete the work. The renovation includes numerous safety measures, and commercial grade kitchen equipment. This space will be suitable for multiple purposes, including the basic tea and coffee and serving food for the Greater Vancouver Food Bank, North Burnaby Depot, but will also be available for larger events such as larger dinners, or for as a space for commercial level food preparation.   Throughout this renovation, Peter Reinhardt took on much of the responsibility of managing the work and organizing the trades. Sasen’s community includes a variety of different subtrades, and each renovation takes the cooperation of all trades involved. In this case, we couldn’t have done the work without the help of the church community and are grateful for all the efforts and support of everyone who contributed to the success of the renovation. A ceremony was held marking the official opening of the kitchen. Matthew Senf, Sasen’s principal and priest-in-charge the Rev. Ruth Monette joined in presenting the kitchen to the community. Sasen presented a commemoration signed by our team to remind the church that it was our honour to work on this project. And of course, we enjoyed a cake cutting as well! More on Community: To find out more about the renovation, please jump over and read the article, Investing in a Food Ministry. If you would like to learn more about Sasen’s Community, please take a look at some of our other community involvement. If you or anyone you know might have interested in utilizing St. Timothy’s new kitchen, please contact us and we will put you in touch.

Our work is focused on the home, which is at the center of the holiday season.  Here at Sasen, we really get into holiday décor and home decorating for any season, especially Christmas. We love the eating, gifting, movies and the giving. Most of all, we cherish the time spent relaxing with loved ones over the holidays. We also love that we get to work in the space where our community comes to rest and relax with family and friends. Whether it’s Christmas home decorating, or seasonal drinks with friends, we have some ideas for how to prepare for this busy time of year. We started the 12 Days of Christmas countdown on our Facebook page. 12 Days of Christmas Home Holiday Ideas Check out these Mason jar decorations. How very Hipster! Christmas tree decoration ideas for a unique tree, no matter what your style Check out these seasonal mantle home decorating ideas These holiday table setting ideas are perfect for entertaining These DIY ornament ideas are perfect for anyone on your list! Holiday wreathes are an easy home decorating idea to welcome friends into your home Things get pretty tasty with these Christmas cookie decorating ideas! Get creative this year with your holiday gift wrapping! We love entertaining so much, we wanted to share more Christmas table setting ideas Step up your gingerbread house decorating game with this inspiration For last minute gifts, check out these DIY Christmas gifts to impress your friends Getting closer to Christmas means the cooking begins with these Christmas cookie recipes! Don’t forget to keep an eye on Santa with the Santa tracker! Follow us on Facebook and Instagram to see what we are up to during the holidays. Our Houzz profile shows some of our less seasonal home decorating ideas and home renovations. We love what we build!