Affecting Spaces Design Studio

I loved working with Affecting Spaces. Gillian and Michelle listened to me and provided excellent design solutions in the complete renovation of my house. We are so happy with the results. I highly recommend them.

We are so grateful to the team at Affecting Spaces for transforming our home into our forever home. Gillian, Michelle and Bill were amazing to work with throughout our home renovation. Gillian listened to what we wanted and we were absolutely floored with her design presentation. We could not have envisioned what she did for our space and she has made our home more functional for us. We absolutely LOVE our forever home and would not hesitate to recommend the team at Affecting Spaces to our friends who need a designer. Thank you Affecting Spaces!

We worked with Affecting Spaces to do a full condominium renovation, in a heritage building which is unique, but comes with challenges (e.g. strange footprint). Further complicating matters, we did the planning and renovation during the Covid pandemic, which meant mainly working remotely on the design. The Affecting Spaces team listened to our wish list and was able to reimagine the space in a way that we were not able to articulate. The design process itself was easy and incredibly professional: the overall design was comprehensive and detail oriented, options were presented clearly and the few times there was a construction challenge, the Affecting Spaces team worked with the contractor to develop viable options and recommendations. There were no surprises in terms of design budget and the process was explained very clearly at the outset. The Affecting Spaces team helped us receive bids from reputable construction companies and also worked to help us gauge/understand where we SHOULD spend our money versus where we shouldn’t. What I was not expecting in the process was that the Affecting Spaces worked so closely with the construction company. Each detail was meticulously overseen and the construction team knew when, exactly, they needed to get Affecting Spaces to weigh in on something (eg the height to hang a coatrack!) We couldn’t be more pleased and would work with this company again in a heartbeat.

From start to finish, Gillian and her team were absolutely amazing to work with during our recently completed rebuild project. After taking the time to understand the style we wished for our house, they came up with conceptual designs for the entire house that were nearly exactly what we wanted, on the first try! The drawings they provide are amazing, and allow you to really understand what the future house will look like. Throughout the project, they were incredibly organized, detail oriented, and communicated very well. They were able to work very well with our builder and architect, despite having no previous relationship with them, and they really helped to keep everyone on track and organized. Throughout the project, we had many trades in the house commenting on the amazing design Gillian and her team had come up with. As with any building project, issues arise from time to time, and whenever an issue was tied to Gillian and her team, they always took ownership and worked hard to come up with the best solution - which earned them a ton of respect from us. The level of time and attention they devoted to our project made it feel like we were their only client, despite being incredibly busy with a dozen other ongoing projects. Lastly, their pricing was very competitive and they were quite mindful of our own building budget when coming up with the design for the house. I would highly recommend using Gillian and her team for any building/reno project, small or large!

Gillian and the Affecting Spaces team were amazing from beginning to end. They really "got" us and nailed the design plan. Not only does our new space solve our issues, it's also beautiful and functional and a pleasure to be in. The team was super supportive throughout the process, answering our million questions. They even supported us in finding the right pros to help with finishing touches (like blinds and cushions) when the job was complete. I would highly recommend them!

We can't say enough about Affecting Spaces! Gillian and her staff (Michelle and Bill) are very professional, knowledgeable, and skilled!! We were working on a budget and they stretched our money so far using the computer program that Gillian developed. They were very accessible and went above and beyond in helping us design a space we would love. We just moved into our house and it looks even better than we thought it would! Affecting Spaces gets our highest recommendation :)

We are just coming to the end of our second and third floor renovation including new bathroom, living area and updated bedrooms. Working with Gillian and her team has been, without a doubt, the best decision we made. From our first contact with Gillian to the final phases of furniture choices, window coverings, carpets etc Gillian has been wonderful to work with. Not only did she advise us about what we should do, she steered us away from ill advised choices. She is exacting in her attention to detail. She has transformed our old High Park/Roncesvalles house into a beautiful as well as practical living space. Her choices of design, colour palette, materials, fixtures, all transform this space from what was a busy home (where we raised three kids) to a peaceful retreat-like space as we are now empty nesters looking forward to retirement. Throughout this process many people would ask about our stress level and I have to say that this was the most stress-free renovation I have ever experienced or heard about from others. Gillian's estimates of cost and completion date were right on. We communicated regularly and she always responded in a very timely manner to any questions or concerns. She put the job out to tender to contractors that she knew from previous experience. They too were very professional. I can recommend Gillian and her team without any hesitation and hope to use her in the future with any other renovation projects. Thank you Gillian!!

We started with a blank slate. An empty box. We ended up with all aspects. Form. Function. HVac Sound. Stone. Kitchen. Lighting. Plugs. Esthetic and concepts being discussed. Sourced and made real. A dialogue that led to our house becoming our home. Gillian and her team brought us home inside and out.

Affecting Spaces is the best thing that could ever happen to your renovation! Gillian is very professional and resourceful. She kept our interest in mind and proposed solution that's cost efficient yet pleasing aesthetically. When there is surprise with the project (and we had tons), she proposed alternative solutions responsively and efficiently. She really takes ownership of the project and follows through until the last minute even after we have paid for her service fully. Needless to say she knows the best people in the industry and we also benefit from her designer discount. We now enjoy the renovated house so much that we don't want to step out of it. LoL

We feel very lucky to have hired Gillian and Affecting Spaces to help us redesign our kitchen, fireplace, master bedroom, and fireplace in the living room. We got her name off a neighbourhood FB group and interviewed a few people and liked Gillian's aesthetic best. Little did we know how knowledgeable, exacting, and detailed she and her team would be. Our contractor (she also put together the specs and put our job out for tender to three of her vetted contractors) said she was one of the best designers he'd ever worked with since she also really understood construction and what it took to make her vision a reality. She has totally transformed our house through good design, good paint choices, and good furniture advice. It feels so big and light and airy now, though we did nothing to the footprint or walls (in terms of moving anything). Plus we feel that although we had to pay her (reasonable) fees, it was worth every penny and saved us money in the long run. We recommend Gillian without hesitation for any project in Toronto.

Gillian and her team has provided a design that has suited our needs. She is very responsive when design challenges arise and has gone above and beyond to attend to our project needs.

We would highly recommend Affecting Spaces - we are incredibly pleased with the work Gillian and her team did for us! Gillian's process ensured that her designs met our needs, tastes, and budget perfectly. She is very knowledgeable about all aspects of the construction process too. Gillian has very high standards, and her attention to detail ensured that the finished product was everything we had hoped for. She helped us find a great contractor, and shepherded the whole project from start to finish (we actually left the country during most of the work, with no worries thanks to great communication and Gillian's tendency to solve problems before we even heard about them). If you want a more detailed review, just ask Gillian for our contact information - we would be happy to talk.