Home improvement all in the family
Bonitatibus family also among DIY consumers
With fall home improvement projects come questions, best sources, best prices and best advice. Enzo Bonitatibus, general manager at BMR Windsor Building Centre, has fielded a lot of those questions – and dispensed much sound advice.
Flooring is a hot topic and it’s a great place to start. Laminates are the news, Enzo says. You’ll find them in a variety of plank widths, thicknesses and colour selections.
“The look is wonderful. In many cases once the laminate is laid down it’s impossible to tell the difference between it and hardwood. Except when you look at the price tag,” he says.
With cooler temperatures, Bonitatibus says, “The time has come to move indoors and get going on renovations and redecorating that you’ll definitely want to have done for visitors and the holidays.
“People always think about kitchens, bathrooms, (very popular!), playrooms, laundry rooms, theatre rooms and maybe even man caves, but beautiful kitchens seem to rise to the top of the list,” he says. “And if a kitchen is on your to-do list, come to see us soon. Already this fall kitchens are four to five weeks out from order to completion.”
Bonitatibus says customers typically bring layouts to the store and “we sit with them to create a 3D design, the fridge here, stove there, the placement of the dishwasher and the cabinets. There are many different species of wood available now for cabinetry, and backsplashes can be either mosaic in many variations, or glass tiles are an attractive alternative. And we’re happy to do the installation for you. We can do everything right from the beginning, insulation, drywall on up. Once we get started the process is fast, with no mess!”
Bathrooms are also high on homeowners’ priority lists and he said the choice in vanities, faucets and showers is “fantastic.” Tiles can also come in neutrals “or as colourful as you would like. Again, we install for you.”
BMR has an impressive display of colour in its vast paint section. “Fortunately, what could be confusing needn’t be! We have paint and colour specialists with great experience right here in the store.”
Bonitatibus and his wife Rita have a project of their own to contend with.
“Amanda, our daughter, 13 going on 14, came in to the showroom with her mother, Rita. I showed them the colour palette and after a lot of deliberation Amanda chose a really subtle, dusty pink,” Bonitatibus explains. “The ceiling will be white and all her furniture is lacquered white. It will be really beautiful! And we’ll be doing the painting ourselves.”
Lighting, carefully selected, can dramatize and glamourize your new look in bathrooms and powder rooms, and is especially important in kitchens and workshops to illuminate task areas. BMR has an excellent inventory and plenty of catalogues to browse through.
If there’s such a thing as man caves, he says with a laugh, “I guess we could do girl caves, too. If anyone asks us, we will!”