KShpadmin, Author at Keystone Home Products

Framed Shower Enclosures VS. Frameless: Which Is Better?

When shopping for new fixtures for your bathroom renovation, you may wonder about shower enclosures. There are two standard varieties: framed and frameless. The question is, what differences do those come with, aside from the obvious? Which one is better? Let’s take a moment to compare and contrast the two, starting with framed shower enclosures.

Benefits of Framed Shower Enclosures

Framed shower enclosures come with few benefits over frameless. However, the benefits they do have can be really important. The primary difference is cost. Framed shower enclosures rely on the frames to bear most of the weight and the frame is where hinges and handles are connected. This does two things: It requires less glass craftsmanship to be done, as the glass only needs to be cut and fit to the frame, and it allows thinner glass to be used.

The lower cost to produce framed shower enclosures means they also cost less to the person buying them. Therefore, if you’re on a tight budget for your bathroom renovation, a framed shower enclosure might be a better choice for you.

What Makes Frameless Great

Frameless shower enclosures cost a bit more than their framed counterparts, but they also have more benefits. Because there’s no metal frame, the glass used for these enclosures is thicker. This allows the glass to hold its own weight and take on the holes required for attaching hinges and a handle. The thicker glass, having to be higher quality as well, is much less likely to shatter than that of a framed shower enclosure.

Enclosures most frequently break when a door is shut too hard and shatters, forcing you to replace your shower door. For a framed enclosure, this is more prevalent, as the frame often overlaps, sealing the door with a magnet. Frameless enclosures typically don’t have a jam for the door. It comes to a stop in the right place with special hinges that direct it to the right spot. This also lowers the likelihood of a frameless shower enclosure shattering.

We can’t cover the perks of a frameless shower enclosure without including the ease of cleaning. Framed shower enclosures, having a seam where the frame meets the glass, can collect grime. Frameless shower enclosures don’t have this ridge. Therefore, they don’t collect grime in a hard-to-clean place. Without the need to scrub along the edge of a frame, wiping down your enclosure is much easier.

Shop Keystone Home Products

No matter which type of shower enclosure is right for you, we have the right option here at Keystone Home Products. We offer high quality framed and frameless enclosures. Therefore, make your bathroom remodel a successful one by stopping by our store. Or, if you have questions, call us today. We’re happy to help you make your decision.

Where to Get Dance Studio Mirrors for Your Home

If you love to dance, whether for the art or for the exercise, having access to dance studio mirrors helps immensely. The ability to see your form clearly in order to make corrections or work on choreography is a must. The question is, why head to a public gym when you can do your dance practice routine at home? Especially while COVID-19 is present, staying at home is more convenient than ever. Check out how you can get dance studio mirrors for your home.

Create Your Own Dance Space

If dancing is something you do often, make practice time even easier by creating your own personal dance studio. It’s not as hard as it sounds. If you have spare space in your home, you’re already on your way to a private dance space.

Having a spare room or basement to make a dedicated studio is one way to do things. However, many people don’t have a whole room free. That’s okay too! Any part of your home with a stretch of empty wall space is enough. By simply adding mirrors and a barre, you can do your dance practice routine right from home.

Floor to Ceiling Dance Studio Mirrors

So, you’re considering creating a personal dance space at home. The question now is: where are you supposed to get floor to ceiling mirrors? Those aren’t something you can find at any old store. And you’re right! However, while most stores may not have mirrors large enough to cover a wall, Keystone does. Right here at Keystone Home Products in Toronto, you can get exactly the size of mirror you need.

With a wall of mirrors, you can finally get the full dance experience right from home. Using these large mirrors is vital for learning dance such as ballet. Ballet requires a strict adherence to certain forms in order to remain safe and avoid injuring the body. Practicing ballet without being able to see yourself can lead to incorrect form and later injury.

Buying a Barre

Of course, your dance studio isn’t complete without a barre. While there are professional barres that you can buy, you can also make do with any kind of metal railing. So long as it’s a comfortable width for you to hold on to or rest a foot on, it will do. Makeshift barres made from standard railings are a great way to create a studio space on a budget.

However, if you’re going for something more flashy, like a full basement gym or studio, you may want to opt for a more ‘real deal’ kind of barre. There are professional barre stores online and all over the world that sell dance-specific barres of high quality and with unique designs.

Buy Quality From Keystone

When you’re ready to buy dance studio mirrors for your home, call us at Keystone Home Products. We professionally install mirror walls all over Toronto and look forward to helping you with yours.

6 Unique Clothing Organization Methods: Part 2

In Part 1, we applied our clothing organization methods to shirts, pants, and formalwear. Now, let’s talk accessory storage.

Underwear Drawer

The underwear drawer is one of the messiest drawers in almost anyone’s closet. For many, taking the time to fold and pair socks is simply not worth it. However, for those looking for that elusive, neat closet, organizing your underwear drawer is worth it. Plus, it’s easy with our clothing organization methods.

To start, stop pairing socks by folding one over the other. Storing them in this way stretches and weakens the elastic on the outer sock. Plus, they’re hard to manage within the drawer when they’re stored this way. Instead, lay them together, one on top of the other, and fold them twice. When you have your square of sock, you can line them up, upright, just like your shirts.

Boxers and boxer briefs can be folded in half twice one way and then in thirds or quarters the other way. This will also give you a more easily storable square. For briefs or women’s underwear, you can achieve the same small square by folding twice in half and then in half again the other way. If you’re organizing very small underwear, instead of stacking upright, you can lay them flat, starting in the back of the drawer, and then overlap further pairs, moving toward the front of the drawer. This will make them much easier to pick through.

Accessories

Accessories can be really tricky to store without some help from experienced organizers. They’re usually oddly shaped and can be awkward to keep in order. Fortunately there are tried and true methods for storing most accessories that the average person just hasn’t considered.

Scarves are frequently misunderstood. Some people try to fold them, others hang them from a hanger. However, the most convenient – and even cute – way to store them is in ‘donuts’. Simply hold one end of a scarf in your hand and wrap the rest around your hand until you have a round ball of fabric. Then, simply tuck the remaining end into the center. This little scarf donut can be stored in a basket along with the rest of your scarves.

If you don’t have a mounted bar for accessories, you’re missing out. Having a small bar mounted on a wall can accommodate many kinds of accessories. Necklaces can be clasped onto it, keeping them from getting bunched up or tangled. Watches and bracelets can be slid onto an open end of the bar. Not only does a mounted bar keep things from getting messy, it also makes it much easier to find the accessory you want, as they’re all displayed.

Shoes

There’s very little secret to properly storing shoes. They’re tricky, especially if you have a lot of them. Flip-flops are the exception. These can be easily stored on a small shelf or in a drawer. By placing pairs top-to-top, you can set them in a row on their sides, and fit tons of them in one drawer or on one shelf.

Boots, tennis shoes, and even formal shoes are all best stored on a shelf, on display. Many people’s clothing organization methods frequently involve buying shoe shelves with two horizontal bars. These aim to tilt shoes outward so that you can see them, but are largely unnecessary for most people. Their tilted bars tend to allow shoes to slide off the shelf, and their open design is terrible for storing things like heels. Flat, wooden shelving allows you to display shoes with little fuss and are easy to wipe down, should they get dirty.

6 Unique Clothing Organization Methods: Part 1

Tired of a messy closet? It’s time to take some advice from the professionals on organizing your clothing. Beat the hard-to-maintain methods you were taught growing up and check out these 6 unique clothing organization methods. Let’s start with the big things.

Seasonal Clothing

Let’s talk about one of the biggest pains in the clothing organization world: seasonal clothing. Whether you’re dealing with ten sundresses that take up space during ten months of the year or bulky parkas that you only use in January, there’s a solution for you.

One of the best clothing organization methods of storing seasonal clothing is tired and true: Vacuum sealing. Large jackets with a lot of insulation take up significantly more room than they really need to. Folding them up and packing them into a vacuum sealed storage bag can shrink them down to a tenth of their original size.

Did you think vacuum sealing was only for large items? Think again! Not only do smaller pieces of clothing waste space to a smaller degree, vacuum sealing helps protect clothing from dust, bugs, and other pests.

Pack all of your seasonal clothes into a few vacuum sealed storage bags and tuck them into a drawer or onto a top shelf in the closet.

Shirts and Pants

Since most of us were small, we’ve been taught one of two simple clothing organization methods for pants and shirts. Fold them in half where they’re symmetrical and then again the other way. Then, stack them in your drawers. This method is all wrong! While it’s simple to do quickly, you pay for it with the immediate mess it causes. The only way to find the shirt you’re looking for is to lift up the top shirts and peak underneath them. Repeatedly doing this on the daily is both annoying and leads to a disheveled drawer.

Pants are a bit more compact, so folding them this way frequently leaves big gaps on either side of your stack while the stack sits too tall for the drawer. There’s a better way.

Popularized by Marie Kondo, the best way to store your shirts and pants is by placing them upright. Nothing should be under something else. When stored upright, clothes become like books with the spines facing outward. You can see exactly what you have and find what you’re looking for.

Start by hanging all of the shirts you want to keep wrinkle free or that you use extremely often. The shirts left – perhaps casual t-shirts – should be folded in thirds the long way and then in quarters the other. This will leave you with a small square of shirt. If you plan ahead, you can make sure any recognizable parts of the shirt are visible on the outside. This will make finding your shirts easy. Plus, when you do this with pants, it makes using up all of the drawer space without overtaking the height of the drawer much easier.

Dresses and Suits

Storing dresses and suits can be really tricky. On one hand, you don’t want to wrinkle them if you may be wearing them soon. On the other, if you have many options, you may be running low on space.

To start, make the suits and dresses you need hung up easy to store. If you don’t have a hanger that accommodates each part of a suit, they’re easy to find online. Being able to keep all pieces of a suit hung up and in one place is a huge time saver.

Dresses should always be stored on padded hangers. Their typically delicate straps or sleeves are not meant to withstand pulling and stretching. Plastic or metal hangers – especially ones with built in hooks along the top – can do a number on expensive fabric.

If you don’t plan on wearing a dress for a long time or only for a super special occasion, storing it in a vacuum sealed bag might be the solution. Many people avoid folding dresses, but unless the fabric of the dress is specifically not meant to be folded, it doesn’t hurt. The biggest reason why people don’t fold dresses is that it wrinkles them and they’re hard to contain. If you use a vacuum sealed storage bag, containment is no big deal. When it’s time to wear your dress again, a little bit of steam will take out any wrinkles from storage.

Continue Reading to Cover Accessory Storage

Beat a Crowded Closet with Double-Hanging and an Organizer

Having a crowded closet can cause all kinds of problems for a person. You might expect a crowded closet to cause trouble finding things, but there’s more to it than that. Feeling comfortable in your own bedroom and storage space has a huge effect on overall comfort and a sense of wellbeing. When you step into your closet and feel yourself getting overwhelmed, it’s time to do something about it. Let’s check out how double-hanging and closet organizers can make a world of difference in your organizational experience.

Space Wasting is Common

Did you know it’s incredibly common for the average closet to waste tons of space? You might look into your own closet and wonder what space I could be talking about. Check the walls. If you see any open wall space, it’s somewhere that could be housing storage units. If you could take all of your loose clothing from the floor or from a bowing clothes bar and move it to an empty part of the wall, how much different would your closet look?

The good news is, just because wasting closet space is common doesn’t mean it has to be that way. There are solutions to space saving in closets that are easy to implement. The only reason many don’t is because they’ve learned to work with what the average living space has to offer, in terms of storage, and not much else. The truth is, most houses are not equipped to handle the amount of belongings the average person comes to own. So, how do we adjust our storage spaces to meet our needs?

Maximize Space with Double-Hanging

If your closet is like most, it probably has a clothes bar from one end to the other with a small shelf above it. You may have even put some small drawers in there to hold underwear, socks, or other small things. However – especially if you have no full dresser – this is not sufficient.

One of the best ways we can improve storage is by double-hanging. This is when we keep two clothes bars in our closet and hang clothes in two rows instead of one. This usually means your top bar is a bit higher than the eye-level one you’re used to. You’ve seen double-hanged clothes in clothing stores. Time to take advantage of that system at home.

While mounting a new clothes bar could be enough to make your closet a functioning storage space again, a closet organizer will go one step further. With the clothing bars attached to a wooden frame, your clothing storage will look nicer, be built more stably, and come with more than just hanger bars.

Accommodate Variety

One of the best parts of a closet organizer is its penchant for accommodating variety. Who of us is wearing nothing but t-shirts and jeans? If you’re struggling with closet space, we can bet that’s not you.

Make room for watches, scarves, jewelry, shoes, and more with organizer drawers and shelving. Part of the same unit that provides you double-hanging clothes bars, our organizers offer quality storage drawers for small items. Plus, we didn’t forget the shelving you need to hold extra shoes. Beat a crowded closet by putting your formal and seasonal shoes somewhere accessible and spacious.

Replace Sliding Closet Doors in Toronto

Keeping organized can be difficult when you don’t have all of the necessary help. When you think of some of the most important storage areas in your house, is your bedroom closet one of the first places you think of? If not, try to imagine your life without it! While bedroom closets provide one of the most important storage spaces we own, we don’t necessarily want to see everything they’re doing for us. For most of us, forgetting all of that stuff is there until we need it is the organizational ideal. Therefore, if you need to replace sliding closet doors in Toronto, Keystone Home Products is your local solution.

Replace Broken Sliding Closet Doors

There are two ways broken sliding closet doors can become a thorn in your side. The first way is becoming completely unusable and having to be removed. A broken slider door that has to be removed leaves the contents of your closet completely exposed. Not only is this unappealing to look at, it’s not the best way to store fabrics and can actually lower the quality of the storage. Moths and other bugs have an easier time finding exposed clothing. Plus, your clothes can become dustier, be sun-bleached, and more.

However, what may be worse is a broken closet door that still works to some degree. We humans can be stubborn, and a sliding closet door that can still be opened and closed with some effort is a door we will continue using as long as possible. Instead of struggling to access your closet or forcing yourself to look at something that’s been cracked, dented, or broken through, replace your slider door today.

Upgrade Closet Door Appearance

Broken closet doors may leave us in dire straights, but a change in aesthetic can also have us scouring the market for replacements. If you’ve recently put a new coat of paint on the walls or simply haven’t updated your closet door since the sixties, it might be time to invest.

Keystone Home Products has beautiful sliding closet doors in Toronto. Our doors come in multiple earth-tone colors, making them great for updated rooms. We also have sliding mirror doors, if you like improved light flow or getting a look at your outfit before leaving the house. Get something that matches and feels like part of the intended design and throw out that old off-white door you’ve been cringing at for ages.

Try Something New

While sliding closet doors are popular, there are many other styles as well. If you’ve been using bi-fold doors for a while now, it might be worth considering the switch to sliders. Slider closet doors require no space in front of the closet to open and close. This makes them ideal for rooms with a slightly tight fit. Furniture that sticks out slightly in front of the closet won’t hinder their ability to open. Plus, that pile of dirty laundry will no longer stop you from reaching the clean stuff within.

Get Closet Doors in Toronto

When you’re ready to shop sliding closet doors in Toronto, Keystone is the place to go. Give us a call or come by our store today if you have questions or want to know more about our closet sliders. We look forward to hearing from you!

How to Add a Customized Frame to a Frameless Mirror

In our last two installments of our mirror series, we talked about installing clipped mirrors and frameless mirrors. Today, we want to cover framed mirrors. While many elements are the same between these different mirror types and their installations, there’s enough difference to each that we feel we should pay them due attention. Let’s check out how you can add a customized frame to a frameless mirror.

Acquire Your Mirror

The first thing you need to do is get yourself a frameless mirror. We need a blank canvas for our new, customized frame to, well, frame! Keystone Home Products has mirrors of all sizes available in Toronto. Let us know you’re in the market, and we’ll let you know how we can help.

Ready Your Frame

When you have your frameless mirror handy, it’s time to begin framing it. There are many ways to acquire a frame for your mirror.

Make One From Scratch
If you’re a woodworker and want the most personalized frame available, you’ll certainly want to try your hand at making one. This is a simple project. After getting your mirror dimensions, all that’s left is using a router bit to shape the edges of a long strip of wood, then cutting and connecting them into a frame.
Buy One
There are lots of frames available from hardware stores, crafting stores, and more. Buying them ready-made is great for anyone who wants to customize their frame from a blank.
Recycle One
If you want a frame that’s already made, painted, and ready to go, recycling one from a large picture frame is a great idea. Simply go to your local thrift store and find a large piece of art in a frame. These are very easy to find and are usually only a few dollars.

Attaching Your Mirror

There are two ways to add a customized frame to your mirror, depending on your preference.

Metal Clips

The first method involves using metal clips. These can look similarly to the clips used to fasten frameless mirrors to the wall, but are smaller and flatter. You can also use the kind of clips used to fasten the back on a picture frame. Just ensure you have enough clips to hold the mirror in – you don’t want it falling out.

Adhesive

If you’re more in the mood for a quick project and you aren’t committed to using the frame somewhere else later, adhesive works well. Buy a tube of adhesive, like the kind available from Liquid Nails, and apply it along the inside of the frame where the mirror will rest. Note that you should not apply this too liberally. Any excess adhesive will squeeze out from behind the frame and end up visible along the front edges of your mirror.

Hanging Your Framed Mirror

Finally, you can hang up your mirror. With your mirror sitting in a frame, hanging it is much easier. You can screw a toothed hanger on the back, like you find on some picture frames. Two are recommended for larger mirrors.

Or, you can put some screws into opposite sides of the back of the frame and string a wire between them. This will allow the framed mirror to hang from a nail or screw in your wall. Though, keep in mind that this method may have your mirror tilted slightly forward from the wall. This can vary based on where you screw into the frame and how long your wire is.

Open Concept Uses for Aluminum Dividers

There’s a wonderful middle ground between standard interior design and open concept design. While standard design can feel stifling and closed-off, open concept can sometimes feel too exposed. Standard design cuts off light flow, but open concept minimizes privacy. So, how do you bring the two together to find that happy medium? The solution is aluminum dividers. What are some open concept uses for aluminum dividers that can bring your home to somewhere comfortable and in-between?

Divide a Studio

The first of our open concept uses for aluminum dividers comes in the form of improving privacy in a studio apartment. Studio apartments are common choices for solitary city-dwellers. They’re smaller than apartments with separate rooms, so are more affordable to students or young people just entering the workforce.

The downside to a studio apartment is that is has little in the way of privacy. In a studio, the bedroom, living room, and dining room all share a space. The kitchen usually has a breakfast bar, meaning it also has a clear view of the rest of the space. Inviting guests over when your bedroom is on clear display can be uncomfortable.

Bridge the gap between open concept and standard walls by introducing aluminum dividers. By putting up a few dividers between the bedroom space and the rest of the apartment, you can continue to allow light flow while giving yourself more privacy.

Bathroom/Bedroom Combos

In many open concept houses, the master bedroom has an attached bathroom without any dividing walls. For many, the whole bathroom is exposed, while others only have an exposed shower or tub.

This is relaxing for some, but may feel a bit too exposed for others. By putting up some aluminum dividers around this exposed bathroom space, you can relax in privacy once more. The extent of the privacy is up to you. Completely close the space in with an aluminum divider door, or just create an open-ended barrier to allow you some warning before someone walks into the room.

Dining and Lounging

In large, open concept houses, the first floor is often completely undivided. This can mean a dining room that is directly connected to a living room or den space. For some, this openness is appreciated, as it ties the two spaces together, allowing socializing between them. However, for others, especially those who host dinners, it would be better for the areas to feel a bit more separate.

Putting up some aluminum dividers between the two will allow your dinner to feel more formal. Plus, retiring to the living room will actually feel like you’re going somewhere, rather than just moving around the same room.

Productivity Boost

If you have an office space set up in an open concept part of your home, it can lead to a lot of distraction. While an open concept first floor may have a lot of space to lend to your desk, shelves, and filing cabinet, what it also brings is a lot of noise and movement from other members of the household.

Shut out some of the distraction and give yourself a productivity boost by adding some dividers. Light will continue to flow through them, illuminating your space, while the walls may also work well for hanging sticky notes and reminders.

Keystone Home Products offers aluminum dividers to anyone in the Toronto area. Stop by our store today to take a peek or order some for your home. Let us know if you have any questions. We look forward to hearing from you.

How to Install a Clipless, Frameless Mirror: Part 2

Don’t Miss Part 1

Applying Adhesive

The next step to install a clipless, frameless mirror requires some thoughtfulness. Adhesive is not easy to clean up once it’s been applied – especially not the kind strong enough to hold up a mirror. So, read the following carefully before you start.

Mark Your Intervals

To apply the adhesive, you’re going to create vertical lines of it. To ensure the weight of the mirror is evenly distributed, you’ll want to make those about the same distance apart. For a large mirror that’s more than about 3 feet wide, you’ll want your lines to be close to 4 inches apart. Smaller mirrors will get enough support from lines 5 or 6 inches apart.

You can make these exact by measuring the width of your mirror and doing some math, but exactness isn’t entirely necessary here. However, what is necessary is marking your intervals. Even if you’re only eyeing the adhesive intervals, having a guide for when you’re actually applying the hard-to-undo adhesive, is a great idea.

You can mark your intervals by marking a Point A and Point B at the top and bottom of the mirror zone, by making a few dashes, or by marking a solid line with a straight edge. They each work for differing levels of steady-handedness, so use what works best for you.

Important Note: Take into account, before making your marks, that you should leave a buffer. Make sure the marks on either side of your mirror zone are at least a couple inches from the edge. Otherwise, you may be able to see the adhesive when you’re done. The top and bottom are less likely to show. However, starting and ending your line an inch from the top and bottom of the mirror zone is smart, as it leaves room for spreading.

Apply Your Adhesive

When you’re done marking your intervals, it’s time to apply the adhesive. This part is straightforward. Make a solid, continuous, vertical line along each interval marking. If it doesn’t look super pretty, that’s fine. It’s all going to be hidden behind the mirror anyway.

Important Note: Something you absolutely need to know when applying your adhesive is that it’s vertical for a reason. Creating vertical lines that are left disconnected from each other allows air flow behind. Therefore, moisture will be unable to get behind it and create mold. For that reason, do not seal the edges with adhesive, connect the vertical lines, or create any horizontal lines.

Installing Your Mirror

Finally, we’ve reached the last step. This one is straightforward, but a tiny slipup could make a huge mess. Therefore, this step is the most simple in its explanation, and the most scary in its execution.

Have your friend pick up that Keystone mirror again and hold it up in front of the mirror zone markers. Get it pretty close – about 1-2 inches away. While your friend is holding the mirror up, take a moment to check if it’s lined up. Then, have them press the mirror to the adhesive. The adhesive is still malleable, if not sticky. Therefore, if it’s not perfectly lined up, you will have a few seconds to gently adjust it. Just be careful not to overcorrect in your haste, or it could make an adhesive mess.

Once the mirror is in place, put gentle pressure across all areas of the surface, securing it more effectively. Don’t aim to get it perfectly flush with the wall, as we do want there to be some airflow behind it. That was the last step to install a clipless, frameless mirror! Now, you wait. Give it 48 hours before doing more work around it, like installing lighting or erasing marking lines.

How to Install a Clipless, Frameless Mirror: Part 1

Installing a mirror can be a fun DIY project. It’s just slightly challenging, but easy enough that most could do it. That is, supposing they’re not accident prone. If you’re looking to install a clipless, frameless mirror in your bathroom, we’ve got the guide you need. Frameless, clipless mirrors have a fantastic, sleek appearance. They work really well with contemporary interiors, which are very common in bathrooms in recent times.

If you’re here to learn about bathroom mirror installation, but need help with a different type, we’ve got you covered. Check out our guides on framed mirror installation and bathroom mirror replacement, which covers using clips. Please note that our guide on bathroom mirror replacement has a lot of great tips for mirror installation in general. Therefore, it may be referenced throughout this guide. We recommend reading part 1 of that guide if you plan on replacing, rather than installing on a new wall.

Buying What You Need

The first thing you need when you want to install a clipless, frameless bathroom mirror is to buy everything you need. There are 5 things you’ll need for this:

A Mirror
Keystone Home Products has a wide selection of frameless mirrors available to buy in Toronto. These mirrors are great for bathroom vanities, bedrooms, and more.
A Level
If you’ve got a bubble level lying around, it will be really useful in ensuring your mirror isn’t tilted weirdly. If you don’t have a level, you can probably do without. If you don’t have a keen eye, try using math and a straight edge to make a pencil line above your vanity.
A Pencil
You’ll need a pencil for marking your wall. If you have dark paint, you can also substitute with chalk. You probably have one of these lying around at home.
Adhesive
This adhesive is incredibly important, as it’s going to be what holds your mirror up. Do some research to find one you like, or use Liquid Nails, which is well known and easy to recommend. Don’t choose an off-brand if you haven’t used it before and are sure it works well. A weak adhesive can create quite a mess for you later.
A Friend
While we don’t recommend that you buy a friend, we do think texting one to ask for help is a good idea.

Picking a Spot

This first part is incredibly easy if you have the recommended level, pencil, and friend. You can use a ruler to do this by yourself, which we outlined in detail in our bathroom mirror replacement guide. However, if you have someone who can put pressure on your mirror, holding it in place on the wall, there’s an easier method.

First, take note of how wide your mirror is compared to your vanity. Most people will want their mirror perfectly centered over the sink. Therefore, if it’s wider, you need to know how much wider, and if it’s narrower, how much narrower. Once you know the difference in width, divide that length in half and make a wall mark that distance from the edge of the vanity. This is where the sides of your mirror should sit.

Next up is the part where we take some shortcuts from one-person replacement steps. Because you have a friend who can hold your mirror up, you have the free hands needed to just trace it. Center your mirror over the sink and then use the level to ensure it’s not tilted. Next, use your pencil to draw an L shape around each corner, or trace the mirror entirely. It’s entirely up to you. However, before you rule out tracing the entire mirror, just make sure you’ve read the next section. The full trace may come in handy.

Important Note: Make sure, when tracing, to tilt your pencil so that the marking is as close as possible to the actual edge. The 1/8 inch difference that the wood of the pencil can make is massive, by construction standards.

When you’ve finished marking where the mirror will go, your friend can give their arms a break. Set the mirror back where you had it sitting.

Continue Reading in Part 2

How to Replace a Bathroom Mirror: Part 2

Looking for a guide on how to replace a bathroom mirror? You’ve come to the right place. Check out How to Replace a Bathroom Mirror: Part 1 to get the very first steps, Then, continue reading here to finish installation!

Getting the Width

Next up, it’s time to mark where the clips go along the length of the mirror bottom. This is largely up to personal preference.

To start, get out a measuring tape. Or, if you were using a measuring stick previously, you can use that too. Measure the width and height of your new mirror, if you don’t already have the dimensions. While you’ve got your measuring tape lined up along the width of the mirror, the first thing you’ll want to do is get the center point. So, if your mirror is 18 inches wide, 9 inches is your center point.

Next, estimate about where you want the clips and check where that falls on the measuring tape. We’ll be measuring from the middle to make these markings on the wall. So, if you want your clips 2 inches from the edge of the same, 18-inch, example mirror, your clips will be 7 inches from the center. We’ll call that your clip distance.

The next step is measuring the width of your vanity. If your vanity is up against a wall, be sure to measure all the way from the wall, including any countertop trim in your measurement. Find the center point of the vanity. For a 36-inch vanity, that will be 18 inches. If you’re working with a double vanity, you can do this step with just the bowl of the sink. Line up your straight-edge, vertically, with the halfway mark on your vanity and make a vertical line up the wall, intersecting your horizontal mark.

Clip Markings

This part is fairly simple. Now that you’ve got the center point for your vanity, indicating also where the center point for your mirror will be, it’s time to mark where the clips will go. Simply use your measuring tape to measure your clip distance from the center line, making a mark of that distance along the line indicating where the mirror bottom goes. The intersection of that marking and the mirror line is where your bottom clips will go.

To give yourself markings for the top clips, simply line up your straight-edge, vertically, with the new clip marking. Ensure your straight edge is perfectly vertical with your level. Then, make a vertical marking along the straight-edge that will poke out from under the top of the mirror when it’s in place.

Install Your Mirror

Now that all of your markings to replace a bathroom mirror have been completed, it’s time for the installation. The first step of installation is installing the bottom clips. Simply place the end of the clip screw against your bottom clip marking and use a drill to secure it to the wall. Ensure the clip part is facing upward before the screw presses it so firmly against the wall that it can’t be adjusted.

When your bottom clips are in place, pick up your mirror and, very gently, press it flush against the wall, above the clips, and slide it downward into their grasp. With a small mirror, these two clips may hold it in place adequately to let go. For a larger mirror, it’s best to have a helper hold it in place while installing the top clips.

For the top clips, simply line them up with the exposed pencil markings above the mirror – you know, the vertical lines you made from the bottom clip markings. Ensure the edge of the clip that will be flush with the wall does not overlap with the mirror when lining up the screw. Ensure the clip side is facing downward and screw it into place.

The only thing left to do is erase away pencil markings or wipe off chalk markings and wipe down your new mirror. It looks great!

How to Replace a Bathroom Mirror: Part 1

People use bathroom mirrors a lot more than they realize. You may not need your bathroom mirror to do your makeup in the morning or to shave, but you surely see yourself in it frequently. Seeing ourselves provides an extra level of orientation. It’s only when your mirror breaks or cracks that you realize how much you miss that sense of grounding each time you walk into the bathroom. Well, if your bathroom mirror is cracked or broken, it’s time to replace it. How do you replace a bathroom mirror? Let’s take a look at the steps!

Decide How to Hang It

The first step when you want to replace a bathroom mirror is deciding how you want it to be hung. There are many ways to hang a mirror and many mirror styles to choose from. Here are the most popular ones:

Clipped Mirrors
These mirrors are frameless. You’ll see, usually, 4 clips holding it to the wall. These clips are usually pretty small and made of metal or clear plastic. Typically, they hold the mirror in place with 2 on top and 2 on bottom.
Framed Mirrors
Framed mirrors are more like pictures in the way they’re hung. The pane of mirror is held in a frame like the glass in a picture frame. There is usually a wire or some sawtooth hangers that will grip the heads of nails or screws.
Frameless and Clipless Mirrors
These mirrors are frameless, just like those using clips. However, they use no clips to hold them up, having a sleek, frameless appearance when installed.

When you’ve decided which style you like best, it’s time to buy the appropriate mirror. Today we’ll be discussing how to install a clipped mirror. Otherwise, check out our guide on clipless mirror installation, or check back next month for a guide on framed mirrors.

Buy a New Mirror

When you know what kind of mirror you’re looking for, it’s time to buy one! Luckily, for those living in or around Toronto, Keystone Home Products offers quality mirrors for vanities and other locations. Our mirrors are frameless, though they can have a frame added to them very easily. We also offer mirrors of many different sizes, so give us a call if you’d like to order one or check our size limitations.

Prepare the Wall

The first step to hanging a clipped mirror is preparing the wall. If there are old mirror clips that won’t fit the size of the new mirror, remove them with a screwdriver. You’ll also want to fill in any holes in the wall before installing the new mirror. That way, you don’t have to work around the new setup to fill them later.

If you’re planning on painting your bathroom walls, now is also a great time to get that out of the way. If you weren’t planning to, maybe reconsider. A fresh coat of paint in an accent color can make the vanity wall a great focus wall.

Picking a Spot

Now that you have your frameless mirror and your wall is prepared, the first step is checking where you want to place the mirror. For mirrors that are larger than 2 feet in either direction, it’s recommended that you get some help. Hold the mirror up to the wall. Move it gently up or down the wall until it’s about where you want it. Then, use a pencil (or chalk, for dark walls) to create a line on the wall where the top and bottom of the mirror are. It’s okay if they’re not exact, as long as you know where the edges were. To replace a bathroom mirror in a way that looks nice, you have a lot of measuring and marking to do, so buckle up!

Height Markings

Next, you’ll want to use a level alongside a ruler, yardstick, or meter stick, depending on what you have and how big the mirror is. Another straight edge will also work. It just needs to be perfectly straight. This will be used to get a more accurate line for where the bottom of the mirror will be.

When you’ve got your straight-edge, hold it up to the wall horizontally. Line up the upper edge with where you marked the bottom of the mirror’s desired location. Place or hold the level on top of the straight edge and adjust it until it’s level. Then, create a line with your pencil along the straight edge, either all the way across or, to minimize later erasing, in lines a few inches long about where the clips will be going.

How to Replace a Bathroom Mirror: Part 2

Sliding Closet Doors for Apartment Bedrooms

Running an apartment complex or building and want to improve your units? Or, maybe you’re planning to have a new complex built in the near future? No matter what the case, Keystone Home Products can help you out with sliding closet doors for apartment bedrooms. Our sliding closet doors are high quality and look great. Here’s what we can do for you.

Replace Broken Closet Doors

Apartment tenants come and go with quick, year-to-year turnover. Most don’t stay in an apartment for more than 3 years, and those who do rarely stay past 5. With all of the in and out of different people, there comes a lot of damage to the apartment – especially to parts that aren’t as sturdy as others.

One part of an apartment that may take frequent damage is the doors to the closets. Closet doors are typically hollow. The thin boards making up the faces of the door are easy to put a hole through if you’re not careful. While cheap, closet doors are possibly to patch up, patches rarely look nice. These types of doors usually have a faux woodgrain pattern on them and a patch will leave an obvious blemish. Instead, consider replacing sliding closet doors through Keystone Home Products. Our sliding doors are affordable and can be bought in multiples.

New Apartment Closet Design

If you’re looking into the steps to build a new apartment complex or building, something you should consider is the most efficient use of space. While many apartments have walk-in closets or coat-closet sized spaces with swinging doors, they’re inefficient. Closets with sliding doors help maximize space and space usage. Not only do they allow tenants to view and access closet contents without having to dig around in the closet depths, their doors are space-efficient.

Swinging doors take a certain amount of floor space, while sliding doors remain in their track and overlap instead. With the size of many apartments’ bedrooms, the ability to open the closet without needing two square feet of empty floor space is vital. Choose a design that uses sliding closet doors and let Keystone assist in construction.

Mirror Closet Doors

Want to make small apartment rooms look bigger? Using sliding closet doors with mirrors on their faces is a great way to do that. Mirrors reflect the existing space as well as encourage light flow. This is a very effective optical illusion that helps a small space feel larger. Tenants love to maximize the small spaces available to them and this will help them do that. By making your apartment bedrooms look more sizeable, you’re also more likely to get new tenants. After all, no one likes feeling cramped and closed in.

Order from Keystone

Keystone Home Products offers sliding closet doors in multiple colors and designs. Check out our selection to see if any are right for you. When you’re ready to make your selection, contact us to discuss making an order or come to our Toronto store to purchase them in person.

Make Your Bedroom Feel Bigger with a Mirror Wall

Many people haven’t considered the possible uses of mirror walls in their homes. The truth is, they have a lot of uses and benefits, both visual and practical. Keystone Home Products wants to inform our readers of the ways they might benefit from these fun interior additions. Primarily, they’re incredibly useful if you want to make your bedroom feel bigger! Let’s see how.

Improving Lighting

In bedrooms with bad lighting, things can get somewhat depressing. However, lamp light and its dull, yellow color doesn’t help much. Wouldn’t it be an improvement if you could get more of that crisp, cool daylight throughout the room? What if we told you you could?

Because mirrors reflect light, having a wall of mirrors can improve the lighting in a room exponentially. You’ll have no more need for dull lamplight with the help of a mirror wall. The light will be reflected around the entire room, giving you better illumination, even if your window or windows are small.

Feeling Cramped

Lighting isn’t the only struggle one can have at home. Bedrooms can also feel cramped and small. This may be because the size of the room is generally inadequate or because the room is just packed with furniture and belongings. Either way, you can make your bedroom feel bigger with a mirror wall.

There are two main ways a mirror wall can improve the perceived size of a room.

The improved lighting from the mirror’s reflection will illuminate more of the existing space, making dark spots feel bigger. Dark areas tend to make a room look smaller. That’s because our brain’s inability to see into the darkness makes it register as the edge of the space we’re in.
Another way you make your bedroom feel bigger with a mirror wall is that it reflects existing space. By seeing the size of your room doubled, your brain is tricked into thinking the space is bigger than it is.
This works especially well in rooms that are kept tidy because the size of the floor space is what’s important to see expanded. If you leave an opening that leads up to the mirror wall, it will look as though the floor continues past the wall. While you may know, logically, that there’s no more room past the mirror, your brain will be appeased by the illusion of it.

Get a Mirror Wall from Keystone

If you want to make your bedroom feel bigger with a mirror wall, Keystone Home Products has your back. Drop by our store today to check out our selection of mirror walls, mirror closet doors, and more. If you have any questions about mirror walls or any of our other products, give us a call. We’re more than happy to help. Or, if you’d rather talk to someone in person, visit us at our Toronto store and ask an employee for help. In-person assistance can be even more effective when we’re able to show you the product you’re inquiring about.

What Are the Best Methods for Shower Cleaning?

Tired of hurting your joints scrubbing at a stubborn shower? Keystone Home Products knows all about the struggle. We have some pointers for those of you who can’t seem to find any painless methods for shower cleaning.

Frequency

One of the biggest mistakes people make when cleaning their shower is waiting too long. Many people only scrub their shower every month or two. Because dirt buildup in showers goes fairly unnoticed until it’s really bad, it may seem unnecessary to clean it more often. Plus, as the place we go to get clean, it’s easy for the illusion of it always being clean to take hold of us.

Buildup and Minerals

The fact is, every time you shower, the dirt, oils, and dead skin from your body are slowly dirtying the shower base. Not only are bodily components a factor, the water is also contributing. Any minerals in your water will build up on the shower enclosure or base. This can manifest in a different way for every different mineral. For some, it may be iron, leaving a rusty, orange buildup. For others, it may be a white coating from lime. There are even minerals that leave behind a pink residue where water has settled.

Don’t Wait

Because these things take a little while to become very visible, it’s hard to think your shower needs a scrub every week. However, if you put in a little effort every week to scrub down your shower, you will keep the buildup from happening at all. Removing dirt and minerals when it’s barely had time to settle is the most effective of methods for shower cleaning.

Cleaning Process

How frequently you clean your shower is one thing, but the steps in your cleaning process also matter.

Foaming Sprays

To cut down on the effort it takes to clean your shower, start by buying foaming sprays. There are a litany of foaming sprays available on the market. Find one that is rated to help with any minerals you have in your water. Then, coat the entire shower enclosure and showe base with it.

Letting these sprays sit for the time allotted on the bottle will give them time to break down minerals and dirt. Then, when you finally pull out the brush or sponge, you won’t have to do all that breakdown with your elbows alone.

Mineral Remover

If you have a pretty notable buildup of minerals in your shower, you’ll want to buy a mineral remover as well. Cleaners made for showers with hard water are one thing, but something especially for removing large amounts of these minerals can cut through even years of mineral buildup.

Too Far Gone

If your shower enclosure is too far gone you can always replace it. Many framed shower enclosures build up mold and minerals incredibly badly. Trying to get the mold to stop growing once it’s gotten into the cracks of the frame can be nearly impossible. While minerals won’t spread like mold, getting an orange buildup from out of the enclosure frame can be, likewise, impossible.

Keystone Home Products has beautiful framed and frameless shower enclosures alike. If your shower enclosure is beyond the help of the best methods for shower cleaning, it can, at least, be replaced with a new one. Give us a call if you have any questions about our shower enclosures and shower doors. We look forward to hearing from you.

Broken Wire Shelving Replacement in Toronto

If you have wire shelving in your home, you know how inconvenient it is for it to break. Even one bar breaking on wire shelving can make storing things more difficult. Plus, it really decreases the attractiveness of the shelving. Keystone Home Products is here to help you with your wire shelving replacement needs. Let’s check out what Keystone has to offer in terms of replacement.

Wire Shelving

Tired of your outdated, damaged, wire shelving? Keystone Home Products has quality, wire shelving to replace it with. What sets Keystone’s wire shelving apart from other brands is that our wire shelving is quality. If you want wire shelving that won’t break down after a few years of use, you can count on our products.

Keystone’s wire shelving is not just simple wire racks. They’re created with the intention of providing closet or room storage. There are wide shelves with hanger bars beneath them as well as smaller shelves which sit closer together.

Wire Shelving Modules

Wire shelving isn’t always in one piece. Often, it comes in modules that can be put together in any way you like. Of course, if a wire shelving module breaks, you can’t just buy a whole new wire shelf to fix that. Keystone Home Products offers wire shelving modules that are used in our closet organizers. If you need to replace a single module, you can do so by buying from us.

Or, if you have a standard wire shelf and would prefer something more modular, replace it with one of our modular shelves. You’ll have a more personalized shelving unit, made to hold whatever you’re looking to store.

Wooden Shelving

Wire shelving is not everyone’s cup of tea. Therefore, if you have a wire shelf that’s recently kicked the bucket, it’s a great opportunity to move on from wire shelving. If wooden shelving is more your style, you’ll be happy to learn that Keystone Home Products has modular wooden shelving.

Keystone primarily markets wooden shelving as closet organizers. However, our wooden shelving is great for anywhere in the house. Choose how many shelves, how spaced apart they are, and additional features as well. Our wooden shelving is a great upgrade if you’re looking for something a bit sturdier than wire.

Our wooden closet organizers are not just shelves. They also come with drawers and hanger bars. One of their benefits is that they can be mounted to the wall. This makes cleaning the floors under them easy and keeps stored belongings away from the dusty floor.

Shop Keystone

If you need help with wire shelving replacement in Toronto, Keystone Home Product is your one-stop shop for getting exactly what you need. Therefore, contact us today if you have questions about our products. Or, if you like to see products in person, come visit our store. We look forward to seeing you!

Wire Shelving and How It Can Improve Your Kitchen

If your kitchen feels crowded or messy, Keystone Home Products has exactly what you need to improve it. For most kitchens, the answer is simply the need for more storage space. However, not just any storage space works for a kitchen. Here’s how Keystone can help improve your kitchen.

Organizational Dilemmas

One of the most common problems in any kitchen is the lack of organization. This isn’t always user error and is, more often than not, caused by inadequate space. So, how can you make the most of the space you do have?

Well, the first step is more storage space. While there might not be enough storage space for all of the food and appliances you own, there is likely some empty space to spare. If you have any free space in or adjacent to your kitchen, you have the potential for more storage space. If you’ve never considered that before, you’re probably feeling a spark of hope, and for good reason.

Storage Space

The problem that many people face when struggling with kitchen storage is that they overthink things. For many, if they run out of cabinet or pantry space, that’s the end of the road. They think the only solution would be adding more cabinets, which would involve renovating.

Not so! There is an affordable and simple alternative: shelving. Having some additional shelving along an empty wall can be life changing for someone with a crowded kitchen. The extra surface space can be used for any number of kitchen objects. However, not just any shelving will work ideally in a kitchen. Here’s why wire shelving is the superior choice.

Wire Shelving to Improve Your Kitchen

Wooden shelves may seem the easier choice, especially if you have a wooden shelf somewhere else in the house that you could commandeer. However, there are drawbacks to wooden shelves that aren’t present with wire ones.

Wooden shelving, having solid surfaces, corners, and, in most cases, a gap underneath, can contribute to pest problems and unsanitary food conditions from dust and the like. Wire shelving, on the other hand, has, as you guessed it, wire surfaces. These wire surfaces are difficult for bugs or mice to traverse, making it harder for them to access food. Plus, without adequate hiding places, they’re unable to make nests.

Function and Appearance

While many might opt for wooden shelves because it’s easier to store smaller things on them than wires, there’s a solution for that. Store smaller things, like cans, in a cupboard or pantry. This keeps them on a stable, wooden surface while also hiding the mess of cans from sight.

Focus your wire shelf storage on larger items, like cereal boxes, instant foods, bags of rice, and so on. The larger the items, the easier the shelf is to keep orderly, which is important if it’s always visible.

If you want to expand your kitchen storage, visit us at Keystone Home Products in Toronto. Or, call us with questions and concerns and we’ll be happy to help.

Outfit Your Studio Apartment with Aluminum Dividers

Looking to give your studio apartment a little more privacy without restricting light flow? There’s an easy solution from Keystone Home Products. By installing aluminum dividers, you can give your apartment more separated spaces while still allowing the sun in. But, how do aluminum dividers work? Let’s check them out!

Windows or Walls?

What exactly are aluminum dividers? They block off rooms, but they let light through: does that make them windows or walls? The answer is, they’re not really either. These opaque, glass dividers don’t allow visibility, but they do let light pass through, mostly unhindered. This makes them unique from both windows and walls. These exceptional dividers give you the best of both worlds.

A New Bedroom

Studio apartments, having everything, more or less, in one room, don’t come with a lot of privacy. This can be pretty uncomfortable if you live with a partner or roommate.

Most people enjoy a sense of coziness in their bedroom space. Feeling as if you can sprawl out, unobserved, is an important part of sleep comfort. Knowing you can be seen while your roommate is cooking breakfast is rather off-putting.

Plus, smells and noises can also disrupt sleep. By sectioning off part of the room to sleep in, you block out some of those unnecessary distractions, making sleep easier and more comfortable.

If you live with a roommate, you may even be able to section off a sleeping space for both of you. Not every studio apartment is big enough to accommodate two small bedrooms, but sleeping quarters don’t have to be bedrooms. Cordoning off the area around the bed and storying personal belongings elsewhere in the apartment will give you both some privacy without using up valuable breathing space.

Light Flow

Privacy in your bedroom space isn’t the only thing aluminum dividers are good for, however. You can accomplish the same thing with many types of dividers. The reason why aluminum dividers are superior is their ability to let light go where it wants.

If your bed is near a window, sectioning off the sleeping area with solid dividers would destroy a significant amount of natural light flow from the rest of the living space. With aluminum dividers, the light will pass through without problem, illuminating the living space on the other side without compromising your privacy.

Other Uses for Aluminum Dividers

These dividers aren’t just good for bedroom spaces. Studio apartments can feel altogether too open sometimes. If you like a bit of separation in your living space, there are more uses for them.

Consider putting up one or two panels between your dining space and living room. This allows your dining space to feel more meal-centric. Plus, if your living space is more on the “comfortable” side, you don’t want dinner guests to look at it the entire time they’re over. In a studio apartment, even a tidy space will display loads of personal belongings wherever you look. Use aluminum dividers to separate personal from social.

Call us at Keystone Home Products if you have questions about our dividers, how you can customize them, and how to order. We look forward to hearing from you.

Improve Your Quality of Life with A New Shower Enclosure

People frequently underestimate the negative impact outdated fixtures in their homes cause. One of the most overlooked it the outdated shower enclosure. Keystone Home Products is here to tell you why you need a new shower enclosure. There’s a lot to cover, so let’s get started.

Quality of Life Effects

If you’re familiar with quality of life, as a concept, you know that it’s always the little things that affect it. Your quality of life is how comfortable your day to day life is. For most people, quality of life has a lot of room to improve. It’s just that people don’t know what things to look for to improve. The little things go unnoticed and the big things are too hard or too expensive to fix. This exact problem is why we want to address shower enclosures and how they affect your quality of life.

Living in the Past

One of the most obvious ways an outdated shower enclosure is impacting your quality of life is by its appearance. Most old shower enclosures come with a metal frame, thin glass, and a somewhat flimsy feeling to it. Plus, because the shower takes up a large portion of most bathrooms, it is a large part of what dictates the bathroom’s overall appearance. When you step into your bathroom, do you feel like it’s stuck in 2000? Changing the shower enclosure can be a single-step way to change that.

In the last 15 years or so, bathroom design has changed and improved immensely. One of the best improvements has been moving to frameless shower enclosures. Frameless shower enclosures are made with high quality glass – not the thin glass or plastic panes in cheap enclosure frames. These updated enclosures look and feel more modern, sleek, and luxurious. They will change the entire feeling of your bathroom’s design.

Work Smarter, Not Harder

The next reason you should get a new shower enclosure is because outdated ones are hard to work with. Over the years, shower enclosures tend to build up a grime on the surfaces of their glass. Not to mention, old enclosures with metal frames grow mold and build up grime along the seams. This mold and grime is incredibly difficult to remove because it’s along the line between glass and frame.

Maybe you’ve kept on top of your shower enclosure cleanliness and don’t have years of built up grime. Even if this is the case, with every time you clean your shower, you have to maintain that level of cleanliness by scrubbing at frame seams and exerting a lot of arm strength.

With frameless shower enclosures, there’s no seam to deal with between the glass and the frame. You have one, solid, glass surface to clean and then you’re done. Using some spray cleaner with anti-mineral properties, you can wipe down your shower and call it a day in just minutes.

Shop Keystone

When you’re ready to buy a new shower enclosure, remember to shop Keystone. Keystone Home Products is the home goods store you can count on. Just visit our store in Toronto or give us a call with your questions. We’re happy to help!

Improve Closet Organization with A Wooden Organizer

Is your bedroom closet organization lacking? Do you have a junk closet or storage room that’s impossible to find anything in? It’s time to do yourself a favor and improve your closet organization with a wooden organizer. At Keystone Home Products, we offer wooden organizers that are ideal for any kind of closet where you need to store things. They’ll make organization easier, more effective, and better to look at. Let’s see how our wooden organizers can help you and your home.

Closet Organization

The first thing we need to talk about is something many people can relate to: a messy bedroom closet. Many of us struggle on a day to day basis with keeping our closets looking and working their best. However, you can cut this struggle in half just by having a decent place to put your belongings.

Did you know that the biggest problem people face in terms of organization is simply not having a place for things? Cleaning up after ourselves proves to be incredibly difficult if we have to stop and think about where to put every thing we’ve picked up. Therefore, having a spot for everything will cut down on cleanup times and make cleaning up and organizing a lot less daunting.

Store More Effectively

The same issue applies to storage spaces. However, the difference lies in that storage spaces are always taking on new things. We can’t predict exactly what we’ll need to store there before we need to store it.

The solution to this is to have broad, categorized spaces for different groups of items. This is much easier to do with a wooden organizer. If you put a wooden organizer in your storage room, you can assign one drawer to important documents, another to rows of old CDs, and one for outdated electronics or cords that you’re not ready to let go of. With clothes bars, you can sort clothes into groups of seasonal clothes, hand-me-downs to save, and formalwear. If you need help mastering storage organization, check out our guide here.

Buy What You Need

The most convenient part of buying a wooden organizer from Keystone Home Products is that you can buy the parts you need and assemble them how you want. Our wooden organizers are made up of various components that can be connected in many different ways. If you need only drawers, you can have only drawers. If hanging clothing is the most important part, you can get mainly clothing bars. Or, if you have boxes to store, get shelving instead. This will make boxes easier to find later. You can get any combination of these things to suit your individual needs.

Closet Organization Help From Keystone

When you’re ready to improve your organization and quality of life, come check out our store in Toronto. We offer more than just wooden organizers and you’re just one trip away from seeing what more we have to offer. Give us a call if you have any questions and we’ll be more than happy to help.

How to Improve Storage Accessibility in Your Home

Are you having trouble with storage accessibility in your home? You’re not the only one. If you’re tired of not being able to find what you’re looking for or not being able to reach the boxes you’re storing, it’s time to learn the Keystone method to improve storage in your home. Here’s how it’s done.

Shelving

The first step when you want to improve storage in your home is installing adequate shelving. Too often, people attempt to store things in a closet or storage room by just stacking boxes in whatever space is available. This is a huge faux pas when it comes to storage. If you stack boxes, you’ll have a lot of difficulty getting to all of the boxes that aren’t right on top or in front. This makes finding things a nightmare.

By installing shelving, you’re then able to line boxes up on the shelves by themselves or in stacks of two, depending on the shelf. Keystone’s wooden organizers are great for this if ordered with mainly shelves and drawers.

Labels

The next mistake people make is storing things in unmarked boxes. Whether you use cardboard boxes, plastic bins, or storage drawers, labeling their contents will change your life. If you don’t feel like buying a label maker, try these three methods:

Direct action. If you’re using old cardboard boxes, you might be happy to mark directly on the box. Go ahead! Pull out a Sharpie and write a list of its contents on the side. Make sure to be specific enough that you won’t have to open it and dig through it to figure out if what you’re looking for is inside.
Masking tape. Masking tape is that tan tape that’s frequently used to tape off an area being painted. This tape is easy to remove if it’s not exposed to extreme heat and holds permanent marker ink very well. Just tear or cut a piece of this off the roll and stick it to your box of choice, writing on the tape.
Strapping tape and paper. Strapping tape is the wide, clear tape used to seal cardboard boxes, typically. If you don’t have some already, a roll is only a couple dollars in most stores’ office supplies section. If you don’t want to hand write your labels, you can print off labels on computer paper. Then, cut out the labels and use strapping tape to attach them to the bin or box you’re using. This will make your labels easy to spot, easy to read, and easy to rip off and throw away later. Plus, if you cover the entire label in tape, it will also be fairly water proof.

Shop Keystone

If you’re looking for shelving, Keystone Home Products has an abundance of it. We have wooden organizers and wire shelving. Plus, you can buy exactly what you need for either. Therefore, your custom shelving needs are welcomed here. Give us a call if you have any questions about our products or visit us in-store to see for yourself!

Improve Your Office Lighting with Aluminum Dividers

Nothing gets in the way of a productive day at the office like sitting in a dark, uninspiring space. Office lighting has a more profound affect on people’s productivity than we ever knew in year’s past. So, if you want to boost employee morale, help fight depression and anxiety, and improve the overall productivity of your business, lighting is paramount. Here’s how Keystone Home Products can help you.

Natural Light and Productivity

Lighting has been proven to affect productivity to an unexpectedly high degree. This is due to both long-term and short-term factors.
Short-term, having adequate lighting allows one to see their space more clearly. It improves our ability to function as creatures that see best in daylight. Checking the calendar, looking at lists, and even seeing the keyboard become much faster tasks when one can see clearly.

Long-term, dim lighting and a lack of sunlight can cause depression, the most notorious causer of low motivation. A person doesn’t have to have major depression disorder to be afflicted by depression. If you wake up in the morning and feel little motivation to do things – even the things you like – you may be experiencing depression. Having exposure to sunlight on a daily basis is a known way to stave off depression.

All of these factors, combined, give lighting a very important role in ensuring one has the tools they need to get their work done.

Divided Offices

We all know how dark an office space can be when each office is divided by walls or thick partitions. Offices and cubicles end up being unlit or lit only by lamps. This leaves an employee’s workspace dim and depressing. But, office spaces that are undivided can lead to visual distractions and noise traveling. This is far from ideal.

So, how can we divide an office space, giving each employee the room they need to work, while also supplying sunlight? The solution is easier than you might think.

Improve Office Lighting

Using aluminum dividers between offices or cubicles will allow light to travel much more effectively. This includes both electric and natural light.

If your offices have sliding, aluminum doors instead of heavy wooden ones, light will flow in from other parts of the office. Cubicles will no longer be cut off from the office’s light sources and windows.

Aluminum dividers can function both as walls, windows, and sliding doors. This makes them a great dividing solution for any space where lighting matters. Plus, their opaque appearance means employees continue to have the privacy they’ve grown used to, even as light comes and goes more freely.

Shop Keystone

Aluminum dividers are easy to get when you shop Keystone Home Products. If you live in the Toronto area, come by our store and take a look in person. If you have questions about our aluminum dividers that our website doesn’t answer, give us a call and we’ll be sure to help you where we can. We look forward to hearing from you.

Update Your Shower Enclosure Before Moving

Planning to move in the next year or so? There’s something you should update before putting your house on the market. However, it might surprise you what it is! Before you move, you should update your shower enclosure. Here’s why.

Outdated

Shower enclosures are one thing that will give away how long it’s been since your bathroom has been updated. If the rest of your bathroom is fairly up to date, a metal-framed shower enclosure may give away its true age. Shower enclosures with metal frames are a sure sign that a bathroom was last updated in the early 2000s.

More modern bathrooms have frameless enclosures. The lack of frame makes the enclosure feel more transparent and less invasive. That has a lot of appeal when one is looking for their bathroom to feel more spacious. Therefore, going for the frameless enclosure may increase the selling price of your home.

Visibly Aged

The next reason your enclosure should be replaced is that old shower enclosures tend to age visibly. After a number of years of scrubbing the glass of a shower enclosure, the force begins to wear it down. Microscopic scratches mar the surface of your enclosure glass, making it less clear, less shiny, and less attractive.

Plus, that’s only if you’ve managed to get it clean. For those of us with mineral deposits due to well water, the glass may be stained or coated in minerals that are too tough to get off.

In addition to the glass quality, if your enclosure has a frame, you can probably see signs of its age by taking a closer look at that. Old shower enclosures will often have a buildup of minerals, grime, mold, or dirt along the edge of the frame. Even if you can get this more clean with a thorough scrub, it’s unlikely that you’ll get it back to looking like new.

That’s where a new enclosure comes in. Even if you opt for a more outdated enclosure with a metal frame, it will look leaps and bounds better than the existing enclosure. The crystal clear glass, as clean as can be, will leave your bathroom looking more expensive, more spacious, and more attractive overall.

Make Your Basement Storage Pest Resistant

If you store things in your basement, you might have noticed that pests have an easy time making their homes among your belongings. However, it doesn’t have to be that way. If you use certain storage methods, even your basement storage can become pest resistant. What are these special storage methods? They’re not as tricky as you might think.

Chew-Proof

The first thing you’ll want to do is make your containers chew-proof. The contents of cardboard boxes can easily become ruined when mice chew through the box and make it their home. Any fabric or papers inside will get torn to pieces for their nest. It will also all be contaminated by droppings. In the case of bugs, the contents of a cardboard box can get eaten, chewed on, and molted skins may be left behind for you to deal with.

Because of these reasons, it’s better to opt for the chew-proof option of plastic bins. If you buy decent quality plastic bins to store things in, pests won’t be able to chew holes in them so easily. Even if some mice made a home in the corner of the basement, at least your stored belongings would be unaffected.

Wire Shelving

One of the best ways to avoid pests making a home in your stored belongings is by storing them on wire shelving. While individual items should always be stored in a container of some kind, placing those containers on wire shelving make your basement less appealing overall. When boxes or bins are stacked and lined up on the floor, it allows a kind of maze for mice or rats to run through. They can make their nest anywhere between bins and finding the nest to get rid of it is even harder.

However, if you keep your boxes and bins on wire shelving, the floor remains mostly clear. That means less space for rodents to hide and, therefore, a less appealing space for them to live.

In the case of bugs, wire shelving isn’t an ideal place to lay eggs either. Instead of climbing up a tricky surface like wire shelving, they’re more likely to lay their eggs on the floor. That’s a lot easier to clean up!

Natural Predators

The last point might be kind of surprising. If you have cats, let them have access to the basement. So long as there’s nothing in the basement that can harm them, allowing cats to roam the basement is a great way to keep it clear of pests. They’re likely to kill any mice or rats that wander in, preventing an entire colony from moving in. Not only that, but their scent alone can deter mice and rats from even considering your home.

Rats have specific scent receptors in their noses that allow them to recognize predator scents, even if they’ve never crossed paths with one before. As soon as a rat smells your cat, it will know this is a less than ideal home and will carry on looking elsewhere.

For more organization tips from Keystone Home Products, take a look through our blog. Or, if you have questions about what we carry and how to order, give us a call. We look forward to hearing from you.

Tips for an Excellent and Effective Storage Room: Part 2

In our last article, we covered the first two steps to an effective storage room. However, it doesn’t end there. After you’ve sorted through each box and made sure to store things in proper spaces, there’s still the storing to do. However, the hardest part is over. Going through your old things and then organizing them into bins is a huge pain. It’s all easier from here on out.

3. Label Label Label

Next up is labeling. One of the biggest mistakes people make when it comes to storage room functionality is not labeling things effectively. “I’ll remember what’s in this bin.” No, you won’t! You might remember one or two things in a bin, but rarely will you remember all of the things.

Every bin or box should have a label on it. The label should cover all of the groups in the bin.

For instance, if you have a box filled with home video tapes, graduation paraphernalia, and baby photos, don’t label it “Memories” unless it is the only box with memory items in it in the entire storage room. Instead, label it “Videos, Graduation, Baby Photos.” This takes a little more writing space and an extra three seconds to write. That’s a great deal in exchange for the time and effort you would waste looking for things without them.

If you don’t want to use permanent marker on your storage bins and you don’t have any fancy label stickers, you can even just use a strip of masking tape. Masking tape is your best friend for making labels. It’s easy to write on in Sharpie without smudging and it can be torn off later with ease. As long as it’s not left in high temperatures, it will even come off without leaving tape residue.

4. Prioritize

If you have a lot of bins in your storage room, your next step is prioritizing. This prioritization process isn’t about what’s most valuable. Right now, you should be figuring out what things you’re most likely to want to open. If you don’t frequently look at memory items, put your memory box in the back, on the bottom. However, if you have a box of seasonal clothes that you’re going to want in six months, put them at the front and on top. The more thought you put into your box positions, the less you’ll have to move around bins later to get to what you want.

5. Storage Day

Last, but not least, is choosing a storage day. Inevitably, new additions to the storage room will get taken there throughout the year. For some, putting them where they go in the storage room right away will be easy. For most, it will not.

Most people will find themselves making a pile of things that need to be sorted and stored somewhere near the entrance to the storage room. This is fine, actually. The important thing is setting aside a day – perhaps once a month – to go through it all and actually put it away. It might not feel worth the effort to dig around bins to put one thing away, but when you’ve accumulated a small pile, it’s time.

For more great organization tips for other rooms in the house, check out our blog. Keystone Home Products is here, not only to help you make an effective storage room, but to keep a functional home. Give us a call if you have questions and we’ll be more than happy to help.

Tips for an Excellent and Effective Storage Room: Part 1

Keeping a storage room is difficult for most people. It’s a slippery slope to what’s actually just a junk room. If you don’t have enough storage space in other rooms and closets, we understand. But, as the organization experts of Toronto, Keystone Home Products wants to give you some tips so that you can have a truly effective storage room.

1. Sort Before You Store

The most important tip we can give you is to always sort through things before you commit them to storage. A lot of times, when people move a box into storage, they just take a peak inside, determine it’s a storage box, and then store it. Don’t do this.

Before any box goes into the storage room, it should be looked through in its entirety. You may see some old home movies on the top that you want to keep, but the entire bottom half of the box’s contents might be old junk that you don’t want anymore. If you aren’t certain of the contents of a box, go through it. Do this with every box you want to put in storage. Otherwise, you’ll end up wasting storage space on things you don’t even need.

2. Avoid Pests

One of the biggest mistakes you can make when storing things is storing them badly. Yes, we’re talking about those beat-up, old, cardboard boxes that you don’t know the contents of. This is a great way to get pests.

A lot of people associate bugs with food only. The thing is, what is food to bugs is not always the same as what’s food to you and me. For instance, moths and carpet beetles enjoy eating fabric. If even one or two of these bugs find a way into that old, cardboard box of baby clothes from 1970, the next time you open it, all you’re going to find is larvae sheddings and more bugs. Not to mention, if they find a place to nest, they can spread to the rest of your house.

To avoid bugs and the mice that would love to nest in your cardboard boxes, store things nicely. The first thing is to use plastic bins over cardboard boxes. Square, easy-to-stack, plastic bins are only about 5 bucks each. Invest in some of them and use them for storage. These bins will keep out bugs, mice, mold, and dust.

For those things that don’t get stored in bins, you’ll want to store them on wire shelving. Keystone Home Products has all kinds of wire shelving available to choose from. The reason wire shelving is so important in storage rooms is that it’s harder for pests to navigate and also allows air flow. Having enough air flow in your storage room prevents musty smells, dust buildup, and mold growth.

More Tips

If you’re just getting started and are ready for more tips, check out our next article. You can also give us a call if you have questions. Sorting and pest prevention are only the first two steps to an effective storage room.

Keeping an Apartment Kitchen Organized: Part 2

In our last article, we talked about sorting through the food in our cupboards and how best to cut down on the quantity of food you’re storing. However, having less in your cupboards won’t do a whole lot if you don’t know how to keep it organized. So, without further ado, let’s get your apartment kitchen organized!

Prioritize Appliances

After going through your food, it’s time to go through your kitchen appliances. Everything from a food processor to your plastic containers is subject to scrutiny when organizing your kitchen. If you don’t remember the last time you used an appliance, it might not be worth keeping around. Of course, some small tools are useful enough when you do need them to make it worth the drawer space. However, if you hate using your blender because taking it apart to clean it never seems worth the effort, it might not be worth the shelf space either.

If you have a lot of miscellaneous containers that you use to store food, you might have trouble storing them. Keeping plastic containers in order when they’re all mismatched tupperware you’ve collected over the years is really difficult. If you have the money to buy a set of matching containers, Rubbermaid locking lid containers are the best choice on the market. The lids lock on to each other, making them easy to stack and store on a cupboard shelf. If you don’t have the money for that, pull out your containers and look through them, only keeping the ones you use regularly and that have lids.

When you’re done looking through your appliances, you should feel confident about the appliances you own. If you see things you don’t use and that you don’t feel will be used regularly in the future, they might take some more consideration.

Buy Sorting Tools

One of the best tricks to keeping an apartment kitchen organized is by buying sorting tools. These tools can vary depending on your needs, but the basics tend to stay the same.

The first thing you should do is invest in some cheap bins. These don’t have to be plain, clear containers that are usually used with lids. You can find decorative, plastic bins for sale at home goods stores all over. Getting these in a size that will fit neatly onto cupboard or fridge shelves will change your life.

You can also buy wire shelf racks or a can riser. A can riser is a small set of what basically amounts to plastic stairs. This gets set on your cupboard shelf and allows you to place cans in rows on the stairs, making them visible from the front, without having to dig through them all. Similarly useful are wire shelf racks. These can be placed on a cupboard shelf and effectively divide the shelf in two. Two sets of plates can be placed on one shelf then – some directly on the shelf and some on the wire rack.

Store Things Like a Pro

When you’re in possession of some of these sorting tools, you’ll find organization is much easier. Use a sorting bin in the fridge to store fresh deli meats or cheeses. Sort veggies into smaller containers in the crisper drawer to keep them visible and easy to take from. The possibilities are endless. Get creative and you’ll find there aren’t as many established rules to how your home has to work as you might think.

Looking for some wire shelves to give you more shelf space in your apartment kitchen? Keystone Home Products is the best place to get them. Give us a call or pay a visit to the home organization experts of Toronto.

Keeping an Apartment Kitchen Organized: Part 1

If you live in an apartment, you know how hard it is to keep organized. Apartments really only have the bare minimum in terms of storage space. They maximize on the amount of rooms they can include, cutting short the storage space allowed each individual living there. If you have roommates, the problem only increases. However, out of all of the rooms in an apartment, the apartment kitchen is the one thats the hardest to keep organized. Keystone Home Products, Toronto’s experts on storage, are here to help. In this part, we’ll talk about sorting through food.

Sort Food

The first step to getting your apartment kitchen organized is sorting through your food. If you’re like most people, you probably have a lot of food that you’ve been storing for a while and not eating. A lot of us fall victim to this space-wasting habit. Make a project of it and remove all of your food from your shelves. Stack it up on the countertop and begin going through it.

Expired Food

Throw out anything expired. You might not think it’s been on the shelf that long, but you might be surprised to find many things expired. Expiration dates are usually found on the bottom or top of an object’s packaging. If it’s in neither of these places, check on the label, near the seam or the nutrition facts.

Unwanted Food

Donate anything unopened that you don’t want. If it’s easy to pick out foods you’re uninterested in, set them aside in a cardboard box and plan to donate them next time you leave the house. Also, now’s a good time to Google your nearest food drive or shelter. Remember, if you don’t know where you’re taking it, you’ll never take it there. Therefore, note down the address on the outside of the box.

Special Ingredients

If there are items that you use infrequently, make a note of the meal you usually make with it and plan to use it up this week sometime. This will allow you to remove it from the cupboard while also making use of it.

Bad Purchases

Anything that’s been in the cupboard and hasn’t been used for over a year is suspect. If you forgot about some things you love, you’ll be happy you’ve found them. However, if you’ve found some things you’re just not that excited at the prospect of eating, add them to your donation box. Sometimes, we feel obligated to eat something we think we should like. However, it’s okay to admit you made a mistake buying something that you didn’t end up eating. Someone else will appreciate it.

In our next part – Keeping an Apartment Kitchen Organized: Part 2 – we’ll get into the nitty gritty of actually organizing things. Give us a call if you have any questions these two articles haven’t answered about how our products can help the organization process.

Other Rooms to Incorporate Closet Organizers

Want to get organized outside the closet too? It’s great news then that closet organizers from Keystone Home Products can be set up just about anywhere. The question is, where are some great places to put closet organizers elsewhere in the home? The organizational professionals are here to help you answer that question!

The Bedroom

If you’re like us, you have a lot of your personal belongings stowed away in your bedroom. Unfortunately, you can only organize a bedroom so much when there’s so much packed into it. A small space like your average bedroom can’t handle all of a person’s belongings.

That makes it a great place to introduce one of Keystone’s wooden closet organizers. Dedicating a wall to one of our organizers is one of the best organizational moves you can make. Choosing a combination of shelves and drawers will make enough room for all of your books, boxes, papers, jewelry, and knick-knacks too.

The Garage

While a closet organizer is less suitable for a garage than a metal tool shelf, it’s important to note that the latter is much more expensive. If you need some organizational help for your garage, but don’t have the funds for a name brand tool shelf, our organizers are the perfect solution.

Drawers can house drill bits, wrenches, hammers, and nails. Shelves can take on toolboxes, supply boxes, and extra building materials like plywood and sheet plastic. With one of Keystone’s organizers, you can finally get your garage into order again, giving yourself enough room to park inside once more.

Living Room

Have a lot to store in your living room? Whether your mess is caused by electronics, games, movies, books, or otherwise, an organizer would suit you well. Placing wooden drawers or shelving on either side of the TV will allow you ample space for setting up game consoles, lining up game or movie cases, or even storing books. Throw spare remotes into a drawer or use one for storing candle refills. No matter what you’ve been struggling to find a place for, an organizer from Keystone will be the perfect place.

In Storage

Have a back room dedicated to storage? Lots of people have a collection of belongings that they don’t need all the time but are too attached to to get rid of. Whether these things are seasonal clothes, memories, or antiques passed down from your grandparents, they need a place.

Unfortunately, an empty spare bedroom doesn’t make the best storage room. This is actually a great way for you to end up with heaps of belongings that you don’t know the location of. Those seasonal clothes are now useless because you don’t know which box you’ve put them in.

Say goodbye to your messy storage room and say hello to a Keystone organizer. Use clothing bars to hang seasonal items. Put memory boxes on shelves or divide things into drawers. You don’t need to pile your storage belongings in a corner when you could be organizing them.

If you want a wooden closet organizer for any room in your home, you can get one from Keystone Home Products. We’re the #1 storage and organizational store in Toronto and we’re here to help you get organized. Give us a call to get organized today.

Keep Small Shops Organized with Professional Shelving

If you own a small shop in Toronto, you’ll want to hear our advice. As the organizational professionals of the area, Keystone Home Products knows all about how to maximize organization in your shop. To start, you need professional shelving.

A Lack of Shelving

When a store is lacking in the amount of shelving they have for displaying their goods, things don’t end up getting displayed very well. When products aren’t displayed well, people are significantly less likely to buy them.

Plus, if your products are cramped on their display shelves, your shop is going to look cluttered and unattractive. We want you to maximize profits and have the most attractive shop you can achieve. That’s why we want you to consider shelving from Keystone Home Products.

Wooden Organizers

Wooden organizers are most commonly used to keep closets under control. The thing is, these organizers, which can be bought in individual parts to allow customizability, can be used anywhere. That means you can specifically buy just the shelving parts. You’re covered by Keystone if all you need is shelving.

However, why stop there when you can also include clothing racks. The thing about hanging clothes for sale on one of our wooden organizer clothing racks is that it ups the class of your entire store. Instead of hanging clothes on cheap, metal racks where they’re cramped and ugly, get an upgrade. Make your small clothing shop have the beauty of a boutique without paying a fortune for the aesthetic. Plus, the better your shop looks, the more you can get away with raising the price of your merchandise.

Wire Shelving

Even in upscale shops, there’s always a place for wire shelving. Wire shelving is great for a lot of things. You can display shoes on wire shelves. You can use them for displaying hats that are just above head level. Mount them above shoe displays and use them to store other sizes of your products.

Wire shelving is superior to wooden shelving in only a few respects. It allows airflow, for one. That’s great for keeping products from becoming dusty. It also keeps pests from setting up shop on your shelves. This is great for things like shoebox storage. If the pests can’t get to the boxes, they can’t get inside of them. Wire shelving is also great for visibility. Anything that will be above eye level in your shop could be better seen if placed on wire shelving.

Glass Shelves

If you want some really classy shelves, we also offer glass shelving. These are ideal for displaying antiques, china, jewelry, and other expensive products. The glass helps with light flow and makes it easy to see many options at once. It also draws the eye, making your expensive merchandise one of the first things customers see.

If you want your shop to have the shelf space it needs, give us a call at Keystone Home Products and we’ll set you up with the best in professional shelving. Let us know if you have any questions and we’ll be happy to answer them.

Pantry Organization Tips From the Professionals: Part 2

Keystone Home Products is back again with Part 2 of our pantry organization series. In Part 1, we briefly talked about how you should be categorizing shelves and where to put frequently used foods. In this part, we’re going to cover what to do with the backs of shelves.

Can Stores

While many canned foods get used regularly, sometimes we have things that just get stored indefinitely. For instance, canned beans, tomatoes, cream soups, and the like are all great for use in meal production. However, most of us won’t be needing these more than every few weeks. These staple products are best kept toward the back on the shelf that has instant foods at the front. This location makes them easy to fade into one another. Allow a little overlap when stacking your cans and boxes. Then, your pantry will be efficiently stocked, with no wasted space between sections.

Ingredients

We haven’t forgotten the foods that get in the way most frequently. Did you think we wouldn’t notice you’ve been wrestling with a bag of flour every time you’re trying to find that can of green beans? Create a section at the back of your bottom shelf for all of your baking ingredients. Very infrequent things should go near the back. Things like flour, sugar, and other staples should go in front of them.

If you’re taking our advice from Part 1 and putting your cereal at the front of the bottom shelf, great! You can now ignore your baking ingredients most of the time. When it comes time to make a batch of cookies, all you have to do is remove your cereal boxes. Simply set them aside temporarily and you can access all of your ingredients. When you’re done baking, lining the cereal back up on the shelf is an easy task.

Kitchen Storage

If, like many pantries, you have four shelves, you may be wondering what to do with the top shelf. It’s hard to reach, tends to collect junk, and isn’t very useful. The good new is, it actually is useful if you know the secret to using it effectively. Grab a stepstool and pull down whatever expired food you have hiding up there. It’s time to make good use of your highest shelf.

This shelf is specifically useful for kitchen storage. No, that doesn’t mean just food. If you have a countertop mixer or a crockpot that you don’t use more than once every month or two, this is the place for them. A lot of people leave appliances lined up on the kitchen counters but, the truth is, most of us really can’t afford to lose the counter space.

Putting appliances that you don’t use very much on the top shelf in the pantry allows you to actually use y our counters when cooking. The extra counter space is well worth an extra step in making crockpot chili every three months.

Of course, if you use your appliances pretty often, this isn’t the best use of your storage space. People who spend a lot of their time making food from scratch are, conveniently, more likely to have more stored goods. Instead of putting your crockpot on the top shelf, this is a great place for big bottles of oil, large bags of rice, dried beans, and many more. Owning a stepstool will make this style of pantry organization more accessible and it will serve a great purpose, keeping your bulk goods from piling up on the pantry floor.

Pantry organization is important, but so is space. If you want to maximize storage space, check out the shelving and storage equipment available from Keystone Home Products. Give us a call if you have any questions or need help starting your order.

Pantry Organization Tips From the Professionals: Part 1

Keeping your pantry functional can be quite difficult. More often than not, people will organize their pantry only to find it a mess again within a few weeks. All of the work put into their pantry organization has been lost in favor of functionality. Unfortunately, a messy pantry isn’t functional. Pulling things out and then putting them back in a space that’s easier to reach may seem functional while doing it, but it leads to disaster. What if we at Keystone Home Products told you that you can organize your pantry in a way that’s both functional and easily accessible?

Order of Frequency

For many, the compulsion to put larger items in the back is a hard one to combat. After all, smaller things should be easy to see and look through, right? The fact is, size rarely has anything to do with how you should organize your pantry. You should actually be organizing things by how frequently you use them.

If you put all of the things you use most often toward the front of the shelves, you won’t find your entire pantry in disarray shortly after organizing it. That’s because most of the pantry hasn’t been affected by your daily rummaging.

Frontrunners

Some items that should be put near the front of the shelves include:

Cereal, if you or your kids eat it regularly. Lining cereal up along, perhaps, the bottom shelf makes it easy to retrieve and replace on the daily without disrupting your shelves.
Frequently used cans or boxes. If you tend to eat a lot of canned or boxed foods, pick a shelf to dedicate to them. Put those that you like to have on hand, that you don’t use much, toward the back of the shelf. Reserve the front of the shelf for things that you use frequently and restock when going shopping.
This is a great place for things like canned fruit, canned ravioli, or boxes of instant rice dinners. Putting these things on, maybe, the second lowest shelf would make them easy to look through and access.
Snacks should also go toward the front. Because snacks tend to get eaten and replenished often, they should go toward the front. Because snacks tend to come in medium or large sized boxes, these go great on a shelf slightly above eye level. This makes them easy to grab and replace without giving you the visibility that’s better reserved for small things.

Spices

One thing that definitely needs to be easily accessed but that tends to get in the way is spices. For these, we recommend buying a wire spice rack that can be mounted on the inside wall of the pantry. Trying to keep spices from falling over and becoming chaos on the expanse of a regular shelf is nigh impossible. However, giving them their own little place where they support each other and stay out of the way works great.

If you’re looking for wire shelving or other organizational products, Keystone is the best place in Toronto to find them. Give us a call or come visit our shop to see if we have what you’re looking for. Join us again for Part 2 to learn more about pantry organization.

Boost Closet Organization with Wire Shelving

Tired of your closet being a mess all the time? The truth is, it can be hard to keep your closet organized without the right organizational tools. That’s especially true if you have a lot of stuff or not a lot of closet. If you want to know how to improve your closet organization, you should start with wire shelving from Keystone Home Products.

There are a lot of ways that wire shelving can improve your closet organization. Unfortunately, we can’t cover every single method, as you could go on forever, with enough creativity. However, we will cover the most effective methods of using wire shelving to boost closet organization.

Adaptability

The first thing that makes wire shelving better than many of the shelving alternatives is that it’s adaptable. Because wire shelving is assembled in a way that’s impermanent, you can adjust it later if you need it to function differently. However, at the time of installation, you can choose exactly how you want it to function to begin with. That means you get a fully customized set of wire shelving, including any combination of shelf sizes that you want.

Not only is our wire shelving customizable, you can also further adapt it by introducing other variables. For instance, having a long shelf across the top of your wire organizer allows you plenty of space for bins and boxes used for storage. You can even use open-topped bins or baskets like drawers. Decorative fabric and wire baskets can be bought from most stores that sell household goods. These look great and add a lot of functionality. Use these to store socks, underwear, hats, or anything else that’s hard to store by folding.

Hanging Bars

Wire shelving is great because it functions as both shelving and as a place to hang clothing. Keystone’s wire shelving has a bar across the front that’s specifically included for hanging clothing. Consider storing jewelry boxes or other cases on the shelf while hanging shirts beneath it.

Combine Storage Methods

You don’t have to use only wire shelves. Consider combining storage methods to maximize storage efficiency.

Use a hanging shoe holder, hanging it from the hanger bar.
Use a high or low shelf to hold vacuum-sealable bags of out-of-season clothing or blankets.
Place organizer drawers on or under shelves.

Take Advantage of Wire Shelving

Wire shelving has a bonus feature just by virtue of being wire. You can use wire shelving as its own storage method. For instance, you can use one of the hanger bars to store necklaces or bracelets. Clasp necklaces on one of the bars that’s least disturbed by frequently used belongings. This makes them easy to look through and less likely to tangle.

Safer Storage

One of the least recognized benefits of wire shelving is that it provides safer storage. Because wire shelving allows better air flow, your belongings are less likely to experience mold, mildew, dust, or nesting by bugs or rodents, even if you have them in your home.

If you’re ready to upgrade your closet, give us a call at Keystone Home Products or visit our Toronto store. We want to help Toronto improve its organization, one closet at a time.

Replace Closet Doors with Help From Keystone

Tired of closet doors that haven’t been updated since 1980? Or maybe you’re just tired of the struggle to open swinging closet doors. There are a lot of reasons you may be in the market for new closet doors. Or, perhaps you didn’t even realize until now that you were bothered by your closet doors. No matter the occasion, if you live in Toronto and you’re looking for an upgrade, Keystone Home Products has what you need!

Replace Swinging Doors

One of the most frequent reasons for closet door replacement is that the type of closet doors someone has isn’t what they want. Often, they have closet doors that swing outward and take up a lot of space. Trying to get into a closet that has swinging doors can be an ordeal. You have to make sure there’s enough floor space to accommodate the doors. If you live in a cramped room, that’s easier said than done. More often than not, you may end up wrestling with your closet doors and turning yourself into a pretzel to get to what you need on the shelf within.

Make accessing your belongings easy with sliding doors. Even if your floor is a mess, you can simply slide your closet door to the side, revealing the shelf or clothing rack you’re trying to reach. Additionally, one of the best parts of ordering sliding closet doors from Keystone is that we custom make closet doors. That means that no matter the size of your closet doorway, we can outfit it with sliding doors that fit perfectly.

Replace Mirror Doors

If you have mirror closet doors, there are a lot of things that can go wrong. Unfortunately, mirrors are more breakable than most building materials. If your mirror closet door has a broken mirror, it’s best to get it replaced quickly. Even if the pieces are still in place, it still poses a risk of injury. If any of the pieces fall onto the floor, you’re fairly likely to end up getting cut from stepping on it. Therefore, you should prioritize replacing them quickly.

Fortunately, Keystone Home Products has mirror closet doors and we can replace the one that got damaged quickly and easily. Give us a call and tell us a bit about what you need and we’ll have your order made in no time. No more dangerous, broken doors necessary.

Pick Your Color

When you order from Keystone, you can even pick the color that’s right for you. Check out our closet doors and see what kind of color is right for you. You can even choose different colors for the door and frame, making your closet doors personal.

Contact us if you have any closet door needs in Toronto and Keystone Home Products will be quick to help. We have answers to your questions and look forward to helping you find the right product for your home.

Clothing Storage Methods for Cramped Closets

If you’re dealing with a cramped closet, you know it can be stressful and frustrating. If you’ve already tried downsizing and sorting through your clothes to weed out the ones you don’t wear anymore and you’re still struggling for space, it might not be a you problem. Sometimes closets are just small and don’t have much capacity. The good news is, you don’t have to throw out beloved clothing or deal with the overflowing contents of your closet. There are clothing storage methods that can make your closet manageable.

Closet Organizer

The first thing you can do to aid your clothing storage efforts is buy a closet organizer. People don’t realize how much space is wasted in a closet just because there’s nothing there to store in. By putting in a closet organizer, you can turn every empty part of your closet into a useful part of the organizing process. Where there was once only air, there can now be a drawer or shelf. Just ensuring all the space in your closet is being used to its max potential is a huge step in getting your closet under control.

Vacuum Seal

A storage method that isn’t used as frequently as it deserves is the vacuum seal method. If you don’t know what vacuum sealing is, you’re about to find out. Vacuum seal storage bags are made of thick plastic, usually with a zipper on one end. You open up the bag, place inside whatever clothing you won’t be using for a while, and zip it up. You then use the hose of a vacuum, attaching it to a little ring on the bag, and turn it on. The vacuum then sucks out all of the air in the bag, shrinking your clothes to half the volume they were before.

The cool thing about these bags is that they can be stored in a number of ways. You can slide them under the bed, put them in storage bins, stack them on the top closet shelf, or even hang them from hangers. No matter how you choose to store them, you’re saving space. These are best used for seasonal clothing or spare blankets that you only need when it’s coldest.

Roll Clothing

If your struggle with storing clothes is getting them to fit in the drawers, you’ll want to try rolling them. Try folding your shirts as you normally do and then rolling them. You can then stack them tightly in your dresser or organizer drawers.

Regularly folded clothing is hard to store without making a mess because they have a lot of air between layers. That causes the clothes to have more volume than they actually need. When you tightly roll them, you get them down to the smallest size you can without the use of something like a vacuum sealing bag. You can also stack them with each other easier than you can fit regularly folded clothing into a drawer together.

If you need help with your clothing storage methods, you can get it from Keystone Home Products. We specialize in organization and have all of the closet organization products you need. Give us a call if you have any questions about what we have to offer or how to get it.

Mirror Bifold Doors Make Your Bedroom Feel Bigger

Mirror Bifold Doors Make Your Room Feel Bigger

Living with a small bedroom can be difficult. If you have the rest of the house to help you store things, that’s one thing. Sharing a space with others is a whole different story. If you share an apartment with roommates or share a family home, you know keeping everything you own in your room can be a real challenge. So, without further ado, Keystone Home Products is here to help you make your bedroom feel bigger with mirror bifold doors.

Reflect Light

One of the first things mirror bifold doors do to make your room feel bigger is reflect light. Small rooms can feel even smaller when they’re dark. Having mirrors in a space allows lamplight, sunlight, and any other kind of light source you have in your room to reflect. This means your room is easier to light up. A small lamp reflecting light off mirror bifold doors can make your whole room feel adequately lit. Thus, your room feels bigger.

Double Space

Reflecting a space back onto itself makes it feel bigger. This is because, looking into a mirror, you see the space available in your room twice over, making it feel twice as big. While this doesn’t actually give you more space to store things, it can trick your brain into feeling less cramped. This is why having mirror bifold doors will make your bedroom feel bigger.

If you want to do some cleaning that provides a similar feeling, try moving everything in your room toward the walls. If you have a walkway between your bed and the wall, remove it. Move any nightstands on that side of the bed to the other and push your bed toward the wall. Every bit of space that you move to be more toward the center of your room, the bigger it will feel. This extra space allows you more room to move around in, making the room feel less cramped overall. Plus, when you reflect a more open space, rather than a cramped one, the mirror doubling effects are even better.

View the Whole Closet

Mirror bifold doors have a special feature about them that standard, sliding doors can’t hope to compete with. Because they fold in half and open outwards, you’re able to see the whole closet at once. Sliding closet doors can tend to make small rooms feel smaller because they put limitations on what you can see all at once. Bifold doors allow you all the freedom of movement you desire. You’ll be able to comfortably look through your clothing without having to switch which side of the closet you’re looking at. That’s sure to make your bedroom feel bigger.

Full-Body Mirror Built In

Because our brains equate accessibility with comfort and space, having mirror bifold doors allows an additional comfort. Having a full-body mirror built into your closet doors allows you to try on new outfits and check them out easily. This ease of access is sure to help you with your sense of space.

If you have any questions about our mirror bifold doors or any other products we offer at Keystone Home Products, give us a call and we’ll be happy to help.

Add Glass Shelving to Your Contemporary Home

Having enough storage space can be a difficult feat in many homes. This is especially true in contemporary homes. Trying to add storage space without cluttering up a room can be difficult, but keeping things somewhat pristine is a mark of contemporary interiors. That’s why Keystone Home Products is here today to suggest glass shelving as a solution. Here’s how glass shelving can save the day.

Avoiding Weight in Design

One of the things that you should try to avoid in contemporary interiors is having weight in your design. Weighty fixtures don’t match with the design style. Instead, the goal is to find balance in light and dark colors while maintaining a kind of lightweight appearance. This is why contemporary design makes use of such things as glass and metal. You can use little of each of those materials while having much more strength than you would get out of the same amount of wood. To have enough strength in a wood shelf, you need it to be thick enough to bear the weight of its contents.

Glass is a great way to avoid weight in your design. Glass shelves don’t have to be very thick to hold up books or decorations. The thinness of the glass, coupled with its transparency, makes it a fantastic, lightweight addition to your interior. This is why glass is used so much in contemporary design.

Glass Shelving Lightflow

An additional feature of glass, which makes it so popular in contemporary homes, is its ability to aid in lightflow. Because glass is transparent and won’t block light, it allows you to see the contents of a shelf very easily. This is why glass is such a popular choice for display cases and decor shelves.

Have you ever tried displaying something on a wooden book shelf? To get the necessary lighting on a wooden bookshelf to make viewing decor or displays easily, the shelves must be far apart and there must be plenty of light in the room, ideally, directed at the shelf. Glass shelving can be placed closer together and requires less direct light to adequately show off its contents. This makes glass shelving great for contemporary homes, as contemporary interiors are often looking for ways to display decor.

Easy to Clean

Glass shelving has another benefit. It’s easy to clean! Many types of wooden bookshelves require wood-safe cleaners so that the finish isn’t ruined. Glass shelving, on the other hand, does not. You can use virtually any cleaner you like to wipe down your glass shelving. It won’t be easily damaged by the wrong choice.

Plus, glass can stand up to water a whole lot better than wood can. This makes glass shelving a great place for displaying a vase of flowers or a fish bowl. When moving either of these things or making changes to them, a little spilled water won’t damage your shelf.

If you’re interested in purchasing glass shelving for your home in Toronto, come to Keystone Home Products. If you have questions about our products, give us a call and we’ll be more than happy to help answer your questions.

Make Your Room Feel Bigger with Mirror Closet Doors

A small space can begin to feel crowded very quickly. Every piece of furniture and every decoration that takes up blank space in a room contributes to crowding. If you’re like most people, you like to feel like you have a little breathing room in your home. That’s why it’s important that we as people come up with new and inventive ways of giving ourselves that breathing room. Sometimes breathing room comes in the form of optical illusions. Making your space feel bigger than it really is can be just the antidote for a crowded bedroom. Today, Keystone Home Products wants to let you in on how you can benefit from mirror closet doors.

Multiply Space with Mirror Closet Doors

The reason why mirrors are so useful for making a space feel bigger than it really is is because the mirrors are multiplying your space. A mirror reflect back all of the empty space your room has to offer. That means, when your gaze falls on a mirror closet door, the reflected space registers as being real. That means your brain is less prone to panicking because there’s not enough room to move around. It’s calming to feel like you have room to move.

Brighten Up the Space

The next thing that mirror closet doors accomplish is actually important for anyone who spends a lot of time in their bedroom. Even if you like things cozy, you can always benefit from better lighting. Whether that’s lamp-light or sunlight, pouring in through the window, your mirror closet doors will reflect it. Mirrors help brighten up a space incredibly well. Rays of light will bounce off a mirror’s reflective surface and bring light to even the darkest corners of the room. Combining mirror closet doors’ ability to spread light and multiply space, your room is on its way to feeling bigger in no time.

More to Look At

It might seem like mirror closet doors are only effective at making a room feel bigger by spreading light and multiplying space, but there’s more – more to look at, to be exact. This is something that’s somewhat unique from the space-multiplying effect. When you have more to look at – when you can see things from a different perspective than you usually can when seated in one place, it generally makes a space feel bigger. If your brain isn’t running out of things to look at as fast, it’s more mentally engaging and feels larger. This effect will help to keep you from focusing on how small a space actually is.

Clean-Inspiring

Possibly a side effect of the last point, having mirror closet doors tends to inspire people to pick up after themselves more. Being able to see every corner of your room from a different perspective than you normally do can help with clutter-blindness. This can inspire you to pick up more. And, as we all know, picking up a space makes it significantly more spacious.

If you want to upgrade your closet doors, get some help from Keystone Home Products. Contact us for help making your purchase and our experts will be more than happy to assist.

Hire Keystone for Your New Glass Shower Enclosure

After a number of years, glass shower enclosures really tend to age. It’s hard to avoid getting mineral buildup along edges. For many, the struggle may even be with mold. Keeping shower enclosures in top condition is a hard task. When it’s time for you to replace your glass shower enclosure, Keystone Home Products has exactly what you need.

Enclosure Variety

The first thing we offer at Keystone is variety. When you come to pick out a new glass shower enclosure from us, you can be sure you’ll find what you need. We have something for everyone, because no two people have the same exact taste. We offer:

Framed shower enclosures with swinging doors.
Framed enclosures with sliding doors. These are great for both stand-up showers and tub/shower combos. Ditch the shower curtain that keeps gathering mold and crowding your space while you shower. With sliding, glass doors, you can shower or bathe free of the hassle of a shower curtain. Plus, showering with a glass door means more light. You wouldn’t believe the difference it makes to get better lighting during your morning shower.
Frameless shower enclosures. There’s nothing quite as flexible in design as a frameless, glass, shower enclosure. No matter what other updates you decide to do to your bathroom down the line, your frameless enclosure will match. This gorgeous and elegant design adds a lot to your home and also to your home’s resale value.

Shapes and Sizes

While design is important, what’s even more important is knowing that Keystone has enclosures for showers of all shapes and sizes. We account for:

Showers with half-walls making up part of the enclosure. Even if you need each piece of the enclosure to be a different height, we’ve got you covered.
Showers that need two pieces of enclosure. If you have a rectangular or square shower in the corner, you’ll probably only need two pieces of glass. We have enclosure sizes that will fit this shower shape.
Showers that need more than two pieces of enclosure. Many people have showers in a pentagonal, hexagonal, or even octagonal shape. These showers need many more pieces of enclosure glass. We’re prepared for showers of any shape and will provide an enclosure with as many pieces necessary.

Affordable Price

One of the best things Keystone Home Products offers is an affordable price – even on glass shower enclosures. While many companies will overcharge for glass shower enclosures, we offer a truly unbeatable price. Our company offers affordability and quality like no one else in Toronto.

If you have questions about our glass enclosures or other products, give us a call. We look forward to helping you with your search for the perfect shower enclosure.

Replace an Old Vanity Mirror with Keystone Home Products

A number of things can make a bathroom look aged. Broken tiles, wallpaper, and brass fixtures are some things that will add years on to your bathroom. Did you know an old vanity mirror can do it too? Certain vanity mirrors have designs around the edges, come in a frame, or are even broken. If your vanity mirror looks like it’s been there a while, it’s going to age your bathroom. Luckily, Keystone Home Products can help.

Why Does Age Matter?

The age of a bathroom may not seem that important if it still functions alright. However, it is incredibly important if you plan on selling your house. While individuals may be accepting of an outdated bathroom, most people aren’t. If someone walks into a house to buy it and sees that the bathroom looks like it hasn’t been updated since the 60s, they’re not going to be sold.

Because the bathroom is one of the most valuable rooms in the house, people care what it looks like. You can’t avoid a bathroom like you can avoid a half-finished basement. When selling your house, your bathroom needs to be a room people enjoy the look of.

Broken Mirror

Whether you plan on selling your house or not, if your old vanity mirror is broken, it should be replaced. There are a number of reasons.

For one thing, it looks bad. Every time you walk into your bathroom, your eye is going to be drawn to the break in your mirror. That’s both unattractive and annoying.
The second reason is that it’s less functional when it’s broken. Most mirrors won’t just get a corner broken off. It’s going to split the entire thing. Trying to use a mirror with a big crack running through it is distracting and annoying. It’s harder to see the overall reflection.
And lastly, it’s dangerous. While a cracked mirror isn’t the most dangerous thing in the world, it still poses a hazard. If the crack continues growing, a part of the mirror could fall from its mount. Broken glass falling on someone or ending up in little pieces on the floor isn’t exactly safe.

Pick a Replacement

When you decide it’s time to replace your old vanity mirror, get the job done with Keystone Home Products. We have a selection of vanity mirrors we think you’ll appreciate. Get the size and cut you need for your bathroom. Bring your bathroom into the present with a mirror that looks like it belongs here.

If you have questions about Keystone’s vanity mirrors or other products, give us a call and we’ll be glad to help. We offer the best selection and service in Toronto. If you don’t believe us, come take a look for yourself.

Keep Your Closet Functional with Proper Shelving

Letting your closet turn into a mess is easy. It happens to all of us. Maybe your clothing rack is cramped and you put clean laundry on top of the dresser. Or, perhaps you have no hamper and dirty clothing gets tossed in the corner. No matter what your poison, it’s not unusual to have a hard time keeping your closet organized. That’s why Keystone Home Products is here to give you some pointers – and they all start with proper shelving.

Keep Things Off the Floor

It’s tempting to put things on the floor if you’re lacking space. However, the more you put on the floor, the easier it is for things to get messy. For instance, shoes getting set on the floor can quickly turn into a pile rather than an orderly line. Having shelving for your shoes forces you to keep them more or less in order, as you have to pick them up rather than kick them off. The same goes for other things such as small boxes, jackets, or hats. Having proper shelving will keep these things cleaner, more organized, and easier to find.

Have a Place for Everything

The main reason most people have a hard time keeping their closet clean is because they bring something into the closet with no discernable place. That object has no choice but to get set somewhere that it doesn’t belong. Then, the thing that belongs in the place it got put now has to go somewhere else. The snowball effect brings your closet into chaos. To keep it tame, always have a place for everything.

Downsize

If you run into trouble and one of the places you have gets filled up, you might need to consider downsizing. Not having enough space for the essentials is one of the other main reasons closets turn into disasters. If you regularly add new clothes to your wardrobe, you’re slowly decreasing your storage space. Inevitably, you’ll run out of room. As you struggle to fit what you have where it goes, you’re suddenly back at square one. At that point, no amount of designated space will fix your problem.

Go through what you have and remove some of the things you never use. When you’ve taken all the shirts out of your closet and started to go through them, you’ll be surprised how many you don’t wear anymore. Once you’ve separated out the clothes that you want to sell, donate, or store, you’ll be surprised how much easier it is to put shirts away.

Shelving Variety

The cool thing about shelving is that it comes in a variety of styles. You can opt for a full-sized, wooden, closet organizer or even just hang up wire shelving. Wire shelving is incredibly flexible in terms of use because you can stack things on it and also hang things from it. Wire shelving is even easy to decorate, if you want it to look more personalized.

If you want to get started on your way to a cleaner closet, contact us at Keystone Home Products. After all, we know you’ll find what you’re looking for with us.

Replace Your Broken or Outdated Shower Door

There are certain parts of a home interior that are easy to forget are there. A lot of your home’s interior features are things you might not have any idea where to buy replacements for. They’ve been working fine this whole time, right? So, what happens when one of these mysterious features breaks? Today, Keystone Home Products wants to reassure you that every part of your home did come from somewhere. Specifically, your shower door came from somewhere just like Keystone!

Broken Shower Door

If your shower door breaks, getting it replaced is important. You can’t exactly use your shower if you’ll get water all over the bathroom floor due to a missing door. If you’re in need of a replacement, Keystone Home Products has you covered.

Outdated Shower Door

If your shower door hasn’t been replaced in many years, it may be starting to look outdated. Years of use can do a number on a shower door. For one thing, if there’s a design in the glass, it might be aging your bathroom. Many acid-etched glass designs are florals or other aged subjects. These may look nice, but they also seem like they belong in your grandmother’s bathroom. Getting a new one will give you the opportunity to pick something that fits in with your overall interior. This is a great opportunity to reclaim some of the interior style that you had no choice in if your home wasn’t new when you bought it.

The other unfortunate effect of an old door is that it can build up grime. Shower doors, especially those with frames, tend to collect dark grime in the cracks. Even someone who keeps their shower squeaky clean will have a hard time fighting these crevices in the door frame. After a long enough time, the shower will look dingy and the whole enclosure may be better off replaced.

Shower Door Styles

We offer both traditional and more recent designs in shower doors. If you prefer the more traditional look of a framed door – or just the lower cost – we have many options to choose from. However, many prefer the slightly pricier frameless look. No frame around your glass door means it will match any type of bathroom interior color palette.

Enclosure Styles

If you want to get your entire enclosure replaced, you can do that too. Keystone Home Products offers both doors and enclosures. No matter what kind of glass you’re looking for to close your shower off, we’ve got it.

That includes tub enclosures. If you have a tub and shower combo and aren’t a fan of using a curtain, you can outfit your combo with glass doors. Check out our selection of shower doors and you’re sure to find something that suits you.

Give us a call if you have questions about what we have to offer here at Keystone. We look forward to helping you find the perfect door for your shower.

Make Your Kitchen Feel Bigger with a Mirror Backsplash

There are a lot of really cool design choices available for kitchens these days. With time, people continue thinking of really creative ways to improve their interiors. One of those really cool improvements is the installation of a mirror backsplash.

What is a Backsplash?

A backsplash is a coating of some kind that you can put over the wall behind your counters and stove. Backsplashes come in a variety of styles, though the most common is tiling. Backsplashes are put in place for two reasons.

They are functionally useful for protecting your walls. It’s easier to wipe grease off a backsplash than paint, which will wear down and get damaged from excessive cleaning.
They look great and can serve a number of purposes in the kitchen’s design, including making the space feel bigger.

Mirrors in Design

Mirrors are incorporated into interior design all the time. Aside from their functional uses, mirrors have a fantastic quality: they make a space feel bigger. Due to their reflecting capabilities, mirrors can make a room feel twice the size just by reflecting it back onto itself. This makes mirrors a frequent choice in design. You can add the illusion of space by putting them on closet doors, on ceilings, and yes, even as a kitchen backsplash. Mirrors lend themselves well to being kitchen backsplashes. They make your counter space feel larger and provide a better view of your ingredients when cooking.

Cleaning

One of the great benefits of using a mirror for a backsplash is that they’re easy to clean and more hygienic than a number of backsplash alternatives. For instance, tile is the most common backsplash used in kitchen design.

While tile may look great, it’s not very easy to clean. The grooves between each tile are great at catching dripped or stuck-on food from the cooking process. Once this food dries onto the tile surface, it’s hard to get off. You can’t just wipe the surface clean in one go because it isn’t flat. You have to stop at each space between tiles and ensure they’ve been wiped clean. Therefore, these grooves between tiles are not usually cleaned adequately. It’s a great place for bacteria to hide and grow, often leading to discoloration.

Mirrors, on the other hand, are a flat, smooth surface. They’re non-porous as well, meaning no little spaces for bacteria to hang around. Simply spray your mirror backsplash down with some standard, food-safe cleaner, such as one with a vinegar base. Wipe down the surface until all visible spots are removed and your backsplash is bacteria free once more.

If you’d like to inquire about mirror backsplashes or other fantastic additions to your interior, give us a call at Keystone Home Products. We have everything you need to make your house a home.

Allow Light Flow with Aluminum Room Dividers

Are you looking to allow better light flow in your home or office? You may need to consider aluminum room dividers. These dividers can come in a number of styles and sizes as well as with varying track types. They’re made with clear or acid-treated glass to allow better light flow in an interior space. Let’s take some time to see all the ways you can benefit from aluminum room dividers.

Stylish Closet Doors

Closet doors can be really boring. Therefore, use the opportunity to make them more of a design statement by choosing aluminum doors? These doors can be fit with a number of different inserts, allowing you to pick between many different glass types. You can even pick mirror inserts. These have the added benefits of making your space feel bigger and giving you a full-length mirror for dressing.

Paired Inserts

Because of the generous 6mm space in these aluminum doors for inserts, you can even pair them up. That makes it easy to choose different materials for each side of the door. Want a full length mirror to face the inside of your walk-in closet? You’ve got it. Maybe you’re not as keen on having a mirror facing the rest of the room. No problem. You can choose one of 4 other glass materials for the other side. Plus, if you’re not interested in glass, try using wooden inserts instead.

Beat Building Code

Many small apartments or condominiums offer only small windows in bedrooms or even none at all. When it comes to building code, it’s often required that bedrooms have a certain amount of natural light in them. To allow for enough natural light in your bedroom, even without a bedroom window, light flow is key. Therefore, we suggest using fogged glass doors for the bedroom. This will allow natural light in from other windows in the unit.

Varying Tracks

Getting to choose the insert types is cool and all, but what about the tracks? You can choose those too! There are even a number of ways to arrange the tracks. Consider each of these fantastic arrangements:

Single track double doors can fit on one track and slide away from each other, meeting in the middle.
Double track double doors means you’ve got two doors with tracks one in front of the other. This allows you to slide both doors to one side if you like.
Barn door style allows you to attach a track to the top of the door(s), keeping your walkway clear.
Pocket door tracks allow your door to slide into the wall. These are great for unobstructive bathroom or bedroom doors.

If you’re interested in outfitting your home or business with aluminum room dividers, give us a call at Keystone Home Products. After all, we’re looking forward to your call and are happy to help answer any questions you have.

Saving Space in a Small Home

Most people don’t start out with a big and spacious home. A small starter home is much more likely. It’s more affordable and, if you haven’t started a family, more practical. However, if you never move to a bigger home, your small home can start to feel very cramped over the years. However, did you know that proper organization can help you save a ton of space? Keystone Home Products is here to help you with saving space!

Cleaning Up

The first step to saving yourself space in your small home is going through your belongings. If it’s been a while since you last cleaned up and got rid of some things, you might find there are a few unwanted belongings stealing up free space from things that really need it.

So, the first step is going through things. Check closets for clothes that don’t fit anymore or that you don’t really like much these days. Look through old boxes to see if some of the things you were holding onto aren’t really that important. If your kitchen is struggling for space, look for cooking or baking appliances that you never use and say goodbye.

It can feel incredibly liberating to get rid of things you never use. And, once you’ve taken some boxes of donate or trash items out of the house, you’ll be shocked at how much space you’ve made.

Organizing

The next step is organizing. Inevitably, there will still be a lot left. Some of it might even be stuff you don’t use often, like seasonal clothes or that special baking dish that you only use during the holidays. With proper organization, even the stuff you don’t use much will have its place without impeding on other storage capabilities.

When it comes to organizing your closet, it can be tricky finding places for everything. The way standard closets are made, there’s usually only a high shelf with a bar beneath for hanging clothes. But is there really anyone who can hang everything they own? What do you do with your shoes or your bags?

You can find a place for everything in your closet with one of keystone’s closet organizers. These wooden organizers will allow you plenty of space for all kinds of things. From shelves to bars to drawers, you’ll be able to store anything you have lying around. And, if your closet isn’t big enough for a wooden organizer to be practical, you can always spring for wire shelving.

Ditch the Dresser

If you can opt for the wooden organizer, you may even have enough closet storage space to ditch the dresser in your room. A dresser is a big piece of furniture and if you’re short on space, removing it would allow a lot more room. You can use this as an opportunity to gain more floor space or put in some other furniture you need, like a bookshelf.

No matter what your organizing needs, you can find something to help at Keystone Home Products. We specialize in outfitting closets to make them more functional. If you have any questions about our products or our Toronto based company, feel free to give us a call!

The Dos and Don’ts of Closet Organization

When things begin to get a bit cluttered or messy in your closet, it’s time to get organizing. But where will you start? Keystone Home Products specializes in closet organization and we’re here to give some advice. Let’s check out some dos and don’ts of closet organization!

Cutting Down

Don’t: Get rid of things you love because you don’t have enough room in your closet at the moment. If you’re struggling to find room for things you genuinely love and use, there’s a better way to make space.

Do: Invest in a proper closet organizer to help you make room for your belongings. A huge part of organization is having the right organizational equipment. How can you properly organize things if your closet has nothing but a hanger bar? Give yourself a proper place to store your clothing and belongings with a wooden organizer.

Don’t: Hold on to things you aren’t fond of. Keeping clothes that you’ve been hoping to fit into for years or things you keep hoping will spark your interest again later is a waste of space. Not to mention, looking at clothing that doesn’t fit anymore in the hopes that it will inspire you is just going to make you feel bad.

Do: Find happiness in the clothing that does fit and get rid of what doesn’t. Removing the things you don’t wear will make so much space. With your closet clean and organized, filled only with what you like and can wear, getting dressed will be fun again. You’ll finally be able to find all the things you had to search for before.

Accessibility

Don’t: Store things in boxes. The only things you should be storing in boxes are the things in the attic. When you store things in boxes, they don’t get used. Even with markings on the cardboard, it’s hard to remember exactly is in which box and digging through them is a pain. Plus, cardboard boxes are an eyesore in any closet.

Do: Buy organizers of any kind. There are full closet organizers for clothing and small sets of drawers for accessories. Try a complete jewelry box with spaces for rings and hanging necklaces. Get a display box for watches. Your clothing and accessories should be easy to find and stored in a way that makes you feel good about your closet.

Don’t: Dump jewelry into a drawer or box. If you wear jewelry, it can be tempting to just put it all in one drawer. This is absolutely the wrong way to go. Necklaces will get tangled and things can get broken.

Do: Buy a jewelry box or find designated places for each jewelry type. Putting a row of hooks on the wall for necklaces will help keep them from tangling. Buying a ring cushion or a hand-shaped stand will keep rings from getting lost behind the organizer. Jewelry is expensive and should be treated properly to avoid damaging it. Plus, it looks nicer and feels better to have things stored neatly.

Space Saving

Don’t: Store miscellaneous boxes in your bedroom closet. Your closet should be for clothing and accessories only. Cramming extra space with memory boxes or seasonal decorations hurts the functionality and appeal of the closet.

Do: Use the attic, basement, or a closet in a spare room. If you have none of these things available to you, you can even use under bed storage. It’s much easier to hide things with narrow, plastic boxes that slide under the bed than it is to use the closet.

If you have any questions about the closet organization products we have to offer at Keystone Home Products, give us a call. We look forward to hearing from you!

5 Elements You Need to Make Your Home Feel Cozy

It’s one thing to spend all that time designing a beautiful home. However, to design something that you and your guests want to spend time in, that’s something entirely different.

Designing a cozy house that is welcoming and warm feeling isn’t always easy. Where do you begin? What items work well with each other, and, do you have too much or too little going on?

When it comes to designing, it’s based on your taste and what your personality is like. That doesn’t mean the following five tips won’t help you. Use our points below as a guide to making your home feel as cozy as it can be.

Use Lighter and Softer Colours on the Wall

For the paint, you want to stay in shades that are soft, on the lighter side, and warm. Cooler colours can come across as harsh, depending on the lighting. Warmer colours, though, tend to reflect the light nicely and are cozy to relax in.

Try painting the walls in a creamy white, a soft blue, or even a rich red.

Add Texture

A cozy house is one that has lots of texture to it. Think of items that draw people in and want to touch everything. That sense of touching something adds to the coziness of the room.

To add texture, use throw pillows and blankets. You don’t want to go overboard, so stick with a couple of different textures and stick with those. Too much can make the room look too busy, which isn’t a very cozy feeling.

Lay Down a Rug

Even with beautiful hardwood flooring, bare floor doesn’t give off a cozy vibe. That is why you often find carpet in the living rooms and bedrooms of a house. Don’t fret if you don’t have carpet though. Adding a rug in the sitting areas of your home can drastically change the feel of the room. Opt for a well-made rug to add character to the space. Cheaply made rugs can bring down the warm feeling and make the room look and feel cheap.

Bring in Plants

Plants always offer a welcoming feeling no matter where they are. Indoor plants are usually very affordable and often are easy to take care of. Where you have empty spaces, shelving is an excellent space option, add small, green plants. Not only will the add that cozy feeling you’re looking for, but they can also purify the air too.

Be Smart With Furniture Arrangement

The way you layout the room can change the feel of it. If you want your house to be welcoming and have people stay, you want the furniture to be set up in a way that welcomes your guests into the room, and that everyone can sit around and chat with each other. Having your backs to the rest of the house isn’t very appealing. Think of circle settings where everyone can see everyone at the same time.

A cozy home is a comforting home and is often the place that everyone wants to hang out in. Simple changes, like the ones mentioned above, can quickly take your home to the maximum coziness level.

5 Red Flags Telling You to Organize Your Closet

Have you ever walked into your closet or opened up the door, only to find a mountain of stuff that you can barely get through? A closet is a tricky place. On the one hand, it’s where you store items you don’t want lying around all the time. However, the closet is one spot that can easily become a disaster zone if not kept organized.

We know that we should regularly clean out our closet to avoid a disaster. Unfortunately, though, that isn’t always the case. Life happens, and the closet is the least of our concerns until it’s too late.

If you’ve neglected to organize your closet, here are five red flags that are telling you to get on it.

You Can’t Find What You’re Looking For

Probably the most obvious warning that you need to clean your closet is when you can never find what you’re looking for. When you open up the closet door, it should take you very long to grab what you need and carry on with your day. If you’re spending an hour going through everything to find one item, it’s time to declutter.

If You Have No More Space

Maybe you finally found what you’re looking for, but now don’t know how to get it back into the closet. There’s another sign that it’s time to organize the closet. If you’re struggling to find space for everything, especially new items, there are likely things in there that you could part with.

You Can’t Closet the Door

Do you struggle to try to close the closet door? Do you have to push everything in then quickly shut the door, so nothing falls out? That’s a big sign that you need to organize the closet. If you ignore it, eventually things will fall out and could hurt someone depending on the size of items, or you could have something get stuck in the door.

You Bought New Storage Containers

If you went out to get new storage containers for the closet, you likely already know that you need to organize it. Instead of throwing everything in new containers or piling up items on the shelf, spend an afternoon and go through all the items. Sort through things you could put up for sale, donate, or throw away.

You Started a New Job

When you start a new job, you likely need (or want) a new wardrobe that is work-appropriate. That means adding new clothes into your already stuffed closet. As you buy new items, go through and see what you don’t wear anymore.

A couple of tricks to help with this is when you do laundry, put the clean shirts at the front. After six months, if the same clothes are still in the back, you likely can live without them. Another useful trick is to hang your clothes inside out. After you use them, hang them back up the normal way. After six months, whatever is still inside out can go.

Don’t let organizing a closet get the better of you. Take an afternoon to go at your pace. Once you have it organized, you’ll be more inclined to keep it that way.

6 Lighting Trends for Your Backyard This Year

Boost the curb appeal of your property this year with the latest lighting trends. Turn your backyard into an oasis, party central of the neighbourhood, or the ultimate kid’s playground.

Lights serve an essential purpose of providing light, safety, and security for the house. However, that doesn’t mean you can’t have fun with the style of the lights. Setting up light fixtures can help bring together any theme you want to do.

Take a look at the following six lighting trends for 2019 that you can do for your backyard.

String Lights

String lights have become popular over the years, and are the final piece you need to turn your backyard into a tropical paradise. These lights can hang from almost anything. Drape them across your backyard from fence to fence. Build a pergola for over the deck and string them through the top. If you have lots of trees in the backyard, wrap the string lights throughout the trees for a real magical feeling.

Caged Wall Sconce

If you’re planning for more of a rustic feel in your backyard, caged wall sconces would be the perfect light. The cage adds a whole new element to the light, giving in a classic and timeliness look. These lights are ideal for framing the porch of the deck, even along the garage as well.

Wicker Basket Lighting

Have you seen some of the latest basket-style lightings? The fixture housing is woven with style in mind. These baskets fill the yard with soft lighting while fitting into any bohemian-themed backyard. You could install pendant baskets to hang from the pergola, or look for larger ones to sit on the ground or a coffee table.

Lantern Lighting

Lantern lights are one that never goes out of style. That is because they are powerful enough to illuminate a decent amount of space, plus they come in a wide range of styles. There are lanterns with flickering candles in them, ones that have a bright LED light, or others that provide a unique shadow from the casing. Lantern lights work perfectly on top of the fence or end tables around your backyard sitting area.

Pathway Lights

A type of lighting that is stylish yet serves a valuable purpose is pathway lighting. These lights go along any pathway or driveway on your property. They provide much-needed light for areas that see quite a bit of foot traffic, even in the evening. You can also install these lights to frame a deck for soft lighting underneath.

Garden Torches

Garden torches are another lighting trend to consider for your backyard this summer. You can have much fun with these lights as you strategically place them throughout your garden. They provide soft lighting for your flowers and bushes. Not only that, garden torches work well around fireplaces and small sitting areas which you do not have much space to work with.

Enjoy decorating your backyard with some of these lighting trends. Don’t let lighting be a last-minute thought. Although you want something practical that can illuminate a large space, that doesn’t mean you can’t have fun with the different styles available.

5 Common Electrical Hazards to Watch For

With how our world runs today, electricity is essential for many of your items and appliances to run as intended. However, with that reliance on power comes additional hazards in the home. Many hazards are quite obvious and are simple to reduce the risk. Other dangers, though, aren’t as obvious and can easily be forgotten about.

Keep your home safe by identifying the following five common electrical hazards in your home.

Broken and Frayed Wires

At some point, we will come across broken, cut, or frayed wires. Even the highest-quality wire will eventually break down and need replacing. If ignored, broken wires increase the risk of electric shock, fire, power surges, and other severe consequences that can be harmful.

Any electrical wires you come across that seem faulty should get replaced immediately. For more complicated wires, consult with your local electrician to prevent any injuries.

Outlets Close to Water Source

You’ll find this most often in bathrooms and kitchens – outlets that are too close to a water source. We’re taught a very young age that mixed electricity and water is never a good idea. That is because when water and electricity combine, it can cause a serious shock to anyone in the area and lead to a fire.

Ensure that anything electric near a sink or another water supply is used carefully. Always ensure your hands are dry before touching the cord.

Overloaded Power Outlets or Extension Cords

Just because an outlet or extension cord has multiple connections, that doesn’t mean it is safe to use them all at the same time. Not every device uses the same amount of power. If you have multiple items plugged in at the same time that use quite a bit of juice, it could lead to a power overload.

Only plug in what you need at a time. Look for extension cords and outlets that have a circuit breaker. The breaker will trip the outlet if it becomes overloaded, reducing the risk of a shock and fire.

Pets and Small Children

Unfortunately, outlets are often installed low to the ground, which is at the perfect height for small children and pets. Young kids and our furry friends have one major similarity –they are quite often curious and love to explore. When they come across something new, they want to feel it and try to play with it, which can be harmful or even fatal.

To protect your children and pets, add outlet covers that prevent a child from sticking something into the outlet. You can also install tamper-resistant outlets which only allow you to plug an actual plugin to the outlet. Keep cords neatly put away to prevent pets from chew on them.

Wrong Wattage in a Light Bulb

When shopping for a lightbulb, you’ll notice that there are different wattages. Not every lamp can handle every wattage. Putting too high of wattage into the light fixture could overheat and overload the lamp. Pay close attention when purchasing a lightbulb, and speak with your local electrician if you’re ever unsure.

Protect yourself and your family by paying attention to the above five common electrical hazards. You can prevent serious injuries and fires from occurring by going through your home and making a note of what needs fixing and cleaning up any loose cords.

Make Your Basement the Place to Be

The basement – the place where it can quickly turn into storage and be forgotten about during the design process of your house. However, the basement should be near the top of your design list.

Especially if you have kids and like to entertain a lot, the basement can be the place to go to in your home. You can turn it into a lounge area, a recreational room, a whole other living space, or anything else you can come up with.

Don’t neglect your basement’s design. Use the following six tips to turn your basement into the place to be.

Make it Brighter

The challenging aspect of a basement is to keep it bright. Most basements don’t have that much window space to let in natural light, so it can make the area feel enclosed and damp. If you can’t add in any windows, you can make do with a few design options.

First, use bright and light colours. Dark colours will only make the basement feel more closed off. Install mirrors opposite of windows to reflect the little natural light you have. Also, make sure you have enough lights installed to help balance out from the natural light.

Control the Humidity

Basements tend to get very humid compared to the rest of the house. They are in the ground where moisture tends to stay. Not only that, basements are prone to flooding, which increases the humidity levels in the house.

Control the humidity to make the basement more comfortable to be in. Make sure you have proper ventilation throughout the basement. Ensure that the surface runoff goes away from the house to avoid leaks. If needed, add a dehumidifier to remove the excess moisture from the air.

Think Open-Concept Space

Keep your basement as open as possible. Adding multiple walls to a space that already feels enclosed will only make it worse. Keeping it open will help with that feeling, plus allowing people to be throughout the whole basement and still hang out with everyone at the same time.

Add Décor

It’s easy to forget about adding some art and décor to the basement. However, if you want to spend lots of time down there, you want to make it comfortable feeling. Add wall art, blankets, throw pillows, and other decorations that suit your style to the space. A bit of greenery as well will help liven up the space, and keep the air fresh downstairs.

Build in Storage

Since we know how easy it is to throw things into the basement that you won’t use very often, help control the clutter by adding storage. You can design unique storage shelves and closets that you may not have done upstairs in the living room. Add shelves into the wall rather than buying a bookshelf.

Use Natural Finishes

To help make the basement feel more welcoming, use natural finishes. Basements have lots of concrete, and if you don’t do anything to contrast that, all you’ll feel is the harshness of concrete. Using light wood tones will help give the basement that warm andwelcoming feeling.

The 6 Best Design Tips for Your Bathroom

Anyone can decorate a bathroom. Coming up with a design that will blow everyone away, all while being functional, now that is a challenge.

Each room of your house will have something, in particular, it needs when designing it, and the bathroom is no exception. Keeping the functionality of it is essential, or you’ll frustrate yourself every time you go in it.

If you’re ready to redesign your bathroom and create something amazing, we have six of the best design tips to help you out.

Plan With Efficiency in Mind

When designing the bathroom, you should plan with efficiency in mind, and then the style. You’ll have pipes to deal with that you’ll likely want to cover. Remember, hiding the pipes will probably take away storage space.

An efficient plan also means the feel of the layout. You want things to be convenient in the bathroom. If you have to squeeze by the sink to reach the toilet, you’ll feel cramped.

Focus on the Shower Shelving

Every shower needs shelving, otherwise, where do you put all of your soap and shampoo? You could go the easy route and buy a pre-made shelve that sits in the corner or hangs from the showerhead. However, if you want to really add a creative design to the room, build something into the wall. You can turn the shelf into a featured aspect of the bathroom by tiling it a different colour.

Use the Countertop Material in Other Places

Countertops don’t have to be just for countertops. The material you use can work in many other aspects of the bathroom (be cautious if you’re using wood though). You can add the countertop material to the edging of the shower, on the top of a sitting spot inside the shower, or a shelf around the bathroom. Granite and marble countertops are excellent for this.

Build Storage Above the Countertop

Most shelving in the bathroom comes in the form of drawers and cupboards under the sink. It’s nice to have additional storage more at eye-level, but without using a tacky medicine cabinet. Instead, build a cupboard above the countertop like you would with a kitchen. If you have a double sink vanity, you could use the cabinet as a separator to give a more private space.

Have a Floating Vanity

If you’re going for a modern style, try floating the vanity. It offers a unique look, all while still being practical. Plus, floating the vanity gives the illusion that the bathroom is bigger than what it truly is. It also offers more storage space for small items under the cupboard.

Keep it Bright

You want the bathroom to look and feel bright, especially if it’s a smaller room. Lighting is essential to see what you’re doing. Whether it’s in the shower or getting ready at the vanity, having too soft lighting makes things challenging, and can be dangerous. Experiment with the style of lights, from ceiling-mounted, wall-mounted, to even floor lamps. Use some as accent lights and some as ambient lighting.

Spring Cleaning Necessities for the Home

The word spring brings up many different feelings for people. For some, it’s the start of sunshine and putting away the winter boots. Others stock up on Kleenex for the start of allergy season. Then, there are those who think of their long-awaited cleaning list.

Spring cleaning is one of those things that you cannot avoid. There are those parts of the home that you clean only once a year. Whether you dread it or look forward to it, it’s essential that you go through your spring cleaning to ensure the health of not just your house, but everyone living inside of it too.

We came up with a spring cleaning checklist to help cover all the necessities in your home.

Wash Walls and Ceiling

It may not be the most enjoyable task, but chances are you’ve noticed fingerprints and splashes of liquids plastered on the walls, and even the ceiling of your home. Over time, the dirt and oils from our fingers build up on the walls as we touch them. Mix that in with any spills, your walls need a good clean.

Reorganize Your Closets

Over time, our once beautifully organized closets look like a tornado ripped through them. Closets end up being the spot that we toss items in that we don’t use very often. They collect many things that you likely don’t need anymore. Plus, when you’re in a hurry and trying to find something, you often pull apart the closet and then shove everything back inside.

As you reorganize your closet, separate everything into piles. One pile should be for items you’re putting back in the closet, one for those you should sell, and another for anything that should go to the garbage. It’s also a moment to check on your shelves to see how they’re holding up and if you need more.

Shampoo Carpet and Rugs

Have you ever wondered what your rugs and carpets gather after days on end of people walking on them? The fibres in carpets can collect dirt and allergens. Vacuuming can only go sofar in cleaning them. Once in a while your carpets and rugs need a thorough shampooing and rinse.

Clean Your Furniture

Furniture pieces like chairs and couches often get neglected for cleaning. Wooden chairs can collect dust over time. Upholstered pieces have many crevices that food and dirt can fall into. You can beat the cushions outside to remove the dust. If the furniture is really dirty, you may want to think of steam cleaning them.

Polish Metal Hardware

Anything metal in your house or the hardware on the doors and cabinets in your home should get polished once a year. The polish not only adds a clean shine to them, but it can also help protect the pieces against scratches.

Check Smoke Detectors

Even if you’ve changed the batteries in the smoke detectors not that long ago, you should still check them. It’s essential that you keep tabs on your smoke detectors, as they are your first line of defence if your house caught fire.

Use our spring cleaning checklist to tackle tasks that can get forgotten about.

6 Decorating Tips for a Modern Home

If you enjoy a modern style, you likely prefer to have large windows that let in endless amounts of natural light, light colours, and furniture that you wouldn’t find 20 years ago. Although it’s a style that isn’t for everyone, designing a modern home as a certain appeal that pleasing to many people.

Designing a modern home doesn’t have to be difficult. By sticking to some of the basic ideas, you can achieve a modern look quickly and easily. Try out our following six decorating tips for a modern home.

Use Glass

Glass is an excellent way to add a modern touch to your home. Using glass allows for natural light to bounce throughout the whole room, and it keeps the space quite open.

Don’t limit glass to simply the windows in your house. You can incorporate glass in many ways, including walls, separators, and doors.

Stick to Neutral Colours

The colour scheme you pick is important for designing a modern home. Quite often, a modern house has neutral colours with a few bright accent pieces.

When painting, keep the walls neutral or even white. It turns the room into a backdrop for you to decorate with different pops of colour. If you already paint the walls certain colours, you’re limited to what you can decorate with.

Unique Furniture

If you’ve ever walked into a modern home, chances are there are pieces of furniture that grab your attention. The type of furniture you pick for your house can bring together the entire room to make it very modern.

When shopping for furniture, look for solid colours that have sharp lines (limit the amount of curves). The simpler the piece is, the better.

Keep Things Bright

You typically won’t find a modern home that is dark and gloomy. That is because the darker the room is, the smaller and more enclosed it feels. A modern house is all about brightness with natural lighting, and making the space feel bigger.

The brightness of a room goes past the colour scheme you pick. It also comes from letting in sunshine, as well as strategically placing stylish lights throughout the house. Recessed lighting that is flush against the ceiling is a popular modern trend to use.

Stay Away From Prints

Since a modern home is about simplicity, you’re best to avoid incorporating patterns and prints. It usually confuses what you’re trying to achieve.

Think solid colours for the main pieces in your house. If you want to accent something with a pattern, stick with two-tone prints.

Think Green

A modern home will always have a plant or two in it. Big, green plants add a special effect to any design, including the health benefits as well. Avoid overdoing it with plants though, or your house will turn into a greenhouse.

Enjoy the design processes with your modern home. Even though there are basic guidelines to consider, your design should still be something you enjoy and reflect your personality.

6 Unique Ways to Build Shelving in Your Home

Installing shelving in your home doesn’t have to be dull and plain. You canhave tons of fun coming up with unique designs that fit into thetheme of your home.

If you’ve designed your house to be edgy, bold, and modern, you needshelving to match. On the other hand, if your home is classic,timeless, and traditional looking, you wouldn’t want the same typeof shelving as the modern house.

Shelving provides valuable storage space for any home. However, don’t let itbe just storage; let your shelving make a statement. We have sixunique ways to build shelving in your home.

Hexagon Honeycomb Shelves

Design your shelving in a hexagon honeycomb shape. They have a trendy look that is quite functional. You can store items on the top and inside the shelving, adding a unique element to the house.

Depending on how many pieces you want, you can install only one hexagon shapeto the wall, or you can join multiple ones together for a largerpiece.

Hanging Rope Shelving

Add a beach feeling to your home by installing shelvesthat hang from a rope. You can use any durable rope you like, andattach it to a piece of shelving made from basically any material youwant. The result, a beautiful statement piece that hangs below.

Floating Corner Shelves

Floatingshelves are a popular way to store items without additional pieces hanging out. They provide a crisp, clean look that is perfectfor any modern home.

If you take those floating shelves and install them into the corner of aroom, they add that much more of an effect. Tip – keep the shelvingwhite and add a pop of colour with plants and ornaments.

Pallet Shelving

If you like the rustic look of old wood, then using pallets as shelving is a must for you. This unique shelving idea is very practical for any household. It offers tons of storage space, and it’s bound to get your guests talking.

Before installing the shelves, make sure you’ve given the pallet a goodclean. You wouldn’t want to bring in and dirt or germs that couldbe lurking around in the pallet.

Tetris Shelves

Looking for ideas that are perfect for a kid’s room, game room, or just forfun? Tetris shelving is what you need.

Go back to the old game of Tetris that everyone loved (and still does).Remember the blocks that could only fit certain ways? Well, why notturn those into shelving. Using wood, you can carve out the shapesof the Tetris blocks, paint the back of it, and install them inany form you want.

Ladder Shelving

Another unique shelving design that would work in any room of your home is aladdershelf. Instead of adding steps that you would walk on for aladder, you would design them in a way that you could rest items on.Either fasten the shelf to the wall or leave it as a portable shelffor wherever you need it.

Try one of these unique designs for your next shelving project. Have one of your own but need help? Let Keystone Home Products get the project going for you.

How to Decide on the Best Theme for Decorating

If you’re someone who wants more than simply slapping paint on the wall and hanging up a few photos in your house as a way of decorating, you’re someone who needs a theme in their house.

A theme is a great way to wrap every room together. That way, each roomflows into one another. You can choose any theme you want and findthe right colours, decorations, and accessories to bring that themeto life.

The hard part is deciding on what theme to attempt. We have a few tipsthat will help you decide on the best theme for decorating your home.

Look at What You’re Passionate About

Start with your passion. There is a difference between liking something and being passionate about it. When you start decorating with a theme, you don’t want to have a change of heart halfway through. Then what do you do?

Think of all the things in life that bring you more than temporary joy. Apassion is something that lasts for a long time, and is what yougenuinely want or love. Remember, you’ll be surrounded by thistheme every day, so make sure you really like the idea.

Think of the Accessories

You want to consider the accessories and decorations that go along withyour potential theme. If you pick a theme that will cost you too muchmoney in decorating, or you find that there is little to noaccessories around to make the theme come to life, you may want toreconsider your idea.

As you come up with theme ideas, make a note of the additionalaccessories and decorations you would want. Include items likeshelving, paintings, wall colours, furniture, and other decorations.

Ensure You Have the Space

Unfortunately, not every theme works with every house. You need to have the space toadd all the elements to bring a theme to life. If you don’t, yourroom will look crowded and feel overwhelming.

Once you have your list of accessories for a set theme, start o image whatthey would look like in the room. Make a note of how many items youwould need, and compare that to what you already have.

Work Within Your Budget

As fun and enjoyable as it is to decorate with a theme in mind, you alsohave to workwithin your budget. Chances are, you do not have an unlimitedamount of money to spend on decorating. If you don’t work within abudget, that renovation will quickly get out of hand and could throwyou deep into debt.

Make a budget before you begin. Decide on how much you want to spend onevery aspect of the decorating, including paint, accessories, anystructural renovations, and furniture. If you go over budget in onecategory, see where you can make cuts in another one.

Picking a theme for your house can add a whole new element besides paintingthe walls. Find a theme that suits your personality and that theentire family will enjoy. What you do should last for many years tocome.

When the time comes to add shelving to your house, ask KeystoneHome Products to help design shelves that fit within any theme.

5 Essential Items Every Home Needs

Every home has certain items they absolutely need, while others can live without them. It all depends on the family and what they want with their house.

However, there are a few items that are a must for every home on the market. These essential items prove to be useful in everyday life.

If you’re moving into your first home or looking to renovate and update your house, check to see you have the following five essential items that every home needs.

A Good Set of Kitchen Knives

Have you ever tried cutting into a steak with a dull and broken knife? It’s frustrating and takes up a lot of time. Now, imagine having to prep every meal with that dull knife. What should only take you a few minutes could turn into a half hour process prepping all the ingredients.

Go through your kitchen and inspect your kitchen knives. Ensure they are reliable, sharp, and have a good handle to hold on to.

Small Kitchen Appliances

There are a few kitchen appliances that are a must for every kitchen, even if you don’t use them regularly. A coffee pot is one of those items. Even if you don’t drink coffee, when you have guests over, they may appreciate the offer.

A microwave, tea kettle, toaster, and blender are a few other small appliances worth considering. Again, you may not use them all of the time, but when you do need one, you’ll be thankful you invested in them.

Storage Solutions

Every house needs storage of some kind. Good thing there are many options available to fit every family’s style.

Wall shelving is versatile and can fit into any theme you have for your house. The living room may need additional shelving compared to other areas as it tends to have lots of decorations to showcase. The bedroom will need shelving and places to hang clothes in the closet. Your bathroom needs storage containers for all of your toiletries.

Laundry Room Essentials

At some point, you’ll have to do laundry. It’s not feasible to buy new clothes every week because you don’t have the laundry room essentials.

A washer and dryer with the proper detergent are apparent. However, there are a few smaller things that are easily forgotten about. For example, a laundry hamper. The simplest thing can save you time and stress of carrying clothes. An iron and ironing board is also another essential to have in the laundry room.

Versatile Vacuum

A vacuum seems like an obvious tool to have in the home. However, it’s easy to forget about it until you realize you need it.

You don’t want just any vacuum though. You want one that works with your lifestyle. If you live by yourself in a small apartment, you likely don’t need an elaborate and expensive vacuum. However, if you have a family with kids and a dog running around, you’ll need something that is heavy duty.

Consider these essentials that you likely use daily, weekly, or even monthly. You may not need them right at this moment, but there is a good chance you will at some point. Save yourself the time and ensure you have the essentials.

Design Tips for Renovating Your Bedroom

The bedroom is many different things for people. For some, it’s their oasis away from everyday life. It could simply be a place where you rest your head. Maybe it’s a gathering spot on Saturday mornings when the kids first wake up.

No matter what your bedroom is like for you, the design should reflect its purpose. When decorating your bedroom, you would do so differently than the living room, kitchen, office, or even your children’s bedroom. That is why we have five design tips ready for you when you’re renovating your bedroom.

Keep It Subtle

Because the bedroom is where you relax and sleep, you want to keep the colours subtle. Too bright and bold and it can be distracting from trying to sleep. However, you don’t want it to look dull.

Soothing shades of lavender, blue, and green are excellent calming colours. You can accent with a jewel-toned hue to add a bit more to the atmosphere. Think the opposite of bright and bold.

Think Simply

You don’t want to overthink the design of the bedroom. Adding too much can get distracting when it’s time to relax. If you have too much going on, it can take up lots of valuable space and get in the way of everything else.

When decorating, don’t overdo it. If you’re unsure about an item, maybe it’s a better fit for the living room. Ask yourself if you’ll get distracted when you’re laying down for a nap.

Have Lots of Storage

A bedroom houses many items. If you don’t have a home for each thing, it will soon end up on the floor and turn your beautiful oasis into a disaster.

Shelves are an excellent way to incorporate decorations without taking up space on the floor. You can build simple floating shelves, or have something larger and dynamic. Whatever the case may be, a bedroom should have at least one shelf on the wall.

Nightstands with shelves or drawers allow you to store items you want close by when in bed, but without having them laying all over the place. A trunk at the end of the bed adds more storage while acting as an accent piece. Of course, though, having a dresser is a must for a bedroom.

Build a Private Nook

Even if you design your bedroom with peace in mind and it being your oasis, you’ll still want an area that is specifically for you. Many like to include a reading nook off to the side and under a window. Then, as you relax on a comfortable chair, you can bask in the sunlight and enjoy your favourite book.

Have Multiple Light Options

How frustrating is it to get curled up in bed, only to realize you never turned off the overhead light? Save yourself the irritation of getting out of your comfortable blankets and into the cold to turn out the lights by having multiple light options.

You want to have an ambient light for the overall room to keep the room illuminated when you need it. Focus lights like a lamp on the nightstand allow you to read in the dark. Simple accent lights to draw attention to certain pieces in the bedroom help boost the overall design as well.

6 Ways to Organize Your Home

An organized home tends to be a happy home. Why? Because you know where everything is, you can easily find it, and when guests come over, there isn’t clutter laying on the floor everywhere.

Sometimes, though, getting organized in the first place, or doing some spring cleaning can be overwhelming. Where do you start, what do you use, and what are the best tips to stay organized? These are all questions that can be answered.

We have six ways to help you organize your home so that it stays clean and tidy.

Have Storage Containers

Storage containers are sometimes underrated as they can be so helpful with organizing basically everything. Don’t think that you should only keep your storage containers in a closet though. You can find many decorative ones that would be excellent on the end of a counter, on the coffee table, or in a bookcase.

Install Shelving

Shelving should be your best friend when it comes to organizing your home. There are many places that youcan put shelving, whether it be in a closet or inthe open. You can go for wooden shelves for a traditional look, or glassfloating shelves on the fall for a more modern touch.

Organize Your Kitchen

The kitchen is one area that can easily become a disaster. From tossing the Tupperware into the closet to stuffing leftovers in any spot they fit in the fridge, we can fall behind in keeping the kitchen organized.

So, use containers to keep certain foods separate in the fridge. Organize your spices in the cupboards. Keep Tupperware neatly stacked.

Have a Tray on the Coffee Table

A coffee table is a place that tends to get cluttered quickly. While in the living room, you may also be reading a book, working on a hobby, or drop items there when walking by. To help keep everything organized, have a tray on the coffee table to neatly organize items you’re still using.

Put Away What You Use

Once you get organized, you’ll want to stay that way. One of the best ways to do that is by putting items back where you go them from when you’re done. It’s easy to just leave a book on the coffee table and put it away later. However, soon that book becomes two with papers stacked on top. So, once you’re done with something, take the few seconds to put it away.

Have a Cleaning Routine

Although it doesn’t sound like fun, a regular cleaning routine will not only help you keep your house clean, but it will also help you stay organized. A clean house is one that is tidy and organized.

Have a schedule posted that the whole family can see. Prioritize items from what needs to get done daily, weekly, monthly, and even yearly. Assign chores to certain family members so that everyone knows what they should be doing.

Don’t let organizing overwhelm you. By simply incorporating afew of these tips, you’ll be able to organize your home and keep it that way.

Modernize Your Home with These 6 Tips

Are you looking to give your home a facelift? Is it time to take the traditional house and bring it into the modern era of the 21^st century? Well, it doesn’t have to be that difficult.

There are many little tricks you can do that are simple and affordable, yet will make your home bold and modern. This look keeps getting popular as it brings out an open-concept home with bold accent colours and unique designs.

So, if a modern home is what you’re going for, then these six tips will help you out.

Add Colour

One of the easiest ways to modernize your house is by giving it a fresh coat of paint. It’s something that you won’t break the bank having to buy, and you can do it on your own.

The trick is choosing the right colours for a modern pallet. Bright colours are usually a good guess. Lime green, teal, yellow, bright reds, and even black are all excellent colour choices.

Incorporate Glass Doors

Glass is an excellent modern trick for any house. If you want to do just a quick update at the moment, change out some of your doors for glass doors. It can be for anything like a bedroom door, closet, or even your door to the backyard.

Bright Lights

Modern houses are all about being bright and bold. One way to do this is by making sure you have enough light in your home. The first choice is to incorporate as much natural light as possible.

If there’s nothing you can do about natural light besides replacing windows, you can change out existing light bulbs for bright LED bulbs. Not only are they energy efficient, but they also produce a very white and bright light that is excellent for any modern home.

Keep Things Tidy

One thing you’ll notice with a modern house is that it is always neat and tidy. That is because clutter will quickly date a house. Clutter can be anything from leaving toys and clothes on the ground, having too many collectibles on display, or having cords and cables hanging all over.

Update One Piece of Furniture

Your furniture will play a role in modernizing your home. No one says you have to go out and replaceevery single piece of furniture you have. Instead, focus on one piece that is an affordable update. It could be the couch, a chair, coffee table, oreven an end table. You’ll be amazed how one modern piece of furniture willstart to update the room.

Tidy the Outside

A modern home isn’t simply the inside; it also includes the outside as well. You could spend all your time and money updating the inside of your house, only to have no interest if the front yard is a mess.

To update your home, merely keeping the front yard tidy will go a long way. Keeping the grass cut, trees and bushes pruned, toys put away, and any plants watered and kept will help. If you can, try adding in a pop of colour with flowers.

Different Ways to Use Glass in Your Home

Glass is one of those materials that you can use for almostanything, and make anything look stylish. It adds a modern look to any spacethat you put them in, and is sure to makeyour home a desirable place to be in.

If you’re looking for different ways to spice up your home, try incorporating glass in ways you wouldn’t typically imagine. Here are some ideas to use to put glass in your home.

Glass Tables

Glass tables are more than simply being practical, but they also help make the room look bigger and brighter than what it is. In smaller, more crowded rooms, a glass table would help keep it from feeling cluttered.

Places to put a glass table would be in a small kitchen or dining room, the entrance to the home, or small hallways that need something for storage.

Kitchen Island Extension

If you want to extend the island in your kitchen to give you more working space, but don’t want to take up too much space in the area, try usingglass then. Because of the crisp look and usually being see-through, it won’tmake the area feel cluttered or smaller.

Counter Tops

The one thing with glass is that you can get different textures of it. You can get coloured glass, ones that have ripples, cracked looking glass, and so many other options. Use glass as countertops in the kitchen for a unique look.

Storage and Shelving

Instead of going for classic wooden shelves, try using glass instead. To keep up with any modern look you may have, glass would be the best option for your storage and shelving needs.

Outdoor Railings

How often do you sit outside to look around the view, but want to have still your yard closed off? A fence is great for privacy, but if you live in an area that has an incredible view, you wouldn’t want to close that off.

Glass railings are the best of both worlds. They fence off the property all while allowing you to look out still and enjoy the view.

Glass Floors

Now, for some, glass flooring would make them uncomfortable. If you’re afraid of heights, this one maybe isn’t for you. However, installing glass flooring doesn’t make for a really cool and unique addition to your home. It’s like skylights for your floor. If you have a room below that you want toshowcase all the time, this would be one way of doing it.

Walls

Similar to the railings, if you want to add dimension to your home without closing it off too much, install glass walls instead. Glass walls allow you to still see into the other room, and keep everything flowingtogether, all why closing off rooms and adding dimension as you walk around.

Have fun using glass in your design plans. These are only a handful of ideas that would take any design plan to the next level.

Unique Design Tips for the Living Room

Theliving room is a place of relaxation,gathering, and spending time with those you love. You want that room to have a special atmosphere in which everyone feelsinvited to. Not only that, you want thespace to reflect your personality and uniqueness.

The living room is one of those areas that you can be creative, bold, and have a lot of fun designing. Because there are so many different things you can do, the possibilities are basically endlessto your imagination.

If you’re looking at renovating and redesigning your living room, take a look at some of the unique design tips to get you going.

Use Mirrors

Mirrors add a clean, modern look to any room you put them in. If you have more elegant and traditional looking mirrors, then they can give you a classic look that reflects that of different eras. Using mirrors opens up so many new possibilities, plus they are excellent for reflecting natural light into the living room.

Install mirrors along a wall to create a wall of mirrors. It creates a unique centrepiece in the room that will get people talking. Hang them across from windows to reflect natural light and brighten up the space.

Use Colour

Colour is an excellenttool to set the mood and create an atmosphere that reflects your personality. Depending on what you’re looking for, you could go with bright colours to keepthe space energized and uplifted. You could also go for calmer, warm colours to create a relaxing space.

Update the Flooring

You could put in all this time and effort updating the living room, and have it lost if you don’t do anything with the flooring. A floor is one quick way to make your house look outdated.

Install flooring that stays within the feel of the home. There are many options available to choose from, like hardwood, carpet, ceramic tile, and stone tile.

Create an Interest Point

Once you have the bigger sections done, – painting, flooring –you can move on to the smaller details that bring everything together. Adding artwork to the room is an additional step to enhance the atmosphere, and give the living room your special touch.

Try adding in larger pieces in obvious places to create a focal point. Dramatic features create things for guests to talk about, and they add a special effect to the room that is unique to you.

Arrange the Space Appropriately

Because we feel the living room is a place of gathering, you want your furniture to reflect that. If you have everything closed off, it won’t feel very invited. Instead, arrange the space so that it invites guests to come sit down and chat with you.

Keeping an open concept helps with the flow of the room. Having too many things and the living room will feel cluttered.

Dress the Windows

Sometimes, dressing the windows is the last minute decision. However, it shouldn’t be. Because there are many options for window dressings, they should be a part of your design plan.

Look for curtains and blinds that reflect the atmosphere you’re trying to develop. There are elegant options, bold and unique ones, and ones that help block out the light.

Different Backsplashes to Make Your Kitchen Unique

Are you looking to make your kitchen unique? Aren’t we all? With so many various aspects of the kitchen that you can easily change, it’s simple to create a kitchen that suits your personality.

When we talk about renovating a kitchen, quite often it the counter tops, cupboards, paint colour, and flooring that are the most common parts mentioned. What about the backsplash though?

You can easily and quickly change the look and feel of your kitchen by updating the backsplash. There are the traditional options with tile, or you can go with something more trendy and different like glass or shiny metal. Really, the possibilities are almost limitless with what you can do with a backsplash.

Take a look at some of the unique backsplashes that will take your kitchen to the next level.

Mirrored Backsplash

Wouldn’t it be nice to see what you’re cooking in the kitchen from every angle, without having to turn the cutting board around all of the time? Well, by having a mirrored backsplash, you can.

Mirrored backsplashes are not only a unique design that will enhance the look of your kitchen, but they are also practical as well. You’ll be able to utilize the mirror as you’re cooking away in the kitchen.

Antique Mosaic

Although the mosaic look is classic for backsplashes, there are ways you can make it look unique. Try adding an antique touch to it. Improvise with the type of material you use. You can salvage different woods that you no longer need and use that as your backsplash.

Wallpaper

When we talk about backsplashes, the most common material you think of is tile or wood. However, if you want to do something unique, why not go full out. Adding wallpaper to the backsplash opens up a whole new world of colour and design that is so easy to do.

Picture

Make your backsplash very custom and unique to the family by covering it with a paper photo. You can blow up pictures to almost any size and use them as wallpaper. Find your favourite photo, whether it be scenery, your family, or anything else that you love, and plaster it to the backsplash in your kitchen.

Tin Sheets

If you’re in need of a budget-friendly option for a unique backsplash, try going with tin sheets. They are reasonably priced and are visually interesting for those walking by.

Embossed Concrete

If the budget isn’t a concern and you can afford to put in the additional work, an embossed concrete backsplash is beautifully unique. Make your kitchen look very formal and like it came from a different era with this backsplash.

Textured Tile

Who says the backsplash has to be a smooth finish? Adding texture to the walls has always been something many homeowners have loved doing. The texture on the backsplash adds a whole new dimension to the kitchen.

If you’re looking to renovate your kitchen and give it a facelift, consider the backsplash to be one of the feature points. Don’t let it be a second thought. With all the different options out there, you’ll be able to create a backsplash like no other.

7 Tips to Keep Your Closet Organized

The closet – it is the tiny room that can quickly turn into a disaster. It’s where you tend to throw things in and forget about them, whether you plan to or not. The problem, we kind of need those closets to stay organized so we can see what’s all in there.

If you struggle to keep your closets organized, we are here to help. Take a look at some of the following tips that will get your closet not only organized, but keep it that way too.

Use Shoeboxers as Organizers

One of the problems of keeping a closet clean and organized is trying to keep everything together. Unless you add in shelving units, closets tend not to have many compartments to store things in. This is where you’ll need to get creative.

If you’re looking for a budget-friendly option to keep things organized in the closet, use shoeboxes. You can easily fit shoeboxes in anywhere, and they can hold quite a bit of stuff.

Wicker Baskets

If you’re looking for storage containers that are fancier, especially if you have closets with no doors, look at wicker baskets. They are quite cheap and look really chic.

Use Wallspace

You can easily fill up a closet in no time and be left wondering where you’re going to fit everything else. That is why you want to use up every inch of space, including the walls.

Hang up hooks or a towel bar on open walls so that you can store scarves, belts, and other accessories on them.

Organize According to Priority

One of the easiest ways to keep your closet clean and organized is to store items according to your priority level. You wouldn’t put something you use every day high up that you can barely reach. Same with you wouldn’t store an item that you barely use right in the middle of the closet.

Put items you don’t use very often in the back or up high. For those that are a priority and you use quite a bit, keep them at the front and eye level.

Use Shelf Dividers

If you have an area in the closet that holds clothes, blankets, and towels, keep them neat and tidy by using dividers. It will help them from falling over, and you can organize them based on what you use them for.

Add in Lights

A closet will turn into a disaster right away if you cannot see in it. Install small lights so that you can see what you’re doing. You can get small wall lights that are motion detected, or you can get ceilings lights with a switch nearby. When there is light, you’ll be able to see what you’re doing clearly, and it will help you stay organized.

Get Stackable Storage Containers

Stackable storage containers work for many reasons. For one, they allow you to store upwards which helps if space is limited. They also work great for when you need to carry multiple items.

Use these tips to organize your closets the next time you are cleaning them out. When you can keep your closets organized, it will help from building up clutter, and you’ll be able to use everything you have.

How to Keep Your Wooden Shelf Looking Like New

There is a reason you installed a wooden shelf in your home. Wood offers any room a warm and contemporary feel. The timeless beauty of wood works in almost any area of your home, along with being strong and durable.

Whether your wooden shelves are tucked away or out in the open, you want them to stay clean and looking new for as long as possible. Simple dusting and shining will only do so much. Eventually, the wood will begin to look discoloured as overtime, the polish and dust combine together and leave a film behind on the wood.

Every so often, you’ll want to do a deep clean on your wooden shelves to keep them looking like new. Below are a few cleaning tips that will reveal the shine your wood used to have, and keep the wood looking its best.

Deep Clean

Always start by dusting off the shelf first. Begin with a gentle cleaner, and only use stronger ones if needed. You can even begin by simply mixing dish soap and water together.

Make sure you use a damp, soft cloth for cleaning wood. You don’t want to oversaturate the wood and cause damage. Also, harsh fibres on some cloths can actually scratch the wood. Wipe down the shelf with the damp cloth, rinsing the cloth between wipes. Finish with a clean, dry cloth to thoroughly dry the shelf.

If you find difficult stains or other issues with your shelf, try some of the following tips.

Water Stains

There is a reason why you should put a coaster underneath a glass that sits on a wooden shelf. The heat from the glass or water droplets from a cold drink can damage the wood underneath. You’re then left with water stains all over your shelf. Depending on the type of wood used to make your shelf, that will determine how vulnerable it is to water stains.

To remove those pesky water stains, non-gel toothpaste will do the trick. Apply the toothpaste right to the water stain and rub it around with a soft cloth until the stain lifts. If the toothpaste alone doesn’t work, mix it with baking soda for an extra cleaning boost.

Remove Old Polish

Buildup of old polish on wood is one way to age the shelf and make it look dirty. Every now and then you want to remove the old polish before applying a new coat. The new polish will help restore the wood and bring it back to life.

To do so, you’ll want to boil some tea bags. Tea has tannic acid which works great to maintain wood. Steep a couple of tea bags in boiling water before letting it cool to room temperature. Soak a soft cloth in your tea and ring it out until the cloth is damp. Simply wash away the old polish to reveal a shiny wooden shelf.

Clean Other Stains

If you notice there are stains other than water stains on your wooden shelf, try mixing equal parts of baking soda and water to create a paste. Use a soft cloth to apply the solution directly to the stain, and rub it in until you remove the stain. Wipe off the paste with a clean, damp cloth.

4 Ways to Maintain Your Glass Shower Door

Glass shower doors offer a modern look to any bathroom. They provide a special touch that a shower curtain cannot give. A glass door can help make the bathroom feel larger than what it is, and keep the space open.

As beautiful as glass shower doors are though, they can be a pain to keep clean. Dirty and grimy shower doors will quickly lose the appeal they offer. However, trying to keep it as clean as the first day you installed it, it’s easy to lose track and have a weeks worth of buildup.

To help you keep your glass shower door looking like brand-new, we have four tips that will help you maintain the modern look you love.

Squeegee After Showering

One of the best ways to keep your glass shower door clean is by squeegeeing after showering. Now, it may sound like a lot of work and be time-consuming, but it won’t take you very long. The hard part, though, is getting yourself and the family into a routine of using the squeegee.

Keep a small squeegee inside the shower, so everyone has easy access to it. Plus, if the squeegee is always there, it will be hard to forget. Simply wipe away the excess water on the glass after showering, and that’s it.

Clean With a Dryer Sheet

You read that right – you can clean your glass shower door with a dryer sheet. The ingredients in the dryer sheet which soften your fabrics also work to soften up soap scum on the glass door, so it easily wipes off. It’s a genius cleaning hack that will save you a lot of money on cleaners, and time spent scrubbing down the door.

All you need to do is lightly dampen the dryer sheet with water. Scrub the door wherever you see buildup. A new sheet or used one, it won’t matter. So, instead of throwing away your dryer sheets after each load of laundry, save them for your shower door.

Use Water and Vinegar

One of the most common life-hacks for cleaning almost anything is vinegar. The liquid we use for cooking is also known to disinfect surfaces, soften grease, and even break through tough soap scum buildups.

By mixing white vinegar and water into a spray bottle, all you need to do is spray down the glass door and let it sit. Depending on how much buildup you have, it will determine how long you should let it sit for. Then, wipe down the door for a shiny and clean look.

If you need an extra boost to your cleaner, mix in dish soap with your vinegar and water mixture.

Spray Rain-X

Now, the tips above are great for cleaning a glass shower door. However, what about preventing the soap scum buildup in the first place? That way, you won’t have to clean the door as often and can enjoy the beauty it offers all the time.

Try spraying the door with Rain-X. The cleaner you use on your vehicle windows to repel water will also help repel soap scum buildup. Soap scum is the residue water leaves behind after evaporating. So, by repelling the water off the door, it will slow down soaps scum buildup.

If you’re struggling with keeping your glass shower door clean, try using these hacks. You’ll be able to easily clean the door and prevent soap scum buildup from quickly occurring. All that is left is a clean and modern glass door for your bathroom.

Which Do You Use – Wooden Shelving vs. Wire Shelving

Shelving is a necessity in houses. They are there to provide storage for items you may not use very often. Adding a shelf to a wall in a bedroom or living room opens up space to place books, knickknacks, and decorations.

When it comes to installing shelves, there are two commonly used materials: wood or wire. Each has their benefits and downfalls, depending on where you are putting them.

So, which do you use? Let’s take a look at the differences between wooden and wire shelving to help you decide.

Wooden Shelving

When it comes to wooden shelving, one thing they are known for is being durable. Different types of woods do withstand the test of time and the pressure of the additional weight better than others. However, for the most part, you’re likely to have a shelf that can hold a reasonable amount of weight and be usable for quite some time.

Wood shelving is a timeless addition to any house. Wood has always been, and likely will always be in style. It can be elegant and classic, or bold and modern. It all depends on how you build with it and if you paint or stain it. The options for designing a wooden shelf are almost endless.

One thing unique to wooden shelving is that you can refurbish it to look however you want. Because of how long wood will last for, you can take a shelf that is decades old, give it a quick facelift, and it will look like brand-new.

With all of this said, however, there still are a few downfalls to a wooden shelf. First of all, wood does not withstand the elements of the outdoors very well or absorbing too much moisture. You can add a coating to help protect against this, but that means an additional cost to you. Too much moisture and the wood will bow, crack, and even rot.

Wire Shelving

The other type of shelving commonly used is wire shelving. Wire shelves are relatively easy to come by, and typically quite affordable. You can go to your local department store, and chances are they will have some wire shelving available. How readily available they are, make them a popular choice.

Wire shelves can be put together in multiple different ways. Unlike with wood shelving in which you would have to tear it apart to adjust it, you can reconfigure wire shelving quite easily. This makes them a versatile option to smoothly go into any space you need it.

A wire shelf is also fairly easy to maintain. They will get dusty over time that requires a quick wipe down. However, you usually do not have to worry about scuffs, dents, and having to add a fresh coat of stain to it.

The downfall to wire shelving, however, is they typically are not as durable as wood shelves. They can be quite flimsy and buckle under the weight of the items it’s supporting. Also, the wires will leave gaps which means small items would fall right through.

When it comes down to which do you choose – wire or wood – it is a personal preference. If you are looking for something quick and easy that will get moved around a lot, a wire shelf will work best. However, if you want a timeless and classic look that can withstand a lot of weight, wood shelves would be the option for you.

4 Ways Mirrored Doors can Boost Your Interior Design

Finding creative ways to boost the design of a room can be a challenge. Unless your profession is an interior decorator, not everyone can come up with unique ideas.

Good thing for you is that you do not need to make significant changes to give the interior of your home a boost. Sometimes, the smallest addition, or simply moving furniture around can completely change the atmosphere of the room. One small change you can easily make is by using mirrored doors.

Whether it be a door to separate a room or to close the closet, there will be doors all over a house. Likely you will find wooden doors that are painted, stained, or have some features moulded into it to give it an extra appeal. However, switching them out for mirrored doors can drastically affect the interior design of your home.

Make a Small Space Feel Bigger

One thing mirrored doors can do is give the illusion that the room is larger than what it actually is. Even though you are not changing the structure of the house, the mirrors reflect everything in the room. It creates that illusion of the walls extending out further to give the area a roomier feel.

Brighten Up the Space

Since mirrors reflect everything around it, they also will reflect any sunlight coming through the windows. If you do not want to use up space on the walls, install mirrored doors instead.

Depending on how much light you want to reflect, strategically placing them will either let more or less light in. If you’re going to let in a maximum amount of daylight, a mirrored door across from a window will work best.

Practical Use

Of course, mirrors serve a practical use to us. They allow you to quickly take a look at your appearance or see behind you if need be. That is why installing mirrored doors in the bedroom closet or a bathroom closet would be an excellent choice for them.

Think of the areas around the house that you would get the most use of a mirror. If there is a closet in the area, chances are a mirrored door would work just fine there.

Feature Piece

A mirrored door can turn into a feature piece in your house. Sometimes a uniquely placed object, no matter how simple it is, can be more of a statement than a large painting or ornament. Same can go with a mirrored door.

Try installing a mirrored door for the pantry in the kitchen. It’s not necessarily a common area to find a mirror, but it would definitely be a feature piece in the kitchen. It may help you keep an eye on kids in the area while you’re cooking.

Try experimenting with mirrored doors throughout your whole house. Install them on bedroom doors to brighten up the hallway, or have a place to check your appearance before you leave your room. Use them in the kitchen or small spaces to bring in more sunlight to brighten up the area. Something as simple as installing mirrored doors will give the interior of your house a modern upgrade.

Creative Ways to Use Room Dividers in Your Home

Is your home starting to feel cramped? Do you feel like your home no longer seems to have the space it once had? After living in a home for a few years, you may want to add on space, but this can be difficult, or impossible if you live in a condo. Room dividers can help you add space, without actually adding square feet to your home. You can section off rooms, or even create new ones, with the use of room dividers.

While many room dividers are made with steel, we at Keystone Home Products utilize aluminum. Aluminum is much more desirable to other framing options, like steel, for many reasons. It is lightweight, rust resistant, and extremely durable. While all of the frames for our room dividers are made of aluminum, you can choose from numerous options for your door inserts. Whether you’re looking for a divider that will separate a room but also add light, or an option that makes two rooms completely secluded, there is an option for you. Our room dividers do so much more than divide rooms. Check out all of the ways room dividers can solve your space problems!

They Can Make a Whole New Room

While aluminum dividers are typically used to section off parts of a room, they can also be used to create a whole new room. A common issue for condo owners is a lack of space, or so they think. With room dividers, you can create more space! It is the perfect resource for someone with limited rooms. It can make the perfect home office, or a quaint yoga studio.

They Can Section Off Part of a Room

Obviously, the main feature of room dividers is right in their name: they divide a room. This can mean many things. A common reason to divide a room is to share the space. This is especially important if you have children sharing a room. If your home doesn’t have the appropriate number of rooms to accommodate your family, it can be very frustrating. Aluminum dividers allow you to get creative with the space you do have! You may find that your home is larger than you originally thought.

They Can Be Used as Closet Doors

Ordinary doors can be pesky. Without even realizing it, your ordinary, swinging door may be taking up some serious space in your bedroom. Think about it. When you’re getting ready, do you feel cramped in your bedroom? Are you having to constantly open, close, and reopen your closet door as you’re getting dressed? Room dividers are a perfect alternative to regular closet doors, and they can save you so much room.

It doesn’t matter what style tastes you have, there is an aluminum divider combo for you! You can choose from laminated glass to create a home office, or mirrored to create effective closet doors. The installation process is a breeze with help from the pros at Keystone Home Products.

4 Ways to Enhance Your Home’s Design with Mirrors

Mirrors are the one-stop-shop for opening up a room mirror-walls-toronto . They illuminate any area simply by reflecting natural light. With more light, and less obvious boundaries, any room in your house can be transformed.

Upgrade Your Home Office

Fitting one or more walls with a mirror will open up any space in your home. This is a great idea for rooms like an office. Especially if you do a lot of work from home, you know how easy it is to hit creative walls, or lose interest when you’re stuck in a dark room by yourself. With the addition of a mirrored wall, your home office can go from feeling more crowded than a cubicle, to become the light, inspiring space you need and deserve.

Maximize the Time Spent in Your Home Gym

Another great area in your home that can be enhanced with a mirrored wall is your home gym! What better way to motivate you during your workout than by making your home gym feel like a real gym? Exercise establishments almost always utilize the space defying hacks of mirrored walls, but they have more than one reason to use this design trick. Having a mirror in your gym allows you to watch yourself as you exercise. With a mirrored wall in your home gym, you’ll be able to watch your form during your workouts.

Make a One of a Kind Living Room

Many people think that having mirrored walls means you have to compromise on other design components. While you might not be able to hammer nails into the mirrors, there are plenty of unique ways to decorate a room with mirrored walls. You can easily use mirrored walls to highlight your favorite piece of art. Simply place the desired piece opposite of your mirrored wall, and let the wall do what it does best-reflect! This way, you can enjoy your pictures or art from multiples angles in the room.

You can also add photos or art to the mirrored wall itself, so long as they are light enough to hang from an adhesive strip. Placing plants in front of your mirrored wall is a great way to add a pop of color to your living room.

Use Smaller Mirrors for a Big Statement

If you watch any home renovation television shows, you know that one of the top concerns for homeowners these days is a large, open kitchen. This can be an expensive, and time-consuming project for many people. However, there are some tricks you can use to make your kitchen appear more open without knocking down any walls. Adding a mirror backsplash in your kitchen has a similar effect of adding a mirrored wall in other rooms. A mirrored backsplash is an easy, cost-effective way to open up your kitchen.

Practically any room in your home can be enhanced with the addition of either a mirrored wall, closet door, or backsplash. Mirrors can be installed in your home quickly, and with little hassle to you and your family.

Three Benefits of Sliding Panel Doors

panel-door-brampton Out with the pushing and pulling, and in with the sliding! Sliding panel doors are a great way to add space and practicality to any room. Their ability to glide open and basically disappear makes it feel like you are joining together two previously separated rooms into a single giant room. The panel doors at Keystone Home Products are all custom made. Whether you’re considering a classic wood install, or you’re looking to complete your closet with sliding mirror panel doors, Keystone Home Products has the perfect, custom made option for you! If you’re not sure sliding doors are what you’re looking for, consider these three benefits.

They Save Space

Traditional swinging doors take up room when they are open. Perhaps one of the greatest benefits of panel doors is how much space they open up in a room. Panel doors are perfect for areas in your house that might feel a little cramped, like a bedroom or a closet, because they will add all of the functionality of a regular door, without the wasted space.

Panel doors also allow for more space on your walls. You will have extra room to hang family photos, or works of arts, and they will never be hidden behind an open door.

Sliding closet doors not only save space, but they can add it, too. All you have to do is gently slide open your panel doors, and it will feel like two rooms became one. Your bedroom and closet will flow together seamlessly!

They’re Super Functional

Like we said, custom panel doors save more than just space! Since you don’t have to worry about a traditional swinging door taking up space, or blocking items in your closet, you are free to leave your closet panel door open as you get ready, and it won’t slow you down a bit. You won’t ever have to worry about reaching behind a door to get to your clothes.

If you are really into streamlining your room for functionality, the pros at Keystone Home Products offer mirror panel doors that open easily on custom fit tracks. Mirror panel doors can help you save even more time by skipping a trip to the bathroom mirror to check your outfit.

They’re Stylish

There are so many different style options to choose from when picking out sliding panel doors. Keystone Home Products offer nine different frame options, from an elegant ivory, to a bold chrome, and you have a choice of three different insert colors. With so many options for solid panel doors, you can choose a style that is timeless and classy, like white on ivory, or you can go for a more modern look with an ivory insert, and a black frame.

You also have the option to make your custom sliding closet doors mirrors, adding a practical, yet stylish, feel to your bedroom.

The Bottom Line

No matter your style, if you are in search of panel doors in Brampton, you will find exactly what you’re looking for. Adding sliding panel doors to your closet will open up extra room in any area, allow you to add more accessories to your wall, and will streamline your morning routine!

Use Custom Closet Organizers to Create Your Dream Walk-In

Do you spend your mornings frantically rifling through your clothes, trying to find a decent outfit that isn’t seriously wrinkled? Does your closet look like it has been ransacked and rummaged through to the point where you don’t even know how to start tidying it up? If so, it might be a good time to look into custom closet organizers.

Adding extra shelving and racks will not only help you declutter your closet, but it will give you the chance to create a space that is so much more than just a place to hang your clothes. Use these four tips to create the walk-in closet you’ve always dreamed of!

Showcase Your Favorite Collections

You’ll want to situate your new wood shelving and custom drawers so that they’re the first thing you see when you enter your walk-in. This will make the space appear larger, and will give the automatic impression of a crisp, organized closet. What you choose to stage on your shelves is up to you! Whether you love collecting hats, or you’re a shoeaholic, make sure to showcase the items in your closet that make you proud.

Make it More than Just a Closet

To truly enjoy your new walk-in, add items to make your new space more of a staging area, rather than just a plain closet. Optimize the design of your custom closet organizers to add a countertop for accessories like a mirror, a watch shelf, or a jewelry box. Adding a chair or ottoman for a place to sit when putting on shoes or jewelry is another great way to revamp the area from a just a closet, to a dressing room. This can also help you save time when you’re getting ready for the day.

Creative Coloring

Choosing white for your custom closet organizers will give the space a sophisticated, timeless feel. To keep up with the classy look, try organizing your closet items by color. This will give your closet a sense of an effortless flow throughout the space.

Don’t Be Afraid to Experiment!

The great thing about designing a new walk-in closet is that it is hidden from your guests! Any DIY projects you’ve been wanting to try, or any funky accent colors you have fallen in love with, are all fair game! Place flowers, picture frames, or any other fun knick-knacks on top of your custom drawers to help make your closet feel more personal. You want to create a space that you’re comfortable spending time in. Try out a new light fixture to really make the space extravagant.

The most important thing to remember when designing your dream walk-in closet is that it is, in fact, your closet. Use whichever design tips you’re comfortable with, and don’t be afraid to think outside of the box! And, if you really want to get the feel of luxury in your closet, consider adding a mirror closet door to really help open up the space.

Pivot Shower Doors Vs Hinged

shower doors in Mississauga Shopping for the right shower door can be confusing. Especially if you conduct your research on the Internet where you’ll often encounter statements like this: “The hinged, or pivoting shower door is the most common type of shower door.” The implication is that hinged and pivoting doors are the same thing. They’re not. While both hinged shower doors and pivoting shower doors have hinges the two doors are actually quite different and it has to do with how they open. Let’s take a closer look at both doors.

Choosing the Right Shower Doors for Mississauga Homes

The side mounted hinged door and pivoting shower door are different animals. But which one is right for your home?

The Hinged Shower Door

You see a lot of hinged shower doors in Mississauga homes. The door is mounted on hinges at the edge of the panel that connect either directly to the wall or to an adjoining glass panel in the shower enclosure, or to a frame. The glass panel hinged shower door typically opens outward and as such requires a fairly considerable amount of space in order for it to be practical.

Hinged Pros

Hinged doors lend themselves to frameless shower enclosure setups as there’s no need for an overhead support bar to hold a pivot device.
It’s possible to seal side mount hinges and thereby improve the water tight nature of the enclosure.

Hinged Cons

If you are attaching the hinged door to another glass panel it will require some precision cuts on that panel and this can drive up the cost.
All that space that’s required to accommodate the door swinging outwards.

Pivoting Shower Door

A pivoting shower door uses a two part hinge – one part on top of the door, one on the bottom – that allows the door to pivot rather than swing. As such the centre of motion for the door is moved closer to the vertical centre of the door itself. A door mounted in this fashion requires far less space because the entirety of the door is not opening out into the bathroom. In addition, some pivoting shower doors can open either in or out.

Pivot Pros

The primary benefit of the pivoting door is its space-saving characteristics.
They’re an ideal choice for smaller bathrooms where there’s no room for sliding doors or for a door to open out into the general bathroom area.
Because weight is carried mostly by the pivot device at the bottom of the door the entire door mechanism is very strong and stable.

Pivot Cons

You can’t really seal a pivoting door to make it as water tight as a hinged door.
A header will be required on most pivoting doors in order to mount to top portion of the pivot mechanism.

Choosing the right shower doors in Mississauga doesn’t have to be a daunting task. Talk to the pros at Keystone. They’ll be happy to answer your shower door questions and recommend the right door for your particular needs.

Walk in Shower Enclosures: Right for Your Home?

Shower enclosures in Toronto The walk-in shower has gained considerable buzz in recent years both as an assistive device for the elderly or infirm and, perhaps ironically, as a kind of status symbol for those wishing to embrace high style even in the bathroom. The fact that the same bathroom feature can be considered both stylish and safe speaks to the simple, common sense nature of the concept. As does the fact that a walk-in shower can be installed in just about any bathroom, regardless of size. But are shower enclosures for Toronto homes a good idea? Let’s explore some of the pros and cons.

Walk-in Shower Enclosures for Toronto Homes

Because the shower enclosure wins praise for being both stylish and safe you’d think that installing one would be a no-brainer. But the fact is the walk-in shower is not without its potential drawbacks. Let’s look at both sides of the issue:

Walk-in Shower Pros:

Adaptability – The walk-in shower enclosure is little more than a nook in the bathroom. There are no doors that need to slide to the side or swing out. As such you don’t need more than about 20 square feet for an enclosure. That means they can be installed in just about any bathroom.

They keep things open – If you’ve got a smallish bathroom installing a bathtub or an enclosed shower will make the room seem incredibly claustrophobic. Because the shower enclosure is just an open space designated for taking showers small bathrooms retain a sense of openness.

They’re safe for mom and dad – Because you can just walk straight into the enclosure without climbing over the side of a tub or opening a door they’re considered very safe for elderly folks with limited mobility. They just walk straight in, turn on the shower and walk out when done.

They’re stylish – Style is often a matter of presenting the unexpected in a simple, no-nonsense manner. You can be sure that when guests use the bathroom with the enclosure they’re going to emerge wanting to talk about it precisely because it’s unexpected and makes so much sense.

Walk-in Shower Cons:

Slip potential – Having an open-ended shower nook means water is going to end up on the floor in other parts of the bathroom, creating a slip hazard.

Glass hazard – Some enclosures utilize a glass sheet that contains water to a limited degree. While it’s nice that this feature minimizes slip potential the blunt-end of the glass panel presents its own type of hazard.

Uncontained moisture – With an enclosed shower the heat and humidity from hot water is at least partially contained. Not so with a shower enclosure. Having the humidity infiltrate every corner of the bathroom can lead to mold and mildew where there was none before.

Shower enclosures in Toronto homes can be a benefit for older folks, although having an open ended shower stall in your bathroom is not without its downside as we’ve seen. Talk to the pros at Keystone about installing a shower enclosure in your home.

How to Clean Shower Doors Easily

shower doors in Brampton Glass shower doors are a beautiful addition to the bathroom, lending it an air of sophistication and openness. But that openness and beauty can be pretty effectively undermined when hard water residue, soap scum and dirt build up on the glass drawing attention to themselves and away from your lovely, airy design. What homeowners need is an easy and effective way to keep the glass around their shower clean so we’ve done a bit of research and come up with a way that can’t miss.

Cleaning Your Shower Doors in Brampton

You could go and buy an expensive, heavy-duty glass cleaner containing bleach, ammonia and a slew of other chemicals to remove the dirt and grime from your glass shower doors in Brampton. Or you could try the method we’re about to lay out. It’s a lot safer, a lot cheaper and just as effective.

Pick up some baking soda from the store (somehow you knew baking soda was involved).
Mix it in a bowl with water until the baking soda has become a paste.
Take the paste and rub it right into the glass on the shower door. You can use your hand or a sponge but make sure not to rub too hard.
Repeat on all the other glass panels that make up the enclosure.
Pour vinegar into another bowl and dampen a sponge with it.
Then use the vinegar laden sponge to wipe down the glass. Dip the sponge back into the vinegar as needed until you’ve wiped away all the baking soda paste.
When you’ve finished removing the baking soda with the vinegar laden sponge rinse the sponge out thoroughly and wipe down the glass one more time to remove the vinegar residue.
What you’ll see when you’re done is spotless glass free of water stains and other nasty build-up.

If you have sliding doors on your shower enclosure don’t forget to clean the guide tracks that the doors slide in. These tracks have tiny holes that allow water that gets into them to drain away. Find these holes and plug them with pieces of toilet tissue or paper towel. Then fill the door track with vinegar and leave it overnight. Just make sure to tell others in the house what you’re doing so they don’t try and use the shower and get an unpleasant surprise.

Preventing Dirty Glass on Your Shower Enclosure

Once you get the shower enclosure looking like new the best way to keep it that way is to invest in a high quality shower squeegee. These can be had from innumerable retail websites, cost less than a pizza and will help ensure that hard water stains, soap scum and other types of dirt and grime never get a chance to accumulate on your bathroom glass.

Cleaning your shower doors in Brampton doesn’t require the use of harsh chemicals. Just remember to pick up a shower squeegee when you’re done and use it regularly to stave off the need for future baking soda and vinegar cleaning sessions.

The Ways in Which Mirror Closet Doors Will Impact Your Room

mirror closet doors Toronto Homeowners are always looking for ways to make their rooms seem larger, airier and more visually compelling and have been known to go to great lengths to achieve those goals. In reality however, there’s often no need to knock down walls or hire the most expensive interior decorator in Toronto. All it sometimes takes is mirrored closet doors. Installing mirrored closet doors in your bedroom is going to change the entire look and feel of the space in ways both subtle and overt. Below we’ll get into the many reasons to install mirror closet doors in Toronto homes.

The Many Benefits of Installing Mirror Closet Doors in Toronto Homes

Mirrored closet doors are going to alter the way the entire bedroom is perceived from the minute they’re installed. They will:

Double the amount of space your brain perceives – As the mirrored doors produce a perfect copy (in reverse of course) of the bedroom your brain registers that the space is actually twice as big as it is. This is why so many elevators are lined with mirrors. It’s a trick that’s been known and employed by interior designers for centuries.
Create a visually harmonious balance – Having a perfect copy of the room reflected in the mirrored closet doors creates visual balance. Everything in the room is visually counterbalanced by its reflected opposite. Even if you have been having difficulty creating balance in the room mirrored doors will often provide that balance all by themselves.
Add a subtle sense of luxury to the room – By introducing mirrored doors into the room you’re conjuring up associations with the Palace of Versailles and a thousand other classic, opulent buildings that have employed mirrors throughout history to help create compelling spaces.
Hide the actual closet from view – Closet doors without mirrors are just closet doors. They’re a visual dead end and there’s no way to spin them as anything else. Once you install mirrored closet doors however the visual dead end is opened up and the closet becomes invisible until you need to enter it.
Reflect both natural and artificial light making the space feel more open – One of the many great things about mirrored closet doors is their ability to reflect light and make a space seem more airy and inviting. And this is true both during the daytime and at night when the lights are low and you can create compelling counterpoints with the reflected light.
Provide you a way to check your outfit before going out – Not to be forgotten in the discussion about the many advantages of mirror closet doors on Toronto homes is the fact that they’re full length mirrors that will enable you to check your outfit from head to toe before you leave the house.

Mirrored closet doors are a sophisticated yet affordable way to enhance the look and feel of your bedroom. Contact Keystone Home Products on (905) 790-0997 and speak to one of our experts to learn more about our full line of classic and contemporary style mirrored closet doors.

How Mirror Walls can Be Used to Create More Light in a Room

Mirror Walls in Toronto During the renaissance interior designers had to find ways to make spaces brighter and more compelling without the use of electric light. One of their favourite ways to do this was by creating large windows and employing mirrors generously throughout the house to reflect light that came in through those windows. Today, with the cost of energy so high and future supplies uncertain saving energy is at the forefront of everyone’s thinking. As such designers and homeowners are once again looking for ways to make their space brighter and livelier that don’t involve using electricity. And just like their forebears they’ve turned to the mirror.

Employing Mirror Walls in Toronto Homes to Maximize Light

Many homes are not designed to make maximum use of natural light. As such it’s up to those who inhabit the house to try and turn gloomy, underlit spaces into bright, cheerful rooms everyone can enjoy. One of the easiest and most compelling ways to do so is to install mirror walls at strategic points throughout the house. Before you go ahead and just slap up a few ceiling to floor mirrors however there are a few things you’ll want to keep in mind.

Size – When it comes to maximizing the reflective quality of mirrored walls the larger the mirrored surface the better. Not only will your previously moribund room be brought into the light but it will seem larger and airier than it ever has before.
Placement – The placement of mirror walls in Toronto homes needs to be carefully considered. You don’t want mirrors to shine bright reflected sunlight directly in people’s faces as they’re trying to watch TV nor do you want to locate a mirrored wall in such a way that it presents a clear view into the bathroom. Instead locate them in ways that will indirectly reflect the natural or artificial light and don’t overdo their use.
Style – For many homeowners simple, large, frameless mirrors may be exactly what the style doctor ordered. For others however, a more lavish style of mirroring may be called for. Perhaps you’ll want a wall composed of multiple small mirrors (either framed or unframed) that dovetails with the busier design of the overall space. Perhaps you’ll want those mirrored sections to have bevelled edges or the surface itself to be rippled out of concern for both style and safety.
Who is in the house – While mirrored walls produce compelling effects that are endlessly fascinating and open up a slew of related design possibilities regarding the creation of focal points and counterpoints they are nonetheless large slabs of glass. If you have young children you should be careful where you install mirrored panels as kids aren’t always thoughtful when it comes to where they’re going.

Installing mirror walls in Toronto homes is a great way to bring light into otherwise dark and dull spaces, especially during the long winter months. Talk to the pros and Keystone about the possibilities of mirror walls for your home.

What is the Best Thickness for Shower Doors?

Shower Doors Mississauga If you are remodeling or renovating the bathroom you’ll need to select new shower doors. Of primary concern will be making sure the style of the doors meshes with the design of the bathroom as a whole. However, something people don’t think about when they’re upgrading their shower doors is their thickness. The thickness will determine the weight and safety of the doors and will also play a subtle but important role in how the doors mesh with the other components in the bathroom. Let’s look at some of the considerations that go into determining the best thickness for shower doors in Mississauga homes.

Shower Doors for Mississauga Homes: How Thick Should They Be?

Nearly as important as style will be selecting the proper thickness for your shower doors. Too thin and they may look out of place next to heavy materials like natural stone, too thick and they may put too much of a load on the walls which could lead to the shower enclosure collapsing. So what exactly are the different thickness options when it comes to shower doors?

3/8 inch – This is considered by many to be the minimal thickness a shower door should be in order to provide the necessary stability and ensure structural integrity of the shower enclosure. 3/8 inch is perhaps the most popular thickness choice both because it meets the minimal safety standards and because it’s more affordable than thicker glass.
1/2 inch – With a 1/2 inch thick shower door you’ll be buying a much more substantial look and feel for you shower enclosure. You’ll easily perceive the difference in weight when you slide or swing the door open and that heftier feel will subconsciously provide you with a sense of both greater opulence and greater safety. As mentioned above however, you need to be sure your walls will be able to support the increased weight.

Is There Really a Difference?

There very definitely is a difference in the way the thicknesses of doors are perceived. While you may not always be able to put into words every perception you have your brain will nonetheless pick up on and appreciate the difference in thicknesses. At the same time however structural concerns cannot be dismissed so you’ll need to determine if the walls in your bathroom can handle the additional weight that comes with thicker doors. Of course if you had 1/2 inch thick doors on the shower before then there should be no reason for concern about installing new ones that are just as thick.

Keep in mind too that there are those who champion the idea of 1/4 inch thick shower doors for Mississauga homes but we believe that to be too insubstantial. Safety is, after all, a major concern in the shower and 1/4 inch thick glass around the shower enclosure is uncomfortably fragile. Give Keystone a call to discuss your renovation project. We’ll make sure you get the perfect shower doors for your bathroom.

Shower Curtain or Glass Shower Doors?

glass shower doors Toronto For many homeowners the biggest decision when it comes to their bathroom is not lighting or the size of the vanity, it’s whether to have a shower curtain or a glass shower door. Both have their advantages and disadvantages and both seem equally popular. But is one actually “better” than the other? Or does it all comes down to a matter of taste? We’re going to spill a little digital ink trying to get on top of this issue and hopefully provide some insight you can use when it’s time for you to decide between the two.

Are Glass Shower Doors a Toronto Must-Have?

For a lot of folks the matter is an open and shut case: glass shower doors in Toronto homes are “it”. But that doesn’t explain why so many people still choose shower curtains. Let’s look at both sides of the coin to see if we can figure this out.

The Argument for Glass Doors

They increase the overall value of your home.
They help make the bathroom appear larger than it is.
Glass shower doors are far more aesthetically pleasing.
They’re available in a wide variety of styles ranging from the simple to the hi-so.

These are all good reasons to have glass shower doors in Toronto homes and there are plenty of people who believe they make a compelling enough argument. So why would anyone choose shower curtains over glass doors?

The Argument for Shower Curtains

They’re easy for anyone to open and close.
They’re far more affordable than glass shower doors.
They provide a higher level of privacy for people in the shower.
They allow you to keep that antique bathtub that you love so much.

As you can see the people that choose shower curtains are not doing so just out of a lack of understanding. They have good reasons for taking a pass on glass shower doors. Toronto homeowners are after all a smart, level-headed group who rarely do things without thinking them through.

So Which One is Right for You?

It tends to come down to a few simple considerations.

Your budget – Shower curtains are without a doubt the more affordable option and this will be enough for many. Others, however will take the view that money spent improving the home is always money well spent and opt for glass doors.
Your personality – Some people are just more comfortable being able to draw a curtain around them when they shower while others enjoy the sense of the shower being an open space. Why is it so? Who knows?
Your bathroom design/setup – A rustic interior design will likely call for a tub/curtain setup. While glass enclosures are extremely versatile and can be adapted to just about every other type of interior design scheme.

The Bottom Line

It turns out there are good reasons to choose both shower curtains and glass shower doors for Toronto homes. It really boils down to design, taste and budget. Talk to the pros at Keystone Home Products to learn more.

Closet Organizers: Tips to Help You Get the Most Out of Yours

closet organizers Toronto If you live in a small home or apartment or you simply have lots of clothes and other related items and not a lot of room to store them closet organizers can be a lifesaver. But in order to get the most out of your closet organizers in Toronto you’ll need to keep a few things in mind after they’ve been installed and you’re actually using them on a daily basis.

Closet Organizers: Toronto Storage Pros Provide Hints on Maximizing Yours

We design, build and install state of the art closet organizers for Toronto homeowners. But one thing we’ve noticed over the years is that our customers are sometimes at a loss for how to get the most out of them. So below we’re going to provide a few tips to help you optimize your organizers.

Practice makes perfect – Even with spanking new closet organizers a Toronto homeowner may still veer outside the lines and wind up leaving stuff on the floor or piling it in the corner of the closet. This is mostly a matter of “old habits die hard”. In order to get the most from your new organizers you need to build new habits. That means resisting the urge to drop things willy-nilly or, if you do, getting in the habit of picking them up right away.

Look up – Chances are your new organizers are models of efficiency which means they take advantage of all the space in your closet; including long-neglected vertical space. Some of these new storage areas may require you to use a small step ladder to get to them but some folks can’t be bothered. Well, be bothered. If your new organizers have space allotted at the top for lesser used items make sure you take advantage of that.

Keep it simple – For some, trying to remember where everything is supposed to go in their newly organized closet is too much. As a result clutter begins to slowly creep back in. For these folks we suggest trying a different approach. Keep it simple. What we mean is that it’s often easier to acclimate yourself to the new closet organizers by instituting a simple rule like: “Keep the floor clear”. Rather than “Scarves go here and hats go there and tights go there…”

Don’t be afraid to augment – You may find your new organizers become overwhelmed in time. If that happens don’t start dumping stuff on the floor again, look for efficient ways to augment the storage capacity of your organizer. You can hang a shoe storage rack on the back of the closet door for instance, then use the freed up space for other things. Also, don’t forget to purge twice a year.

All of the above tips should help you get the most out of your closet organizers. Our Toronto customers often find that when things aren’t working as planned, it’s not a matter of an inadequate organizer, it’s a matter of changing bad habits. Talk to one of our residential storage pros for more information.

The Best Types of Shower Doors for Small Bathrooms

shower doors Mississauga If you’re building a new house or remodelling your bathroom you have a decision to make about the type of shower door you install. That choice is doubly important if your bathroom is small. Pick the wrong door and it will impede on what little space you have and could also be the source of accidents. Pick the right door and your small bathroom may feel much larger than it actually is. But just what type of shower door will provide that safe, airy feel for your tiny toilette? Below we’re going to find out.

Finding the Right Small Shower Doors in Mississauga

When the time comes to choose shower doors in Mississauga for your small bathroom you actually have more choices than you might imagine. Below we’re going to look at the best choices and what makes each one a solid option for smaller bathrooms.

The Sliding Door – When it comes to space saving shower doors in Mississauga nothing really compares to the sliding shower door. Sliding shower doors are typically composed of either 2 or 3 glass panels that slide past each other and “stack” at one side or the other. If there’s a downside to sliding doors it’s that they require a fairly wide shower opening. So if you don’t have that, you’ll need to explore other options.

The Pivoting Door – The pivoting shower door is one of the most popular space shaving shower doors in Mississauga. The have a sophisticated, refined air about them that’s both graceful and practical. This type of shower door opens on a hinge that pivots from a point close to the vertical centre of the door. As such, part of the door opens into the general bathroom space while the rest opens into the shower enclosure, thereby saving space.

The Round Door – The round shower door is typically used on smaller shower enclosures in the corner of the room. These enclosures are usually shaped like a baseball field with one pointed end and one rounded end. The rounded door slides to one side or another of the rounded enclosure without ever gobbling up space in the rest of your bathroom. Some rounded showers have one door while others have 2 that meet in the centre and slide to either side.

The Bi-Fold Door – Speaking of hybrids, the bi-fold shower door combines sliding motion with an accordion-style folding action that allows it to tuck neatly away to one side of the shower enclosure. Typically a bi-fold door is composed of 2 panels (hence “bi”-fold) hinged in the centre. They don’t infringe on the bathroom space and many have magnets at the top and bottom that keep the door firmly closed while the shower is in use.

To determine the right shower doors Mississauga homeowners will need to determine the size of the shower enclosure, its location and whether or not the area adjoining the shower opening will be clear or occupied by some other component of the bathroom decor. Talk to one of the shower enclosure pros at Keystone to learn more.

5 Things You Gain with Custom Closet Organizers

A disorganized closet can drive anyone crazy. From wasted time to not being able to find what you are looking for to running out of space, it can be a pain on a daily basis. For Toronto homeowners, there’s a solution to these common problems though, and they’re called closet organizers.

Closet organizers are custom built shelving and storage designs that make your daily life easier by saving you time and stress. The choice and customization is catered to your needs.

The 5 Perks of Using Closet Organizers

Investing in custom built closet organizers is a no-brainer. Here’s why:

No More Wasting Time: Time is one of the most valuable commodities we have, so why waste it? Closet organizers, first and foremost, save time. Never again will you have to rummage through heaps of disorganized clothes. With closet organizers, you wake up, go find the stuff you want to wear, and throw it on. It’s that simple.

Peace of Mind: It can be super stressful being in a hurry all the time or not being able to find your favourite shirt. Getting a custom closet organizer installed can relieve that stress by not having to deal with a huge ordeal every time you walk into your closet.

Maximize the Space You Have: One constant you always hear is people complaining that their closet isn’t big enough. It’s almost never true. With closet organizers, you can get most out of your closet. And most of the time, it’s enough. Custom designed closet organizers maximize your space with smart and well thought out design. From multilevel and hanging shelving to nooks and separators, you will finally utilize every inch of your closet.

Organize With Intention: Most people just stuff their clothes in their closet mindlessly and without any structure. Closet organizers make it simple for homeowners to organize by colour, preference, or type of clothing. Your most worn clothes in one specific area? Or your clothes organized by season? Closet organizers make this infinitely more achievable. You’ll never lose your favourite shirt again only to find it six months later buried under other clothes you don’t wear often.

Closet Organizers are Fully Customizable: Each custom-built closet organizer is designed specifically to your needs. Every component can be built and customized to meet your specific needs. Every closet organizer is also built to ensure ease of movement and maximize your floor space. Whatever your need, a closet organizer can be built to answer it.

Struggling to search through a disorganized and messy closet is nothing short of frustrating. In most cases, people tend to start wearing the same few outfits to avoid the headache of searching and wasting time.

At Keystone Home Products,’ we have the expertise to design and build a custom closet organizer to finally turn your closet into an efficient and stress-free area.

Call us on 905-790-0997 to learn more about how we can build a custom closet organizer that’s perfect for you.

Why It’s not Wise to Try and Install Frameless Shower Doors Yourself

Frameless Shower Doors It’s true that we live in the age of Google, where you can find DIY solutions for nearly everything, but sometimes cutting corners isn’t wise. Some things are best left to the professionals.

That’s certainly true when it comes to frameless shower door installation. While it’s possible to install one yourself, nobody wants to deal with the headache of unwanted and unforeseen problems that arise from shoddy installation.

So be smart and trust professionals who have years of experience and expertise when it comes to installing shower doors.

Why Trying to Install Frameless Shower Doors by Yourself is a Bad Idea

Here are four reasons why homeowners in Toronto should avoid the DIY option and seek a professional to install their frameless shower doors:

Frameless Shower Door Installation is Challenging: Homeowners looking to save money and install a frameless shower door by themselves might not realize what they are getting themselves into. Sure you can buy the door and hinges at a store, but installation takes a level of skill and expertise than the average person doesn’t have and can’t learn overnight. Alignments, drillings, and measurements need to be perfect and high-quality materials are a must to avoid any problems. These are things a professional can guarantee.

Professional Installers Can Customize the Door to Meet Your Shower’s Needs: Not all showers have the same dimensions and characteristics and a professional can adapt and install your door no matter the situation. Experienced professionals will make sure your door fits snugly.

Shower Leaks are a Huge Problem in DIY Installations: Unless your glass is cut perfectly, something a professional will guarantee upon installation, shower leakage can be a massive issue. Shabby DIY frameless shower door installations risk leaving gaps in the door where water can escape and splash onto the floor. Over time, this can damage your bathroom floor. Not to mention, it can be a big annoyance to always have standing water on your bathroom floor after taking a shower.

Improper Installation Can Lead To Shattering: Even scarier than leakage, is the fact that a faulty installation can lead to your frameless shower door shattering. Although this only happens rarely, the chances are significantly higher for those who self-install. Mishandling during transport or installation can cause damage and small breaks in the glass which only get worse as time goes on and pressure applies to the rest of the door. Ultimately, your door may eventually shatter.

Avoid the risk and pay to have an experienced professional install your frameless shower door with guaranteed results.

The cost of installation could easily be surpassed by problems posed by a faulty installation, not to mention the peace of mind you will get knowing that your door has been installed to the highest standards.

As Toronto’s premier homebuilders, Keystone Home Products’ experts can guarantee a high-quality frameless shower door installation that will save you the trouble of any future problems.

Call us today at 905-790-0997.

A Guide to the Different Types of Shower Door Glass

Shower Doors Mississauga Shower door glass is an often overlooked aspect when designing, renovating, or installing a shower. In reality, homeowners have many varieties of glass to choose from when installing shower doors.

From glass that provides privacy to glass that gives your bathroom a sleek, modern look, the options and characteristics are vast.

The Different Types of Glass and How to Choose the Right One for Your Shower Doors

Not all shower door glass is the same, here’s a how-to-guide for Mississauga and Toronto residents to choose the right glass to suit their bathroom’s style and needs:

Clear Glass: Clear glass is the most versatile and widely used glass in shower doors because it allows for the passage of light into your shower and also lends to a more open feeling bathroom. Clear glass is the perfect choice if you want your bathroom to feel less cramped and give it a bright, contemporary look. Another perk of clear glass is that it is very easy to clean and maintain.

Frosted Glass: Homeowners seeking privacy should look at installing frosted glass shower doors. Not only does it provide privacy, there are also many design options to choose from like different colours and patterns. Frosted glass doors have a satin-like look and hide most fingerprints and watermarks. On the downside, frosted glass doors can sometimes feel dark and segregated from the rest of your bathroom.

Rain Glass: Like frosted glass shower doors, rain glass doors offer privacy and are perfect for hiding fingerprints and stains. Rain glass stands out from frosted glass due to its decorative, eye-catching rain patterns on one side.

Tinted Glass: Tinted glass comes in many different tones and colours like bronze, grey, or black. This choice of glass is great for homeowners looking to create a fresh, one-of-a-kind bathroom. The dark, tinted glass provides privacy and is the perfect complement to your bathroom’s colour palette.

Hammered Glass: Hammered glass doors are known for their distinctive texture that resembles hammered metal. These type of shower doors give your bathroom a bold appearance. The hammered glass also creates cool visual effects as light enters the shower.

What to Consider When Choosing Your Shower Door Glass

Budget: The most obvious thing to consider when choosing a type of shower door glass is which type you can afford. Hammered, tinted, and rain glass tend to be the most expensive while frosted and clear are cheaper options.

Privacy: Privacy is also another important thing to factor in. If you are live in a studio apartment or with a significant other then you might be fine with clear glass for your shower. But those living with kids or relatives might want to think about the other glass types which offer privacy to avoid any awkward situations.

Style: Homeowners should also look at shower door glass that meshes with the style and feel of their bathroom. For modern bathrooms, clear glass might look best while tinted glass looks great in a bathroom with dark colours.

As Toronto and Mississauga’s leading homebuilders, Keystone Home Products’ can help you choose the right shower door glass to fit your needs.

To learn more, call us at 905-790-0997.

Shower Doors and Why the Material Matters

Most people don’t give a second thought to the materials used in the construction of the average shower enclosure: until it comes time to replace theirs. That’s typically when they discover that there are some very real material decisions to be made and that trying to find information related to this important topic can be challenging to say the least. So to help steer you in the right direction we’re going to use this post to discuss material matters related to shower doors.

Choosing the Right Material for Shower Doors in Toronto

When it comes to choosing the right material for your shower doors in Toronto it may seem like it’s just a matter of any old material will do but that’s not the case. Here are some things to consider.

Are there kids in the house? – Glass in the home always represents a potential hazard. If the house is only inhabited by adults it’s not so much an issue. But if there are young children in the home you need to think carefully about using real glass anywhere. For example: you need to think about the kids before you install glass shower doors in Toronto because shower doors can shatter if they’re run into or even closed too hard.

What about Seniors? – If you’re installing a new shower enclosure for grandma and grandpa you may not want to use glass. Older folks sometimes lose their balance and when they do they naturally reach out to grab hold of something to catch themselves. If they reach out for or fall into a glass door the door will likely shatter and serious injuries could result. In this case, you’ll want to consider acrylic/plexiglass shower doors instead of real glass.

Who is going to clean it? – Of course there’s a flip side to acrylic. That being that it can be devilishly difficult to clean, especially if it’s been neglected for a while. With this unpleasant fact in mind then – and if there are no little kids or seniors in the house – real glass may be the best choice for you. It’s far easier to clean regardless of how long you’ve let it go. Typically all you need is a soft cloth and some Windex.

Price – Glass may have certain advantages when it comes to cleaning and in the subtle nuances of how it looks but when it comes to which material is easier on the wallet it’s no contest. Glass shower doors in Toronto can be several times as much as acrylic/plexiglass and the difference is money you could be using on something else; like a new vanity, new lights or a new tile floor.

When choosing the right material for your shower doors in Toronto it’s not simply a matter of eenie-meenie-miny-mo. There are real and serious matters to take into consideration that will affect not only the look of the finished product but whether it’s safe for your home’s inhabitants to interact with. Talk to the pros at Keystone Home Products to learn more.

5 Reasons to Change Your Shower Doors in 2017

Shower Doors Mississauga It’s a new year and that means taking a fresh look at those home improvement projects you’ve been putting off for months. No more excuses about how the work will interfere with holiday festivities or how uncle Tony will be unhappy if you replace those, uh, beautiful tiles he installed in the bathroom a couple of years ago. Just time to dust off the to-do list and get cracking. In this post we’ll give you 5 reasons why changing your shower doors in Mississauga should be at the top of your 2017 to-do list.

New Shower Doors in Mississauga from Keystone

A set of beautiful new frameless shower doors will transform your mundane bathroom into a sophisticated oasis family members will be lining up to spend time in. Frameless doors have that “wow” factor your moldy old doors just can’t touch. Here are 5 good reasons you should change your old shower doors in 2017.

Lighten up: If you have framed shower doors that are more than a few years old chances are they’re getting a little worn about the edges. It’s also possible that they’ve accumulated a significant amount of soap scum and atmospheric dirt and are nowhere near as clear as they were when you had them installed. Time to let them go and install dazzling new frameless shower doors in Mississauga from Keystone.

Break it down: Even fairly discreet frames around glass panel doors can create the sense of a divide between one part of the bathroom and the other. Break down the sense of separate areas and open your bathroom up visually with frameless glass doors. Your WC will seem larger, cleaner and more comfortable as a result.

Add value: It doesn’t take much to elevate the look and feel of your bathroom. All you need is to target the right items for renovation. When you change your shower doors to reflect a cleaner, more contemporary look you’re saying you care about your home, its appearance, its comfort level and its overall value.

Make a design stand: A lot of bathrooms have a kind of ad hoc feeling to them. Since the shower doors are the biggest item in the bathroom you can use them as a bold starting point for a bathroom redesign. The sense that the bathroom has been remodeled will be much stronger than if you, say, only replaced the faucet heads.

Get a jump on the Joneses: What good is upgrading parts of your home if you can’t brag about it to family and friends? Installing new shower doors in Mississauga will give you something to gloat about when the neighbours come over. And isn’t that the point of spending on home improvements? (At least part of the point).

Changing your shower doors in Mississauga now is a great way to jump start home improvements for 2017. Call Keystone Home Products to find out more about which style of shower door will be right for you and how they can elevate how you experience your entire house.

4 Factors that Influence the Cost of Your Glass Shower Doors

Glass Shower Doors Toronto The cost of installing glass shower doors can vary significantly. It can be as low as $100 or as high as several thousand dollars and at Keystone Home Products we’ve seen it all. There are a number of factors that weigh on the overall cost of shower door installations. Some of them are easy to identify and others are more subtle but just as important. In this post we’re going to take a look at 4 of them.

Determining the Cost of Glass Shower Doors in Toronto

Because the cost of installing glass shower doors in Toronto varies so significantly from case to case we need to take a look at the reasons why. Here are 4 of the factors that will have a substantial impact on the final cost of your shower door installation.

Door Size: We’re going to start with the obvious and that is the size of your doors. The larger the door the higher the cost. It only makes sense. Unfortunately there isn’t much you can do about the size of the doors you’ll need unless you want to redesign the entire bathroom. So the size of your shower enclosure is the first factor in determining how much you’ll pay for your glass shower doors in Toronto.

Door Type: Unlike the size of your door which you have very little control over the type of shower door you install will be entirely up to you and will play an important part in how much you pay. You can choose hinged doors that swing open or sliding doors that will save space but cost more, or you can choose to have a customized door installed that will ramp up the luxury but ramp up the cost as well.

Bathroom Layout: A big bathroom is a joy for the contractor to work with. There’s lots of room to move and to keep tools and materials handy. A tiny bathroom however can be a logistical nightmare since the contractor will likely have to get up and leave the room every time they need a different tool or material. Every move adds time and therefore cost to the job.

Labour: It’s never a good idea to try and install glass shower doors yourself. If you drop the glass door while trying to hang it you run the risk of serious injury plus the cost of having to purchase a replacement door. So leaving it to the pros is the right call, but the pros don’t work for free. How much you pay for labour will depend on the factors already laid out above.

The installation of glass shower doors in Toronto is one whose final costs are not fixed. How much you wind up paying will depend on the factors outlined here plus others such as the time of year, whether the bathroom is on the first, second, third floor or higher and the overall condition of your bathroom. Call Keystone Home Products to find out more about installing glass shower doors in Toronto.

The Multiple Roles of Shower Doors

Shower Doors Mississauga There are several examples in the world of home decor where one material represents a clear “step up” in sophistication, elegance and timelessness over other materials: granite countertops, for example. Glass shower doors are another example. They exist on a home decor plateau a clear step above shower curtains. Shower doors exude permanence, design wherewithal and sense of affluence not unlike granite countertops.

Finding the Right Shower Doors in Mississauga

Understanding their function can be helpful in choosing the right shower doors in Mississauga. In essence shower doors are:

Designed to minimize maintenance.
Intended to contain water within the shower stall.
Designed to provide the most enjoyable shower experience possible.
An integral component of the entire bathroom design scheme.

This last point is important because the shower door is expected to carry a substantial portion of the bathroom decor load. This is fundamentally different from the job of the shower curtain, which is to simply keep water in the shower. This means that if the shower door fails in its function as a design component, the entire bathroom decor fails by extension.

By looking at a shower door from the angle of design component instead of simply as a means to block water it will be easier to find the glass shower door that’s right for your bathroom. Things to consider include.

Type of Glass – Is there cut or etched glass on the bathroom mirror? Is there frosted glass on the window? If there is you may want to carry one of these design motifs over into the glass on your new shower door. Keep in mind though that cut, frosted or etched glass is more expensive than plain, clear glass.
Color of Glass – Be aware of the fact that clear glass typically has a greenish tint to it. This is due to the presence of iron in the glass. You need to determine if this greenish tint is going to undermine other aspects of your bathroom color scheme. If it is, you may want to consider adjusting other colors in the room or using iron-free glass in your shower door.
Frames – If the bathroom mirror is frameless you’ll want to consider a frameless shower door to unify the overall look. Although you need to be mindful of the fact that frameless shower doors are more expensive than framed ones.
Method of Access – Look for precedents. Do you have a medicine cabinet with sliding doors? If so you can carry this sliding theme over to the shower doors. Just remember you’ll need significant horizontal space to do so; except in a corner shower stall where narrow twin sliding doors open in opposite directions.

Keystone Home Products has been fulfilling the interior design needs of homeowners across the GTA for more than 20 years. In that time we’ve established ourselves as the area’s premier supplier of shower doors, dividers, shelving, mirrors and more. Call us today to talk to one of our interior decor experts about finding the right shower doors in Mississauga to complete the look of your bathroom.

Choosing the Perfect Glass Shower Door for Your Bathroom

Glass Shower Doors Toronto Everyone enjoys the benefits of the glass shower doors, even if they’re not consciously aware of it. Shower doors let in the light, make a bathroom seem bigger and more comfortable and inject an air of sophistication into even the most previously banal WC. In this post we’ll look at the choices available to you when shopping for new glass shower doors in Toronto.

Selecting Glass Shower Doors in Toronto

First off, remember that the shower doors you buy will need to conform to a few project fundamentals including:

Your Budget – While etched glass and polished brass fittings are nice they may be beyond your budget. It’s important to stay realistic.
Size of the Opening – Make sure you know exactly the size door you’ll need. Take careful measurements and keep them with you when you shop.
Look and Feel of the Bathroom – Make sure you take a photo of the bathroom so you can compare it to any doors you’re considering.

Also remember that your glass shower doors do not exist in a vacuum. The type of glass, finish of hardware and style of frame you choose must all work with the other elements in the bathroom to create a cohesive look. That said, let’s take a quick look at the types of glass shower doors Toronto residents have to choose from.

Framed or Unframed – A framed door will allow for a thinner glass pane, which will be lighter and easier to hang. An unframed door will be thicker but can provide the room an unmatched sense of openness. It will also be easier to clean.
Swing or Pivot – A swinging door will open the same way a standard door does, by swinging on hinges attached to the frame. A pivoting door will also swing open but the forward pivot point will allow some of the swing to be absorbed by the shower stall, thereby saving room.
Sliding – Sliding doors have been popular for many years because they don’t intrude at all on the open space of the bathroom. However, they require horizontal space equal to at least twice the width of the door.
Rounded – A rounded shower door may be either sliding or swinging and may be either a single or double door setup. Rounded shower doors appear on corner shower stalls and are all about the overall effort to save space.

Glass

The basic types of glass available to you are clear, frosted, opaque, etched, patterned or textured. Typically clear glass will display a greenish tint. Choosing low-iron glass instead will do away with the tint but will cost nearly twice as much. Many homeowners concerned about safety will choose acrylic; although acrylic panels will scratch fairly easily and may discolor over time.

At Keystone Home Products our philosophy begins and ends with getting the job done right and our first-rate customer service is there to ensure that’s exactly what happens on each project regardless of size. Call us today at (905) 790-0997 to learn more about glass shower doors and which type is right for your home.

Why the Position of Your Shower Can Limit Your Options When Buying Glass Shower Doors

The wide selection of glass shower doors on the market today makes choosing the right ones for your bathroom a trickier task than you might have expected. There are so many styles and sizes available and you really need to think carefully about the position of your shower before considering particular types. Corner units, for example, usually feature different types of doors to those that are in the middle of the bathroom.

The Best Glass Shower Doors for Your Bathroom

The key points to bear in mind when shopping for new shower enclosures and doors are your proposed budget, how much space you have in your bathroom and the position of your shower unit. Assuming that you do not choose something that is too expensive, too big, or with doors you cannot open, other factors to consider are mainly concerned with the aesthetics of the glass shower doors and enclosures on your shortlist.

Pivot Doors – Often featured in frameless enclosures owing to the very small hinges that are barely noticeable among all that lovely thick glass, pivot doors are designed to open outward in one smooth swinging action and are a great choice for areas with an opening that is too small to accommodate a sliding door but have enough space in front of them to open a door outwards.
Hinged Doors – These are glass shower doors that swing both inwards and outwards, and are also a good choice for very small spaces. The fact that they are normally to be found on neo-angled corner shower enclosures reinforces their suitability for compact bathrooms and has made them very popular with owners of smaller properties.
Sliding Doors – Although they are very compact in one way, sliding door enclosures do require a little more room for the actual entrance. If you have room for a curved corner unit with a sliding door, they are a very nice choice both aesthetically and functionally.
Bi-fold Doors – These open into the shower area, like an accordion, and are another option worth considering when the position of your shower leaves little or no space to open a door outwards. They are also a good choice for contemporary bathrooms, with their, modern, sleek design. In common with other doors that open inwards, bi-fold doors help to minimise the amount of water that will drip onto the rest of your bathroom floor every time you take a shower.

Framed or Frameless Enclosures

As mentioned above, many frameless shower enclosures feature pivot doors, which might influence your opinion as to whether they are suitable for your bathroom. Other factors that may have some bearing on your choice include the fact that frameless enclosures are easier to keep clean and generally look good for longer than framed ones. There is no metal or uPCV trim to get dirty or fade over time; all you need to do is use a mild detergent to keep the glass shower doors and panels of the enclosure sparkling clean.

Contact KeyStone Home Products for glass shower doors in Toronto, Brampton and Mississauga. Visit us on Google+

Mirror Closet Doors: Determining If They’re Right for Your Home

Some people love them and some people hate them but everybody has an opinion, or so it seems, about mirror closet doors. If you are one of those people who really like them but you cannot decide whether they are really right for your home, this article is written just for you! In it, we will examine the various factors you need to consider in order to establish if they are suitable for your needs.

Are Mirror Closet Doors Right for Me?

Below is a list of the most important factors for you to consider, along with some thoughts on each one from our professional furniture consultants.

The Location – While it might be safe to assume that you are thinking of installing them in your bedroom, this is not always the case judging from the inquiries that we sometimes receive. If you are considering installing mirror closet doors in any other room in your house, and you do not live alone, one of the most important questions that you need to answer is what does everyone else in your household think about the idea?
The Size of the Room – Installing floor to ceiling mirrors is an excellent way to make a small room appear larger but it may not be the best choice in rooms that are very big in the first place. You especially need to consider whether your new doors will be opposite any existing mirrors because if they will be, this could create an effect on which you are not very keen. On the other hand, some people just can’t get enough as far as a feeling of space in their bedroom goes so if you are one of these people, go ahead and enjoy!
The Interior Décor – Although there are no hard and fast rules as far as we are concerned, and there would be nothing to stop you from breaking them if there were, we feel that full-length mirror closet doors are more suited to contemporary homes than to period properties with a traditional décor. As we say, this is not a rule, just a suggestion and if you happen to live in a period property and adore mirror closet doors, you may still like the effect that they have on your bedroom interior.
Maintenance – Although they are not particularly hard to keep clean, mirror doors, in common with glass shower doors, will start to look a little shabby if they are not wiped down every once in a while. For this reason, it is a good idea to have a word with your son or daughter about cleaning responsibilities before fitting mirror closet doors in their bedroom.

If you would like any help in choosing the right type of closet doors for your home, please feel free to call at any time. We also install high quality shower enclosures, along with various other fixtures and fittings, so we may be able to help you renovate your bathroom as well as your bedroom.

Contact KeyStone Home Products for mirror closet doors in Toronto, Brampton and Mississauga. Visit us on Google+

Dos and Don’ts when Choosing Shower Enclosures

Shopping for a new enclosure for your shower is not just a case of picking something that takes your fancy and hiring an installation team to fit it in your bathroom. There are a number of practical considerations that need to be taken into account as certain types of shower enclosures just won’t work in certain spaces. If you have no idea what these considerations might be, take a look at the points to consider below before you start to shop around in earnest.

Some Shower Enclosures Are Just Not Suitable for Your Bathroom

Make sure that you do not buy something totally inappropriate for your bathroom renovation project by making a mental note of the dos and don’ts that follow.

Do take Accurate Measurements – One of the simplest mistakes that you could make is also one of the easiest to avoid. Always take accurate measurements of the space where you propose to install your new enclosure to make sure that you do not purchase something that is too big or too small. Remember to take account of the space that will be required to open your glass shower doors, if you want doors that open outwards, and measure the whole space at least twice to ensure accurate results.
Do Choose Sliding or Bi-Fold Doors When Clearance Space is an Issue – If you have a very limited amount of space in front of the location where you are thinking of installing one of the shower enclosures that you have seen for sale, you should choose one with a sliding or bi-fold door (which open inwards) to avoid any problems.
Don’t Buy a Separate Shower Tray – Unless you are building a recessed shower, in which case you will have no other choice, make sure that all of the shower enclosures you are considering come with their own tray. If you buy one separately, you are almost guaranteed to encounter problems when it is being fitted.
Don’t Buy an Enclosure That Is Too Small – Although not quite as bad as buying one that is too big, as you wouldn’t even be able to fit it in the first place, a shower enclosure that is too small will not prove to be a good investment in the long run. If you can look at them in a local showroom, step inside each one that takes your fancy and make sure you have plenty of room for manoeuvre once you are inside. It’s even worth mimicking a few of the moves you normally make in the shower; don’t worry what other shoppers think, it’s your bathroom and you need to make the right choice!

Once you have established which shower enclosures will fit your bathroom size-wise and which feature glass shower doors that are practical for the space in question, you can focus on aesthetics and narrow your final choice down to those enclosures that really appeal to you visually. If you need any help, don’t forget that we are only a phone call away.

Shower Enclosures: Which Type Should You Choose?

Bathrooms are often relatively small spaces that have to be highly functional in order to meet your needs. Due to these spatial constraints, the size and placement of each feature in the room has to be carefully considered and none more so than the shower. As the feature that typically defines a bathroom and takes up the largest amount of floor space, showers are frequently used so need to be readily accessible, but their placement should not compromise access to other facilities in the room. In addition to these practical considerations, showers also have the potential to significantly impact the appearance of your bathroom. In light of all of these factors when replacing your shower enclosure the exact type and model that you opt for should be carefully calculated. If you aren’t aware of the different options available we are going to outline them during this article.

A Guide to the Different Types of Shower Enclosures

Pivot Shower Enclosures – A square shaped enclosure featuring a pivot style door is the most commonly installed type of shower enclosure, with the door swinging outwards to either the left or right.
Frameless Shower Enclosures – The absence of a frame really allows the shower enclosure to open up your bathroom and make it feel bigger. This is a simple design that is ideal if you are aiming to achieve a modern look and is becoming an increasingly popular choice for homeowners throughout the Greater Toronto Area.
D Shaped Shower Enclosures- Named due to the shape of the shower tray, D shaped enclosures are relatively compact and often work well when installed in cramped spaces as the curved front edge reduces the amount of floor space taken up without affecting your experience. It’s a simple design and the smooth curves are best complimented by clear glass and a chrome finished frame.
Bifold Shower Enclosures – Bifold shower enclosures are often installed in bathrooms where efficient use of space is the primary concern as the doors are hinged in the middle, so take up less space as they swing outwards.
Hinged Shower Enclosures – Are you interested in a shower enclosure that will help you to create a modern style bathroom but are not keen on a frameless enclosure? Hinged shower enclosures could be just the answer and feature a door that swings outwards. The glass panel is often finished off with a chrome pull.
Sliding Shower Enclosures – Is the space directly in front of your shower restricted? Rather than struggling with a pivot enclosure, choose a sliding enclosure. Not only will you have more room to manoeuvre, but this type of enclosure provides easy access to the shower area and creates a contemporary style environment.
Shower Cabin Enclosures – If you have a larger budget you could opt for this luxury option, which is typically created from a single piece of moulded acrylic and features a whole range of handy features including a towel rail, a mirror and even a seat, and that’s not even mentioning the soothing shower jets that are built into the design.

Advice to Follow When Deciding on the Perfect Shower Enclosure

While it’s always best to arrange a free consultation with a professional so they can come out to your location and analyse your bathroom for themselves, here are a few important points to consider before making your final decision.

How much space? – The size of your bathroom will largely dictate the type of shower enclosure that you are able to install. The right choice shouldn’t take up so much space that the rest of the bathroom appears cramped.
Floor plan? – Which wall will the enclosure be installed on? And will it be installed in a corner or in the centre of a wall. This will affect the shape of the shower closure you can choose.
Thoughts about glass? – The vast majority of a shower enclosure is constructed from glass so it’s important to get this decision right as this will affect its performance, longevity and appearance.. Be aware that the thicker the glass you select, the more framework/support it will require.
Tray or tiling? – This is often a matter of preference. Which do you prefer underfoot? However with certain types of enclosures you may be forced to choose a tray since the doors are designed specifically for use with a tray.
Open left or right handed? – Again this is down to personal preference but the decision will sometimes be made for you owing to the layout of the room. Check to see which way the door would be able to open without being obstructed by other features.

The correct shower enclosure is not always easy to identify and should you require professional assistance, don’t hesitate to contact a member of the team at Keystone Home Products Ltd today. We have been operating since 1994 and serve Toronto, Mississauga and Brampton.

Contact Keystone for your shower enclosures questions

Considerations When Opting for Mirror Walls

mirror walls In the average household you will come across a numerous amount of mirrors, ranging from minute pocket sized things that are used on the go to check whether make-up is properly done, right the way up to large framed mirrors that hang above the mantel piece in the living room. They are both functional — being used for personal grooming and to check your own appearance — and aesthetic items that can be used to enhance the interior of any room in a property. Are you aware however that it’s possible to have mirror walls installed at your property that span the length of a complete wall? During this article we are going to talk about some of the benefits that mirror walls offer and a number of factors to consider when purchasing them.

What Advantages Do Mirror Walls Offer?
Many homeowners choose to have mirror walls installed in either the bathroom or the bedroom area of their property. Why? This is simple. These are the rooms where you get dressed and ensure your appearance is to your liking each and every day, which requires the use of a reflective surface. Some of the main advantages of mirror walls include:

Larger Size – While this may seem a little obvious it is actually a huge advantage with regards to being able to assess your appearance. It’s often impossible to see yourself from head to toe in a wall hung mirror without standing several metres away, and even then you can’t see yourself in enough detail. Mirror walls solve this problem and allow you to look at anything in an instant; you can easily check whether your collar is twisted or whether your shoes go well with the trousers you are wearing.
Makes the Room Appear Larger – A room that once seemed small and pokey to anyone that set foot inside it can be transformed with the installation of mirror walls. While the dimensions of room itself may not actually change, the room suddenly feels twice as big as it did before.
Brightens Up the Room – Mirrors are reflective surfaces and when light hits mirror walls this light is redirected all around the room, creating a warm, open environment. A small mirror placed on the wall cannot create this effect.

Things to Think About Before Buying Mirror Walls

Having mirror walls installed at your home is not the same as going out and buying a hanging mirror for your bedroom. There are a number of considerations that are unique to mirror walls that you need to take into account. Failure to do so could result in you purchasing a product that is not suitable or safe to install in your home.

Supporting Wall – The glass used to manufacture mirrors is extremely heavy and fragile and mirror walls can easily weigh several hundred pounds. It’s important to ensure that the supporting wall is able to take this kind of weight. In almost all cases the supporting wall must be a solid rather than a studded wall.
Type of Installation – There are generally two different types of installation for mirror walls; wall to wall installation and short of wall installation. As the name suggests a wall to wall installation spans the entire surface of the supporting wall meaning the measurements that are taken must be extremely precise. It’s also usually necessary to complete this type of installation using a J-bar. With short of wall installations there is border (usually an inch or two) right the way around the mirror, providing a little margin for error. This type of installation is less labour intensive and as a result often works out cheaper.
Safety Backing – We would always advise that you seriously consider having safety backing installed along with the mirror walls as this will ensure the glass fragments remain in place if the mirror is accidentally broken. The safety backing also increases the strength of the mirror, making it more resistant to damage, and prevents moisture from getting trapped behind the mirror.
Finish of Edges – There are two main choices here; flat polished edges and seamed edges. The most appropriate option will depend on whether the edges will be visible once the mirror is installed. A flat polished finish is essential if the edges will be visible after installation, whereas a seamed edge is sufficient if you plan on framing the mirror.

Keystone Home Products Ltd has been producing and expertly installing mirror walls for two decades and we are renowned for both our precision and the speed at which we work. If you live in Toronto, Mississauga or Brampton and are interested in a quote, call us today to arrange a free consultation.

Contact Keystone today for your mirror wall questions

The Benefits of Frameless Shower Doors

frameless shower door Whether you are planning to completely renovate your bathroom, updating all of the current fixtures and fittings, and maybe even changing the layout of the room, or you simply need to replace the shower door as it has seen better days, selecting a shower door is something that needs to be carefully considered. Not only does it play a big part in helping to achieve the desired look and feel of the room, but it performs a practical role too, ensuring water from the shower is not allowed to spill out of the enclosure into other parts of the room. Before looking at specific models of shower door, you first need to decide between framed shower doors and frameless shower doors. During this article we are going to point out some of the main differences between the two before going on to explain why frameless shower doors have experienced such a sharp rise in popularity in recent years.

What’s the Difference Between Frameless Shower Doors and Framed Shower Doors?

If you are older than 25 the chances are high that the shower in the home where you grew up had a framed door. That’s because frameless shower doors weren’t really produced on a large scale prior to the early 1990’s and even then the cost was so high initially that it prevented many people from purchasing them. Framed shower doors contain a frame right around their edges and are usually finished in either chrome or gold. On frameless shower doors, the framework around the edges of the door is absent or very minimal at the most and they often feature heavy duty hinges.

Benefits that Have Seen Frameless Shower Doors Grow in Popularity

They Enhance the Appearance of Your Bathroom – The bathroom is one of the busiest areas of a standard home and you might be surprised to learn that the average person spends a total of approximately one and a half years of their lifetime in their bathroom. While it obviously needs to be highly functional, it also has to be aesthetically appealing too and that’s how frameless shower doors can help; they offer a striking modern look that simply oozes class.
Minimal Maintenance – This is one area in which frameless shower doors really excel when compared to their framed counterparts. With framed doors, corrosion often builds up on the framing that spans the bottom of the door due to it being in constant contact with wet floor tiles. This isn’t an issue with frameless shower doors thought, since it is glass that comes into contact with the tiles, and glass is much more resistant to corrosion.
Soft Edges Make Them Safe – Health and safety is an absolute must in the bathroom since damp patches on the floor could potentially lead to you accidentally slipping and hurting yourself. While glass is often associated with being sharp and dangerous, the edges on frameless shower doors are always filed down and soft, considerably reducing the chance of you sustaining an injury.
Show off Your Tiles – Often great care is taken to ensure the tiles on the walls inside your shower are visually appealing but when a framed shower door is installed it’s almost impossible to see them when the door is closed, which is 95% of the time. Frameless shower doors put these tiles on full display and allow them to work with your other bathroom design features and contribute to the aesthetics of the room.
Increase the Market Value of Your Home – While this might not interest you if you don’t ever see you selling your home, it is a nice added bonus, and you never know whether your circumstances will change. Studies have shown that for a large majority of the people that are scouring the housing market for a new home, a frameless shower door is a desirable feature, which helps to give your home’s market value a little boost.
Longevity – Frameless shower doors have to be made of much thicker, tempered glass due to the lack of a frame, but this is hugely beneficial to their longevity. They may cost more to purchase upfront but in many cases they last years longer (although this will depend on the level of usage).
Make Your Bathroom Feel Bigger – While bathrooms might see more use than practically any other room in the average property, they are often one of the smallest spaces in the whole house. Framed doors tend to seal off the shower area from the rest of the room, but frameless shower doors open that area up and make the bathroom look and feel bigger as a consequence.

Keystone Home Products Ltd supplies a wide range of high quality products for both residential and commercial properties, including frameless shower doors, shower enclosures, mirror walls and mirror sliding doors, among many other things. We have been operating since 1994, serving Toronto, Mississauga and Brampton.

Contact Keystone today for your frameless shower door questions

Advice When Selecting Shower Doors

shower doors You don’t have to go all the way and remodel your entire bathroom to change its appearance; this can be achieved by doing something as simple as replacing your shower door. Bathrooms are often relatively small compared to other rooms in the house and the shower typically occupies a significant amount of floor space. In addition to performing several more practical roles, such as keeping water inside the shower enclosure and off your bathroom floor, and providing a certain level of privacy to anyone that uses the shower, shower doors play a key role in how visually appealing your bathroom is deemed. There are a wide range of factors to consider before coming to a final decision though, as shower doors come in a range of different sizes, configurations, styles and price ranges. During this article we are going to provide you with some useful advice should you decide that a change of shower door is just what your bathroom needs.

Key Factors to Consider When Shopping for New Shower Doors

Failing to prepare adequately before selecting your new shower door and committing to a purchase could result in leaks, a shower door that isn’t suitable for the shape or layout of your bathroom, a shower door that doesn’t last as long as you expect or a shower door that doesn’t fit in with the design of the rest of the room. To avoid finding yourself in any of these situations, take note of the following advice when looking for shower doors.

Always Measure Carefully

This might sound like the most obvious thing in the world, but you’d be squareness surprised at just how many people go to a store without accurate measurements and make a purchases based on a total guess simply because they want to avoid having to make another journey. However, if you choose a new door that it too big it won’t fit into the shower opening and you’ll have to take it back anyway, and if you have a shower door that is too small installed it will be prone to leaks. So before you do anything, take a tape measure and measure both the width and the height of the shower opening. When looking at shower doors be sure to take these measurements along.

Type of Door

The type of door you select will largely be dictated by the amount of space you have in your bathroom and it’s layout. When conducting your initial research most of the shower doors you come across will fall into one of the following categories: Pivot shower doors, Sliding shower doors, Round shower doors and Neo-Angle shower doors.

Pivot – Pivot doors swing open and can be installed with one or two panels, depending on how big the opening to your shower is. They are a good option when the opening isn’t big enough to accommodate a sliding door and you have enough available floor space in your bathroom so that it can swing open unobstructed.
Sliding – While this option requires the opening to your shower to be of a sufficient size, it does help to save space in cramped bathrooms, since it doesn’t swing outwards into the room; it slides parallel to the shower’s opening.
Round – If you have a corner shower this is often the most obvious choice, opening inwards to maximise the space you have available, and it’s often possible to reverse the door and make your shower accessible from either the right or left.
Neo-Angle – Often installed in the corners of the room, the door on a neo-angle enclosure swings outwards and is more commonly used in conjunction with stand alone showers.

Framed Vs Frameless

After selecting a type, you need to think about whether you would like the door to be framed or frameless. A framed door, as the name rather suggests, will have a frame made from either aluminum or a composite material that runs around the outside edges of the glass panel. The frame allows the glass to be thinner, which brings down the overall cost. Frameless shower doors were introduced in the early 90’s and have rapidly grown in popularity, as the absence of the frame often makes for a much more attractive shower area. On the downside, they do cost considerably more initially since the glass used in their construction has to be much thicker.

Select a Finish

Now you have decided on how your new shower door will function, it’s time to make a decision with regards to how it will look. If you have opted to go with a more traditional framed shower door, you need to select the material that will be used to construct the frame. It’s usually a choice between either a composite material or aluminum, but there are usually numerous finishes available, including bronze, nickel, chrome or brass. This is something that needs to be carefully selected as the wrong choice could make your shower door stand out for all the wrong reasons. You will also have to decide on a finish for the glass. Clear, frosted, opaque and patterned are among the most popular options.

Whether you’re looking for shower doors, shower enclosures or mirror sliding doors, if you want to work with a company that has almost two decades of experience in delivering high quality products and services to clients throughout Toronto, Mississauga and Brampton, Keystone Home Products Ltd is the company to call.

Contact Keystone to arrange a free consultation today on your shower doors.

Why Sliding Mirror Doors are an Option Worth Considering

aluminum-sliding-dividers_gallery06 If you are currently in the process of either selecting a new closet for one of the rooms in your home or simply want to change the appearance of the room by replacing the closet door, there are several different styles of door that you could opt for. As with anything, each option comes with its own unique set of pros and cons and the best option will largely depend on the layout of the room where the closet will be installed and how much space you have available. Popular types of closet doors include swinging doors, bi-fold doors and sliding doors, and in smaller properties it has become increasingly popular to accessorize the closet door in order to save even more space, with sliding mirror doors being one such example of this. Keystone Home Products Ltd has been supplying a variety of high quality home products in Toronto, Mississauga and Brampton since 1994 and strives to improve the aesthetics of your home while adding functionality. During this article we are going to outline some of the reasons why sliding mirror doors have become extremely popular over the course of the last few years.

The Benefits Offered by Sliding Mirror Doors

Whether you live in a small studio apartment in the centre of Toronto or a large detached home in Brampton, sliding mirror doors can be a useful addition to your home, offering a range of practical benefits in addition to making a stylistic statement. Specific benefits of sliding mirror doors include:

Save Space – As already mentioned this type of door can help you to maximise the amount of space you have in your home. How does it do this? Rather than swinging out into the room like a traditional swinging (or pivot door as they are otherwise known) door or a bi-fold door, sliding mirror doors slide parallel to the front side of the closet in order to open. This is ideal for areas that are particularly cramped as it can be difficult to leave enough free space in the room to ensure a swinging door can open unobstructed.
2-in-1 – There is a growing trend in the design of closet doors that involves adding accessories in order to increase functionality and save additional space in the room, and this is certainly true in this particular instance as the door is combined with a mirror. This helps to save wall space as an additional mirror somewhere else in the room is no longer required and often the reflective surface on sliding mirror doors is much bigger than a standalone mirror. In addition to this practical benefit, sliding mirror doors can help to give the impression that a small room is bigger than it really is.
Aesthetic Appeal – Sliding mirror doors can be constructed from a range of different materials to help achieve a variety of aesthetically appealing styles. If you are interested in creating a modern look and feel in your room then the use of aluminum in combination with the mirror results in a striking end product that features clean, simple lines, which is the hallmark of the modern style. However, if you are looking to style your room in a more traditional manner but are attracted by the space saving characteristics of sliding mirror doors, you could have one constructed from any one of a number of woods.

Considerations When Buying Sliding Mirror Doors

While there are several benefits to purchasing this type of door for your closet, that doesn’t mean to say you should rush in and make a purchase without planning properly first. A few of the main considerations include:

Full System? – Sliding doors are typically mounted on some sort of track system and if your current door is of the sliding variety it may be possible to simply swap the door and retain the existing track system. This obviously won’t be an option if you currently have a swing or bi-fold door and you will need a full system (including track), which will cost more.
Size? – Before contacting suppliers of sliding mirror doors be sure to take exact measurements of the opening; the last thing you would want to do is buy a door that is too big or too small and have to return it. The doors come with an inch or two of horizontal overlap in the middle. Keystone Home Products Ltd offers sliding mirror doors of all sizes, custom building the door to your exact specifications.
Material? – As we mentioned earlier, the material you choose will play a key role in determining the overall style of the closet and some of the most popular options include wood, aluminum and steel.

If you have decided that the benefits offered by sliding mirror doors match up well to the conditions in your home and would like to speak to a reputable supplier about your specific requirements, contact Keystone Home Products Ltd.

Contact keystone for your Sliding Mirror Doors questions

Raumplus Doors

Whether you are a private homeowner looking for a creative way to hide clutter, or a business owner with limited space trying to enhance a sense of privacy, one of the best ways to achieve either objective is with Raumplus doors installed by the professionals at Keystone Home Products Ltd. At Keystone Home Products, we design and install a wide range of aluminum and mirror sliding doors for residential and business customers throughout the Greater Toronto Area.

Famous for their designs and high quality manufacturing techniques, it was only logical that Raumplus decided to partner with the top aluminum and mirrored sliding door company in Ontario. With more than a decade of design and installation experience, Keystone Home Products Ltd. is the most trusted name when it comes to a wide range of residential and commercial door and mirror products.

Besides marketing and installing Raumplus doors, our lineup of products and services includes various glass and mirror works, mirror doors & walls, panel doors, aluminum dividers, glass shower doors & enclosures, wood shelving, and custom closet organizers.

Glass & Mirror Applications

Our designers can customize glass and mirror products for different applications in home or business environments, including:

Vanity mirrors
Backsplash mirrors
Glass shelves

Mirror Doors & Walls

If you want to make a room look bigger and utilize existing light, one of the best ways to do that is with Raumplus doors with mirrors or mirrored walls. In either case, an effective room layout will appear larger with cleverly designed doors and wall coverings.

Panel Doors

As an alternative to traditional swing-open or bi-fold doors, many homeowners are turning to sliding panel doors. Simple to install, panel doors are designed to sit on and slide along tracks on the floor and at the top of the door, freeing up space and adding a touch of style to any room.

The Keystone Difference

One of the reasons that Keystone Home Products Ltd. was chosen as a retailer for Raumplus doors is because of our dedication to quality work, value, and outstanding customer service. Anyone can sell a door or mirror product, but we elevate that experience to the next level through our desire to truly understand a client’s needs, and help them achieve their objectives on time and within budget. It is only through a collaborative relationship with our customers that we have been able to grow our business.

Our Services

Keystone follows a multi-step approach with every customer that includes:

An initial onsite consultation at your home or place of business.
Evaluating your current situation.
Helping customers assess their goals.
Discussing a range of products like Raumplus doors and how they can help achieve those goals.
Expert design services.
Supervisors on site as installation takes place.
Follow-up visit after the installation to evaluate customer satisfaction.
Ongoing support and maintenance as necessary.

For more information about Raumlus Doors call us today at 905-790-0997

Considerations For Mirror Closet Doors

Remodeling a home can be expensive, time consuming, and stressful, creating disruptions to everyday life. Many homeowners decide it’s best to tackle smaller projects over the course of a year or longer, rather than do it all at once. If you’re considering re-decorating a bedroom or other area, one way to add style and a sense of space is through the addition of new mirror closet doors, or even renovating existing doors. At Keystone Home Products, our experienced and talented staff can help you choose the best options for installing new doors, or provide insight that will help you do the work yourself. Whatever path you take, there are a wealth of styles and features to consider.

Common Types of Mirror Closet Doors

If you comb through home décor magazines or visit home improvement stores, you’ll see there are many kinds of mirrored doors to choose from, with mirror closet doors being no exception. Here are the types we’ve worked with in the past that may work perfectly for your re-decorating project:

Sliding mirror closet doors are available in a range of customizable specifications, including height and length, special finishes, and different types of glass.
Bi-fold mirror closet doors can be purchased not only in custom sizing but in multiple panel quantities.
Sliding full length mirror closet doors can also be ordered in custom sizes.
Many homeowners opt for sliding mirror closet pocket doors that are available in a variety of sizes.

When you need to make a room brighter or appear larger, mirror closet doors are an ideal choice. In many cases, they’re also less expensive than other types of doors, depending on style, features, and dimensions.

Where to Install

If you’re interested in this kind of door, it’s always a good idea to take into consideration existing home décor, as well the type of room where the doors will be placed. For families with children and high traffic areas, mirror closet doors aren’t the best choice because of the chance of toys being thrown or run into them, or children accidentally falling into them and getting injured.

Small bathrooms that appear claustrophobic are ideal for these kinds of doors because they make the room appear larger; the same goes for small bedrooms. But remember, mirror closet doors aren’t just for bedrooms. Our designers can work with you by evaluating your home’s floor plan, and suggest areas that may benefit from mirror closet doors. It’s not unusual, for instance, for multi-purpose rooms – like a family room and home office – to be divided up with a built-in desk, filing cabinets, and office and computer equipment hidden behind a sliding or set of bi-fold mirror closet doors.

A Range of Styles to Choose From

Perhaps most importantly, homeowners need to consider existing décor and give some thought on how mirror closet doors fit in, and what finishes will go best with draperies, furnishings, carpeting, and other home features.

When speaking with customers, they’re often surprised by the range of options to choose from, but soon realize this can add more style to their home. Frames are available in wood – which can be stained or painted – aluminum, and even stainless steel. Chrome-tinted mirror closet doors are available, too, along with beveled or intricately designed edges for a unique decorative touch. Mirror doors can also feature glass of varying thickness, depending on the type of door and where it’s going to be installed.

For more information on mirror closet doors and how they could add style and functionality to your home, contact us at 905-790-0997 for a free consultation.

Bring Order to Chaos with Closet Organizers

As a homeowner, here’s a harsh reality you probably face every day. Your closets are a mess and, thankfully, most people outside your immediate family don’t see them. If they did, what would they see? Piles of shoes that have fallen off poorly constructed shoe racks. Coats, dresses, and pants stuffed together so tightly from lack of space you can barely jam your fingers between them to grab something to wear. And shelves stacked with boxes and other items because there’s nowhere else to store anything efficiently. At Keystone Home Products, we understand the challenges homeowners face when it comes to closet space, which is why we offer a full line of custom designed, professionally installed and affordable closet organizers for all your storage needs.

Closet organizers have surged in popularity over the last decade because more homeowners have sought to gain control of their clutter than ever before, and because of the wide availability of systems and accessories to fit every budget and need. In many cases, perfectly usable systems can be installed by an accomplished do-it-yourselfer, but these products are mostly of the “what you see is what you get” variety – lacking the means to truly customize and accessorize because they’re limited to shelves and a few pull-out baskets. That’s where the experts at Keystone come into play. Give us a call, and make an appointment for an in-home appointment with one of our design and organization experts, and we’ll show you how to turn your closets from “Yuck” to “Wow!” in just a few easy steps.

There are many kinds of closet organizers available to choose from, including wire closet organizers, wood closet organizers, canvas, and even plastic organizers. Wire is the most commonly used material for closet storage systems purchased “off the shelf” at retailers and home improvement centers and routinely feature simple configurations made of shelves, bins, and bars to hang clothing or other items. Of the four, plastic organizers – mostly stackable bins or drawers on metal casters – are strictly of the “starter” variety and a staple of college dorms and children’s bedrooms where there’s a need to get small toys out of the way at bedtime. Organizers made of canvas are a step up, as they come in a wide range of colours, are lightweight, and easy to reconfigure. Wood is the most popular material for closet storage. It’s sturdy, can be used in a wide range of applications and configurations and, depending on the species, is naturally resistant to bugs, minor damage, and spills.

Popular Features of Closet Organizers

The key to finding closet organizers that work best is to understand what you’ll use them for. Will you be storing clothing mostly on hangers, or on shelves? Do you anticipate stacking boxes or other heavy items that you won’t open very often? What about the need to keep shoes organized? How do you go in the closet? Is it a shallow closet used for linen storage, or the walk-in variety? These are all questions that need to be answered before purchasing anything. Popular features include:

Racks for storing belts, and padded jewelry drawers.
Double clothing racks.
Angled and multi-level shoe racks.
Tilt-out clothing hampers lined with plastic or some other moisture resistant material.
An island that acts as a functioning table and includes drawers and shelving.
Sliding or fold-out mirrors.
Fold-down or recessed ironing boards.

Finally, many integrated closet organizers feature a wide range of power outlets and small charging stations purpose-built for today’s on-the-go world, with things like cell phones, tablet computers, and MP3 players essential to many peoples’ lives.

What to Think About Before Buying a Shower Enclosure

Millions of people shower every day, sometimes more than once a day, but that doesn’t mean that taking a shower or using the bathroom should be viewed as a chore. A stylish, clean, and well organized bathroom should be a place of relaxation and the shower is a big part of that. With the number of shower heads, fixtures, and shower enclosures to choose from, homeowners can easily recreate the luxurious feel of a spa in the comfort of their own home. At Keystone Home Products, we are the number one company in the Greater Toronto Area for designing and installing custom shower enclosures to fit every need and budget.

The most popular trend right now for bathroom renovations is building-out and increasing available space. Everyone, it seems, wants a larger, brighter, more functional bathroom with the type of “creature comforts” and décor that will add value and functionality to their home for years to come. In most cases, the size of your bathroom is the first thing to consider when you begin looking at shower enclosures. Not every home is big enough for an opulent, spa-like enclosure, and every community follows regulations modeled on those set forth in the National Building Code of Canada. Dimensions will determine the type and size of enclosure you can install, but sliding and double roller doors are great space-saving features to think about.

Water pressure is another factor to consider when looking at shower enclosures. For a truly spa-like experience, high pressure spray nozzles and jets – hand-held or fixed at different points in the shower – require higher water pressure and don’t work well with plastic shower curtains. Enclosures made of glass or acrylic are the go to solution nowadays.

The shape of the shower also limits shower enclosures that you can choose from. If your shower is built along a single wall, then you’ll likely need a “D-shaped” enclosure. Two walls give even greater design and style flexibility, giving you room for what’s called a “quadrant enclosure” that takes up both walls and features an arc of glass between to enclose them, fitting like a comfortable sock in the corner of your bathroom and maximizing space. There are also square and rectangular shaped ones.

In all cases, shower enclosures require a tray which serves as the shower base and keeps it water tight. Shower trays should always feature a non-slip surface and may be made of acrylic reinforced with fiberglass. The amount of water you generate in the shower determines how deep the base should be, so if you take a lot of “power showers” plan on going deep with the base.

The style of the bathroom also plays a role in what enclosure you go with. Pay attention to the colour of the walls, flooring, cabinetry, and fixtures and find door handles, rollers, and towel bars that match.

If your bathroom is large and can accommodate it, a walk-in enclosure is just as you’d imagine – a room within a room. With this type of enclosure, there’s no door, merely an opening, which provides easier access and room for homeowners in wheelchairs or who have other mobility issues. Another benefit with this kind of set up is it has enough room for not only two shower heads, but two distinct shower zones. Many customers outfit each zone with separate tankless water heaters that provide “instant” hot water the moment the water is turned on.

No matter what your preference or budget, call the experts at Keystone Home Products today for a free consultation on shower enclosures, doors, or any of our custom design and installation services.

Follow These Steps to Clean Your Glass Shower Doors

Enclosed in the moisture and warmth of your bathroom, glass shower doors are the perfect spawning ground for mildew, mold, and disgusting soap scum that could make anyone’s stomach turn. They can be very difficult to clean, but without them your bathroom and most of what’s in it would be a soaked mess every time you showered. At Keystone Home Products, we design and install a wide range of shower doors for residential and commercial customers throughout the Greater Toronto Area.

There are several different kinds of glass shower doors that consumers can choose from, the most common and widely available being pivot, bi-fold, frameless, sliding, and curved. Each one is suitable for different layouts.

Pivot style glass shower doors are made to swing out into the bathroom and are ideal for recessed showers because they provide a wide opening. The biggest drawback, however, is the amount of room needed to ensure they can swing open freely. Any objects that block the opening increase the risk of the glass breaking on contact.
Some glass shower doors have two panels that are hinged in the middle and are known as bi-fold. This is a common design for small closet spaces, too. Whereas pivot style doors fold out of the shower, these fold in and are the door of choice for bathrooms where space is limited. The biggest problem with this kind of door is it rides on a track along the bottom, and the constant swinging motion sometimes causes the door to bind and stick.
If you have a modern bathroom with contemporary décor and fixtures, a popular option in glass shower doors are frameless doors. They, too, swing out from the shower and are often made from a single pane of glass. And remember, there needs to be enough space for the door to open freely without being blocked.
The most common type of glass shower doors are sliding doors, which glide along a track situated on the top of the bathtub or shower step. They are also normally attached to a frame bolted into the bathroom wall at the front and rear of the tub or shower. The main attraction with these kinds of doors is they don’t require swing space inside or outside the shower. On the downside: They often let water out, and the panels are difficult to clean.
The final type of glass shower doors are curved shower doors, which are typically included if a shower has been installed in a corner. These doors are reversible and can open from the right or left. They are noted for a curved door attached to a frame at the top and bottom, and create more space in the shower than other corner enclosures.

When it comes to cleaning glass shower doors, you can whip up your own cleaner using: white vinegar, water, sponges or soft cloths, and a bucket. To clean the doors follow these steps:

Make sure the bathroom is well ventilated, either with an open window or by using a fan of some sort to draw out the fumes.
Wear protective goggles and gloves before mixing the cleaning ingredients together.
Mix one part water with one part vinegar in a bucket.
Moisten the sponge or cloth in the mixture, and rub it over the surface of the door to remove hard water stains or soap scum. For tough spots, use more vinegar.

Finally, clean the doors with fresh, clean water, then use a squeegee to remove excess water. If necessary, repeat the steps outlined above.

Wire Shelving

Drooping, old and dirty shelves are a thing of the past. Tired of not being able to find anything? Need more room in your closet? A properly designed closet will multiply your storage and functionality. Wire shelving and wood organizers can be used as towers, double hang, or shoe shelves to build a closet to fit your wardrobe. A wide range of wire solutions that organize the linen and coat closets, the laundry and utility room – even the pantry.

Wood Shelving

Need more room in your closet? Tired of trying to keep your closet organized! We can help!

Whether you prefer to hang or fold your clothes, wood or wire organizers can be designed to make the most efficient use of your space

A properly designed closet will give you access to all your clothes! Double hanging clothes is a simple cost effective way to double the size of your closet. Cabinets with shelves or drawers allow you to maximize space and be organized!

Closet organizers come in many colours and styles to suit any décor.

Shower Enclosures

An escape, a place to relax and unwind, or invigorate and start the day. Whatever you are dreaming of Keystone Home Products can help you bring your ideal shower experience to life

Aluminum Dividers

Satin aluminum framed sliding glass dividers can be used in any room as closet doors or in place of walls to divide open areas. European styling gives a distinct look and feel to any room.

Panel Doors

Sliding Closet doors are a smart alternative to traditional wooden doors. Traditional doors swing in the room reducing usable space. Sliding doors allow for greater access with no compromise in your usable space.

Mirror Walls

Random Gallery

Wire Shelving

Wood Shelving – Closet Organizers

Framed Shower Enclosures

Sliding Tub Doors

Sliding Shower Doors

Frameless Shower Enclosures

Panel Sliders

Frameless Mirror Bifold Doors

Mirror Bifold Doors

Frameless Mirror Sliders

Mirror Sliders

Residential Lowrise Construction

Services we provide include but are not limited to: aluminum sliding dividers, closet organizers, frameless shower doors, glass shower doors, mirror closet doors, mirror sliding doors, mirror walls, rumples, shower doors, and shower enclosures. We serve Brampton, Mississauga, Toronto and surrounding areas.

Residential Highrise Construction

With many years in the business industry, surpassing our customer’s expectation in a safe and an efficient manner at an affordable price has been our top concern. Our reliable and committed dispatch team is always prepared to attend to your emergency needs 24 hours a day. We do everything in glass & mirror.

Welcome to Keystone

Located in Brampton just north of Toronto , Keystone is your first call when it comes to superior quality glass and mirror work. We offer professional glass and mirror services for commercial, residential, and auto purposes for reasonable rates. We take expertise in handling all types of window installations, repairs and replacements. Our attention to detail and dedication to quality workmanship guarantee you excellent service.