After years of renovating properties together, Elise Trimbee, lead designer and co-owner, teamed up with her husband, Nathan, and talented contractor Jeremy Browne to start STILE Contracting + Design in 2015. Today, STILE marries contracting and design under one roof to create beautiful spaces people love.
“We saw that many people were underserviced when it came to renovations,” says Trimbee. “They often feel intimidated about reaching out to an interior designer or not heard by their contractors. STILE brings the two sides together in a team that listens to clients’ goals, formulates a plan to get them there and then implements that plan.”
Providing both contracting and design from one trusted name has been very beneficial for clients.
“As a team, the design and contracting sides are in constant communication about our projects and work to support each other and our clients in all aspects of their renovation journey. We find this is something that all our clients value the most. The marriage of interior design and contracting within one company is our biggest advantage. Rather than having individual crews working that have no prior relationship or established trust, we offer an entire team to our clients that will help articulate, guide and create the home they have been longing for.”
She continues, “The goal of an interior designer is to create a space that functions well and looks great. The designer thinks about each element and ensures that it all works well together, whereas the typical homeowner will often pick things in the moment or as the need arises rather than seeing every decision as a piece to a puzzle that comes together to create a whole and complete picture. Designers also communicate directly with trade partners so that the homeowner doesn’t have to take time off work to meet with each trade on site and discuss their goals or work out problems in real time – and problems always arise.
“Many homeowners still think that interior design services are out of reach financially, or not necessary for smaller projects. At STILE, we try to take those concerns out of the equation by offering services that can be tailored to the needs of our clients. This allows people to attain the advice they need and the tools to communicate their goals even if they choose to work with a contractor outside of our team.”
The team at STILE is always open and honest with homeowners and helps them achieve their goals while not compromising the budget.
Trimbee explains, “Guiding clients to focus on needs is important, as is educating them about investing in quality where it matters and where saving is possible. We remind them that a good chunk of the budget goes into the less glamorous things behind the walls like plumbing and structural elements. It can be a tough conversation, but a realistic one.
“Our advice is to be open to the idea of doing your renovation in stages, if necessary, to get the best result without compromising or spreading your budget too thin. Remember this quote from Benjamin Franklin, ‘The bitterness of poor quality remains long after the sweetness of low a price is forgotten.’”
The STILE team is proud to be residents of Newmarket and to run a local business. They give back by participating in events such as the Santa Claus parade and Canada Day festivities and are always looking to do more to support local initiatives.
On behalf of the team, Trimbee thanks “our fantastic clients, without whom none of this would be possible, our dedicated crew and great trade partners that support us and work just as hard as we do to make our projects come to life.”
She concludes, “This year marks more custom builds for us, as well as some more beautiful main floor renovations. We’d look forward to keeping the momentum going and completing more of the large-scale projects that allow us to build and design the interiors from the ground up. As a team, we hope to keep growing, refining our skills and to have a bit of fun while we do so.”