Spotlight Home & Lifestyle Inc.

We are more than pleased with our recent design and reno that Spotlight completed for us. Very professional and extreme perfectionists! They were pleasant and nice to work with. We turned our carport into a mudroom/entrance and we absolutely love it! Our friends and family are thrilled with the results as well. This perfect room has greatly enhanced our enjoyment of our home. Thank you to your excellent team!

Our cottage on Buckhorn lake was in need of a renovation in order to create more liveable space for our family. My husband and I stopped by Spotlight Home and Lifestyle and spoke with Garnet regarding the project. Garnet listened to our wants and needs and together we came up with a plan and budget for our Reno. The plan was to raise the cottage to double our space and open up the top floor to create a large family room and kitchen. Since we live in The Hamilton area we couldn't always be onsite, however Mike (project manager) could always be reached and answered any concerns or questions we had quickly. Mike kept us abreast of any changes and updates and sent photos of the progress each week. BLake was also very helpful with ideas and accommodating to any changes I made (thanks Blake for moving and centering the windows ). The Spotlight team is exceptional, detail oriented, very professional and take pride in their workmanship. Everyone we met onsite was knowledgable, helpful and polite, completing the work in a timely manner. We are thrilled with how beautiful our cottage has turned out. The transformation is truly incredible!

My century old house required a major overhaul to bring it up to modern standards. Spotlight staff were excellent in helping me design a renovation that kept the original character of the house while replacing and modernizing all components. Staff were creative, excelled at high quality workmanship, and were excellent communicators. Weekly site meetings kept me informed on the renovation progress, and the work was completed on time and on budget.

A renovation can be a very stressful time and the Spotlight team made me feel safe and comfortable from beginning to end. The two main carpenters (Blake and Phil) were fabulous, very patient and answered all my questions. Mike consistently kept me up to date, clarified choices and gave some great practical advice. When they finished the renovation the space was left clean and everything looked amazing. I would not hesitate to recommend this company!

We decided to renovate our 90 year old house this past year and we were very fortunate to work with Spotlight. Both Spotlight personnel and the trades people they contracted for portions of the project were professional and timely in their work and communicative throughout the project, so that there were no unwanted surprises. We were extremely pleased with the end result and would not hesitate to recommend Garnet and his team to anyone.

We met Garnet at the Home show in Peterborough 2016. We were in the process of trying to design a makeover from our cottage to a home. We found Garnet to be friendly, knowledgeable and very helpful with our renovation project. After a thorough inspection and assessment of our cottage, and with our wants, must haves, wishlist and budget in mind, their design team offered us numerous options. Spotlight was very cooperative with our choices from each design and also the changes along the way to create the home we wanted. Garnet’s expertise and experience with the building department and codes helped to make our decisions easier. We have done renovation projects before and were kept in the dark on progress and completion dates but Garnet’s hands on management style with open and constant customer communication was what we wanted and received. When meeting the work crew we were immediately impressed with their attitude towards their job and willingness to work. As we soon learned they were a cooperative group with talent in multiple areas of building and construction. We saw no shortcuts taken, all our enquiries answered and explained as to why this was the way it should be done. We were also impressed, as were our friends, with the everyday clean up and dedication to preserve a safe work environment. Phil, Blake and Vic all share the same work ethic that they would do their jobs as if working on their own homes. We were constantly impressed with their innovative and skillful ways of problem solving and working through any issues encountered. What a team!!! Our liaison with Spotlight was Mike Pedlar, a total professional. Once again, as Spotlight was proving, a more knowledgeable tradesman would be hard to find. Mike was available to us at almost any time for answers to our questions and to alleviate any of our concerns. Mike was in constant communication with their sub-contractors with changes, omissions, additions and scheduling to the renovation. Mike also worked professionally with sub-contractors hired directly by us for different Reno projects outside of Spotlights scope of work, with scheduling issues and letting us know how well he thought they performed, which we greatly appreciated. Again what a team!!! We were extremely happy and constantly impressed with the workmanship and dedication to our project from Spotlight Home and Lifestyle. The crew was here every day to work and always committed to customer satisfaction. We would highly recommend Spotlight Home and Lifestyle to anyone considering any project.

This company came highly recommended. They did not disappoint. They kept to schedule, gave good quality work and kept the place neat after the work. Helpful in unrelated aspects, I have maintained contact with principal in the company.

We started to work with Garnet Northey and his company Spotlight Home &Lifestyle in May 2017 to come up with a preliminary design and construction drawings for a "New Roof over both an Existing Addition and an Existing Lower Deck". We met three times to discuss our wants and needs as well as gain an understanding of Spotlight's Design/Build "process". Throughout, Garnet has been punctual, personable and professional. He proved to be very knowledgeable. Moreover, he listened and then provided friendly, constructive guidance. The drawings were delivered in September, 2017 At that time we agreed that demolishion and construction would begin in April 2018. Garnet appears keen to tackle this project as it is somewhat unusual, allows for creativity, and the end result, in his words, "will transform the back of our home dramatically". We are confident that Garnet and his "team " will continue to not just meet but exceed our expectations.

Great quality work and it was easy to work with Garnet, Mike and the Team. We were kept apprised of the progress of construction and the project came in on budget.

Our Introduction to Spotlight Home and Lifestyle Our first contact with Garnet was a spontaneous telephone call we made last Fall seeking information about replacing our cottage deck. Despite having never met, Garnet spent a great deal of time with us on the phone providing friendly, constructive guidance. We immediately felt we were his only customer and during our talk, never had the impression he had other things to do. What was refreshing was his approach; Garnet asked us questions about how we wanted to use the deck, inquired about our lifestyle and primarily wanted an understanding of our requirements. Quite a refreshing contrast to other contractors who ‘told’ us what they were going to build for us. We met several times, again so Garnet had a good understanding of our scope, budget and needs. He fully explained the process for engagement, construction and changes we may want as we progressed. The Team While small in number, impressive in composition. Al, with decades in the business was a fount of knowledge and always had amusing stories to tell. Phil, ‘carpenter extraordinaire’, demonstrated skills and knowledge in so many different areas of the construction – foundation, framing, roofing, fine finishing; the list goes on. Blake – a true workhorse, focused on the activities at hand in addition to planning the next day, demonstrated great skills across so many varied project components. Vic, while a later arrival to the team, usually showed up first! She showed true dedication in ensuring all was ready for the day’s work and you can see she enjoyed what she was doing. Her future in the industry appears bright indeed. Mike, our Production Manager; collegial, knowledgeable but perhaps most importantly, responsive to our questions, changes and kept us informed along the way with future schedules. The crew arrived in November 2016 and we were immediately impressed with their high level of professionalism and genuine friendliness. Always top of mind was reducing our level of inconvenience during this major undertaking. Working during the winter months created some challenges indeed, however the team was undaunted. The Build The word ‘craftsmanship’ immediately comes to the forefront. Right from the construction of the foundation, through framing and final touches, the quality of the build was impressive indeed. Imagine tolerances so fine they rival fine furniture making techniques. Attention to local building codes and inspections was top of mind at all times. It was the attention to those fine details that continue to impress not only ourselves but friends and visitors. You know you’ve hired a good firm when the building inspector indicated that in twenty years of building inspections he had never seen a more substantially or finely built deck. Calling the project a ‘deck’ is actually an understatement: 8’ x 8’ posts, engineered beams, a beautifully designed pine paneled 3 season sun room meticulously integrated into the existing house and roof line, the use of miter joints all added to a professional outcome. Sub-Contractor Management All sub-contractors on site were friendly and polite, professional and of high quality. Their arrival times were on schedule and their support of the team evident. It is easy to see Spotlight has long-standing relationships with all of them and they clearly work very well together. The Budget The project came in exactly on the approved budget, save changes we made along the way. As expected, these changes were scoped, priced and required our approval prior to starting. Communication Always excellent! Garnet visited weekly to review the progress and to address any questions or concerns we had. Any changes to schedules were communicated in advance. The day to day demeanor of the workers was always pleasant and professional. Neighbours' Reaction Family, friends and visitors’ reactions continue to be ‘AWESOME’, ‘BEAUTIFUL’, and ‘INCREDIBLE’. The build has in fact not only increased the value of our property substantially, but visibly improved the entire finish of the house. Visitors across our small bay shout out accolades and positive remarks about the finished project as do boaters when going by. People are generally astounded when given tours of our 850’ square feet of new living space. Summary If we were to have performed a post implementation review of the project with the team, the “Did-Wells’ list would be lengthy and the “Do Better’ list would be inconsequential. What more could you ask for? If you are considering a building project and want it to be on-time, on-budget and create an exquisitely built finished product exactly to your specifications, don’t hesitate to engage Spotlight Home and Lifestyle. You will not regret it. Rob and Sue Alpine Village, Trent Lakes ON.

We at Birchview Design contacted Spotlight Home & Lifestyle Inc. to partner with our team on a project for our client. Garnet thoroughly discussed all aspects of the project with the clients and gave them a detailed quote. The Spotlight team has communicated with us and the clients every step of the way...they are professional, very tidy, and they get the job done on time. I would recommend them to anyone looking to build their dream home/cottage or renovate their current space!

In 2013 I started working with Garnet Northey and his company Spotlight Home and Lifestyle on the design of their projects, providing preliminary designs & construction drawings. Over the past few years I have worked on many projects with them and really gotten to know their company well. Spotlight Home & Lifestyle is a truly unique construction company that really knows how to take care of their clients and provide them with not only the highest level of customer service I have seen in this industry but an excellent finished product. It is always a pleasure working with Spotlight and I would highly recommend them for your next project! - MaryAnne Noffke Design & Drafting