Ottawa Homes Design & Décor
Meet the Designers of the 2022 Minto Dream Home
Minto Communities’ Product Development Manager, Karen van der Velden, and Tanya Collins Design join forces to build and design the grand prize for the Dream of a Lifetime Lottery – the Minto Dream Home.
Resilient, Sustainable, Holistic
From energy consumption and construction materials to indoor air quality, water usage and more, this year’s Minto Dream Home has a holistic approach to sustainability and wellness.
Paris comes to Kanata
For the first time, the Minto Dream Home for CHEO comes to Arcadia, Kanata. Bringing Parisian-inspired style to Ottawa West – in Le Rêve.
Top 5 Design Centre Options for Executive Townhomes
Once you've purchased a new home, it's time to let your personality shine. Personalize your space with a variety of fixtures, finishes, and layouts. Read more to discover the top trends.
Top 5 Design Centre Options for Single Family Homes
One of the most exciting parts of buying a new home is adding your personal touch. So where do you begin? Luckily, we’ve identified a few trends to help you get started.
Design Tips and Trends for 2022
Designing your new home? Tips and Trends in 2022 for picking out features, finishes, paint colours, light fixtures, and décor.
Turning a Minto home into a dream home with @ThisHouseHere
For interior décor enthusiast Nicole Kennedy, choosing a Minto home to bring her Pinterest board to life was a no-brainer. Sharing her decorating journey on Instagram (@ThisHouseHere) came just as naturally, with almost 2,500 following along as she makes her builder dream home anything but basic. Read on
Home in the Hamptons
Its soft, neutral colour palette combined with sturdy, exposed architectural features and a touch of classicism evoke a sense of sophisticated coastal living like the grand beach houses of the Hamptons.
Meet the Designers Behind Our New Model Homes
From splashes of colour and eclectic artwork to perfectly furnished spaces on every floor, here's a peek into what you can expect.
Step into Style
Get ready to step into style this year in our nine new Single Family Model Homes designed with splashes of colour and timeless design elements.
The spacious 36' Bronte
The Bronte is designed for you and your family’s comfort and convenience with an open floor plan and tons of natural light creating a unique space built for you.
Meet the Designers of the Bohemian
Introducing the power team designers behind the 2020 Minto Dream Home for CHEO. See what inspired their choices.
A Bohemian Design, Inside and Out
The Bohemian design brings a little bit of the world to our 2020 Minto Dream Home - infusing historic Manotick with Spanish, Moorish and Middle Eastern influences.
Fairbank
A brand new Minto home design is now on sale in our collection of Single Family Homes, the Fairbank is a 36’ design inspired by one of our best-selling homes, the Killarney model.
The Past 5 Years of Minto Dream Homes
Looking back at our Minto Dream Homes gives us a good overview of the recent interior design trends. How have things changed?
Meet the Hampton Designers
If you think you’re excited about the 2019 Minto Dream Home, these women exude a passion for interior design that’s almost beyond belief. Learn more about what inspired them and how it all came together.
Marquette
Discover the contemporary flow
With a large eat-in chef's kitchen overlooking the great room, spacious formal dining room and separate den, the main floor of the Marquette is open and expansive, perfect for entertaining.
Elderberry
Impressively grand
At over 3,000 sq. ft., you'll appreciate The Elderberry as a home designed to be admired. Every detail from its stunning curved staircase, expansive kitchen; complete with walk-in pantry and servery, and impressive entry leading to the great room, is about making an entrance. The Elderberry is stylish and impressive, a home meant to take centre stage.
Mackenzie
A spacious gathering place
This is a home full of wonderful contrasts, where open, flowing layout meets intimate warm spaces. It's an urban farmhouse concept blending rich; natural finishes with sleek modern fixtures.
Heartwood
Spacious and modern
The first thing you'll notice when you enter The Heartwood is space, with its generous foyer, 10' ceilings and over 2,500 sq. ft., it's perfect for any family looking for room to grow. With its quiet den, formal dining room, large great room and bright, modern kitchen, not to mention four bedrooms and 2.5 baths, The Heartwood has the space needed to stretch out, relax and spend time with loved ones.
Stanley
A house on display
This spacious four-bedroom home has 2.5 bathrooms and features a great room plus den, large eat-in kitchen perfect for entertaining, and a large mudroom off the foyer. Making it a perfect choice for your family lifestyle.
Killarney
Stately and spacious
Built for entertaining, the Killarney's main floor boasts 9' ceilings and an impressive gourmet kitchen, opening into a formal living and dining room. One level up, there is a family room, which opens up to a large, covered balcony. Downstairs, the finished walkout basement features an entire floor of possibilities. This spacious home offers 3 and 4 bedroom plans.
Georgian
A home for shared living
This home's traditional layout includes separate living and dining rooms while the great room off the spacious kitchen creates an inviting space for family entertaining. This home also features an elegant circular staircase, which leads to a spacious second floor landing.
Fitzroy
Impressive and inspired
Enter the inviting foyer of the Fitzroy; with 9' ceilings on the main floor, this home has an impressive stature. It's large mudroom provides plenty of storage, and the open-concept kitchen and separate dining room provides an elegant formal space, and the beautiful, flared staircase leads to the light-filled second floor, featuring four large bedrooms and a conveniently-located laundry room.
Talbot
Sun-lit and beautifully designed
Step off the expansive, wrap-around porch and into the light-filled foyer. The Talbot has 9' ceilings and an open-concept layout. The kitchen features a generous breakfast bar that is open to the dining area and great room. Upstairs enjoy the sun-lit laundry room, spacious bedrooms and spa-like bathrooms.
Kinghurst
The bright and open Kinghurst
This home is modern, sophisticated, and a perfect space for relaxing. Featuring spacious bedrooms, a beautiful, bright kitchen, an impressive fireplace, and stunning finishes, this home will be your tranquil getaway as soon as you walk through the door.
Monterey End
If you’re a fan of contemporary home décor, the Monterey End will be love at first sight. Step inside and let the warm, autumnal colour palette welcome you. Warm greys are accented with earthy tones of copper, bronze and gold throughout, keeping this home grounded.
The Latest in Loft Inspired Design Comes to the Haven
What feels like a loft, is designed like a loft, yet isn't a loft? It's the freshly decorated Haven Model Home! Boasting a truly modern-chic vibe, this Executive Townhome is inspired by urban lofts and open space living.
Butternut
The Butternut's gourmet kitchen is the heart of this warm and inviting bungalow. With a thoughtful design focused on comfort and time spent at home, its sun-filled study is a quiet retreat, and its great room the perfect gathering place after an enjoyable evening meal in the formal dining room. The Butternut truly is a beautiful home waiting to welcome you.
Hyde
This home has 9' ceilings and a vista from the front door to the back of the home; as a result it makes the home feel spacious and light. It features a large chef's kitchen with a generous island and separate dining room, and the mudroom is located off of the garage with a walk-in closet providing ample space for storage.
Minto’s Contempos: Rethinking suburban homes in the 1990s
Minto’s Contempos homes were designed for recessed garages and wide and shallow lots as suburbs grew in popularity throughout Ottawa.
How detached homes changed in Ottawa since the mid 20th-century
Since the early 1960s and 70s, Minto’s detached home designs have grown in size to meet the need of modern Ottawa homeowners.
Minto’s unique yet luxurious mid-century kitchens
Minto deviated from traditional kitchen layouts in their mid-century home designs, including pass-through layouts and large windows.
The fireplace was the star of Minto’s mid-century designs
When fireplaces were no longer needed for cooking, they became luxurious design features in mid-century Minto homes.
From basement rec room to main floor family room in Minto’s designs
The 1970s saw the appearance of informal family rooms emerge from the basement to the main floor of Minto homes.
From 2-piece to Roman bath: The growing ensuite in Minto designs 60s-90s
Before they became the norm in modern Minto homes after the 1990s, ensuite bathrooms were one of the highest luxuries.
The luxurious Minto Townhomes of the 80s and 90s
Minto’s impressive legacy of building Townhomes soared to new heights in the 1980s and 90s. They were bigger and better than ever before.
Minto’s Bungalow Townhomes: a Downsizing Dream
The bungalow townhome has been one of Minto’s most versatile home designs — perfect for homeowners looking to downsize.
Big design, small footprint: high-ranches of the 70s and 80s.
Minto’s high-ranches were perfect for families of any size. Some sprawling, others compact in their design, they remain popular designs today.
The unique shapes of Minto’s back-split designs in the 60s and 70s
Minto homes in the 60s and 70s played with the size, shape, and split levels to create unique, award-winning designs.
Defining luxury: Minto homes in the 80s and 90s
The Optima Classic collection set the stage for luxurious and grand design during the 80s and 90s in Ottawa and included endless glamorous features.
Minto's rare vintages: a peek inside some of the rarest designs
Some of the most daring Minto homes were built sparingly throughout Ottawa and shine with inspiring features including front courtyards, wrap-around windows, and homes built into hillsides.
Minto's spacious semi-detached designs of the 1960s
Two-storey and bungalow semis were a Minto specialty in the 60s. They mirrored each other's mid-century design and were some of the first homes to include an open-concept floor plan.
Sunken rooms and shag carpets: Minto's condo towers of the 1970s
In response to the condominium boom in Ottawa in the 70s, Minto took the city to new heights and built Canada's first high-rise condominium, filled with the era's most iconic features.
Minto's Centre Hall Plans
Minto put its own spin on the centre hall design, a staple in 18th century home design, during the 1960s and 1970s.
Standard Features and Trends
From Formica countertops and wood-panelled recreation rooms to carports, Minto homes have featured it all.
Minto in the 1970s
From wooden accents to asymmetrical exteriors, Minto homes in the 70s captured the daring spirit of the decade.
Minto's Moderately Priced Bungalows
Minto bungalows were an economical and low-maintenance option for homeowners looking to live outside the city in the 50s and 60s.
Minto Side Split Designs
The visually striking Side Split Minto bungalows remain as popular now as they were almost 60 years ago.
Trademarks of Design: The Minto Blank Wall
The Blank Wall was a notable trend in Minto homes of the 60s and 70s, and hidden front doors created a sense of intrigue.
Anatomy of a plan: The Alpine
Arguably, one of the most iconic home designs in Canada, this award winning Minto plan inspired home design in the 1970s.
The Ranchwood
The striking mid-century design of the Ranchwood made a statement in neighbourhoods throughout Ottawa.
The $38,000 home
Minto Garden Homes belonged in picturesque clusters around green spaces and had everything a 1970s homeowner would want.
The Rise of the Second Floor Laundry Room
There's no denying the convenience that comes with having a second floor laundry room.
Butler's Pantries: They're Back (Just ask Jeeves)
In today's modern home, Butler's Pantries provide additional prep and storage space.
The Case for Jack & Jill Bathrooms
If you're looking to add a shared bathroom to the mix, consider these tips.
Basement Creativity
If you're not sure what to do with your new basement, you've come to the right place.
Tips from the Designer
The way your home is decorated will have a major impact on the overall feeling of the space.
Which Wood is Right For You?
Selecting the right kind of flooring is probably one of the most important decisions for your home.
