Ontario transplants Andrew Palmer and Vicki Bernier built their dream home in Okotoks' MountainView

Andrew Palmer and Vicki Bernier had been tossing around the idea of relocating to the Calgary area to be closer to family and to carve out a better lifestyle for their family. With two teens – Kaelyn, 15, and Jake, 13 – and two dogs, finding the right home in the right neighbourhood was a key factor in the couple's decision-making process. They found the perfect match with Excel Homes in the Okotoks community of MountainView.

Michelle and Hollie Cressy put down Alberta roots with new Sunset Ridge home

Newlyweds Michelle and Hollie Cressy landed in Alberta nine years ago – Hollie from Australia and Michelle from Hamilton, Ont. Both came for work opportunities and a new experience, each thinking that it would only be a short-term stay, but the beauty and majesty of the Rocky Mountains captured their hearts. The couple, who were married in 2015, had previously been renting an apartment in Calgary's inner-city and considering taking the plunge into homeownership. A trip to Cochrane to visit friends in March 2016 sped up their plans.

Space-age design and retro décor are on full display in Carol and Don Carruthers' atomic ranch-style home

Tucked away on a quiet inner-city boulevard, lined with century old trees and dotted with mature lilac bushes, sits a vintage, 1950s-era architectural gem. Its space-age design – angles, offsets and images of starbursts, atoms and boomerangs (think The Jetsons) – is known as atomic ranch, a mid-century design trend inspired by the era's fascination with the space race. The design is funky, retro and eclectic, with sunken living spaces, vinyl tile and even a décor wall dotted with vintage bowling balls. Carol and Don Carruthers purchased the home in 2001 from the original owner, thinking they would renovate and flip it. But they fell in love with the home's quirkiness, laying plans for a modernization aside in favour of retaining the home's vintage character and mid-century feel.

Space-age design and retro décor are on full display in Carol and Don Carruthers' atomic ranch-style home

Tucked away on a quiet inner-city boulevard, lined with century old trees and dotted with mature lilac bushes, sits a vintage, 1950s-era architectural gem. Its space-age design – angles, offsets and images of starbursts, atoms and boomerangs (think The Jetsons) – is known as atomic ranch, a mid-century design trend inspired by the era's fascination with the space race. The design is funky, retro and eclectic, with sunken living spaces, vinyl tile and even a décor wall dotted with vintage bowling balls. Carol and Don Carruthers purchased the home in 2001 from the original owner, thinking they would renovate and flip it. But they fell in love with the home's quirkiness, laying plans for a modernization aside in favour of retaining the home's vintage character and mid-century feel.

Kipp McGonigal and his family built their forever home at Cooper's Crossing

With a background in cabinetmaking and a flair for design, it's no wonder that Kipp McGonigal is passionate about architecture. So, when it came time to build his family's dream home, he turned to McKee Homes, an Airdrie-based design/build firm he had worked with previously to great success.

With four kids ages eight through 11 and a pet bunny, the McGonigals wanted to create a family-friendly space in a family-friendly neighbourhood. It also needed to be a home that could take McGonigal and his wife through their retirement years. They found the perfect lot, located on a park in the Airdrie community of Cooper's Crossing, and set their long-awaited plan into motion.

For Sue and Jason Bissonnette, East Village condo investment was too good to pass up

Forty-somethings Sue and Jason Bissonnette love to travel and experience new things. They own vacation properties around the world, including a three-season recreation trailer at B.C.'s Moyie Lake and two timeshare properties in the Caribbean. When they're not travelling, they spend most of their time hanging out in Airdrie, where they own a two-storey, 2,000-square-foot home that they share with their two kids – a 19-year-old daughter and a 22-year-old son. Always on the lookout for new investment opportunities, the couple couldn't resist exploring the options when they were introduced to Knightsbridge Homes' N3 condominium project. They were attracted to its East Village location – steps away from the downtown core and the LRT – and the car-free lifestyle. A Car2Go membership, furniture package from Ikea and a Biria urban bicycle sweetened the deal. In the end, the Bissonnettes purchased a 498-square-foot, two-bedroom, one-bathroom condo on the 14th floor.

Katherine Moore found the perfect fixer-upper in cozy, mid-century, Montgomery bungalow

Katherine Moore was a "maker" long before the trend became cool. She's into canning (peaches are her delicious specialty), creates soap from scratch, designs clothing (she's a designer by trade) and re-finishes furniture. But perhaps her greatest love is making her garden beautiful.

So, when she and her husband David Foster, who loves to tinker and build things, were searching for a home, they had a small, but significant, wish list. The home had to be a little fixer-upper with huge potential and a big yard for Katherine work her garden magic.

Patricia and Michael Insole went from renters to buyers and never looked back

For Patricia and Michael Insole, timing was everything when it came to purchasing their penthouse condo in Calgary's inner-city Beltline neighbourhood.

They weren't really looking to buy a home, but when the building where they were renting became a condominium conversion, they jumped at the chance to purchase. They gathered a down payment, borrowing from family and friends, and purchased their 1,700-square-foot condo on the 15th floor.

Trevor Gibbs and Melissa Wellingtan doubled their living space with a new Airdrie townhome

Trevor Gibbs and Melissa Wellingtan both love to whip up culinary gems in the kitchen – he loves to cook and she enjoys baking. But with a nine-year-old son, a 17-year-old cat, and the fact that Trevor works from home, space in their 800-square-foot, two-bedroom Airdrie condominium was at a premium. The small space made it hard to move around the home, let alone cook or entertain.

So, in December of last year, the couple started looking for a bigger space with room for the family to grow. They found everything they were looking for, including a state-of-the-art kitchen, at the Gates at Hillcrest in Airdrie, a townhome development by Mattamy Homes.

Tracey Hodgson secured her ideal lock-and-leave lifestyle with a new Inglewood condo

At 55, Tracey Hodgson is on the cusp of retirement. She and her husband are winding down their business commitments (she owns a beauty supply company) and plan to cycle between periods of work and play. They recently purchased a strata-type lake property in Kelowna and a condo in Las Vegas, and have listed their home in Chestermere. Their vision is to float between the two homes. But with three grown children and a grandchild in Calgary, they wanted a touchstone in the city – a place where they could park themselves at the centre of the action while visiting family. They found what they were looking for in the heart of Inglewood at AVLI on Atlantic Avenue, a collection of 64 condominiums, garden terrace designs and live/work townhomes designed by Jeremy Sturgess of Sturgess Architecture.