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Stories Tagged - Home Design

Home makeovers on a budget
News

July 20, 2023 | CREB

Home makeovers that won't break the bank

We’re more than halfway through the year, and as a new season approaches, what better way to welcome it than with a makeover?  
A high-end look and feel to a home doesn’t always require a high-end budget. Tyler Difley / For CREB®Now
News

Aug. 10, 2017 | Tyler Difley

Look of luxury

While many people have grand aspirations when it comes to the aesthetic of their home, not everyone has the money to pay for a beautifully designed luxury home or a series of expensive renovations. Thankfully, there are a number of quick and easy ways to achieve a luxurious look in any room without the luxury price tag.


News

May 18, 2017 | Joel Schlesinger

From dank to swank

Wet bars and wine cellars are becoming key features in Calgary homes, putting a new twist on those gaudy, circa '70s basement lounges

Basements are going upscale.

If you're looking to make your home stand out in Calgary's real estate market, it's no longer simply a matter of having a finished basement with some storage, an extra bedroom, full bathroom and a media room.

These days, Calgary's better homes are stealing a page from the 1970s – complete with wet bar and wine cellar to create an air of hospitality.

If you’re working with classic/traditional or modern, try to create a moody ambiance that is well suited to a timeless piece of architecture, suggests columnist Deborah Harrison.
News

April 15, 2016 | Deborah Harrison

There's no place like home

Celebrating the past key to enjoying the future

The definition of "home" can be summed up beautifully as, "being in one's element; at peace; a dwelling place."

Home is a small word for such an important place. For many of us, it's where we want to spend most of our downtime away from our daily grind, tasks and jobs – to begin and finish important creative ideas that we received within the daily grind. For me it's a place where I can be my authentic self, exploring the things I love to do without someone asking me why I'm doing them.

Attention to detail is the loveliest thing of all that makes a house a home. I constantly find myself curating rooms in my house. Homes for my special things continually change. Sometimes it's about grouping things that enjoy each other's company or mixing old with new.

Homes and gardens alike require updating.  Donna Balzer, guest columnist offers  advice on keeping the garden relevant to the modern home.
News

March 24, 2016 | Donna Balzer

What is your garden style?

Not everything is timeless when it comes to outdoor design
Do you have a high-end ultra-modern home with striking features that looks like it came out of a recent copy of Architectural Digest?


What about your yard? Does it look like it came from a Home and Garden magazine circa 1985?


This jarring contrast of cottage-style garden with modern home seems hard to understand until you think of the process. Homeowners do not design homes – builders and architects do. Yet homeowners are the ones often design their own gardens.


News

March 14, 2016 | Rachel Naud

Spring into seasonal decor

Five ways to decorate your home for spring

There's a reason we get a little spring in our step come March. After a long, dreary, cold winter, the days are getting longer and sunnier, giving us a glimpse of warm days to come.

Not only does this make us shed the heavy layers of our wardrobe, but it also inspires us to lighten up our decor at home.

"I think a lot of us get an itch toward the end of a long dark winter to see some colour and life," said Tracy Wharton, owner and principal designer of Dovecote Design Studio in Calgary.

News

March 14, 2016 | Deborah Harrison

Colour therapy

How the right hue can change our moods 

With so many choices in paint colours, the hunt for the perfect hue can be a daunting task. And who could blame you? Most stores feature sample walls that have every colour under the sun – on one-inch-by-one-inch paint chips, to boot.

How do you convince yourself you're selecting the perfect colour? How do you commit to that one-inch teaser of colour for the next five years?

For myself, I always try to start with a hue I can build on. Then I bring more colours together on everything from trims and casings to carpets, linens or draperies.

News

Feb. 26, 2016 | Deborah Harrison

Curated collections of garage sale finds

'A place for everything and everything in its place'

Over the past several months, I have been getting ready to move. And as I've packed up my life, I've realized every object has a story, whether that be who designed it, where it was bought, where it has been or how it has been used and by whom. This story gives the object more importance. It gave me a reason to keep it or chuck it.

Yet even if you're not moving, you should all be editing your objects. Don't think about it too hard about it. If you love something, keep it. If not, repurpose it, whether that be putting it in storage or donating it to charity. After all, one person's junk is another person's treasure.

If you have many pieces of one collection, (my weakness being cake plates), put them together instead of spread everywhere. Show them off as one. Or repurpose them take sea shells from past vacations and put them in a glass vase or crystal bowl lined with a handful of sand.
Be brave and choose a saturated palette. Paint a master bathroom with deep turquoise blue high gloss so candlelight reflects off the walls, impersonating that of a moonlit ocean.
News

Feb. 26, 2016 | Deborah Harrison

Colour calm to fight the 'winter blues'

Reinvigorate your space with a personal hue

There's nothing like a downturn in the economy to make you rethink your priorities.

Yet you don't have to give up on great style. Instead, you just have to find new ways of spending less on great things, as well as you determine what can and cannot live without – in other words, become a creative director of your own fabulous space.

Start with the backdrop. There isn't much that invigorates a room more than a fresh new coat of colour. I have my go-to colours, which are tried and true: timeless shades of whites and grays; greens and blues that evoke serenity, soulfulness and calm.

If you want a hint of glam or mood, be brave choose a saturated palette. Use a rebellious colour, introducing a passionate and romantic mix that will add sophistication and attitude to your room. Paint a master bathroom with deep turquoise blue high gloss so candlelight reflects off the walls, impersonating that of a moonlit ocean.
Aging in Place Calgary Carla Berezowski says poor lighting  in the home is just one obstacle to people living with limited mobility. Photo by Adrian Shellard/For CREB®Now
News

Oct. 26, 2015 | Tyler Difley

Accessible housing a 'very hidden problem'

When home becomes an obstacle course

Home is where many Calgarians seek refuge, rest and relaxation. Yet for people with limited mobility, home can become a stressful obstacle course where everyday tasks are nearly impossible.

"People don't know that their neighbour three houses over is trapped in their home, and with an aging population, I think we're going to see it all the more," said Jeff Dyer, executive director of Accessible Housing Calgary.

"The need (for accessible housing) is really great. It's a very hidden problem."

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CREB® acknowledges that its office is located, and that its REALTOR® members serve, on the traditional territories of the peoples of the Treaty 7 region and Métis Nation of Alberta, Region 3. We honour and acknowledge the members of the Métis community and specifically, the Métis Nation Region 3. In the spirit of reconciliation and because we are all treaty people, we also acknowledge all Calgarians who make our homes in the traditional Treaty 7 territory of Southern Alberta.


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