Curating the perfect home is no easy feat, especially if you are doing it without any professional help.

For all the design DIYers out there in need of a little direction, we reached out to a couple Calgary designers for their foolproof colour palettes, design schemes and decorative themes that are sure to sizzle in any space. The best part is that anyone can pull these looks together – no experience necessary.

Inside the home, lighting does so much more than help you see. The right lighting can improve your mood, create the perfect atmosphere and highlight all the features of your home that you love the most.

If your current configuration is coming up short, here are four foolproof tips for taking your home's lighting to the next level:

Space for an office and private Zoom calls, a workout room, a more spacious kitchen – these are all growing renovation demands Calgary companies are fielding from customers working through the pandemic.

Spring might have officially started on March 19, but as Calgarians know, "spring" in this city is an elastic concept. Now that temperatures are rising and nature is showing new signs of life, it's time to give your home the spring-cleaning treatment.

Springtime brings an energy like no other season. So, why not put that energy to good use with some easy maintenance tasks that will have your home ready for the laidback days of summer and beyond?

"A lot of this work is proactive rather than reactive and can save money in the long run," said Jeff Howells, professional home inspector with Nu Level Inspections.

Here are his top spring maintenance tasks for homeowners, inside and out:

Shopping for furniture involves a lot of choices. For each different piece, there are endless size, fabric and colour options.

However, finding the perfect furniture for your home can be a breeze with some pre-shopping preparation and a bit of advice from the experts.

When it comes to homeowner preference these days, one thing is clear: bigger is definitely better.

The size of the average Canadian home today is about twice as large as it was back in the 1960s. Our living spaces have been expanding rapidly, and not because of necessity.

Your kitchen and bathroom need to stand the test of time, both in design and function. How do you create a kitchen – one that you will love – that serves both needs?

It starts with an experienced designer who understands today's products, innovations, space-saving ideas and, of course, trends that actually stand the test of time. The right designer will have the expertise to ensure your renovation runs as smoothly as possible.

HGTV star Todd Talbot shares advice from 20 years in real estate at the Calgary Home and Garden Show

At the age of 22, Vancouver actor Todd Talbot bought his first home, paying his mortgage with the help of a rent-paying friend.

It was a unique occurrence among his theatre colleagues.

"(As an actor) you don't make a ton of money and you are pretty transient," said Talbot, who, as a teenager, appeared on the Hillside TV series with fellow Vancouverite and current Hollywood heavyweight Ryan Reynolds.

However, it was this initial foray into real estate – $190,000 for a two-bedroom, two-bathroom condo two blocks from Kitsilano Beach – that sparked Talbot's second career as an entrepreneur, leveraging one piece of property for another, and then another, and eventually leading to ownership of several real estate companies.