The annual Calgary Home + Design Show just wrapped for another year. This year’s show featured over 350 exhibitors, including a wide range of artists, builders, decorators and designers who were on site to share their tips and tricks with attendees. The Home + Design show is a great opportunity for anyone wanting to make repairs or updates to their home and offers lots of fresh ideas and insight into what is trendy in home décor.
There were several big names from the W Network that made appearances this year. Jonathan and Drew Scott, best known from the show Property Brothers, drew big crowds. The twin brothers make up the real estate/contractor dream team whose show focuses on finding people the ultimate fixer-upper without blowing their budget. Jillian Harris and Todd Talbot, the hosts of Love It or List It Vancouver, were also at the show. Each episode of Love It or List It pits the designer (Harris), who tries to fix up homes, against the realtor (Talbot), who works to find the homeowners their new dream house.
To kick off the event, there was a special Pop Up Dinner Party on Thursday evening at the Trail Appliances Cooking Stage. The soiree consisted of four courses compliments of local chefs. To start, Chef Kyle Groves of Catch and The Oyster Bar cooked up cured arctic char and foie gras. Michael Dekker of SAIT’s culinary program followed with honey duck breast and duck rillettes for appetizers, while Paul Rogalski of Rouge made his delicious Tourendos Rossino for mains; Fiasco Gelato provided their treats for desert.
Annie Sloan was a popular exhibitor this year and everyone loved her painted DIY furniture pieces. Sloan’s company, Interiors to Inspire, specializes in customer faux finishes, decorative paints and finishes that can be applied to walls, ceilings, counters and floors. All the materials used in the finishes and paints are not only versatile, but also environmentally-friendly water-based products.
The Western Living Magazine Lounge also deserves mention. The lounge was a beautiful and chic space to grab a seat and drink after browsing through all the booths and talking with exhibitors. Nicole Sjostedt, who is a well-respected Western Living contributor, decorated the lounge. Sjostedt trained in London, England before returning to Canada to work as a fashion stylist and prop designer in Vancouver.
If you love attending these events, stay tuned for the Calgary Home + Garden show coming in early 2014, which will have everything you need to get your green space turned into an urban oasis for next summer.
Photo courtesy Calgary Home + Design Show
