Renovation Show Feature
(Stately Living Room)
Interior Design
Participating in the Calgary Renovation Show, the winter edition of the Calgary Home & Garden Show, was an exhilarating journey. This image of Liberty and Sarah ‘casually’ laughing masks the crazy eyes that tell the tale of the chaos involved in setting up what can be likened to a temporary residential dwelling. From meticulously cutting and laying down LVP flooring to constructing and painting walls adorned with elegant mouldings, all within half a day, the preparation process was both demanding and rewarding. And let’s not overlook the myriad of decor and furnishings we packed into those booths!
Of course, this endeavor would not have been possible without the support of our incredible sponsors.
We invite you to click on the photos below to explore the remarkable sponsors who made this experience possible: Sonata Design, CF Interiors, Signature Lighting, Metropolitan Floors, Sofa Land, Muddy by Nature, Wall to Love, Cloverdale, Mckenna Prather, Morgan Cupido, Timbertown, and Rugs USA.
Renovation Show Intro
In December 2023 we received an exciting invitation from the YYC Home Show team to be a sponsor for a prominent feature area at the Renovation Show set for January 2024 – very limited time to prepare! With options ranging from a cozy 10×10 space to a sprawling 20×40 area, we decided to take the plunge and secure a generous 800-square-foot booth (as the saying goes, ‘say yes and figure it out later’).
Our booth was themed “One Room, Two Ways.” This concept emphasizes how you can refresh a space to reflect your evolving tastes without needing to start over entirely. By reimagining some of your favorite, high-quality furniture, we demonstrated how versatile a room and furnishings can be.
We divided this booth into 3 ‘rooms’:
1) The Wabi Sabi Living Room (read here), 2) The Stately Living Room, 3) The Mural Walkway leading into our two spaces
In both primary living room designs, we showcased the same key pieces but in different configurations, providing a fresh perspective. For instance, the white sofa and area rug were featured prominently in each room, while the occasional chairs were displayed in contrasting fabrics to highlight the beauty of reupholstering. We also included the same two large wall mirrors and ‘spraypainted’ cases to illustrate how upcycling large decor can transform a space.
From there, we crafted two distinct living rooms, each with dramatically different design aesthetics. One side featured wallpaper and intricate wainscoting, while the other showcased textured plaster and neutral paint, along with unique furniture arrangements.
As a special touch, the talented Mckenna Prather painted a live mural in our third space throughout the show. This interactive element not only enhanced our booth but also supported local artistry and provided a dynamic 360-degree experience for attendees!
Renovation Show – Stately Room Overview
The ‘Classic Stately’ room needed to feel sophisticated and buttoned up. This was a room that would be seen in multi-million dollar estates, while still showcasing an aesthetic that could be replicated for anyone and inspire people to think grand.
As lovers of crown moulding and all things architectural moulding, it was important that this room showcased wainscotting – something that is a little proposterous to plan for a weekend booth. These architectural features paired with a classicly designed wallpaper wrapped our entire booth, creating a visually larger and all-emcompassing design.
We kept this room light, bright, and airy to contrast the moodier Wabi Sabi Living Room next door, while layering in rich brass’s, bronzes, and dark woods to give it contrast. These muted natural elements paired with the creamy white sofa and rug made for a welcoming environment and allowed us to go more bold with pattern.
Spot the differences?
Renovations are both a science and an art. And every designer and contractor knows that the best laid plans need room to shift. After our initial designs were drawn up, we were fortunate to have Morgan Cupido sponsor artwork which was a better fit for above the fireplace. The stunning clydesdale turned out to be quite a bit larger than we had originally realized, and so it was given its own spot on the outside of the booth, drawing attention to our sponsor shout out boards.
Renovation Show – Stately Room Progress/Setup
As mentioned, designing a room of this scale with this amount of detail neccesary to make it feel like home, is a lot to ask for in a half day install for a 3 day show… and yet we pulled it off. With the help of Mike (Colours in Contrast) who came in late at night to put up a full wrap wallpaper (and make some sneaky saves since we were about 6 square feet short – his specialty), and Angie (Bac Construction) who prepped, painted, and cut all the trim and baseboard in advance, this room’s foundation was already a show-stopper. And ther rest ‘fell’ into place.
Stately Living Room
Our brand celebrates classic design, and wainscotting is one of our signatures. Having wall paneling in our booth was a non-negotable, and we were fortunate enough to secure a generous sponsorshop from Timbertown to achieve an applied wainscotting look. Timbertown also supplied us with decorative baseboards, which we had a bit of fun with. Behind the chair you can see the plain white baseboard – but did you know that the taupe quarter-round above it is actually a part of the same piece? We painted it as a two-tone baseboard to frame in our wainscotting with less individual pieces!
Above the wainscotting it is impossible to miss the most ornate stately wallpaper we could get our hands on, which adorned the upper half of the entire stately booth.
As part of our ‘Two Rooms One Way’ theme, the occasional chairs were shown in a drastically more bold pattern than in the Wabi Sabi room, with black wood and black and white patterned upholstry to reinforce modernity. The connection between the fabric and Morgan’s art above the fireplace? A match made in heaven.
We also added an oversized bronze coffee table to tie in the other dark finishes, and we topped it off with an electric fireplace around which we could create a focal point.
The brass light fixture and ornate mirror above the console were the ‘glam’ that this room needed, and the greenery kept it from feeling tired.
Furniture placement was intentionally varried from the Wabi Sabi room, with a focus on ‘reading a book by the fire’ and conversation.
There are so many elements, finishes and patterns in maximalist design, that it takes a designers eye to bring it all together cohseively. The warmth of this room is palatable, (and not just because of the electric fireplace, which Liberty and I spent our days around).
Stately Decorating Details
Maxamalist design is what we achieved in this Classic Stately living room. Each surface and corner of this booth was intentionally styled and filled with beautiful things. The key to keeping maximalism away from clutter is through consistency in colour, texture, and shape. We focused on the constrast of flashy metals mixed with natural raw materials, and made sure that the colours were never bold, saturated, or unnatural.
The other important concept when styling a living room of this calibre, is to create vignettes that not only sit perfectly on their own as moments of interest, but blend seamlessly into the space as a whole. We used florals, bowls, greenery, vases, and books, and paid special attention to lighting (as best as we could with overhead tradeshow florescents).
One final note on stately design, is keeping it casual. Fringed pillows haphazardly tossed onto the couch, offset books on the edge of the table, and greenery overflowing from the vase keep the design free from regidity.
Stately Shelfie Details
We had our eye on this stunning cabinet from CF interiors and were beside ourselves when we secured it as part of their sponsorship. Each shelf, each section, each small detail was styled patiently and purposefully. This cabinet balanced the entire space and welcomed people over to the entrance of our mural area – it had to be perfect. We achieved this ‘shelfie’ perfectionn with decor that was mostly thrifted!
THAT’S A WRAP
Prim, Propper, and POOPED!!!!
That should be the name of our book. But for now, it is the phrase that most accurately describes how Sarah is feeling in this photo, taken at the end of a long busy weekend.
We had so much fun and are so grateful for the opportunity to be truly pushed to our project management limits in a time constraint that is unimaginable. And to see what we pulled off?
We couldn’t be more proud.