Today’s homes more casual and liveable CARRIE KELLY, CALGARY SUN FIRST POSTED: SATURDAY, APRIL 04, 2015 02:00 AM MDT
With the advent of HGTV, Pinterest and an influx of home improvement stores, it’s no surprise we’re living quite differently in our homes today compared to the ones we grew up in. An IpsosReid survey conducted for Urban Barn reveals that nine in 10 Canadian homeowners say their childhood living space and current living space differ in some way. Openconcept home designs and the high price of real estate play a role in how and why we’re living differently. In 1984, Calgary house prices bottomed out at $68,300, while the average is now more than $400,000. At those prices, people want all the space in their home to be livable, says Sebastian Fauteux, Urban Barn creative director. “Long gone are the days where people had a formal dining room and a formal living room that were barely used,” he says. Today’s home décor has a more casual feel, representing family life. And it’s not just the woman in the home making decor decisions. “Now, a lot of couples shop together and involve the kids when making decisions,” Fauteux says. Urban Barn’s poll reveals that 89% of homeowners consider a blend of comfort and style as the perfect décor for the living area where the family spends most of its time. Rather than purchasing a matching couch, loveseat and chair for the living room, today it’s all about customizable furniture and mixing styles and designs, Fauteux explains. “The demand is high for custom products that have the right configuration for maximizing the space in the room,” he says. In addition to sectionals, ottomans are a great option because they can used for storage, extra seating, as a serving table or to extend the sofa to use as a chaise. In the kitchen/dining area, extendable tables are a popular choice to add extra seating as needed. Katie Rioux, interior decorator and owner of Calgary’s Decorating Den, finds people are requesting designs that place functionality as top priority, enabling a room to do double or triple duty. “I just recently did a home office, but we used a large white high gloss table as desk and a set of cabinets to match. This could be easily transformed into a dining room if need be,” she says. Rioux says that along with furniture choices, lighting has really evolved. Chandeliers are no longer just for the dining room. “Now, lighting is more of a feature. You might see a grand chandelier or funky pendants over the island,” she says.
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