Free
Winter 2016
Western Manitoba
Designer Lighting for the Home
Habitat for Humanity A Case for Real Wood
Western Manitoba Design Your Home magazine is a Brandon, MB based company created to promote and feature all the great trades in our local area. With the limited amount of media in Brandon and area, this magazine will assist you and your company with great exposure. Design Your Home magazine will help local companies feature their business and the special work they do. Design Your Home magazine will focus on the home and proper ty. Each issue you may see ar ticles on Home and Building, Real Estate, Design and Decorating, Landscaping, and a special featured Home and Business.
Why feature in Design Your Home:
• Local Home Magazine • 13,000 Magazines published each issue • Published 4x per year: Summer, Fall, Winter, Spring • Timeless, often kept and referred to again and again • We have articles that feature tips and advice from home owners and experts Contact us at: Email: dyh@designyourhome.ca Phone: (204) 573-3790 View Us at: Website: www.designyourhome.ca Cover & Middle Image: Amanda Sneddon Photography
Contents
5
Habitat for Humanity
16
In Every Issue
My Idiah! Creating a Time Capsule
4 . . . . . . . . Letter from Editor 5 . . . . . . . . Feature: Habitat for Humanity 14 . . . . . . . Feature Business: Infinity Kitchen and Bath 26 . . . . . . . Photo Contest
Home Improvements
8 . . . . . . . . Updating Your Bathroom Vanity 10 . . . . . . . A Case For Real Wood
14
Infinity Kitchen and Bath
Lifestyle 12 . . . . . . . Helpful Gadgets for Seniors 16 . . . . . . . My IDIAH: A Time to Remember Creating a Time Capsule 22. . . . . . . Wine Advice: Pairing Wine with Fish
Design & Decorative
18 . . . . . . . Home Theatre 20. . . . . . . Choosing the Perfect Home Plans 24 . . . . . . . Designer Lighting for the Home
Disclaimer Reasonable care is taken to ensure that Design Your Home Magazine ar ticles and other information on the web site are up-to-date and accurate as possible, as of the time of publication, but no responsibility can be taken by Design Your Home magazine for any errors or omissions contained herein. Fur thermore, responsibility for any losses, damages or distress resulting from adherence to any information made available through Design Your Home magazine or website is not the responsibility of Design Your Home magazine. The opinions expressed are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of Design Your Home magazine. All interior and exterior home improvements/repairs should be consulted by a professional, prior to the star t of the project. Adver tisements and the content, including photos, of adver tisements published within Design Your Home magazine are solely by the adver tiser. Design Your Home magazine does not accept responsibility for opinions expressed in adver tisements for copyright issues with regards to photo, adver tising, copy and adver tisement, nor shall they find liable thereby.
Design and Layout by: www.reaxiongraphics.com
DESIGNYOURHOME.CA | 3
Letter from the Editor
Time Flies!
T
ime goes by in the blink of eye! While I sit here and think about it, it is hard to believe we are going into our 4th year of publishing this magazine. What stands out the most to me, are the people we have met who helped contribute to the magazine over the years and the relationships we have built. I can honestly say they have helped me grow as a person and educated me in their industry.
We were able to expand on many of these relationships this year, as we built our own home. I really enjoyed working with many of our customers on a whole new level, and becoming one of their customers! Now the tables were turned! We built our home, in a not so traditional way, compared to the market right now. We were the general contractor and hired companies for every single job; some on our own and some through reputable businesses we were already working with. Were we 100% prepared for everything, definitely not, but eventually everything fell into place. We tried to give ourselves more time for the built to compensate for this. We did this, so we could have more control over the whole process and really pick out what we wanted, not be told only what they can offer. This was in order to make our home, truly what we wanted for our family. Doing this is a lot more work and a huge learning
4 | Design Your Home | Winter
process, which I really did enjoy, as I feel I understand how a whole home a built now. Would I do it again‌I’m still trying to catch up on my sleep, so not in the near future! Be sure to watch for our final reveal of our home in an upcoming issue this year. Jaime-Lynn Dyck Design Your Home
Feature: Habitat for Humanity By Wanda Kurchaba
I
t’s a history to be proud of and a future to look forward to for the Brandon Chapter of Habitat for Humanity Manitoba. Since 1985, Habitat for Humanity Manitoba has built over 350 homes in 18 communities across the province for low income, working families.
Brandon has been par t of this legacy to provide safe and affordable housing to families in our community. This past December, the Song family was handed the keys to their brand new home at 741 Percy Street; just one of three houses that were being built this past year by the Brandon Chapter, their volunteers and par tners.
Marketing, Communications and Philanthropy of Habitat for Humanity Manitoba.
“Our goal is to help low income families have the pride of home ownership; to give families who wouldn’t otherwise qualify for a mor tgage the oppor tunity to own a home,” said Michelle Pereira, Vice-President of
Habitat for Humanity homes are sold to the homeowners at a fair market value, set by an independent appraiser. The mor tgage rate is calculated at 27 per cent of the homeowners’ income, but the payments must be a
“They are working families, they have children and they contribute to society in a good way. They just don’t make enough money to buy a home on their own. It’s just a hand up, it’s not a hand out.”
DESIGNYOURHOME.CA | 5
minimum of $550 per month. In addition, homeowners are not required to come up with a down payment and their mor tgage is interest free for 15 years. “One of the biggest misconceptions is that the homeowners get it (the home) for free. The reality is that it is very difficult to become a Habitat par tner family as they go through a rigorous process to be selected. They are contributing citizens, they just need a little bit of help to own a home,” said Michelle. While there is a complete list of criteria that must be met in order to qualify for a Habitat for Humanity home, some of the main requirements for eligibility include: the applicant has to be working for two years full-time or the equivalent of, they must have children, have good credit, and show a need for affordable housing i.e. living in substandard conditions. This most recent house to be complete in Brandon was a ready-to-move (RTM) home built by Green Acres Colony of Wawanesa. It is 841 square feet with an open concept main living area and two bedrooms on the main floor. Westman Premier Homes built the foundation and did all the final work on the exterior of the home once the RTM was moved into place. They also did all the finishing work in the basement, which has a spacious and roomy feel with nine foot ceilings. It consists of a large recreation room, one bedroom, a roughed in bathroom, a utility/laundry room and plenty of storage space.
Jibo and Yaping Song, along with their six-year-old daughter and two-year old son, took possession of their new home with much excitement mid-December. While unpacking boxes and getting settled may have been top of mind for this family, there was comfor t in knowing that they were moving into a well-built home. All Habitat for Humanity homes are built with energy efficiency in mind. The intent is to keep energy costs as low as possible and upkeep and maintenance at a minimum.The
Margaret Schonewille, General Manager of the Brandon Chapter for Habitat for Humanity Manitoba, said that while all of their projects rely on many par tners and volunteers, it’s when you see the families all come together to help when you really see the value in what you’re doing. “Homeowners are required to put in 500 hours of sweat equity or volunteer time, but it almost always ends up being more than that,” said Margaret. “Their volunteer time can be on their build, on another home or they can even volunteer to work in the ReStore. This family chose to work on their own home, but they also had friends and family who chose to volunteer their time as well. People take a lot of pride in their homes, especially when they’ve been par t of the team that helped to complete the project.”
6 | Design Your Home | winter
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In terms of the future, Margaret said the goal for Brandon is to build two homes in 2017, also in the east end of the city. They will be built on the lot by volunteers and professional tradespeople. “We’ll build them right on site and provide our volunteers with the tools that they need to lend a hand. And, if they don’t have experience in the construction or carpentry industry we work with our volunteers to teach them the skills to build the home so that we can all successfully complete the project,” said Margaret.
east end home has an air exchanger, a heat recovery unit, air conditioning and is heated with electric forced air. In fact, the home has one of the smallest furnaces in the industry which runs on only five kilowatts of power versus fifteen. In addition, the home comes with a refrigerator, stove, washing machine and dryer.
Habitat for Humanity Manitoba only builds as many houses as they fundraise for. They need to raise $175,000 just to build one home, which doesn’t include the land. While the fundraising goals may seem lofty, the return on investment for the entire community is well wor th it.
Large Open Basement
The new homeowners also have the added benefit of having custom window blinds (Honeycomb Cellular Shades) on all of the windows donated and installed by Budget Blinds. Owner Sue Swarbrick said while this is the first Habitat house that she was involved with, it won’t be her last.
“There’s a social return in which studies have shown that when families own their own homes they aren’t going to the food banks, they are healthier and not using the healthcare system as much and they become taxpayers. When we build a house, we’re also contributing to the local economy. We buy all the supplies locally and any money raised stays within that community. It’s reinvested to build more homes and help more families to improve their lives,” said Michelle.
“It’s been a real learning experience, understanding the whole process and discovering what Habitat for Humanity is all about. It’s a great way to give people a hand up and has been an amazing experience working with such a beautiful family,” said Sue.
DESIGNYOURHOME.CA | 7
Updating Your
Bathroom Vanity
8 | Design Your Home | winter
T
hese days bathroom vanities come in an enormous variety of styles, for bathrooms of all different styles.
If your bathroom’s in need of a makeover, adding a stylish new bathroom vanity set could work wonders at improving it’s appearance. Modern bathroom vanities are not just built to look pretty, they are designed to be functional as well. A vanity unit can be custom built to make the best use of even the smallest bathrooms. For instance, vanities with a built-in base cabinet beneath the sink can provide valuable storage space to keep counter tops clutter free, or a specially made unit could be fitted to a spare corner. There are many options when it comes to considering a new vanity for your bathroom. The difficulty you might have is choosing which one would be just perfect for your needs. It helps to have a general idea of the style of your room. For instance, are your other bathroom fixtures traditional, contemporary or antique in look? Furniture style vanities are very popular, and come with a choice of decorative touches to add a touch of class to any bathroom, from arched skir ts to Queen Ann legs. Think about the finish of the wood. Do you prefer glazed, painted or laminated finishes? Bathroom vanity tops also come in a range of durable and attractive materials, from granite to marble. Don’t forget to pay attention to smaller details such as the design of the
hardware. Try to coordinate it with your faucets and the handles on your shower doors and bathroom cabinets, for instance. The positioning of your bathroom’s vanity lights and mirrors is also impor tant, as this can have an influence over the look and feel of the whole room. There are lots of helpful hints and ideas available on the internet to give you inspiration for transforming your bathroom. Well chosen bathroom vanities can become an attractive centerpiece and focal point of a room, instantly adding style and function without too much expense or effor t. DYH
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10 | Design Your Home | Winter
to discuss hardwood services with someone who has technical know how and training in hardwood installation and refinishing, and cer tainly choose a company that has a por tfolio of work behind them.
A Case For Real Wood By Melissa Turner
W
hether you are renovating a well loved home or building new one, your choice of flooring is one of the most impor tant decisions you will make. Flooring underpins everything in your design and should be one of the first items on your checklist. Sadly, it is often overlooked or hastily decided on at the end of the process.
Hardwood is a natural product and comes with a wide range of benefits and disadvantages that are best explained by a retailer that understands natural products. Unfor tunately over the past few decades with the shift back to hardwood, big box stores and manufacturers of carpeting have ventured into the hardwood industry. They wanted back that "piece of pie" in order to reclaim profits lost to hardwood sales. Unfor tunately this has flooded the market with products that are cheap and inferior compared to those that are produced by quality hardwood mills. So why are so many new homes still being built with carpet or laminate throughout? The simple answer is cost. On the surface, carpet is far less costly to install than hardwood. However, the upfront savings of carpet and laminate is quickly diminished when it becomes worn, damaged or stained and eventually needs to be replaced. Even the best quality carpet now only has a life span of 10 to 15 years, while hardwood floors can last for generations. Hardwood flooring is an investment that will retain it's value when purchased responsibly and installed with care - but that does not mean it has to break the bank. Choosing the most knowledgeable and experienced company is an impor tant first step to enjoying your hardwood floor for years to come. Melissa Turner is the manager of Turner Floors, Manitoba's only National Wood Flooring Association accredited flooring store. Her husband Paul, has over 20 years experience in the flooring business and is an NWFA cer tified Installer, Refinisher and Inspector.
While there are many products to choose from - quality hardwood flooring is still the gold standard in homes. Good quality hardwood products, whether solid or engineered can usually be repaired when damaged, refinished when you want a change of colour palette, or even have new areas added seamlessly. Have a character home? Even narrow strip hardwood may be rejuvenated, repaired, and made to look new again. It is very impor tant
The Hardwood Experts 320 10th Street, Brandon, MB R7A 4G1
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DESIGNYOURHOME.CA | 11
Helpful Gadgets for Seniors
A
s you get older, you will need more help around the house, but it is not often that each and every member of the family will be around to help. A typical household will not have a hired caregiver, and so it becomes the duty of the homeowner to assist their aged parents or grandparents. Assistance may range from simple walking, to getting a hard to reach item. The wisdom comes in the form of self-assistance; that is, in the
12 | Design Your Home | winter
ability for the elderly to help themselves. This can easily be made possible with proper planning and slight adjustment to your daily routine. Eliminate obstacles around the house. These daily obstacles pose threats ranging from mild to critical. For example, glassware and tile pose a very serious threat, while polycarbonate and carpet vir tually eliminates most concerns. Problems like that can be remedied by practical thinking: eliminate the obstacle, not the object. Outfitting the house to meet the needs of the elderly, while at the same time preserving the homeowner’s comfor t of living, can be a much simpler task than perceived.
With these tips in mind, use your home to their advantage, all without necessitating too much change. Sometimes the elderly may be at home for hours at a time, alone. The Solutions can be entirely within the realm of practicality, while others involve expenses. The most obvious and time-honored solution is to leave all of their personal affects on the main floor of the home. Doing so will sidestep the most frightening scenario: falling down the
best option would be to organize a lifestyle alongside your aged parents or grandparents, a lifestyle that suits them. This makes it easier for everyone involved, as selfassistance is the most ideal way to retain their freedom and their dignity. DYH
R OLLING SPOKES 1 I H H C P
stairs. If at all possible, ensure that plenty of necessities remain accessible on the first level, especially a bathroom.
ST N
As a tip, lay out a non-slip surface inside the tub and showers, as well as bath mats on the outside. Inexpensive and easy to install, they deter the most hazardous of daily household injuries. By way of expenses, outfit the television with a wireless headset. This way, the volume can be turned up to suit their needs without disrupting the rest of the household. Another measure would be to enable subtitles and captions for movies and television. Other gadgets to consider are audio reminders, which will remind a person of cer tain tasks via pre-recorded messages. In shor t,
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gadgets of all kinds can aid in everyday life just as well as practical decisions. In times of boredom, say, handheld por table gaming systems integrate very well into the lives of the elderly. For example, crossword puzzles and other games that aid in critical thinking and coordination are easily accessible on the latest gaming systems.
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DESIGNYOURHOME.CA | 13
Feature Business: Infinity Kitchen and Bath By Wanda Kurchaba
E
x c e l l e n t s e r v i c e and quality products. These are the principles that Glen Gurr has used for the last twenty years to build his business on and it’s worked.
Glen and his son Scott own and operate Infinity Kitchens and Bath, one of the leading custom cabinet shops in the Westman region. “We built the business from scratch and that’s not an easy
The father and son team design, build and install custom
thing to do in today’s world, but we based it all on service
cabinets for kitchens and bathrooms in a variety of styles. They help families to find just the right look and layout for their homes and have a variety of cabinets and hardware
and quality. It was our goal and objective in everything that we did and that’s what helped to grow our business and it just keeps growing. Word of mouth is our best adver tising, people recommend us to others and we keep getting a lot of good jobs,” said Glen. Glen had always wanted to work with wood, so when they sold their dairy farm in 1992, he originally star ted out by building furniture. He did that for a few years and then the business expanded into cabinet building. “I don’t have any formal schooling, we just learned it all by doing. We study a lot and are very open minded. If anything new comes along we research it and we’re always looking for ways to improve on how things can be done. Star ting out building furniture really helped us to evolve into the cabinetry business, it was a very good experience,” said Glen.
14 | Design Your Home | winter
to choose from including wood stained cabinets in maple or oak (and other wood types) or the newer styles of coloured lacquered cabinets that are now on the market. They are also one of the only shops in the area that works with bamboo, which has been a very popular in the last few years.
If you’re considering a kitchen renovation, Glen said you can expect the project to be complete in four to six weeks from beginning to end. He indicated that grey has been a popular choice for cabinetry in the last year or two in their designer series, but they have a variety of designs for
“There’s a lot to choose from and the industry is always changing, but we help people to narrow down their choices by giving them the pros and cons of each. We do a lot of research and keep up with the trends so that we can advise customers on what’s practical and what isn’t,” said Glen.
Infinity Kitchens and Bath is located four kilometres south
“We build all the cabinets our selves so we know what wor ks. Ever y project is star ted right from scratch and we build ever ything custom to fit, basically right to the millimetre.”
consideration on display in their showroom. of Richmond Avenue on 65th Street East.
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Three year s ago, they purchased a CNC Machine which cuts out all our components of their cabinets using a computer program. They also added a vacuum lift to the shop, which has helped tremendously to reduce labour.
Infinity Kitchens and Bath also has an excellent selection of cabinet lighting, accessories such as sinks and faucets and they carry high quality hardware to match the standards of their custom built designs. They also have many options for counter tops including laminate and quar tz.
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“It’s a fairly high tech shop for this area. The two of us can produce and install a lot of kitchens and vanities in a year because of the equipment that we have,” said Glen.
CELEBRATING 20 YEARS IN WESTMAN
GLEN GURR 204.727.1016 SCOTT GURR 204.573.5182 info@infinitykitchenandbath.ca • infinitykitchenandbath.ca BRANDON, MANITOBA
DESIGNYOURHOME.CA | 15
A Time to Remember – Creating a Time Capsule
T
ime Capsules can be created for many different events; centennials, schools, weddings, new beginnings or just for fun! They are meant to preserve items for a future time or event, in order to tell a story or give a look back into the past.
Written and Photos By By Jaime-Lynn Dyck
16 | Design Your Home | winter
Time capsules don’t necessarily have to be buried or
year the penny was made. It did not fit in the bottle,
hidden for a great length of time; it all depends on what
so we adhered it to the bottom of the bottle, with an
you are making it for. You can make a fun time capsule
explanation in the letter, of course!
with your kids or family and plan to open it up in a few
The last thing we had to do is decide on where the bottle
years. For kids, that’s a long time! We created our time capsule for our new home we are building. We wanted to create something special for another owner of the home, to give them a look into the process we spent building the home and what is happening right now, in time. We wanted to preserve pictures of our home being built for
would be placed. We put it in a wall in our kitchen, as we thought that would be a room that someone would want to renovate in the future and would possibly discover it! Check us out on Pinterest for more ideas! Our Time Capsule included:
another home owner to see, so we printed off a handful
• Local Newspaper
of pictures, as well, we put them on a USB flash drive. We
• Local Magazine
just hope they have the capabilities to use the USB when it is found! Along with the pictures, we also put a selection of current music and the 3D drawings we had made of the
• Letter that was dated • Pictures
house on the USB.
• Popular Toy
We wrote a letter to the person who finds our bottle and
• USB Flash Drive
dated it. In it, we talked about current events, along with
• 2012 Penny
what we did and information on building the home and items in the bottle. We even had our daughter write a little bit about herself and she included one of her toys, a Shopkin, in which she treasures. Included at the end of the letter we put all our names and an email address we think we will have for a very long time, in case the person who
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finds it wants to reach out to us. In the letter we discussed Design Your Home magazine and how the building of our home was par t of several issues. So, we included the Summer 2016 issue of the magazine, where we broke ground and star ted to build the home. We also included a copy of the Brandon Sun from the day we put it in the wall. The magazine and the newspaper would not fit in the bottle, so we rolled them up with a tie and put it beside the bottle. I was
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the bottle, along with the kid’s toy and the USB. We wanted to include something special with the bottle,
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DESIGNYOURHOME.CA | 17
Home Theater Systems:
Audio and Video Basics
A
ll home enter tainment units have three major components that are essential to creating a functional home theater system.
but DVD and other players are also added to expand
The main focus of any theater is the television or video
depending on budget and preferences. Buying a TV has
display. Sound quality is essential. A complete sound system
never been a simple process, but now as we move towards
is key to providing the soul and voice of the theatre. A
the next generation of television, there are more options
source player is the third element, providing the picture
than there have ever been before. On the one hand you
and sound. Cable or satellite TV is standard in most homes
have the existing LCD and LED HD televisions we’ve
18 | Design Your Home | winter
the usefulness of a home theater. It is these three major pieces of electronic innovation that make watching a movie, playing the XBox or listening to a favorite CD enjoyable and wor thwhile. Visual Element There are video display options available to a home
all come to know and love, but increasingly new display technologies like Quantum Dot and OLED are entering the market, and the new resolution, 4K, is fast becoming a feature that is essential to have in your next TV. But not every new technology is a must have, and you can save yourself a lot of time and money by sticking with those that are here to stay. Audio Elements The sound system is going to make a huge difference in the enjoyment and functionality of your home theater. Too many home theater enthusiasts are willing to drop top dollar on a brand new television screen for their home theater, only to skimp out on audio immediately after. Sound is what allows us to feel ever y explosion and
star ting with a surround sound system, and trading up as you become more invested in the perfect sound. For either case, your first step is to know what’s out there and choose a system that best suits your needs.
hear ever y whisper, which means that if you are using
Data / Signal Source
integrated speakers you are missing out on a lot of
A basic DVD player is a standard signal source in most
the excitement. There are a number of ways to assemble an immersive home theater, but the easiest way to get star ted is with a “home theater in a box”, which will sometimes come with an audio receiver or a DVD/Blu-Ray player. At the same time, buying speakers individually will give you much more control over the quality and features of your setup. Many companies offer modular speaker lines, which allow you to meet somewhere in the middle by
theater systems. The signal information sent from the player contains the video data as well as your 5.1 surround sound. Your cable box, digital satellite, or Wifi are also signal sources for a home theater. These sources can all be used in one system with the proper wiring and remote programming. Technology changes fairly frequently, so it’s always a good idea to set yourself up with a home theatre system that you can upgrade in the future if you wish too. DYH
DESIGNYOURHOME.CA | 19
Choosing The Perfect
Home Plans
L
ooking for the best home plans can be ver y fulfilling and exciting, especially if you put it on top of your priority list. In the beginning, however, keep your emotions in check. As you star t your search, there are some features that are impor tant to understand and keep in mind. Understanding how home plans are drawn up can save you money. In searching for the perfect home plan, you should take note of these suggestions. 20 | Design Your Home | winter
Home plans are made to improve your housing style. Nowadays, families prefer living a casual lifestyle which is more relaxing and soothing. A casual lifestyle can have a ver y inviting atmosphere that will also allow you the convenience you need. Open floor plans give the perspective of a larger home, by eliminating unnecessar y walls.
Current trends and fashion have altered the way we view our kitchens. One time used as a utility space, the kitchen is now an additional place where families spend valuable time with each other. Open kitchens can be a wonderful and happy place for gatherings and enter taining.
In planning room sizes, you should always consider the existing furniture you have. In designing the storage room, keep in mind it should have enough space and cabinets for everyday use and also for seasonal storage. And that formal dining room—is it really necessary? Check your home plans to see if a combination dining/kitchen setup is possible. Bedrooms can necessitate a huge space so come to a decision on how many bedrooms you really need. Putting in a guest room will be more functional and realistic instead of building an extra bedroom which is occasionally used. The Master Suite is considered a very impor tant area in a house. The Master Suite should be carefully planned and that goes beyond closet storage, windows and wall space. Consider the morning and afternoon sun when locating your Master Bedroom. The rays of the sun can help warm a room but they can also bring discomfor t to the ones using it. The bathroom should be designed with overall convenience in mind as well as consideration for future handicap accessibilities. There are a lot of plans that slot in laundry closets with a dryer and washer for the purpose of saving time and space.
In the past, home plans were only about planning and building homes. The recent trends, however, go beyond the boards and nails to give families enlightenment and convenience so they will have a comfor table life for years to come. DYH
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• Commercial • Sub Contracting
contactus@concorhomes.ca Phone: 204 727-3799
DESIGNYOURHOME.CA | 21
Wine Advice: Selecting Wine to Pair With Fish
M
any people are familiar with the old saying “pair white wine with fish and red wine with meat.” Although this “rule” has been discredited, when it comes to pairing wine with fish, white wine is much more common a pairing but that said, there is ample room for sparkling, rosé and red.
22 | Design Your Home | Winter
There are many different fish and seafood options to choose from on a year-round basis. Manitoba fisherman brave the winter cold to catch fresh fish, and an assor tment of fresh, flavoured and frozen fish are available locally. When pairing wine with fish it is impor tant to consider the type, weight and texture of the fish, preparation, cooking method, sauces, and spices. For wine one must be mindful of weight, texture, aromas and flavour. Mild white fish such as pickerel or perch call for wines that balance, not overwhelm, their flavour. Look to delicate white wines like Pinot Grigio, Vinho Verde or Chablis, and wine made from the grape varietals Pecorino, Muscadet, and Picpoul. Medium fish such as red snapper, trout, cod and halibut, call for a light- medium-bodied wine with stronger flavour and aromatic profiles than wines suitable for pairing with delicate fish. Unoaked Chardonnay, New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc and Chenin Blanc from South Africa are suitable selections. Full flavoured meaty fish like salmon, swordfish, and tuna, pair beautifully with Australian and Californian Chardonnay (unoaked or lightly oaked), dry Spanish or Italian rosé and rich weighty white wines such as Viognier which compliments as well as balances flavour and texture. Red wine, rosé and sparkling wines are suitable to partner with strongly flavoured fish such as smoked fish.Try Pinot Noir from Burgundy or Oregon or Gamay from a Cru Beaujolais. Many Portuguese red wines are also complimentary. Sauces and/or spices may define the wine and fish pairing. Pair light-bodied dry and zesty white wine with fish prepared with lemon or citrus. Butter sauce is enhanced by lightly oaked Chardonnay and Alsatian or Oregon Pinot Gris. Sweet and fruity sauces call for a slightly sweet or offdry white wine to amplify fruit flavours. The strong flavour of smoked fish is complimented by a sparkling wine such as Spanish Cava, dry Grenache rosé, and Pinot Noir while the distinct flavour of curry based sauce is enhanced by Gewurztraminer, off-dry Rieslings or slightly
sweet Moscato. Paprika and pepper call for a spicier wine. In this instance choose Grüner Veltliner from Austria, known for its peppery aromas and flavours or herb-laden Sauvignon Blanc from New Zealand. The light-bodied red wines made from Grenache and Gamay are suitable red wine selections. Serve Sparkling white wine or dry white wine such as Chablis, Sauvignon Blanc, or Muscadet from the Loire Valley in France, Picpoul from Southern France, and Moschofilero from Greece, alongside raw fish, mussels, oysters, crab, shrimp, and sushi. The principles used when pairing wine with fish are similar to guidelines followed when pairing other food with wine. The goal of pairing is for both the food and wine to taste better together than either would when served separately.
Kate Wagner Zeke, Sommelier(ISG) Certified Specialist of Wine, Certified Wine Educator(SWE) wineadviser@wcgwave.ca
Ice Shack Rentals Hudson Bay Point, | Lake Dauphin, MB
Call Ken: 204-638-3521 or 0057 kendyck@mts.net Photos: Facebook.com/anglers0057
• Many different size shacks based on requirements • Licensed Resource Tourism Operator and Outfitter • Group Rates Available
included: Transporation to and from shack, Heat on, holes drilled in shack.
DESIGNYOURHOME.CA | 23
Designer Lighting For The Home
L
ighting has been used to great effect on places such as theatre and musical stages, making up an integral par t of the show. Now lighting is also beginning to spark a rapidly growing interest among home decor enthusiast, who realize that lighting can have dramatic effects on how a room is perceived. Although we are not talking about rapidly flashing disco-lights here, some lighting alternatives are actually used more for their aesthetical than their practical value.
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The ar t of employing lights and fixtures for achieving intense effects, designed to achieve a specified mood, have become a hot thing among home interior decoration designers. Ideally the lighting scheme should be great from both a down-to-ear th and stylistic perspective and information shows that pendant lights and similar designs are taking up more and more space in stores committed to interior decorating. Various styles of recessed lighting are not really a new ingenuity, but in our time they are appearing in places you may not have encountered them before - such as out on a patio. Seeing a subtle yet, effectual recessed patio lighting, powered par tially by solar power for the first time is indeed a model that get’s the inspiration going for lighting up the outside of your home as well. From the purely practical/economical point of view, the solar powered alternatives are of course most interesting. But, in many cases, combining appealing design and some sor t of solar panels are not always easy or affordable. Once in place though, you can get literally unlimited energy without paying a cent for it, provided that you live in a location that provides enough sun.
in fact, many rooms in your own house can be vir tually transformed by relatively simple lighting schemes. As this won’t necessarily cost an arm and a leg either, there is not many reasons for the home decor hobbyist to not make a trip to the store and look at some of the new lighting systems available. DYH
Among other common lighting trends right now are many forms of accent lighting that may, for instance, be aimed onto a wall in order to complement the illuminate provided by the fixtures in the ceiling or from a range of recessed lighting. Accent lighting is great for attracting awareness to specific features in the room, and often can add unexpected amounts of dimension and depth to the space. For people who want to go really advanced, there is also the option to put in the lighting arrangement in such a way that it can be “programmed” for countless scenarios. Depending on the time of day, the mood you want to set, and which architectural features or ar ticles in the room you want to highlight, all can be effectively accomplished by a well designed lighting system.
Lighting Fixtures • Furniture • Home Decor / Coffee Shop
For lighting official places, professional designers are usually hired. But this doesn’t mean that the home improvement enthusiast needs to feel discouraged. Quite the contrary
and O&O Coffee 130 10th Street, Brandon | Phone: 204-717-8880 www.oneandonlyds.com
DESIGNYOURHOME.CA | 25
Photo Contest
Royal Manitoba Winter Fair
Ph  to Contest It's time to look back through your favourite Winter Fair photo memories! Where did you take your best photos? Waiting for the Super Dogs? At the petting zoo? Visiting the horses?
Send us your best family photo from the fair for the chance to win two adult and two children's passes for the 110th Royal Manitoba Winter Fair! Send your photos to contest@designyourhome.ca, or post on our Facebook page to be entered to win. All entries will be put in a draw to win two adult and two children's passes to the 110th Royal Manitoba Winter Fair. A winner will be drawn March 12, 2017. See the answers from our last contest at designyourhome.ca. The 110th
Royal Manitoba
WINTER FAIR Make it your Tradition MARCH 27 - APRIL 1 ROYALMANITOBAWINTERFAIR.COM
26 | Design Your Home | winter
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Register Online Today, Limited Booth Space Available! Keystone Centre | Brandon, MB Canada DESIGNYOURHOME.CA | 27 dave@brandonhomeshow.ca • www.brandonhomeshow.ca
Magazine
Design Your Home magazine has articles about the house, cottage, apartment or condo living, from the interior to the exterior. Contact us at: Email: dyh@designyourhome.ca Phone: (204) 573-3790 View Us at: Website: www.designyourhome.ca 28 | Design Your Home | winter