Archive for September, 2009

Interiors With elegance is one of Calgary’s largest renovation showrooms encompassing approximately 8000 square feet of products and displays to lend a hand in your remodeling and renovation household needs. Down at the Calgary Home + Interior Design Show, I was fortunate enough to bump into Yvonne, who works for Interiors With Elegance, a company that specializes in residential renovations. She was able to set me straight on the cocooning trends of creating a spa like atmosphere in your bathroom and the popularity of touchless systems in your bath. Read the rest of this entry »

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Ok, now we are touching on a subject that I personally find really interesting and that topic is multimedia in your bathroom! We’re talking full surround sound with booming subwoofers, big screen fog free wall mounted TV’s and remote control everything from starting your shower on a timer, infra red touchless garbage cans and touchless faucets, heated tiled floors and heated toilet seats! I’m getting goose bumps just thinking about it! Chromatheraphy, soundtheraphy, steam showers with stereo systems and track lighting! And who said water and electricity don’t mix. Fine! Technically they don’t mix that’s why all your electronic gadgets have to be well shielded from moisture penetration but who can argue with a remote control that floats in your bathtub. Gotta love it! While trotting about at the 2009 Calgary Home + Interior Design Show I happen to come across Cliff Designs Media Systems and I had a little chat with Jay, the owner of Cliff Designs Media Systems about digital home solutions. Read the rest of this entry »

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Who hasn’t enjoyed the warm penetrating heat of a sauna to relax, loose weight or detoxify your body. When most people think of a sauna they envision a hot and humid wooden room in which steam is produced by pouring water over heated rocks; in essence a steam room. Bodo, a health and wellness company would like to change our perception of what a sauna should be like by coming out with a dry heat infrared sauna system. Down at the 2009 Calgary Home + Interior Design Show I had a chat with Nathan, a Bodo sales rep and he enlightened me on the benefits and increased popularity of infrared sauna technology. Read the rest of this entry »

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Ok, I must admit, I am a vessel sink junkie. I just love the stylish new designs that have come out on the market recently. Drop down and under mount sinks are novel too but vessel sinks demand more attention and I love the tall vessel faucets that normally accompany these trendy above counter sinks. So, down at the The Calgary Home + Interior Design Show I had to stop and take it all in when I came across the Svena International display booth. Vessel sinks galore in stone, glass and ceramic to meet all your bathroom décor needs. It’s a good thing I left my check book at home or else I may have bought the store! Another thing that caught my eye was this cool looking toilet with hydraulics and a booster seat on top for training the little ones, what a neat concept. So I talked to Al Gordon, the speciality manager at Svena International and he gave me the lowdown on the goods about this unique toilet. Read the rest of this entry »

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Light has the power to not only guide our perceptions of things but it also has the incredible ability to change our moods as well. Most people don’t consider light to be a decorating tool but it has the unique ability to set the tone of your bathroom atmosphere, visually mould the shapes of your fixtures or create a calm and restful atmosphere when soaking in your tub. I had an interesting talk with Sheila’s Drapery about shutters in your bathroom and the best type of moisture resistant window dressing for your bath. Read the rest of this entry »

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One of the first booths that I came across at the Calgary Home + Interior Design Show was Apex Tile and Marble. Apex is a family owned business and was incorporated in June of 1996 and have been providing customers with quality installations for more than 13 years. With a wide spread customer base that includes; homeowners, contractors, builders, remodelers & designers, they serve the community at large. Listen now as I interview one of the owners about the tile and marble industry and we talk about the emerging trends in bathroom tiling and the popularity of porcelain tile. Read the rest of this entry »

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Hey everyone this is Anthony Mclean here. On the insistence and slight hot poker prodding of my boss Eric Spurt, I sheepishly trotted down to the Calgary Home and Interior Design Show which runs from September 17-20 at the BMO Centre at Stampede Park, Calgary, Alberta. At first I was slightly reluctant because he wanted me to go down there and interview the booth presenters so we could get the pulse of the bathroom retail market. I’m not a timid guy but I must admit the thought of interviewing all those people did overwhelm me. The funny thing is as soon as I started walking around and saw some of the great stuff that was on display down there, it was a natural thing to ask questions about them. So as it tuned out, in the five and a half hours that I was down there I managed to acquire about twenty-one different interviews with a number of the vendors. Read the rest of this entry »

Why leave the comfort of your residence and travel to a remote location when you can create a personal haven right in your very own home. What does it take to transform your bathroom into a luxurious oasis, is it a steam shower, a clawfoot tub, heated floors or a sauna? To answer that question you must first decide what you want to use your spa for. Whether you just want to indulge yourself in worldly self gratifying pleasure or perhaps immerse yourself in a holistic therapeutic relaxation session, you can transform your mundane bathroom into the home spa you have always wanted by examining your needs. Read the rest of this entry »

A country style theme in your bath is a look that is loved for its ties to the rural, less complicated way of life, with its laid back attitudes and reflections of our nostalgic past. The period vintage look and charm of beaded-board wainscoting gives a nod to the antiquated style of sink faucets and handmade weathered furniture and patterns with simple shapes, fresh colors and bold patterns. When designing your bathroom, the country look can give your master or regular bath a fresh new impression, all you have to do is pick a unifying element or focal point such as a rustic object, material, shape, color or pattern and then fill your bathroom with related vintage items to enliven and decorate the space and give your bath a fresh country feel. Read the rest of this entry »

By its very nature because of the tasks you perform in it your bathroom is a private place. If you are re-designing your bath and have a family with multiple members that want to use the facility at the same time, this could be a real headache as everyone fights for their turn. The most effective way to allow several people to use your washroom simultaneously is to compartmentalize your bath. Placement of windows and window coverings also play an important role in the privacy of your loo. Read the rest of this entry »