Edmonton Renovation Show Main Stage: Get the look!

In January of 2020, I had the opportunity to design and set up the main stage at the Edmonton Renovation Show. The main stage was presented by The Edmonton Journal. I had a lot of great feedback on how the space turned out and wanted to share with you details about the design and the items that were used in the space!

January in Edmonton is rather cold and rather dark, so when it came to designing a space for a January home show in Edmonton, I wanted it to just feel good! Warm, inviting, and stylish!

One of the first things I do when designing a space is put together some inspiration pics on pinterest. It is not an exact roadmap, but it definitely sets the tone! Here is the one I did for the renovation show main stage.

My first selection for the show was the paint colour!

I don’t normally start with paint, in fact, that is usually the last item I choose! In this case though the show organizers needed that info sooner rather than later. I had thought of doing a light colour, to make people feel some light and bright in the cool wintery months, but somehow, the fit didn’t seem right. I wanted cozy in yet crisp. Not Christmas cozy, but fresh stylish cozy. I began sifting through my Cloverdale paint samples. I found my green, but knew that if every wall was green, it would would too much and too dark. I decided to contrast with a soft white. I imagined a collage of simple black and white images on the clean white wall. My final Cloverdale paint selections were 0438 Delicious and 0011 Sugar Dust… Sounds like the perfect combo right?!

Next I worked on the layout of the space. I knew the dimensions and plugged them into my design program. This was a stage, more of a backdrop really for the speakers, but I was aware they may need a spot or two for sitting. A living room style set up made the most sense and for whatever reason I kept coming back to a U shaped seating area. I had hoped to find a U shaped sectional. I thought of everything being rather simple, but impactful. I wanted the space to feel relaxed, simple, but still oozing with style and quiet sophistication!

I headed to my amazing furniture suppliers; Konto and Sofaland, sister companies, locally owned. If you haven’t been to these two stores in a while I would seriously recommend going. I feel like they’ve really upped their game in recent years. They carry a large variety of furnishings and it seems to me the pieces are a lot more on point, style wise, than in the past. I’ve been so impressed with their trendiness and price points. I find myself sending my clients to them regularly!

Furnishings main stageI thoroughly enjoyed wondering through the Sofaland and Konto showrooms. First order of business was a brown leather U-shaped sectional. I found 2 fabulous U shaped sectionals on the floor, but they didn’t have quite the look I wanted. I also found an amazing leather L shaped sectional, but it wasn’t a U shape. I continued to wonder through and ponder what I should do. There was not the time nor budget to order in custom pieces, so I had to re-adjust the vision a bit. I found a grey tufted L shaped sectional, that I adored! I knew I wanted to use it, but I still really wanted to bring in the tan leather as well. I had an L shaped sectional and now I wondered, should I do a chair with it? Or a love seat? In keeping with the U look, I decided the scale of a love seat made more sense. The Gibson love seat sang to my soul with it’s clean but slightly retro lines and the shade of tan… completely swoon worthy!

One of the first pieces I spied was the amazing round wood top coffee table; no matter the upholstery I really wanted to use that coffee table! Finally, as I happily meandered Sofaland, I came across the fabulous ‘furry’ ottomans. These were quite simply a must-have!

With my main pieces decided, it was all about accessories now. I wanted a layer of different toss cushions, but I wanted to keep the overall look simple and not busy. I chose a variety of natural looking cushions and a throw. More texture over colours.

I realized that the look I wanted would have a lot of simple natural earthy elements. What’s the easiest way to make a space earthy and natural? Plants! I was sure to grab lots of plants, even a couple I could work into my collage wall! In an ideal world, nothing beats live plants. But let’s face it a fake plant always looks better than a dead plant.. some of us… uh hem… don’t have a green thumb. And, honestly, fake plants have come a long way! Many look incredibly real and they come minus all the upkeep.

One of my favourite things on that stage was the wood dog head. I found it at Konto. I had it sitting on an end table. I’m not sure why I loved it so. Maybe because I adore animals. Maybe the warmth of the wood. Maybe the unexpected whimsy. Anyway, I loved it.

Next, I went to one of my all-time favourite lighting stores in Edmonton, Robinson. They have an incredible selection of lighting, from very affordable and trendy to amazing high-end designer lines! I know there are a range of places that offer lighting, these ones really stood out to me and were better suited to the aesthetic I was going for. Some of the fittings available look quite complex to install so I would recommend using a professional company to install them. After all, you want any lighting fixtures to be installed properly to avoid any damage or injury. I originally imagined my lighting to be a bit utilitarian for the stage. I thought about doing 4 tasteful simple pendant lights that would be hung in a box shape over the seating area. After choosing the seating and knowing it was technically more variety than I’d originally wanted, I settled instead on 2 pendants to accent the back green feature wall and then one simple earthy fixture hung over the coffee table. I found the pendants almost immediately, clean, sophisticated and simple; half brass and half milk glass spheres. They were perfect! Next, was something that would compliment them over the coffee table. What I really wanted over the coffee table was a woven looking light fixture or a wood beaded fixture, bringing in more of those organic earthy elements. Again due to time and budget, I had to choose something readily available. This was not a difficult task though as Robinson has a variety of beautiful options. I found the basket look in a fabulous brassy finish, the perfect compliment to my sphere pendant fixtures!

I was so excited for this look to come together. The organizers asked me if I wanted a faux window or millwork trim detail on my back wall. This was a no brainer for me; the trim detail all the way!!! Again it leant itself to the clean, simple, but stylish look I was wanting for the space. It made my 0438 Delicious (green paint) come to life!! This detail really added to the design of the stage, definitely would not have been the same without it.

I had acquired amazing original drawings by local artist Stephen Spisak. They are fabulous vintage ink sketches of Edmonton from 1971! I’ve been hanging on to them for the perfect Edmonton design project, but I thought why not showcase them at the Renovation Show. I decided to put them in my collage wall. The slightly yellowed paper added to the natural feel I was incorporating into the space.

With every home show, comes the obligatory Homesense run! Good ol’ Homesense! Truly, what did designers do before Homesense?! Needless to say, it is one of my favorites for all those extra little bits. It was at Homesense that I found so great black and white framed art to mix up with my Spisak pieces. The very last item I purchased for the show, was the area rugs. Also found at Homesense. I knew I wanted a natural-looking area rug, natural fibers, earthy, maybe Jute. I found 2. I really quite loved them both, so I decided to use both. There is something so casually cool about layered area rugs! I can honestly say that the area rugs were the touch that really pulled my look together.

I wanted to give you a rundown of all the items in the space, their prices, and also how much my fee to design and set up would be. I was thrilled that people seemed to really connect with this space, so I wanted to share all the details I could about it in case you wanted to re-create any part of the look in your own home! Details below!

Paint: Cloverdale 0438 Delicious (green) and 0011 Sugar Dust (white)

Light fixtures: Robinson (lighting and bath)

Gold Basket Pendant (over coffee table) – $333

Globe Pendant (green wall) – $123/fixture *Total $579

Furniture and Accessories: Konto and Sofaland

Gibson Loveseat, 100% leather $1799 (avail to custom order in 100’s of leathers)

Myles Grey Fabric Sectional $2299 (avail to custom order in other fabrics and leathers)

Block 42″ Round Coffee Table $599

Block 22″x22″ End Table $279

Cream & Grey Jolie Round Ottoman $349/ea (avail to custom order in over 400 fabrics)

8′ Fiddle Leaf Fig Tree $349.99

Cycas Palm in glass vase with brown twine $249.99

Set of 3 Octavia Round Wall Planters $129.99/set 3 (I only used 2 in my set up)

Colourful Wool Throw $179.99

White Toss Pillows w/ black writing $49.99/ea

Beige Macramé Toss Pillows and Woven pillows $99.99/ea *Total 7083.90

Original art: House of J $325/ea *Total $750.00

Accessories/Rugs: Homesense black and white framed art 3 small and 5 med size $189.94, coffee table potted grass plant $29.99, wood log stand $24.99, large patterned area rug $399.99, medium woven area rug 299.99 *Total $939.90

*Furniture and Accessories total: $9352.80 +gst

Design fee: Includes- floorplan and design, furniture and accessory sourcing/purchasing, and set up. *Total $2250.00

*Grand Total for design fee, furniture and accessories: 11602.80 + GST

*Please note: Pricing subject to change. All pricing was calculated at the time of Renovation Show and may not be current. All product may not be available.

Thanks for checking out this post! Want more? Check out my recent post on What to Consider when renovating your home!