Kait Kucy

Heima Home
Like many first-time home builders, David and Breanne Heidrich had a strong vision for their modern country home. They envisioned an architectural piece peppered with influences of minimalistic Scandinavian design and the traditional prairie farmhouses seen in the Alberta foothills region. They planned to create a beautiful space for their family to grow up in, while implementing sustainable design methods and cost-saving alternatives.
David and Breanne are full-time wedding photog...

Last week we toured Alison Andersen’s Beltline apartment. This week we take you through her best friend and next door neighbour Kate Husted’s space. Having just returned in Calgary under a year ago from Montreal, Husted initially lived with Alison in her suite for several months. When the apartment next door came up for rent, they both knew they couldn’t hesitate – Kate had to move in next door.
Since moving in, Husted has sacrificed her bedroom for a shared art studio with Andersen, where th...

Victoria Park, home to advertising agencies, Village Ice Cream and the former location of the National Music Centre, is a neighbourhood bound for a bit of a design revolution. One of the first new retail spaces that marks this renaissance for Calgary’s second oldest neighbourhood is The Loft, a multi-use design project helmed by the team at Amanda Hamilton Interior Design.
The concept is fairly straightforward. The Loft acts as a hub for the design team to meet with clients, while also provid...

Edmonton-based Ryan Spotowski, the designer behind Ryspot Design, is the third generation in his family to work with concrete, which he sees as more than just an industrial material. Rather, he considers it the perfect medium for creating beautiful home decor and furniture pieces. “I enjoy that concrete comes alive for a very short period of time when you can do anything with it,” says Spotowski. “It’s like photography, where you’re physically creating something in a very short period of time...

What’s old is new again with the Parts + Labor collection. The women’s clothing and accessories brand by designer Jennifer Mehalko launched in 2017 with quirky designs and feminist-forward sentiments. It quickly garnered a following by some of the most sartorial of the city and now it is expanding to offer a vintage line of one-of-a-kind pieces that have been lovingly curated and restyled to fit under the Parts + Labor label.
The Parts + Labor capsules always weave together Mehalko’s overall ...

If you’re contemplating a home-decor update and your need for help (or your budget) falls somewhere between being able to do it all on your own and needing a full design service, Palette Archives is for you. This new company headed by interior designer Amanda Hamilton aims to take some of the legwork and guesswork out of selecting finishings by having curated palettes of flooring, cabinetry, wallpaper, paint and tile samples sent directly to your door. The Palette Archives showcases more than...

A heritage space in Victoria Park gets a restorative reno inspired by its restaurateur (and hobby-surfer) owner.
Jeff Hines knows how to create a mood. For seven years now, the restaurateur has been serving up sunny and quirky Mexican taquerias—with a side of top-shelf tequila—to Calgarians with his Beltline restaurants Anejo and Blanco (and soon-to-open Reposado). Hines, a tequila aficionado who moonlights as a hobby surfer in Sayulita, Mexico, is intent on bringing the laid-back vibe of his...

Taking the entire top floor of a new condo building in Hillhurst, this penthouse has been transformed into a home with heart and soul, plus a touch of glamour.
When interior designer Ijmal Haider of Haider Design Group first stepped into the new Hillhurst condo owned by John Eresman and Ali Walker, it felt like the proverbial blank canvas, ready for his paintbrush.
The home encompasses the entire top floor of the building, complete with stunning, nearly 360-degree skyline views. Haider’s task...

This tiny 22-seat watering hole is pretty in pink.
If you blink, you might completely miss the blush-coloured door that leads into Bar Annabelle. That’s because the wine and tapas bar is quietly tucked alongside its big sister, Blink Restaurant and Bar, one of Calgary’s staple eateries in the heritage district of Stephen Avenue Walk. But seeking out that pink entrance is worthwhile: behind it, you’ll find the ideal spot for a modern-day flâneuse to perch with a glass of rosé at a sparkling on...

Local Valentine's Day gift ideas from lifestyle expert Kait Kucy.

Sarah Ward built her company up to a team of four over the past five years with noteworthy clients such as Two Penny Chinese, Donna Mac and Proof Cocktail Bar, among countless others. The 1,200-square-foot space where the vision and planning for such projects unfold is a beautiful snippet of what the Sarah Ward Interiors team can create for their clients. Ward shares her inspiration and design direction for her Beltline studio.
Location, Location, Location
“I really loved the idea of setting ...

Taste your way around the offerings at Last Best Brewing. (Photo: Courtesy of Last Best Brewing)
Eat + Drink
While taprooms and microbreweries have long been a staple in cities like Toronto and Vancouver, thanks to some governmental red tape specific to the Province of Alberta, Calgary’s potential to incubate an industry of innovative, small-batch craft beer was stifled for years and years.
“There were these crazy laws in place that said that in order to even apply to become a brewery, you ha...

When Victor Diep moved into his 910-square-foot modern, contemporary condo in the Guardian Tower in 2016 he was excited to work with a blank slate. While the fixtures and colour palettes were standard to the building, Diep created a space that is anything but cookie cutter. Diep is a full-time accountant and spends his free time learning as much as he can about interior decorating and design. This self-proclaimed Homesense shopping expert documents his interior design adventures on Instagram ...

Shop Local
Writer and lifestyle expert Kait Kucy brings us gift ideas for those who want to shop local vendors this holiday season.