The Home Tour: Rich, Sumptuous Colour Anchors a Decadent Calgary Home

Edmonton-based interior designer Brianna Hughes knew exactly what she and her team were dealing with the very first day she arrived at a new client’s condo for a consultation. The slippers gave it away: four designer pairs, sitting neatly by the front door.

“You could tell she loved being decadent,” laughs Hughes, warmly recalling the early conversations with the successful paediatric dentist for whom the team would eventually design a 2,583-square-foot home (beginning it while she was at Ministry of Interiors, and putting the finishing touches on it under her own eponymous firm). And with four bedrooms and five bathrooms to work with, Hughes and co. had plenty of opportunity to embrace that decadence.

The Calgary house is stunning and sumptuous—a home built for entertaining and delighting, with rich detail and layers galore. “She wasn’t afraid to play with colour, she loved materials, she loves to have fun and push the envelope,” says Hughes. “It’s wild, but every room balances each other.”

The green plaster finish in the powder room ties into the green-striped tile in the guest bath. Maroons and creams and browns elsewhere complete a saturated, indulgent palette. Darker oak floors and cabinetry add to the richness, while white walls keep the space feeling open and bright.

In the living room, a marble fireplace is flanked by Saba sofas upholstered in mink velvet. The branch-like light fixture is from Luminaire Authentik. The Bonaldo dining room table was retrofitted with bronze legs, and flanked with maroon Panton chairs. Dark brown velvet upholstery on the bench notes to the oak cabinetry. “Everything is kind of moody and dark and sexy,” says Hughes.

The same marble from the fireplace is repeated in the bathroom, complementing the forest-green plaster walls. “Hollywood” lights illuminate the mirror. “We didn’t want it to be a super feminine house, but those lights do play into the feminine side of design,” says Hughes.

In the kitchen, the countertop and backsplash are actually a porcelain. A custom metal hood fan looks like it has a leather finish—beautiful against the Farrow and Ball Studio Green cabinetry. The island drops down to the eating area (a wood top on a reeded base). The Menu stools at the island countertop are reupholstered with House of Hackney velvet and a blue fringe.

The concrete bathtub is from Nood Co; it’s a gorgeous blush-nude hue that seems to glow against the Stone Tile porcelain tile that lines the floors and walls. The light fixtures come from Montreal’s Luinarir. The intense black veining adds drama but also serves a practical function: “We wanted a tile that would hide hair,” laughs Hughes.

The custom blush velvet bedframe accommodates a cushy orthopedic mattress; a coat of Benjamin Moore’s Espresso on the wall creates a monochromatic effect. A tone-on-tone cream room “feels like a womb,” says Hughes. A wood-clad ceiling adds even more warmth and depth.

A custom marble vanity is built into the closet, alongside reeded cabinetry. “She has the biggest closet I’ve ever seen in my life,” laughs Hughes.

A curved stairway wall curls the steps elegantly from the second floor to the basement. The stair-runner is antelope hide, and the entryway is painted a maroon hue from Farrow and Ball, accented with a Linge Roset mirror.

All in all, it’s a home designed to celebrate luxury—the perfect home for a homeowner with some serious style to slip on her slippers and dip into decadence in every room.

More Photos of This Decadent Calgary Home