This Bright and Airy—and Playful—Calgary Home Was Inspired by a Dress

It started with an avocado print dress.

The client, a new homeowner in Calgary’s Montgomery neighbourhood, approached designer Louis Duncan-He of Louis Duncan-He Designs to inject some colour and shift the overall feeling of the modern build to something more her. And so while touring the home, Duncan-He asked the client to show him her favourite article of clothing. “She pulled out this dress that was avocado print and I was like, okay, I’ve got it,” he says. It would be the catalyst behind this fun, vibrant space.

As a baseline, the designer kept the look streamlined and airy, with bolder and playful styling, furnishings and features to reflect the client’s personality. The walls were painted dual shades of blue (Blue Heather and River Blue by Benjamin Moore) and are complemented by pops of cheerful yellow in the furnishings and floral accents.

A custom illustrative mural of a tiger is the focal point of the living room, playing on the client’s love for cats. To keep the space balanced, it was skillfully divided into two parts and installed on wood panels that matched the existing cabinetry. The arched design of the panels ties-in with the big and bold colour-block arches on the wall of the dining room.

“I knew that I wanted some sort of graphic device to connect the dining room and the living room,” says Duncan-He. “We wanted a shape that was kind of fluid. If it had been a square, it might have been too hard.”

In the dining area, a translucent bubble chandelier by Regina Andrews brings in a playful feel of the living room. Custom colour-blocked drapery in both rooms, produced by Calgary Window Fashions, also helps connect the two spaces.

In the bright entryway, a round mirror from Structube and a touch of greenery was added to the gallery wall to give it more dimension. Blue grasscloth wallpaper by York Wallcoverings adds texture and interest, while keeping a mix of similar tones from appearing monotonous. The space is a balanced combination of complementary elements that still feels distinctive to the client.

“I don’t want all my projects to look the same,” Duncan-He says. “To me, if their friends and family come and they say, ‘oh my god, this space feels exactly like you,’ that’s when I know that I’ve done my job.”