Main Stage Mania: Design Royalty to Descend on the Calgary Home + Garden Show

Calling all would-be rookie home renovators and designers! The State Farm Main Stage at the upcoming Calgary Home + Garden Show will play host to Canada’s top names in design, renovation and real estate – all armed with the wisdom and experience to find solutions to your toughest home project queries.

With big names like HGTV’s Bryan Baeumler and Tommy Smythe, plus the city’s top local experts, there will be no shortage of expert tips sure to take any home from admittedly underwhelming to delightedly outstanding. We sat down with these two fellas to discuss their current musings in home improvement and design – read below for a glimpse of what’s to come in each of their presentations!

Bryan Baeumler
As the star of HGTV’s Leave It To Bryan and House of Bryan, not to mention the new season Canada’s Handyman Challenge (airing now!), Bryan Baeumler is not one to shy away from a home improvement challenge. Join Bryan on the Main Stage on Friday, February 28 at 6PM and Saturday, March 1 at 11AM for his presentation on How To Save Your Home From Yourself, where the HGTV star will share his top tips for overcoming the most overwhelming of home improvement obstacles to arrive at the successful and rewarding achievement of your dream home.

What is your signature design style? And where do you find most of your design inspiration?

Bryan: Comfortably solid and efficient. I find my design inspiration all around me, but mostly in my head. I can’t see myself doing anything else – if I worked anywhere other than the design industry I would have to quit my job and return immediately!

What is one new home improvement tool you would like to add to your collection this year? And which local retail shop are you most likely to stop at to make the purchase?

Bryan: A welder. We break a lot of stuff around the shop! Lowe’s is great and my wife and I spend a lot of time there - it’s a great place to pick up any and all tools needed for home improvement projects.

Tommy Smythe

Tommy Smythe’s ever-reciprocated love affair with all things interior design has been made evident on several of HGTV’s most popular series, including design inc., Sarah’s House, Sarah’s Cottage and Sarah 101. Bring a pen and paper stage-side to learn the art of Mastering the Mix on the State Farm Main Stage on Friday, February 28 at 7PM and Saturday, March 1 at 1PM.

What’s your design mantra?

Tommy: Every renovation project begins with ‘The Triangle of Expectation’ – basically there’s good, there’s fast and there’s cheap.  You can have two out of the three.  It’s foolproof, universal and it always impresses. Real style is derived from confidence and the most confident among us are the risk takers. As the great American decorator Billy Baldwin once said, “A person with real flair is a gambler at heart” – I live by this credo.

Finish this sentence: If I didn’t work in the design industry, I would…

Tommy: Die. Or design menswear. Fashion has always been a major area of interest for me. My sister, Christie, actually went into that field; alongside her co-designer, Andrea Lenczner, the two head Smythe Les Vestes. Since fashion and design are so closely related, Andrea, Christie and I often exchange thoughts on colour, pattern, texture and detail. It’s really creatively stimulating to bounce ideas off of each other!

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Whatever your design dilemma, the helpful hints doled out at this year’s Calgary Home + Garden Show are not to be missed! To view the entire State Farm Main Stage schedule at the Calgary Home + Garden Show, please click here. See you there!