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Designer Myths: Do Designers Just Design What They Want?
Designer Myths: Designers Just Design What They Want NO, designers don’t just do what they want. One of the most common questions we get is, “Can you do X style?” and the answer is, “Yes. But how does this style represent you?” People are often concerned that a designer will hold fast to their design […]
Spring Clean All Year Long A Hygge Guide to Decluttering
Spring Clean! Time to Declutter with a Little Hygge Decluttering. It’s been on our minds as we have been given more time to stare at the accumulation of things in our homes. The past few years have taught us that home is more than where you hang your hat. Your space affects your joy and […]
TIPS FOR COZY LIVING ROOM FURNITURE
TIPS FOR COZY LIVING ROOM FURNITURE Understanding your living room’s primary function is integral to getting the most out of your living room furniture. Is it a gathering spot for family? A place for relaxation and TV watching? Or, perhaps a showcase for personal artifacts, art and your spectacular style? Pinpointing the function is your […]
How to Furnish Your Dining Room – Dining Furniture Layouts 101
How to Furnish Your Dining Areas Selecting cohesive, functional, and stylish dining room furniture isn’t as simple as it seems. Whether you’re arranging a cozy breakfast nook, a formal dining room, or navigating the nuances of an open-concept eating area, understanding the essentials of furniture layout is key. This guide will walk you through the […]
11 Tips to Create a Cozy Home Office: A Designer’s Guide
11 Tips to Create a Cozy Home Office: A Designer’s Guide Is your home office a catch-all for things in transit in your house? In the whirlwind of running a household and being a busy professional, your office can take a backseat to other rooms in the house. Since so many people continue to work […]
Celebrating 20 Years of Hygge Design in Calgary
Celebrating 20 Years of Hygge Design in Calgary A journey from a cozy condo to the iconic Burns Building. Twenty years ago, in 2004, a spark ignited inside our founder. Inspired by a quote from Goethe, “Anything you can do, or dream you do, begin it: boldness has genius, power, and magic in it.” That […]
9 Kitchen Design Trends 2024: KHD’s Favourites
9 Kitchen Design Trends 2024: KHD’s Favourites The kitchen, where culinary creativity takes shape and family bonds are nourished – your kitchen. In a simple phrase, kitchen design trends for 2024 are timeless and warm with pops of colour. As interior designers in Calgary, we’ve got our fingers on the pulse of the interior design […]
Designing a Beautiful Home with a Thankful Heart
Designing a Beautiful Home with a Thankful Heart We speak a lot about hygge and how our spaces profoundly affect how we feel. Embarking on the path of creating a beautiful home should be filled with happy explorations. As leaves transition to a palette of warm autumnal hues, the season brings a quiet opportunity for […]
Creating Luxurious Cozy Spaces: Embracing Hygge in Calgary Interior Design
Creating Luxurious Cozy Spaces: Embracing Hygge in Calgary Interior Design When envisioning a luxurious home, opulence, elegance, and lavishness often come to mind. However, true luxury is not necessarily synonymous with extravagant materials and excessive grandeur. Luxury is about creating a space that exudes comfort, quality, and a sense of coziness. Come with us to […]
Mastering the Art of Selecting the Perfect Artwork for Your Room
Mastering the Art of Selecting the Perfect Artwork for Your Room Though not everyone is a painter or artisan, everyone has a unique appreciation of beauty in the world. Art has a remarkable ability to breathe life into a space, reflecting our personalities and evoking emotions. The appreciation of beautiful things is a deeply human […]
2023 Construction Costs Are Rising: What does that mean for Calgary home renovations?
2023 Construction Costs Are RisingWhat does that mean for Calgary home renovations? There are no two ways about this. I won’t mince words. It will cost you more to do your renovation this year than it did in previous years. Due to multiple reasons, one of which is inflation, construction costs have risen. Do rising […]
Top 7 2023 Design Trends
Top 7 2023 DESIGN TRENDS It’s no secret that Krista Hermanson Design interior design philosophy is built around timeless design with long-term thinking in mind. That doesn’t mean we don’t enjoy a good trend when we see one. The 2023 design trends are all about personalization and making your mark on your home. Forget about […]
Aging in Place: How to Stay in Love with Your Home
Aging in Place: How to Stay in Love with Your Home We all have the same hope for our golden years. We’ll live a long, healthy life surrounded by people we love in a place we call home. No one dreams about living in a senior care facility. It makes no difference how thoughtfully designed […]
NKBA Student Design Competition Winner!
NKBA Student Design Competition Winner! As proud members of NKBA (National Kitchen and Bath Association), we are excited to share that our very own Beatriz won first place in the NKBA Student Kitchen Design competition for her “Beachy Dreams” kitchen design. Doesn’t this design make you want to head to the beach? Read more about […]
Should you hire a designer or a decorator?
Should you hire a designer or a decorator? Do you know the difference between an interior designer and an interior decorator? We love HGTV for bringing our profession to the masses, but what is shown on television tends to be more décor than design. And let’s face it — not entirely realistic. The distinction between […]
Must-Have Kitchen Cabinet Accessories
Must-Have Kitchen Cabinet Accessories Kitchens are arguably the most complex room in the home and for good reason. Everyone ends up in the kitchen. It does the job of 10 rooms in one. So when you’re thinking about kitchen design, are you envisioning a sink, a range, a fridge, and a coveted large island for […]
Top 4 Reasons Scandinavian Design is Calming
Top 4 Reasons Scandinavian Design is Calming We shared seven beautiful elements of Scandinavian Design in a blog last year that listed some reasons to love it. We wanted to share a refreshed version to further explore our passion for this style of design and answer the question, “Why does Scandinavian design make you feel […]
Redfin Named Krista Hermanson Design a Top Hygge Design Expert
Redfin Named Krista Hermanson Design a Top Hygge Design Expert Redfin’s Hygge Article | KHD Feature Krista Hermanson Design & Construction was named a top hygge design expert by Redfin. Check out the article we were featured in: Hygge Design and Decor: The Secrets to Creating a Happy Home. A few weeks ago we were contacted […]
Hygge Interior Design in Calgary
HYGGE INTERIOR DESIGN IN CALGARY In case you’re new to our little community, hygge (hoo-gah or hyu-gah) is the Danish word for ‘cozy time’. In Canada, things that scream hygge are blankets, candles, and soft pyjamas — anything that makes you feel warm and… well, cozy. When Krista grounded herself in her Icelandic heritage and […]
How to Get Your Mudroom Back to School Ready
How to Get Your Mudroom Back to School Ready The kids are heading back to school and with that comes backpacks, binders, papers to sign, and glorious artwork you will no doubt display on your fridge. And let’s not forget about the seasonal sporting equipment that you’ll need to pull out of storage for those […]
Get Inspired to Create the Perfect Kitchen Layout for YOU!
Get Inspired to Create the Perfect Kitchen Layout for YOU! We always say that the kitchen is the heart of the home and as much of a cliché as that may seem, it’s true. So much of our time is spent in the kitchen sharing how our day was with family or our dog (they […]
How to Select a Stunning Lighting Scheme
How to Select a Stunning Lighting Scheme Interior design tells a story, and each room is a chapter in the same book — lighting is part of that story. As in design, there should be a string that ties fixtures together. There is a danger of telling a confusing story with missing plot lines that […]
Your 5-Minute Interior Design Fundamentals Crash Course
Your 5-Minute Interior Design Fundamentals Crash Course Good design is simple. Class dismissed. Go ahead and design your space now! If only simple were that easy. Good design is like an iceberg. You can see the tip of the iceberg. It is beautiful in its simplicity, but the real work and intricacies are hidden beneath […]
How to Create a Design Inspiration Mood Board
How to Create a Design Inspiration Mood Board When you come to a designer, you will be asked two important questions, “What is your style?” and “How do you want to feel in your space?” To answer these questions, you could use terminology like modern, Scandinavian, or simple elegance, but being a visual bunch, we […]
Exclusive Furniture and Décor Shopping Trip with a Designer in Calgary
Exclusive Furniture and Décor Shopping Trip with a Designer in Calgary Furniture and décor are the icing on the cake of a larger renovation with an interior designer. However, there are times when this is all that is required to make a space cozy. Enlisting a designer to help you select your pieces is empowering! […]
Your Basement is Going to Be Lovely if You Consider these 5 things
Your Basement is Going to Be Lovely if You Consider these 5 things After the kitchen and the bathroom, lower levels, more commonly, but less luxuriously known as basements, are next in line for being the most common renovation project. What are the top things you need to consider when you go to renovate your […]
No Surprise Renovation Costs: The Most Forgotten Budget Items
No Surprise Renovation Costs: The Most Forgotten Budget Items Let’s lift the curtain on renovation costs, shall we? Your renovation will offer an incredible change to your daily life, but what will the hard costs be? Throughout our design process, we consider the budget and costs for each item we recommend. At the completion of […]
How to Build a Strong Relationship with Your Designer and Get the Result You Want
How to Build a Strong Relationship with Your Designer and Get the Result You Want Aside from the purchase of your home, you’re making what is potentially one of your larger financial purchases when you choose to renovate your home. That experience should come with as little stress as possible. Everyone has a friend who […]
An Ode of Gratitude to the Famous 5 on Persons Day
An Ode of Gratitude to the Famous 5 on Persons Day It’s still a bit of a shock when I see this date: October 18, 1929. What’s so special about this day? It’s the date (some) women became persons under the law in Canada. Can you believe that was less than 100 years ago? It […]
Lagom vs Hygge: What’s the difference?
Lagom vs Hygge: What’s the difference? At KHD, our modus operandi is to bring beauty to people’s lives through the joy of hygge. For those not in the know, the Danish word “hygge” literally translates into English as “cozy time”. It is comprised of elements that slow us down, help us to disconnect from the […]
Entertainer’s Dream Project Case Study Part 2
Entertainer’s Dream Project Case Study Part 2 Find Part 1 of this Case Study Here: Case Study Part 1. Like part 1, we have options for you for part 2! You can read the rest of the transformation of part 2 below, or you can allow Krista to walk you through it in the video. Don’t […]
Entertainer’s Dream Project Case Study Part 1
Case Study: Entertainer’s Dream Part 1 This case study is a little bit different. We recorded a video onsite for those visual individuals like ourselves. We will share the video in two parts, but we still wanted to be sure that this information was accessible to all, so we decided to write it all out […]
5 Tips to Select Timeless Design Elements for Your Next Renovation
5 Tips to Help You Select Timeless Design Elements There is one element of design that has remained constant and long-lasting: natural materials and by default – neutral colours. If we look at the ancient designs that remain relevant in these modern times, we see that all of them share these features. So why are […]
Successful Bathroom Renovations: How to make them happen!
How to Have a Successful Bathroom Renovation! We mentioned in our last blog that interior designers take away the guesswork of the design process. Building on that thought, this week we wanted to go through some of the ways you can prepare yourself for a successful bathroom renovation. Bathrooms are second only to kitchens by […]
The Number One Reason You Need to Hire an Interior Designer
The Number One ReasonYou Need to Hire an Interior Designer Why should you hire an interior designer? We’re not going to plug our services and technical know-how in this blog – much. You wouldn’t be reading this if you didn’t know you need a designer, so we’re just going to talk to you. By the […]
Your Home Aesthetic – 6 Design Themes That You May Identify With
Selecting Your Home Aesthetic: Design Themes All designers have their niche – the style that we revel in. That doesn’t mean that we don’t enjoy playing in other design spaces. When our clients come to us, they may have a specific style in mind, and we love to explore this further to help them realize […]
7 Countertop Options to Consider When Creating Your Perfect Kitchen – 2023 Update
7 Countertop Options to Consider When Creating Your Perfect Kitchen – 2023 Update If you’re reading this, you’re in the energizing space of imagining possibilities for your home. Each element deserves careful consideration, and making so many selections may feel like too much of a good thing. Countertops can be quite costly, and they take […]
7 Beautiful Elements of Scandinavian Design
7 Beautiful Elements of Scandinavian Design Though its origin is much older, Scandinavian design reached popularity in North America in the 1950s when House Beautiful Magazine’s editor, Elizabeth Gordon, brought a travelling exhibition to Canada and the United States. She showcased the best designers hailing from Scandinavian countries on a three-year tour and we have […]
How to Prepare for Your Renovation
How to Prepare for Your Renovation Congratulations! You are going to transform your home with the help of a trusted renovator. After the euphoria of planning all the beautiful details comes the work of physically preparing your home for construction. Keep this list handy and it will guide you through the most important renovation preparation […]
Renovation Budget: How to stick to it!
Renovation Budget: How to stick to it! All right, all right, I admit it – I am more than a bit of a construction geek! One of my favourite soap-boxes is the budgeting component of any renovation project. KHD has executed literally hundreds of home renovations on budget with budgets ranging from $50,000 to $1,500,000. […]
A Renovation Love Story
A RENOVATION LOVE STORY At KHD we love stories. Happily, we get to live them with our clients every month! Here’s a renovation love story for the ages! This sweet couple had been married for about a year when we first met them back in 2016. They asked for our help to transform their master […]
18 Ways to Celebrate National Hygge Day!
Ways to Celebrate Hygge Day Brrrrr! Baby, it’s cold outside and it’s going to get colder yet. But don’t despair! KHD personally declared February 1st to be National Hygge Day in 2019 and we have been celebrating ever since. We’re working on making it official! Hygge (pronounced hoo-gah) is a concept that inspires joyful living, togetherness, […]
Considering a Kitchen Renovation?
Considering a kitchen renovation? We LOVE renovating. At Krista Hermanson Design & Construction, the before and after transformations never cease to thrill us! Planning For Your Kitchen Renovation A well-conceived design plan is the often-overlooked first step to ensure a happy result. Careful planning is synonymous with avoiding costly mistakes. We’ve all known someone who […]
Hygge Reflections on Adventures of 2018
Joyful Hygge Memories from 2018 It’s early morning on the last day of the year, my home is quiet and family from out of town are asleep upstairs. I am enjoying my second cup of Icelandic coffee and the smell of muffins baking while I consider the many hygge reflections on the adventures of KHD […]
The Joy of Hygge
The Joy of Hygge We confess that we are more than a bit obsessed with great design. But the personal element in many environments is sadly lacking. The fabric of Scandinavian culture contains many elements to inspire a richer daily existence within our homes. At KHD, the central of these is the concept of hygge. […]
7 Must Know Decorating Tips for a Designer’s Touch
7 Must Know TipsTo Decorate Your Home Like a Designer As a Calgary interior designer, there is nothing more fun than creating and executing a vision for a space. Here are my top seven decorating tips to help you bring hygge and a designer’s touch to your living space. Whether it’s re-inventing a tired room that […]
What to Expect at Your First Design Meeting
What to Expect At Your First Design Meeting You’re ready to renovate or refresh your space and poised to meet with your Calgary interior designer. To get maximum results from your designer’s expertise, here are some ideas to help you prepare for your first design meeting. Our profession owes a great deal to HGTV – […]
How to Hire the Right Calgary Home Renovation Company
Selecting the Right Calgary Home Renovation Company It sounds like a crazy fantasy, but it is possible to have a beautiful Calgary home renovation completed on time and on budget. You just have to hire the RIGHT renovator. Here’s what to look for: 1. Start with your network If you know someone who has had a […]