SCANDINAVIAN TOUCH
The Stampede Rotary Dream Home
It’s a concept you may see in Sweden, Norway or Denmark.
And soon it’ll soon be displayed in a home filled with people in Wrangler jeans, denim jackets, cowboy boots and Smithbilt hats.
Homes by Avi took a Scandinavian approach to this year’s Stampede Rotary Dream Home.
The two-storey, 3,253-squarefoot home (space includes the future finished basement) will be on display at Stampede Park throughout the Calgary Stampede, which runs from July 7 to 16.
It will be raffled off, by tickets purchased through Calgary Stampede Lotteries, by mail, phone, or online at www.calgarystampedelotteries.ca. Phone and mail details are listed on the website. Tickets will also be available at an on-site ticket station during the Stampede.
Once the home is won, it will be moved to a lot in the new northwest community of Carrington, by Genstar Development Co.
In its design, there are several examples of how the home borrows from Nordic Europe. It emphasizes functionality and storage, while weaving in elements of “hygge,” a Danish term (pronounced “hooga”) focused on cosiness.
“This is our take on it,” says Julie Punter, manager of show home selections and presentation for Homes by Avi. “This was what we feel ‘Scandinavian’ embodied, and we really want to embrace that.”
“The one thing about Scandinavian design that’s really important is just the functionality of everything ... how everything works well together, and I think it really shows in this house,” she adds.
The home’s colour scheme features light-toned woods, greys, black accents, and eye-catching hexagon-themed inserts.
This includes the welcoming main floor great room.
“Even though it’s a gas fireplace, right off the bat, one thing we wanted was stacked logs. I really like it,” says Punter.
A cut-out filled with stacked wood runs up one side of the fireplace. It’s surrounded in tile meant to resemble grey brick and features a white oak mantel.
The great room also has a wall featuring a lime plaster product, intended to add “texture and mood” to the space, says Punter.
For places to eat, this home has options. Depending on the tone of the meal, people can sit in the dining area or at a friendly builtin eating nook in the kitchen. The nook also has an extended eating bar that seats four more people.
The kitchen itself is an L-shaped design, where an island shares the central area with the aforementioned eating nook. It has a high volume of cabinets, along with open shelves in light wood, with black coloured appliances, including a wall oven, fridge with French doors, and chimney-style hood fan.
Just off the kitchen is a craft nook with a built-in desk and shelves that Punter calls “a great little space for dropping your keys, doing your homework. It could be an office.
A great space for whatever your family’s needs are.”
Prominently featured here is a contemporary portrait of Albert Einstein by Calgarian artist John F. Gerrard. His work is displayed throughout the home, after he was selected from about 100 artists to win this year’s Homes by Avi Dream Home Artist competition.
“We are really happy with John,” Punter says, calling the Einstein painting “fun.”
“He is very particular about his work, very organized,” she adds. “His art, being very contemporary, just felt good in this house.”
The craft nook then links to a large mud room with “nice builtins and lots of storage,” Punter says. “All about that function. Coming in, taking your boots off, and having places to put all your things.”
The second floor has three bedrooms, an over- sized laundry room, and bonus room with a bar area.
However, this is the first Stampede Rotary Dream Home that will come with a developed basement once it has been moved to its permanent site. The basement development will include a fourth bedroom.
In the master bedroom, wood covers the wall behind the bed and continues on the ceiling above it. It has a spacious walk-in closet, and ensuite filled with visual interest.
A stylish pattern provides accent treatment to the wall around the mirror above the vanities, behind the free-standing tub, and most notably, the shower.
“Hopefully, it’s one of the things people talk about,” Punter says.
Another accent is the black base to the tub and darker grout around the tiles. There’s also light below the floating vanity.
When coming up with the look for one of the secondary bedrooms, staged with two cribs, Punter and company went a different, ahem, root.
“We decided also when we put this wallpaper ... we thought it was a little bit plain,” says Punter. “So (Homes by Avi show home decorator Chloe Leung) and I decided we wanted to potato stamp it. We literally cut potatoes and we stamped it. That is all hand-done.”
The laundry room has a stacked front-load washer and dryer, and as Punter says of the space, “it’s big.”
“A sink, folding space, storage space, hanging space,” she says. “For someone who loves doing laundry, it’s a dream.”