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us with that, but that's all
coming up later on the show.
But first Erin McLaughlin
recently toured a family space
that was designed with serenity
in mind.
[Music playing]
>> Creating a serene space in
the city is no easy feat,
especially when you have a busy
family of four.
Designer Tim Lam, who we
absolutely adore, has done
exactly that.
Let's take a look around.
[Music playing]
>> The neutral kitchen is clean
and tranquil.
There are only two glass front
cabinets and a built-in wine
rack, so the visual clutter is
kept to a minimum.
The use of white is key to the
serenity of the space.
Although it is white, a
porcelain sub way tile is easy
to clean and provides a neutral
backdrop for countertop
accessories.
The countertop blends into the
space and it can handle just
about anything.
It is heat, stain and mildew
resistant.
[Music playing]
>> In an open concept space,
it's great when you can take the
same colour way and move it from
space to space.
Here we have those gorgeous
serene colours and we see them
again in the dining room.
The overall look is beautiful
and harmonious.
The layers of warm neutral
fabrics, bleached wood
furniture, putty coloured paint
and grey pattern curtains all
work together seamlessly to
synchronize the space.
Using furniture is another great
way to link together two spaces.
In this case, we've got the
amazing traditional style
cabinetry in the kitchen and
then we've got a mixture of
French and Scandinavian
furniture in the living room.
We've got white, we've got grey,
a bit of cream, and it looks
fabulous.
Hardwood flooring in a beautiful
antique browns grounds this very
pale pretty space.
This living room exudes a soft
tailored elegance.
I love how Tim as upholstered
these pieces in a very durable
fabric, but it still looks
velvety an comfortable.
The built-ins here are far from
boring.
We've got open shelves and
baskets to control the clutter,
and the TV is hidden behind
closed doors.
As you can see, by using a soft
palette and keeping consistency
in mind, it's easy to create a
beautiful space that's perfect
for family life, and it feels
like a serene retreat.
>> Steven: Beautiful.
Everyone please welcome Erin
McLaughlin.
Welcome to the show!
>> Erin McLaughlin: Hi!
>> Chris: That space was
spectacular.
Who designed that again sorry?
>> Erin McLaughlin: Tim Lam.
Young designer, very talented
and did a great job.
>> Steven: That's the nice
thing, it's a serene, calm
space.
>> Erin McLaughlin: Yes, and
this was a family of four.
I mean imagine little kids
running around.
>> Chris: And you need that
little space for that, you know?
That was all very neutral, which
I absolutely love, but we're
going to talk now about how we
can put little elements of
colour into a space and keep it
serene at the same time.
>> Erin McLaughlin: Yeah, so
first of all, these palettes
are all about me.
So these are all my colours.
>> Chris: These are Erin
McLaughlin colour schemes.
>> Erin McLaughlin: I mean it's
actually a very universal colour
scheme and it's a great way to
decorate your house, and it's
not really a seasonal style.
It's something that you can use
all year round and you'll never
get sick of it.
>> Steven: So the first one,
let's talk about this one here.
This is a beautiful colour
scheme.
>> Erin McLaughlin: Yeah, so
mauves, you know, we saw purple
and charcoal grey being really
hot a few years ago and they've
all gotten a much softer, as we
said, subtle, serene, but
they're still, you know, when
you layer all these different
tones of it and some pattern,
it's gorgeous.
>> Steven: They're sophisticated
because they're slightly I wanna
say greyed out, almost.
They're not juvenile, 'cause a
lot of times you kind of think,
you know, those purples and
mauves.
>> Chris: Absolutely, could be
a little bit too jarring, but
these are like you said, they've
got a softness to them.
>> Steven: And even in the
picture here, although there's a
lot of pattern, it's not overly
busy.
It is still quite calm.
>> Erin McLaughlin: No, it's
very graphic, and you know,
when we look at this image,
there's a lot of graphic
layering here and you can see
there's a little bit of floral.
Again, it's those classic lines.
So we have a small graphic,
stripe and a little bit of
floral.
>> Chris: Nice elements, and
next here we have the blue.
Soft pale blue, isn't this one
really pretty everyone?
This one I think for me is just
one of those ones that's
inviting, it's calming.
I feel like I'm gonna head to
the water, I'm gonna look at the
sky.
>> Erin McLaughlin: Yeah, kind
of spa colours but a bit more
grey and you know we've put in
some marble here so you can see
how it could work in a kitchen
or a bathroom.
You know, again, we have the
linen, so you can see it's a bit
wrinkly, so it makes it a bit
more casual, and then again some
solids.
>> Chris: A little touch of
leather in there, I like that
'cause that actually feels very
natural.
>> Erin McLaughlin: It kind of
gives it that next layer of
elegance.
>> Steven: The last one here.
>> Chris: Probably everybody's
favourite, I think this is where
everybody leans to.
>> Erin McLaughlin: Green is
tough to get right, same with
yellow, so this is a good
combination of both.
>> Steven: Of green and yellows.
Yeah, beautiful.
And then in the picture here,
again, you know, that's the nice
thing that you were saying is
that all of these could be used
in different rooms.
You know, this could be used in
a kitchen, bedroom, doesn't
matter.
>> Chris: Beautiful.
All right, we're gonna take a
quick break.
When we come back, Erin's going
to be going in and she's going
to be talking the guestroom and
she doesn't want them to stay
forever, but she definitely
wants them to enjoy their time,