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“Rooms should feel personal. Your home shouldn't be a cookie cutter where you get inspiration from someone else's house and cut and paste it into yours to copycat it,” says Leigh-Ann Allaire Perrault, resident design & DIY expert on Cityline and featured presenter at the upcoming 2024 Edmonton Renovation Show. “I think you should have some sort of personal connection to at least some elements in every room of your home.”

While you can’t deny that neutral, stark white spaces filled with light wood and minimalist design touches are beautiful, it sometimes feels like we have hit a critical mass with ‘Instagramable’ homes — especially if that’s not your style. With a return to individualized and thoughtful design, 2024 is about personalizing a space to your needs. 

“I'll be completely candid: I hate the term trends,” says Leigh-Ann. “Following the trends is kind of challenging. I like to focus on the mood of the space, and of course, any trends you want to incorporate should fall into those moods and the vibe that you want to create.”

As part of her main stage appearance at the Edmonton Renovation Show, Leigh-Ann is sharing how she transformed her primary suite into a chic, Parisienne-inspired oasis. Using her experience and style advice, Leigh Ann shares her tips for personalizing home design to capture your likes and wants. 

“First and foremost, the easiest, fastest and most effective way to transform a space is with colour. In my case, my bedroom before was a dark, muddy-toned brown that just wasn't serving the space and certainly lacked personality. I chose a colour palette that gave this light freshness to the space.

You can create different moods in your home through colour. For example, using monochromatic tones — meaning using either variations of one single colour or analogous colours that are similar to each other — can be very calming and relaxing, especially in a bedroom. Ultimately, you're trying to maintain a low-contrast environment. High contrast can create a sense of chaos. So when you keep things very low contrast, it tends to feel very calm, very relaxing. 

If you prefer your space to be void of a lot of colour or shifts in different hues, you can add in a lot of textures while keeping colours more muted.

“If you are looking to elevate your space, lighting is key. And it’s not just the addition of lighting, but being able to control your lighting, whether you want it completely dark or nice and bright. In our bedroom, we have California shutters, so we can close those and have, like, an almost completely dark space. When I say bright, think about functional lighting. Ironically, I find we don't use the overhead lighting very much in our space. I prefer functional lighting beside the bed that is easy to access. 

Really think about where you are placing the lighting in your room, including overhead lighting and how it functions. Dimmers are amazing, especially in a bedroom. When you are winding down your day, not having harsh lighting when you're going to bed or when you're waking up in the morning can make a huge difference.” 

“Focus on what you want the space to feel like. I am a big advocate of designing around adjectives. Especially for people who are sharing a dwelling, if they can agree on what they want and the mood and the vibe to be in the space, it can help to dictate the entire design and create a cohesive look that all parties will be in love with.

I love the idea of selecting three adjectives to focus all of the design decisions on. So for my husband and I, for our bedroom, we knew that we wanted tranquillity, Parisienne luxe and lived-in comfort. Tranquillity came from the colours, Parisienne luxe was in the details and choosing furniture and decor that didn’t feel like-new or overly precious gave the room that lived-in and comfortable feel. The adjectives you choose help drive all the design decisions and are the connective tissue with the final design.”