KIM MECKLER
During the years I lived in Lacombe I was consistently charmed by the heritage in that wonderful city.
From the Flatiron building to the endless streets full of beautiful homes lined with trees, Lacombe is the place to be for people who want to live the charmed life.
Heritage is a treasure and some municipalities have done an exceptional job in keeping it a beautiful part of the landscape.
Many homes have glassed in porches and lovely pillars which give the homes such charm. Those who love older homes (as I do) enjoy the creaky floors and drafty spaces and consider it a privilege to live in homes with crooked plaster walls and floors that tilt at odd angles.
The romance of these homes lies in their mystery, the decades of living that has gone on in them. Was the home once a place for recovering soldiers to convalesce?
Did it hold grand tea parties or garden soirees with ladies wearing wide hats and white gloves? Or could it have possibly been a place where mysterious and spooky happenings caused things to go bump in the night?
Whatever the reason, there is a wonderful shroud of mystery in these century-old beauties.
I encourage you to take a tour, it might seem weird but when I owned one of these majestic homes in Lacombe, people would come to my door and ask if they could see inside.
It seems a brazen thing to do and it was mostly by brave parents trick or treating with their children but still - what fun! I couldn’t help beaming with pride knowing that my neighbours were curious about my home and its history.
I guarantee you that most people who own these types of abodes would be eager to show them off.
Heritage homes have so much story and most homeowners are well-versed in the history of their particular home. Knocking on a neighbour’s door with freshly baked strawberry muffins doesn’t hurt either.
If you are fortunate to live in a heritage home then do your homework and learn the history and the architecture behind your home.
Research the colours of the period and go wild with a new, boundary breaking inspirational palette! Floral wallpaper with floral sofas? Oh definitely! One of the wonderful things about these homes with their soaring ceilings and detailed moulding is that you can be very expressive in your decorating. You do not get this kind of license with more modern or traditional homes.
It is not unusual to see heritage homes with bold colours on wood trim, cabinets and even stair spindles or window sashes.
Somehow the nature of the home begs for colour and out of the box pattern combinations.
It makes more sense to paint a 14” wood baseboard yellow than it does to slap that kind of colour on a standard 2-3” base trim, it would look like someone ran around the base of your room with a highlighter.
My personal favorite is the stone bungalow with the rounded front porch on Main St.
I once helped a client who used to own it, they had lovely charcoal drawings of that home but I have never had the opportunity to peer inside the doors; maybe I need to get some muffins and head out to Lacombe!
Kim Meckler is an interior designer in Red Deer with Carpet Colour Centre.