Trend House living room walkthroughRecently we came across the site Matterport.com which specializes in capturing 3D space and used by realtors to create virtual walkthroughs for their listing. We thought it would be a fun way to allow you to get a better feel for the space and let you move through it. Not bad for a rendering created […]
Garage Restoration 2019In the fall of 2019 work got underway to restore the original garage on the Calgary Trend House. At some point in the last 60 years, the ground under the slabs in the breezeway and the garage had settled unevenly, with the result that water was collecting in the garage, and it had pulled the […]
Chimney Restoration Fall 2018The large mass of brick at the front of the Calgary Trend House extends from the outside to the inside of the house to tie in the exterior with the interior, and is a very common architectural feature of Mid-Century Modern architecture. From the outside it helps to call attention to the entrance, and on […]
Designation 101 Part 1 – Why did we designate?We are very excited about our upcoming Provincial Designation ceremony, and thought we would put together some notes on the ‘designation journey’ of the Calgary Trend House. We’ve decided to break it into three parts: 1) Why did we decide to designate 2) Common designation myths and comments and 3) What was the actual process […]
Designation 101 Part 2 – Top designation mythsFor most people, the idea of pursuing designation or deciding whether a property is worthy of designation can be a pretty daunting and mysterious one. We were the same when we started considering it, and discovered that there are a lot of assumptions, speculation and misinformation out there in terms of what it means, and […]
Designation 101 Part 3 – The designation processFor this last part, I’d like to talk about the process that we went through to receive the designation for the Calgary Trend House. Each property’s journey is unique but we are hoping that this narrative will help shed some light on the process from our perspective. If you are interested in going down the […]
Visit to Chalmers Heritage Conservation LtdI recently had the opportunity to spend some time with Dave Chalmers at his shop, checking out some of the projects he has underway and generally nerding out over conservation materials and processes. It was awesome! Dave started Chalmers Heritage Conservation in 2015 after working for years as a carpenter as well as for another restoration […]
Trend House Programme Online ExhibitLast fall, the Winnipeg Architecture Foundation had an exhibit on the Trend House Program, curated with co-operation from Gordon Katelnikof, the son of the architect of the Winnipeg Trend House. Although we were not able to attend, a good friend of ours did and very kindly brought us back a postcard exhibition announcement (below). Just the […]
The Radiant Sun – a film about Ruth Adler SchneeIf you happen to be in Winnipeg in mid-April, be sure to stop and check out the excellent Architecture & Design Film Festival, which is put on by the Winnipeg Architecture Foundation. This is an amazing organization dedicated to educating people about architecture and design, with a focus on the years from 1945 – 1975. […]
Calgary Trend House Receives Provincial DesignationJennifer and I received a lovely surprise today – a letter from Alberta Culture and Tourism Minister Ricardo Miranda which officially designated the Calgary Trend House as a Provincial Historic Resource as of February 9th, 2018! The house joins the Victoria Trend House, designed by John DiCastri as the second remaining Trend House to receive […]
Victoria Trend House in Western Living MagazineI just came across this article on the Western Living Magazine’s blog with an article featuring some of the home design articles from the 50s including a nice little mention of the Victoria Trend House, designed for Gwendolyn Cash by John Di Castri. http://westernliving.ca/homes-and-design/throwback-thursday-1950s-homes/
Maclean’s Magazine May 1954Here’s a lucky find – a Maclean’s Magazine May 1954 issue with promotional material on the Trend House Program in Canada, including company promos for products used in the program.
Trend House Inspired ArtworkIt’s been while since posting anything so I thought I’d go a quick post on a small artwork project we completed recently. I was looking for something to hang in the staircase going downstairs and had always wanted to create a piece of art that was Trend House related. Looking though some newspaper archives the […]
Trend House Mini TourWe recently put together a short video tour of the Calgary Trend House, taking a look at the public spaces in the house and talking a little bit about some of the unique features of the house and the program that created it.
Holiday Inn by Rule, Wynn, Rule 1964I came across this great postcard the other day of the Holiday Inn, built in 1964 and designed by the Calgary office of Rule, Wynn, Rule, the designers of the Calgary Trend House.
Avenue Magazine ArticleWe are very excited to have our friends at Avenue Magazine include an article on the Calgary Trend House in their February 2016 “Modern Vintage” issue.
New photo gallery addedIt’s been a while since we added some photos of the house, so here’s a new gallery of post-restoration photos.
Newly upholstered dining chairsOver the last little while we’ve come across a couple of sets of 50s/60s dining room chairs and picked them up for a decent price at the Avenue Antiques Market here in Calgary. With Avenue Magazine coming by to do a photoshoot for an upcoming edition, we thought it was about time that we had […]
Calgary Downtown MCM Tour, Oct 10 2015Details of a Mid-Century Modern tour of downtown Calgary, put on by the Esker Foundation and the Calgary Heritage Initiative on October 10th 2015.
The Trend House Program Report via SSACA while back, Allan Collier got in touch with us to let us know about an article he wrote in 1995 for The Society for the Study of Architecture in Canada (SSAC) Bulletin
Original interior colours in the Trend HouseWhat were the original colours used in the Calgary Trend House in 1954? Based on some written accounts we put together some swatches.
Claybank brick in the Trend HouseClaybank brick which was used in the Calgary Trend House was an industrial fire brick also used in warships and to line the launch pads at Cape Canaveral.
Calgary Jane’s Walk 2015This past May, Karen Paul from the Britannia Community Association put together an excellent Jane’s Walk examining 50s Modernism in the community of Britannia, and asked us whether we would consider having the Trend House take part.
Calgary Trend House Designated!Well after a series of delays primarily around scheduling and ‘animated’ City Council meetings, the City Council voted unanimously to pass a bylaw that will formally designate the Trend House as a Municipal Historic Resource.
Toronto Trend House Article – Apr 2005Looking through my email archives the other day I came across an article from the Globe & Mail in April of 2005 by Dave LeBlanc which describes the great care with which the current owner, architect Charles Bunker is preserving and restoring the house originally designed by Eric Ross Arthur.
Calgary Trend House IllustrationJust a fun little post today – we recently got a card from our friends at the Desert Star Bungalows in Palm Springs which featured a Kurt Cyr illustration on the front, and we loved it so much that I thought I’d try my hand at rendering the Calgary Trend House in the same manner, […]
Trend House Brochure Available as PDFWe’ve finally gotten around to creating a high resolution downloadable version of the Trend House brochure. If you would like a copy, click here to download it.
Front Door RestorationIn the fall of 2013 we undertook a restoration of our original front door. Well, to be honest, the lock broke and we had to cut out the bolt to get the door open, so I guess that was a sign that the time was right. The biggest change we noticed was that the door had […]
Trend House in the Globe and MailWe were so excited to spend some touring the Trend House with Dave LeBlanc, who has written weekly as “The Architourist” for the Globe and Mail. His work has also appeared in The Toronto Star, The Philadelphia Inquirer, Concrete Toronto (Coach House, 2007) and international architecture magazines.
Victoria Trend House VisitIn addition to great food and sightseeing, our trip to Victoria, BC was extra special because of an invitation we had to come along and visit the Victoria Trend House. Designed by John DiCastri, it is definitely the smallest, and arguably the most interesting of the Trend Houses constructed. Built in 1954, it has a […]
Calgary Trend House listed as an Evaluated Historic ResourceWell it took a while to work through the process, but the Calgary Trend House has finally been added to the City of Calgary’s Inventory of Evaluated Historic Resources!
Fir Plywood HandbookAlways on the look out for documentation that represented the technology of the house, we came across a small handbook. produced by the PMBC called “Carpenters Fir Plywood Handbook”. Not only is it a great guidebook for carpenters and architects, it is filled with fantastic drawn illustrations…
Victoria Trend House In Good HandsEarlier this year we lost the Montreal Trend House after a thwarted attempt to get the property protected. Happily the opposite is the case for the Trend House in Victoria, designed by John Di Castri.
Montreal Trend House DemolitionAfter a lot of lobbying and efforts to explain why it deserves to be saved, Beaconsfield Council upheld the demolition permit and the house was torn down.
Montreal Trend House set to be demolishedSadly, the Beaconsfield City Council voted today (5-1) to allow the demolition of the Montreal Trend House, designed by Phillip Goodfellow. Over the past 8 weeks or so, a concerted effort was made to raise awareness of both the home as well as the Trend House Program in order to try and stop the demolition, […]
Ideal Home Exhibition 1957I’ve always wondered what the small badge on the front of the Trend House Catalog was all about and after some poking around today I managed to find out. In 1957 a model Trend House was built for the annual Ideal Home Exhibition in London England. The model house has many of the signature elements […]