A Sense of Home

Two of our main stories in this issue focus on home improvement. “What

to Know

Before You Reno,” has various perspectives on what can be a big undertaking, and includes information about what the City has done to make permit application easier, as well as advice from contractors, builders, designers and an experienced house flipper.

Käthe Lemon Editor-in-Chief klemon@redpointmedia.ca

In “How to Make a Home Sweet Home,” we explore things you can do to make your house feel warm and welcoming. In researching the story, I talked to John Brown, the dean of the school of architecture at the University of Calgary about one of the primary things that makes a house feel homey. In our discussion, as well as in the book

What's Wrong With This House?

A Practical Guide to Finiding a Well Designed Home, which he co-authored with his business partner Matthew North, Brown notes that finding a home that fits your lifestyle — that gives you enough room and good traffic flows but not too much space — is key to making that space feel like your home.

While the concept of home is a bit philosophical and the specifics of how you make your home feel like it’s just for you are individual, there are some immediately useable tips in this story. And best of all, while they will take time and thought to implement, many don’t have to cost that much.

In this issue we also talk to Calgarians about how they spend their most precious resource — their time (starting on page 42). If you plan on spending your time on a romantic dinner date this month, we’ve also rounded up some of our favourite restaurants for romance. Or perhaps you’re more into the party scene. In that case, check out “The Bar Star’s Guide to Banff” on page 74.

This issue also features a profile of Robbie Babins-Wagner, the CEO of the Calgary Counselling Centre, who has gained worldwide acclaim for her use of Feedback Informed Therapy. This leading-edge approach to counselling uses quantitative data to help therapists know if they are helping clients. Find out more about this work and Babins-Wagner starting on page 68.

In this issue we also introduce some feedback of our own to help you know what we are doing. From time to time, Avenue’s staff and writers are invited to be guests at restaurants or to try out local services or tours. It is a nice perk of the job, to be sure, but it is not an obligation to write about these experiences, or to let the businesses that appear in our stories approve or even review articles before they go into print. Likewise, companies that do not provide free services or products to Avenue or its staff are not kept out of the pages of the mag-azine or our website.

Our first and most important obligation is providing our readers with quality information, and it is a responsibility we take very seriously. While we appreciate local companies and want to support them, our readers’ need for information about the best of life in Calgary always comes first. Starting with this issue, you will see a reminder of this at the end of some of our stories. If you have any questions about how we select what we cover in the magazine, please feel free to email me.