Making a tasteful family oasis

bernard weil/torstar news service

Colin and Justin decorated the baby’s room with emerald green, similar to this child’s bedroom, on this week’s episode of Home Heist.

Kieron and Goretti, this week’s Home Heisters, may have been hip and urban on the outside, but their perilous pad looked more like a nauseating combo of low-rent nursing home and funeral parlour. It was dowdy and gloomy — and had net curtains everywhere.

But we had a plan!

We vowed to transform their wayward home into a modern and tasteful family oasis featuring open spaces, continuous flooring, and a baby-centric nursery for their baby Jude. We also sought to teach our pair about creative decorating “accents,” and floral artistry using real flowers.

Before we arrived, there was so much dust-catching synthetic floristry that we went into an allergic trauma each time we so much as looked at a fabric daffodil. And our remedy? Simple — we visited Bruno, Canada’s chicest stem twister, at Fresh Florals in Toronto for some serious inspiration.

But let’s get back to K and G. Charming, attractive and fun, they so needed domestic direction. And, it should be reported, they were quite possibly one of the loveliest couples we’ve ever met and set the screen alight as we filmed our show.

The family had two kitchens, one of which was upstairs, and it was here that little Jude was sleeping. After counsel that a three-bedroom home has numerous advantages (over a two-bedder with two kitchens!) we gutted the space to create the perfect nursery. And so, where once had been a double sink we added a new crib. And where once had been a stove, we installed child-friendly storage, spacious closets and a new timber floor.

And, to remind dad — and his son — of Ireland, we decorated using emerald green, a gentle nod to paternal roots.

But our work wasn’t finished. With kitchen number two banished, we needed to re-brand kitchen number one. This we did drawing inspiration from mom Goretti’s Portuguese roots. We specified creamy white cabinetry (reminiscent of shiny Algarve pottery) and we lavished the walls with the most gentle soft blue floral paper, specially chosen to remind Goretti of the sea in her homeland.

Last on our list was knocking a narrow hallway and two small interconnecting downstairs rooms into one commodious chill-out zone. Using a rich combo of berry shades, we created a living room so indulgent it brought tears to Kieron and Goretti’s eyes.

We added rich mahogany floors, upholstered with fabric shipped specially from the U.K., and covered walls with the most sublime bronze and raspberry paper. A stunning centrepoint fireplace completed our reno and, although we spent somewhere in the region of $70,000, we reckon you can see every penny! Aye, just another pricey week in the world of Colin and Justin.

Colin & Justin for Metro Toronto

HGTV hosts Colin and Justin continue their mission of beautification with their Canadian design series Colin & Justin’s Home Heist, airing Tuesdays and Saturdays at 9 p.m. on HGTV. www.hgtv.ca