In Calgary's fast-changing renovation market, homeowners are no longer chasing quick cosmetic flips or designing homes with resale in mind. Increasingly, they are renovating for permanence, for the way they actually live, entertain, work and age inside their homes.
Shift Toward Long-Term Living
The shift is something that Michelle Lytle has watched unfold in real time. Lytle is the co-founder of Crafted Edge Homes, a Calgary boutique renovation and custom home build company she operates alongside Todd Stringer.
"We've noticed in the last few years that projects have become larger in scope and scale," says Lytle. "Clients are really recommitting themselves to their existing homes and their existing communities. The mentality of being somewhere for two to five years and then flipping the home is gone."
That philosophy — thoughtful, deeply personalized renovations rooted in long-term living — helped Crafted Edge Homes secure one of Calgary's top industry-based honours this year: Renovator of the Year at the Building Industry and Land Development Calgary Region Awards for the third consecutive year.
"This year, it was very exciting to win again," Lytle says. "We were just so pleased, honoured and thankful."
Project Awards Showcase Trends
The company also captured multiple project awards and finalist nods, including several wins: Best Home Renovation with Addition for Raising the Roof, a dramatic bungalow transformation in Lake Bonavista; Bayview Family Haven, which won Best Kitchen Renovation ($90,000 to $149,999); and Post & Beam Elegance, which earned top honours for Best Bathroom and Ensuite renovation.
These projects tell the story of where Calgary's renovation market is heading. In Lake Bonavista, Crafted Edge tackled a modest 1960s bungalow with eight-foot ceilings that left the homeowner feeling boxed in. Rather than move, the owner chose an ambitious full-scale renovation. The company stripped the house back to the studs, removed the roof trusses, reframed the structure and created a soaring vaulted ceiling in the central living space. The footprint expanded by roughly 400 square feet to accommodate modern necessities absent from mid-century homes, including a mudroom and pantry.
"Short of the concrete in the basement, there isn't much left of the original," says Lytle with a laugh.
Aging in Place Design
The renovation reflects another growing trend across Calgary's older neighbourhoods: homeowners investing heavily in aging-in-place design. "There are lots of conversations about wider doorways, zero-threshold showers and carving out spaces for future elevators," she says. "People are thinking long-term."
That long-term mindset is also changing aesthetics. For years, Calgary interiors leaned heavily on neutral griege palettes, but homeowners are increasingly experimenting with richer textures and warmer finishes. "We're seeing people play with cabinet colours and wall texture," says Lytle. "Venetian plastering on the walls and stained maple and walnut in the woodwork are making a resurgence. People are really wanting to add warmth and personality to spaces."
The shift away from resale-focused renovations is also driving more customized design choices. "If you are designing to flip, then you're focusing on creating a home that will satisfy the masses," she says. "Now clients are designing down to the details based on what matters specifically to them."
