Inside design: Sue De Chiara

Individual design

After getting her inspiration from magazines and blogs, Sue has been able to create her own style, mixing patterns and colours to end up with an original home decor.

Makeover nightmares

In the fall of 2014, Sue joined Calling It Home’s One Room Challenge, a six-week series in which design enthusiasts make over a space, chronicling on their blogs the successes and setbacks they encounter. For her first time participating, Sue took on a tall order: renovating the kitchen of her newly purchased home right before moving in. “We were scheduled to move in right when the challenge ended, so I thought it was perfect timing,” says Sue. “But that’s not how the real world works. It was an enormous project, and contractors don’t care about my move-in or blog deadlines. Throughout the whole thing, I kept repeating, ‘I shouldn’t have done this. I shouldn’t have done this.’” Against all odds, Sue finished on schedule (save for some furniture that had yet to arrive), and though she loves the results, she learned her lesson. “For the 2015 fall challenge, I took on only a small guest bathroom, I have a very clear work-back plan, and I’m not moving. I don’t want to jinx myself,” she says, “but it’s going well.”

Wild powder room

French-inspired lotus wallpaper and brass details make this pretty powder room feel like a true escape.

Bold choices in a bedroom

Midnight blue constellation-look wallpaper on the ceiling of Sue’s son’s bedroom adds depth and whimsy.

DIY project

“It was a bit cost-prohibitive to wallpaper all the closets,” says Sue, “so I did the one that’d be seen the most.”

Decor for less

“Splurge on a stunning light fixture and a really great rug, and you can get away with saving on a lot of other things,” advises Sue on budgeting for decor. One of her favourite items to save on is artwork. “Find prints on Etsy or get creative and make your own,” she adds. The artwork on display in Sue’s place, such as the silhouettes of her three kids along the stairs in the front hall, is personal and special to the family. The portraits were created by artist Carter Kustera with Benjamin Moore paints.

Paint it up

“I love paint,” says Sue of the best way to quickly and inexpensively refresh a room. “On walls, on furniture – paint is a great option because if it doesn’t work out, you can just make it white again.” The butler’s pantry is a perfect example of paint saving the day: “When my husband and I looked at the house before buying it, the wooden cabinets in the butler’s pantry were stained a dark mahogany. They were very masculine and stodgy,” she says. “I instantly knew I wanted to paint them a very dark high-gloss blue, taking the pantry from a men’s club cigar room to a fresh, bold jewel-box space.”

Create a space just for you

The key to creating a home office you actually want to spend time in? “Surround yourself with the fun little things you love but aren’t to the tastes of the people you live with,” says Sue. “Your home office is where you get to express yourself.” In hers, Sue indulged in girlie accessories, which she shared on Instagram, including a bedazzled-lips telephone and an Yves Saint Laurent print.

Fun, light and glam

“Bold, whimsical wallpaper is perfect in small doses on ceilings or covering rooms you don’t necessarily spend tons of time in – it’s a nice surprise,” says Sue, who keeps the walls of her main living areas neutral, but has fun in petite spaces.