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story MAUREEN
SCOTT photographs
STEVE UHRANEY Even Hurricane Hazel (that’s Mayor Hazel) felt a galeforce wind as the hosts of Colin & Justin’s Home Heist blew into town. They took the sold-out crowd by storm at their recent design seminar in Mississauga, hosted by Erin Mills Paint & Decor Centre. “The wee boys from Glasgow” Colin McAllister and Justin Ryan, split their time between Toronto and Glasgow. They’ve filmed three television series in the U.K. in the past year; they’re also the hosts of the popular TV series How Not to Decorate, Million Pound Property Experiment, and in Canada, Colin & Justin’s Home Heist. Their column on home décor runs in The Toronto Star on Saturdays, and they’ve written three books on decorating, including The Home Heist Style Guide. Four seasons and 52 episodes of Home Heist later, Colin & Justin have seen some horrific decorating. “Most people are suffering from delusions of blandure!” laughs Justin. “People have been watching property shows and painting their homes as if they are ready to sell. Very few people are thinking of their homes as homes. The market is changing and we are now nesting. If you want to paint your house beige, then add some bold colours with paint and accessories. We love greens, rich browns, duck egg blue, rich plums dripping with vibrancy, deluxe amethyst. The decade of beige is behind us. Our mission is to give colour back to Canada!” Before you start to shudder at the thought of painting your living room neon green or apple red, the two design gurus tell us that a mix of 75% neutral and 25% bold colour works best. “Just like couture runway shows, it’s just a suggestion of how to use fashion, but it has to be interpreted to work in real life.” For the colour shy, the duo suggest starting with a white palette and laying in colour with a feature wall, perhaps some wallpaper, colourful pillows and artwork. “Select your bedding, furniture and artwork first and pull colours from it,” suggests Justin. “Use a favourite colour in a pillow as an inspirational piece.” What was their colour of choice when it came to decorating their condo? “Any colour as long as it’s grey!” exclaims Colin. Justin nods, then adds; “Our condo is a surprise to everyone! We are told that we make a lot of noise and are very flamboyant but when it comes to our home we love monochrome white with any shade of grey. We use a lot of 40s style smokey greys and atmospheric inky blacks. Then we add pops of colour with big artwork with bottle greens, baby blues and yellows in the summer.” The gorgeous loft has a bird’s eye view of Lake Ontario. It’s a far cry from their original pad in Glasgow. “We couldn’t afford the nice condo on the third floor so we lived in the ground floor unit overlooking the trash bins. It was just horrible,” reminisces Colin. “We had seen one on the third floor and we wrote down everything we liked about it and then tried to copy it. We doubled our money when we sold it and moved to a bigger house in a better area. We totally put our stamp on the Victorian apartment in Glasgow and got coverage on it in the newspapers. We told the Herald in Scotland that it was ‘all right.’ They gave us an assignment and published the next project. Then we came up with the idea to interview fashion designers and celebrities at their homes and we styled the shots. The celebrity homes editors of the BBC called us and asked us if we were interested in having our own show.”  They’ve
been together for 25 years and have worked together for the past 15.
These guys are in sync. That certainly was the case when it came to
moving to Canada from Glasgow. “It has been brilliant being here,” says Colin. “When we first started filming Home Heist we were quick to attack Canadians for their bad decorating, but now we realize that a lack of taste is universal. We’ve seen bad decor in Britain, Italy, and Australia. Bad design is a result of bad shopping and making knee-jerk decisions. Canadians have been so good to us we now feel bad for being critical. Besides, we are in the final stages of applying for our landed immigrant status!” It’s obvious that they love what they do. “We are doing stuff that’s light, but the serious message behind this is that having a good home leads to a stable mind,” says Justin. “We turn ordinary homes into extraordinary homes, and so can you!” But if you feel you really need professional help, Colin & Justin have a contest running with Glade Plugs-Ins, whereby one lucky person will win a $15,000 home makeover. For contest information, visit www.colinandjustin.com. GL |
 Colin & Justin receive a warm welcome from the sold out crowd at the Delta Meadowvale.  Justin Ryan (left) and Colin McAllister with Patricia Zwolak, owner of Erin Mills Paint & Decor Centre, and Mayor Hazel McCallion before their recent seminar at the Delta Meadowvale.
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