Move-In Styling & Design Support in Calgary

Move-in styling is professional interior design support for new homeowners — furniture placement, space planning, artwork installation, finish and décor selection, and coordination of the trades and vendors involved. WOW Effect provides move-in styling for Calgary homeowners settling into a new property. A principal designer works on site to plan layouts, place what you already own, source what's missing, and pull the home together as a whole rather than one room at a time.

The Hardest Part of Moving In Isn't the Move

Most people don't struggle with the furniture they own — they struggle with what to do with it in a space they've never lived in.

Rooms that looked obvious on the walkthrough turn out to have no clear focal point. Furniture that worked in the last house is suddenly too large, too small, or oriented the wrong way. Artwork leans against the wall for months because nobody wants to commit to the first nail hole. And the rooms get solved one at a time, in isolation, until the house reads as a series of unrelated decisions.
Professional design support at move-in saves time, prevents expensive furniture mistakes, and helps the home come together coherently from the start.

What We Help With

Move-in styling covers furniture placement and space planning, artwork and decorative installation, design consultation and sourcing, and project coordination.

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• Furniture placement and space planning — layout, room optimization, styling of your existing furnishings and accessories, and space planning that improves how the home actually functions day to day.

• Artwork and decorative installation — artwork, mirror, and accessory placement, gallery wall design and layout, and coordination with professional installers as required.

• Design consultation and sourcing — paint, finish, furniture, décor, lighting, and window treatment selections, with access to preferred vendors, designer resources, and available designer discounts from select premium retailers.

• Project coordination — coordination of painters, installers, trades, and vendors, oversight of design-related improvements, site visits, scheduling, and project review meetings.

Designing for How You Live

Every recommendation is made against how you actually use the home — your routines, your storage, your light, your budget. The goal isn't a showroom. It's a house that works, looks considered, and doesn't need to be redone in eighteen months.

This is the opposite of staging. Staging is designed for the widest possible buyer; move-in design is built entirely around one household. Nothing gets softened for broad appeal, because there's no audience but you.

Professional Design Retainer

The standard engagement is an 8-hour design retainer at $175.00 per hour — a retainer investment of $1,400.00. Retainer packages may be adjusted to suit the size, scope, and requirements of each project.

Hours may be applied toward in-home consultations, furniture placement and styling, space planning, artwork and accessory placement, shopping and sourcing assistance, project coordination, site visits, and trade meetings. Additional hours beyond the retainer are billed at $175.00 per hour and approved by the client prior to commencement.

Additional personnel — design assistants, installation specialists, moving assistance, and trades — may be engaged as required, quoted separately and scheduled only with client approval.

Unused retainer hours may be applied toward future WOW Effect Inc. services for up to 90 days from the date of engagement. Retainer fees are non-refundable once services have commenced.

When to Book

Book before or during the move. Placement decisions are far easier to make before everything has been unpacked into the wrong room, and layout planning is most useful when the furniture hasn't been committed yet. That said, plenty of clients call months in — a house that isn't working is a house that isn't working.