Jason Stang's living room
In 1999, Calgary photographer Jason Stang purchased a century-old fire hall from the City of Calgary, with a plan to turn it into a family-friendly home for his wife, Nicole, their two young sons and a dog named Stella. He renovated the place himself, creating a three-bedroom loft-like space that includes a studio area and an office for his thriving photography business. The overhaul, which included a full gut, took six months to complete, and the end result is a vibe that Stang describes as midcentury-modern-meets-prairie-industrial. The look is best encapsulated by the living room, his favourite, where family and friends gather to relax and enjoy the downtown view.
"The room is free of electronics," Stang says. "It's custom-built for plain old-fashioned social interaction."
The clock photo
"I call it Big Ben. I shot it on film a long time ago in Montreal. I woke up on my cousin's couch after a night out and this was one of the first things I saw. The image also encapsulates how I was feeling at that moment – a little out of focus."
The rocket -ship light
"This is a piece of art by [Calgary-based multimedia artist]Jeff de Boer. He gave it to me as a gift. His work is truly unique, running the gamut from suits of armour built for mice to extremely large art installations."
The chairs
"These are midcentury-modern safari chairs. The set was in my parents' house when I was growing up. I always loved them, and when my parents were updating their living room, I asked for them. I had all four redone, as the old leather was cracked and dried up. They are relaxed, comfortable and intimate, promoting nothing resembling good posture."
The sculptures
"The hand-blown glass sculptures on our coffee table are called Joobas and are part of the Weathermachines glassworks series created by the Calgary-based collective Bee Kingdom. These glass blowers take glass to places I have never seen it go."
The coffee table
"Most of the furniture in our house is from Kijiji, Craigslist and eBay. My wife and I both love Scandinavian teak and we have a house full of it. We bought that coffee table from an eBay seller from Victoria. It has seen many a wine spill and has been refinished on more than one occasion. The last refinish took place a couple of years ago, when the house was used in a very bad made-for- TV movie. The actress playing a drug-addicted go-go dancer decided that the table should be flipped and damaged it."
The couches
"We like to entertain. We went with two couches to maximize seating."