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Jo-Anna Rooney is a wife, mom, country girl at heart and a home, life & food blogger at A Pretty Life in the Suburbs. She is one of Canada’s most successful mom bloggers and has worked with the likes of Ladies Home Journal, HGTV and Better Homes and Gardens. She shares great content and tips for home life made simple.

Jo-Anna’s beautiful home in Calgary is all about the details. Each room has beautiful features! With an overall neutral colour scheme with bold punches of colour and warm and special touches throughout you can tell why she is so successful – you can feel the love everywhere.

We sat down with Jo-Anna to discuss her real estate experiences and what she loves so much about her home:

1. Think back to the first place you lived in on your own, what were your walls decorated with?

JR: I remember when we bought our first home we could not wait to put our personal touch all over it!  The day we got the keys we started painting all of our walls with textured paint, and different colours in every room!  It was fun, but definitely a learning experience in design.

2. What did you love most about the first place you purchased?

JR: I loved that it was mine, and I could make it my own.  It was so liberating to be able to hang pictures where I wanted them and paint the walls whatever colour I wished.  But I especially loved that our home was a war time house, with a small and simple layout and loads of character including glass door knobs and original hardwood flooring.

3. How would you describe your interior design style now?

JR: I don’t know that I have a true design style per se, but my home is very eclectic, with furniture and decor that I have collected over time.  I like to add pieces to our home as I discover them and only if they really speak to me.   I have noticed over the years that I am more and more drawn to farmhouse decor, and I think this stems from nostalgia over time I spent on my Grandparents farm as a child.  For example, in my dining space I have collected old farmhouse wooden chairs for our table setting, but modernized them for our home by painting them in unique colours.  I love adding pops of unexpected colour like turquoise and yellow, as well as unexpected pieces of art or decor.

4. What room do you spend the most time in now?

JR: My kitchen is definitely the space I spend most of my time in.  Our home is an open concept home, so the kitchen is literally the centre of our house, which is where all of our family tends to gather.  And being a foodie, the kitchen is definitely the room I’m most comfortable in!5. What is the #1 feature you’d look for in your next home?

JR: Oh this is easy!  I cannot wait to build a new home with the biggest, most well laid out pantry possible.  With a growing family and my love of cooking, I never have enough space for all of our food and kitchen gadgets, so a big and organized pantry would be a dream come true.6. What does your dream home look like?

JR: My dream home is in the countryside overlooking the prairies towards the Rocky Mountains.  My kitchen has white cabinets and granite countertops, the floors are weathered grey hardwood, all of our bedrooms have giant windows with great views, and there is a giant wrap around porch.  So very open, airy and gorgeous!

Jo-Anna’s favourite property on sothebysrealty.ca right now:Blog Home

Jo-Anna Rooney is the editor, director, chief, main cook and home decorator at A Pretty Life in the Suburbs.  She is a stay at home wife to Tobin who is an amazing and supportive husband, and a mom to a daughter and two sons.  The site was born because she wanted to share her love of a simple home life through uncomplicated home tips and fresh & easy recipes.

Visit APrettyLifeintheSuburbs.com or follow @APrettyLife on Twitter, @APrettyLife on Instagram, @PrettySuburbs on Pinterest and @APrettyLifeintheSuburbs on Facebook for more information.

Photography by Cheryl Wallach, Freelance Photographer. Visit http://www.cherylwallachphotography.com or follow @CherylWallachPhotography on Facebook for more information.

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