For those of you who dont already know him, its time to crawl out from the poorly decorated rock youve been living under and get acquainted with Karl Lohnes. As both the on-air Home Design Expert for CTVs Canada AM and the man behind the monthly decor report on CHUM FMs All About Style with Marilyn Denis, Lohnes is an authority on all things home related. From renovation to decoration, shopping, entertaining, and more, Karl does it all. And he also knows it all, although not in an annoying kind of way; more in a Gee, you just saved me a ton of time, money and effort kind of way. And who doesnt love that?

So forget raindrops on roses and whiskers on kittens (Sorry, Julie Andrews), its high time you learned about a few of Karl Lohnes favourite things, as well as heard his tips on how or how not to incorporate them into your home. But before you go Googling the heck out of him, take a look at Homesavs handy list of The Five Things You Aught To Know About Karl Lohnes.

1) Hes a Barry big fan of Barbara

Los Angeles-based it designer Barbara Barry is a close acquaintance of Lohnes and a source of great inspiration. In fact, when asked which designer he would happily shadow for a day, Lohnes picked Barry immediately, admitting, I would love the opportunity to follow her for a day actually, a week would be fantastic! And who could blame him? Barrys sophisticated yet livable style is what all of us covet, and is frankly not too far off from Lohnes own aesthetic.

Image Source: Barbara Barry

2) Hes a real Nature Boy

Lohnes cites the great outdoors as another of his biggest sources of inspiration, and insists that every room needs fresh plants or flowers. Whether its trees, tulips or cacti, says Lohnes, its the best way to prevent your interior from looking lifeless. To him, two of the cheapest and easiest ways to reinvigorate a room are by simply adding some greenery and opening a window: Fresh air does wonders for our senses.

3) Where theres Smoke, theres Karl

When it comes to colour, Lohnes says, It isnt necessary to opt for an unusual tone. A simple dark grey, green, taupe or brown can have just as much of an impact. Thats why he cites Benjamin Moores Smoky Green (CC-700) as one of his favourite paint colours. Says Lohnes, On a sunny day, its green, on a cloudy day its blue and at night, it turns warm grey. It teams beautifully with neutral colours like charcoal grey or camel and looks exceptional with crisp white. So exceptional, in fact, that the hue is a fixture in Lohnes own home.

The designer is also fond of Benjamin Moores Smoke (2122-40), a rich blue-grey colour that he says perfectly complements neutrals like dark brown and grey, and also looks great alongside trendier tones like purple, teal and yellow.


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