It’s also important for many people that their home is distinctive, not a Swedish-made clone of their neighbours. Imagine the relief homeowners must feel when they walk through the doors of Sojourn, one of Calgary’s most unique furniture and accessory stores, located in the Deerfoot Meadows in southeast Calgary. Sojourn offers a countless number of options for furnishing your home, whether a living room, kitchen or bedroom.

“Our goal is to create a solution for the entire room,” says Ron Kellsey, the principal at Sojourn, explaining that whether starting from scratch or working with existing pieces, he and his staff want to ensure that customers have a room they’re happy with. “We’re not just there to sell furniture,” he states. In-home consultations are available from Sojourn’s expert staff, who are hand-picked for their flair for design.

Sojourn’s furnishings are modern without being harsh or uninviting. Kellsey calls it ‘contemporary transitional,’ meaning that their products are simple with clean lines, and can be combined with more traditional items. The store itself is organized in such a way that entire rooms are laid out so customers can get an idea of which pieces work well together. Dominant materials include dark wood, used in tables, bedroom furniture and sofa accents; suede and leather on couches, chair covers and even lighting and accessories and metal and glass in tables and lighting. Popular colours like chocolate, cream, grey, lime and cranberry are common, as are geometric patterns. Most major pieces like sofas, tables and bedroom suites come with a vast number of fabric or stain options to allow the customer to truly customize their furniture to their home. The accessories tend to be more eclectic, from leather balls gathered in a bowl to bust forms made of wire mesh. “We show people that you can do that in your home,” says Kellsey. “You can take what you have already [at home] and pull a look together to go with it.”

Several items were designed with condos in mind, such as the Mini Me sectional sofa, a very popular item for the store, smaller dining table and chair sets and ottomans that double as a coffee table and storage. Kellsey says the booming condo market is a big driver for his store, with everyone from first-time buyers to empty-nesters looking to start fresh.

Sojourn prides itself on its policy of buying Canadian or North American-made products whenever possible, rather than importing items from around the globe. “If I can find something local that has the same quality and a reasonable price point I will always do that,” says Kellsey. “It makes sense to support local people, and the quality of Canadian manufacturers is really good,” giving their exclusive Sahara Studio Collection as an example. The store also has a policy of pricing below the manufacturer’s suggested retail price every day, usually 25 per cent. Kellsey says this is so customers can be confident that what they’re buying won’t be on sale the next week for much less.

Sojourn recently opened a second store in Edmonton, after discovering that many of their customers were making the three-hour drive to visit the Calgary store, based largely on word-of-mouth. “We build relationships with clients and they send their friends and family,” says Kellsey. “It’s a very exciting time for us.”   NL