The Barenaked Ladies may be out of luck when it comes to buying any of these new show homes that recently opened in and around Calgary, a lot of them are way over the million-dollar mark — especially the ones that just opened in Riverstone of Cranston, The Ridges of Valley Pointe Estates and Watermark in Bearspaw. Or, as I like to call it: Calgary’s own new multi-million dollar show home parade triangle.

These new show homes do show off rather exuberantly Calgary’s new found strength in the estate home market and its continued affordability (yeah, I know, not for me, but Royal Bank says we are the most affordable city to buy a home in — see my Around Town story), and Calgarians seem to like these new, luxury models. Our show home itinerary this issue seems to confirm that: Shane Homes’ Cambrian IV in The Ridges of Valley Pointe Estates is based on a former lottery home design and just blows you away with its functionality and style Cedarglen Homes’ Riverstone of Cranston show home, The Manning, admirably displays all the bells and whistles of a true estate home but still has affordability on its side; while ReidBuilt Homes’ side-by-side stunner in Kincora is a hit wherever you build it. We also spend some time checking out the growth that Walton’s SkyView Ranch has been enjoying these past few months, truly becoming the ‘Face of the New North.’ Our cover feature on Watermark at Bearspaw lays bare just what kind of estate homes are possible in this exciting new community on Calgary’s western outskirts.

Readers will also get a kick out of the kitchen-centric articles we have lined up in this issue. Jessica Patterson’s centre island revue tells us of new designs and even relates the origin of this most practical and stylish component of today’s kitchens. Kathy McCormick cooks up (pun intended, of course) her Shopping feature on the latest stovetops and ranges and discusses the pros and cons of gas and electric models. Aaliya Essa tried her hands out, literally, cooking healthy meals to help stressed-out moms in coming up with their own healthy, nutritious and ultimately delicious meals for their kids as they head back to school. Trust me, I tasted all of the meals she describes and they were all beyond good.

I count myself to be very lucky to be living in Calgary right now, and not just because I love going to all these new show homes, but because of the boundless opportunities that we tell you about in these pages. Thanks for reading!

Pepper Rodriguez,
Editor
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