Homes Website News

New Homes

The 1,916-sq.-ft. bungalow is equal parts style and functionality from top to bottom.

Bungalow brims with functionality and flair thanks to deft design

Todd Lewys 5 minute read Saturday, Oct. 24, 2026

Designing a custom home is no easy task.

That’s because balancing practicality and pizzazz is always a major challenge.

Often, it seems — no matter how hard a builder tries — a home’s design usually favours style more than function, or vice-versa.

Sean Kirady of Re/Max One Group says the design of his new show home at 11 Bryce Blvd., is a testimony to how diligent Paradigm Custom Homes’ design team was in making sure the home’s design was well-balanced.

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Renovation & Design

The 18-inch protruded beams had begun to rot and decay in recent years.

From rotting and unsightly, to streamlined and maintenance-free

Marc LaBossiere 4 minute read Preview

From rotting and unsightly, to streamlined and maintenance-free

Marc LaBossiere 4 minute read Saturday, Oct. 24, 2026

The homeowners had enough — after years of ongoing repairs, the days of the extended beams protruding from the perimeter of the flat-roof garage were numbered.

The question was, how best to tackle this outdated and cumbersome attribute? Although the introduction of full and partial rooflines was discussed at great length, any approach that required altering the existing roofline seemed far too complicated and somewhat cost-prohibitive. A far better and more elegant solution would soon provide a streamlined and eye-pleasing look.

It was true, each of the two dozen or so protruding beams along the entire perimeter of the flat-roof garage exhibited decay and rot to some degree. The process of cutting them off would require a long blade on a reciprocating saw, and fine-tuning of each cut with an oscillating tool.

Once the vertical faces along the upper portion of every wall were flush, the initial step would involve sealing the cuts along the flashing to eliminate the possibility of any moisture creeping in until the process to decoratively sheathe the upper perimeter was completed.

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Saturday, Oct. 24, 2026

Renovation & Design

Colleen Zacharias / Free Press Located in a peaceful setting in Oakbank, the Choquettes’ pond features a waterfall and water lilies.

Garden grandees

Colleen Zacharias 7 minute read Preview

Garden grandees

Colleen Zacharias 7 minute read Saturday, Oct. 24, 2026

The last few weeks have been a whirlwind of activity at Robert and Susan Choquette’s spacious rural property in Oakbank. They have been busy preparing multiple gardens for winter, digging and storing scores of canna rhizomes, and bringing tender plants indoors for the winter.

The couple’s stunning property was featured on this year’s Gardens of Distinction tour by Nature Manitoba which was held on July 4.

Visitors were wowed by the abundant plantings of flowering annuals in a long, curved border at the entrance to the garden. A mixed planting reminiscent of a traditional formal border includes marigolds and classic red salvia (Salvia splendens) with taller layers of colourful zinnias and stately, white-flowered Nicotiana.

“I would have had more zinnias this year if it hadn’t been for the cold weather we experienced in spring,” says Robert, who is an avid gardener. “I transplanted 350 seedlings in the spring and kept them in our gazebo, but I only had one heater running and 80 per cent of them died.” Robert started new plants from seed and filled one entire bed with zinnias which quickly grew thigh-high once warmer temperatures arrived.

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Saturday, Oct. 24, 2026

Resale Homes

The 950-sq.-ft. bungalow is a solid entry-level home that offers first-time buyers or young families exceptional value and flexibility.

Unexpected gem beckons novice homebuyers, young families

Todd Lewys 5 minute read Preview

Unexpected gem beckons novice homebuyers, young families

Todd Lewys 5 minute read Saturday, Oct. 24, 2026

This past spring and summer were a frustrating time for first-time homebuyers.

With a lack of inventory, intense bidding wars — especially in sought-after neighbourhoods — broke out with some homes garnering 20 or more offers.

Consequently, many housing-market newbies found themselves left out in the cold on more than one property.

However, that was then, and this is now.

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Saturday, Oct. 24, 2026

Renovation & Design

Colleen Zacharias photo Tim Evans in his St. James garden, which sits along the Assiniboine River.

Travel-inspired exotic garden in St. James is a peaceful oasis

Colleen Zacharias 7 minute read Preview

Travel-inspired exotic garden in St. James is a peaceful oasis

Colleen Zacharias 7 minute read Saturday, Oct. 17, 2026

Step into Tim Evans’ distinctive garden at any time during the growing season and it’s clear that he does not believe in doing anything by half measures. Every part of his garden on a quiet street in St. James is an elaborate feast for the eyes.

All the elements of a well-appointed garden were on display this summer — towering elm trees, fruit trees such as apricot, pear and plum, and collections of unique perennials, including some that have been grown from seeds purchased overseas. He grows several varieties of Thalictrum meadow rue. A favourite source is Plant World Seeds in England.

Evans brightened his shady front entrance this year with container arrangements planted exclusively with white flowers. The tall fence along the entrance to his backyard is densely covered in Virginia creeper vine. This summer, he hung hanging planters containing white angel wing begonias from large hooks that were completely concealed by the vine’s foliage so that it appeared as though the vine itself was blooming.

From the spacious multi-tiered deck organized into different seating zones that runs adjacent to Evans’ house, there are tantalizing views of the Assiniboine River which flows by the edge of the sloped property. An intriguing Victory Orangery solarium greenhouse perched near the top of the slope arouses curiosity. But we’ll go back to that later.

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Saturday, Oct. 17, 2026

New Homes

Supplied Beautifully designed attached homes offer exceptional style, livability and value.

Charleswood condos offer room for the whole family to unwind

Todd Lewys 5 minute read Preview

Charleswood condos offer room for the whole family to unwind

Todd Lewys 5 minute read Saturday, Oct. 17, 2026

When prospective home buyers think about attached townhome condominiums, they often discount them for one key reason.

Simply put, they envision a lack of size and space.

Many projects feature townhomes that check in at 1,400 square feet or under, with some coming in at an underwhelming 1,300 to 1,350 sq. ft. Not only that, but the townhomes often lack the features that single family homes have, from upscale finishes to large windows to stone countertops.

That’s not the case with Randall Homes’ new townhome project on Dedrick Bay in Charleswood’s RidgeWood West, says Glen Harvey of Sutton Group — Kilkenny Real Estate.

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Saturday, Oct. 17, 2026

Resale Homes

Todd Lewys photos / Free Press The immaculate 1,652 sq. ft. bungalow offers space, comfort and value.

Expansive home in Oak Bluff West has tons of great features

Todd Lewys 5 minute read Preview

Expansive home in Oak Bluff West has tons of great features

Todd Lewys 5 minute read Saturday, Oct. 17, 2026

If there’s two things buyers looking for a 1,500 square-foot-plus bungalow know, it’s that there aren’t a ton on the market — and they don’t come cheap.

And if the wish list for such a bungalow includes an attached three-car garage, such a house becomes even harder to find.

Viktoria Fazekas of RE/MAX Executives Realty has a sprawling bungalow in her portfolio in Oak Bluff West that impresses on every level, starting with its price tag.

“This home is very well-priced at $724,900,” she says of the 1,652 sq. ft. residence, which was built in 2014 and is situated on a huge 80-foot by 140-foot lot.

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Saturday, Oct. 17, 2026

Renovation & Design

Marc LaBossiere photos / Free Press New quartz countertops and water-blue backsplash tiling breathe new life into the old cupboards.

A kitchen is transformed with beautiful tiles and new countertops

Marc LaBossiere 5 minute read Preview

A kitchen is transformed with beautiful tiles and new countertops

Marc LaBossiere 5 minute read Saturday, Oct. 17, 2026

Remote job sites are a challenge. Not only is distance a consideration when venturing out to gather information for a price quote, but the commute has to be factored into the project’s overall costs. As a result, many of my repeat remote clients indulge my idea to propose several projects at once, in an effort to maximize my time while putting all those kilometres on my work truck.

Although the jaunt from Winnipeg to Gimli is not that demanding, from where I live the travel time is close to two hours each way, making for long work days. So, the homeowners knew to throw everything at me once I had scheduled an initial visit. On the agenda was a main bathroom facelift as well as the addition of a frosted glass door to the office, which just had a doorless entryway from the hallway.

Nearing the end of our chat, the homeowner mentioned almost in passing how she’d love to also have a backsplash in the kitchen. Previously, the wall area above the back edge of the arborite countertops to the bottom of the upper cabinets had always been painted.

After assessing the kitchen, I would have felt remiss in not mentioning that the backsplash might not yield the desired result if they were intent on keeping the arborite counters. It wasn’t an attempt at an upsell — I truly felt that tiling the backsplash above the back edge of the old countertops was not the way to go. After a bit more discussion, I suggested that if they truly wanted a facelift, the cost-effective approach would be to retain the existing cabinetry, while upgrading the countertops to quartz, along with a new undermount sink and faucet. A newly tiled backsplash after those upgrades would be the icing on the cake. The homeowners quickly jumped on board and requested a quote for the kitchen facelift, along with the bathroom reno and the new glass door for the office.

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Saturday, Oct. 17, 2026

New Homes

Todd Lewys photos / Free Press The spacious New Haven B at 44 Ash Cove is a well-conceived family home that shines inside and out.

Spacious two-storey in Headingley impresses with matchless style

Todd Lewys photos / Free Press Todd Lewys 5 minute read Preview

Spacious two-storey in Headingley impresses with matchless style

Todd Lewys photos / Free Press Todd Lewys 5 minute read Saturday, Oct. 10, 2026

If there’s any one element that gives a home’s interior an inviting, uplifting feel, it’s the presence of natural light.

Reid Boles says Discovery Homes’ new 2026 Fall Parade of Homes show home at 44 Ash Cove delivers it in spades.

“The rear of the home, in particular, is filled with tons of large windows,” he says. “So, you get light flowing into the home all day long. And because there are other well-placed windows that let in more light, you get a home that’s filled with natural light.”

He points out that one of those well-placed windows has been receiving accolades during the Parade.

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Saturday, Oct. 10, 2026

Resale Homes

Situated on a four-acre lot just minutes from the city, the sprawling 2,650 sq. ft bungalow offers a peaceful country feel.

Luxury bungalow in Springfield has plenty of space for big families

Todd Lewys 5 minute read Preview

Luxury bungalow in Springfield has plenty of space for big families

Todd Lewys 5 minute read Saturday, Oct. 10, 2026

If there’s one thing people crave in a home, it’s privacy.

Yet when you live in the city, privacy can be hard to come by, whether you live in an older or newer neighbourhood.

For better or worse, there always seems to be at least one neighbour that causes a disturbance, whether it be coming and going with a loud motorcycle, cranking up pounding music or incessantly tinkering with power tools.

Consequently, many families dream of living on a generous plot of land in a quiet place where disturbances will be few and far between. In other words, their dream is to live in a countrified area outside the city. As idyllic as the concept sounds, it also brings its own set of challenges.

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Saturday, Oct. 10, 2026

Renovation & Design

AAFC photo Samir Debnath with one of the lingonberry varieties he studies in the Research and Development Centre greenhouse in St. John’s, N.L.

Getting a boost from berries: Canadian scientists on the cutting edge of food crop research

Colleen Zacharias 7 minute read Preview

Getting a boost from berries: Canadian scientists on the cutting edge of food crop research

Colleen Zacharias 7 minute read Saturday, Oct. 10, 2026

As we gather around the table this Thanksgiving, many of us will enjoy and share the local seasonal harvest. Whether the food we serve comes from our backyard garden, a farmer’s market or the grocery store, often a direct line can be traced to the work of research scientists at Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada (AAFC).

AAFC scientists and researchers play a vital role in developing nutritious food crops, testing methods to protect soil health and finding ways to boost crop resilience in extreme weather. Canadian research and innovation in fruits and vegetables is at the forefront of strengthening food security and self-reliance. In addition to enhancing biodiversity, AAFC scientists and researchers are also contributing significantly to the development of nutrient-dense foods.

Let’s start with the research by Samir Debnath, who has been working with northern berry crops, including blueberry, lingonberry, cranberry, huckleberry, raspberry and strawberry. In the interest of space, I will focus on lingonberry.

Wild lingonberry grows in abundance in northern Manitoba. It is also native to British Columbia, Saskatchewan and Atlantic Canada.

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Saturday, Oct. 10, 2026

Renovation & Design

The area encompassing the damage is uninstalled to swap out bad boards for new.

After a deck was gouged during another project, the task was to make it look as good as new

Marc LaBossiere 5 minute read Preview

After a deck was gouged during another project, the task was to make it look as good as new

Marc LaBossiere 5 minute read Saturday, Oct. 10, 2026

During a recent window installation, the composite deck became slightly damaged when the window was positioned there temporarily during the delivery. Unbeknownst to the delivery crew (who had struggled to place the 300-pound window unit using a dolly), the window had been placed atop a few acorns, which scratched and gouged several areas of the deck as they walked the window back towards the exterior wall.

I hadn’t noticed it either, until the project was completed and the homeowners brought it to my attention.

With any reno project, every effort is made to ensure the process goes as smoothly as possible, without affecting other areas of the home or property. In this case, the homeowners only noticed the damage to their top deck after thoroughly washing the area with a high-pressure spray nozzle. Although composite decks are easily scratched during normal use, these particular scrapes were quite noticeable — more like gouges than surface scratches. It quickly became evident that the heavy window had been set down on a few acorns (evident throughout the yard) and their shells had broken under the weight. When the window was moved, the abrasive edge of the shells created deep rifts in the deck — a very unfortunate scenario, since the homeowners had just recently had their deck re-sheathed in composite to replace old, treated lumber.

In talking to the homeowners, I learned the brand and colour of the composite boards which, to my delight, was easily sourced locally. I then scheduled a quick visit to assess the number of boards required to remedy the damaged area. Luckily, no board to be replaced was longer than eight feet, allowing me to use halved, 16-foot lengths for the fix.

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Saturday, Oct. 10, 2026

New Homes

SUPPLIED The great room at the Kensington Homes’ show home at 16 Gypsum Drive.

The Parade will soon end, but the show will go on

Lanny McInnes 3 minute read Preview

The Parade will soon end, but the show will go on

Lanny McInnes 3 minute read Saturday, Oct. 10, 2026

While the Manitoba Home Builders’ Association’s 2026 Fall Parade of Homes comes to an official close on Sunday, that doesn’t mean your chance to visit Manitoba’s newest and finest show homes will end as well. Almost all the show homes that have been part of this year’s Fall Parade will remain open for viewing well after the Parade of Homes ends.

MHBA builders have seen outstanding crowds visit the 130 new homes entered in this year’s Fall Parade. This year’s entrants certainly did not disappoint, providing an amazing array of design, style, quality, craftsmanship and choice for prospective homebuyers or those seeking inspiration.

Our Fall and Spring Parades of Homes are showcase events hosted by the MHBA that demonstrate the best that the new home building industry has to offer. Whether you’re in the market for a new home, considering a change or just looking for ideas for your current home, no other Parade of Homes in Canada provides this kind of opportunity for people to experience such a collection of new home concepts, features and decor.

Nowhere else in Canada can homebuyers visit this many unique show homes. Only MHBA builders can enter show homes in our Parade of Homes, so you know you are visiting homes offered by Manitoba’s best and most reputable builders when you view a Parade show home. Winter is a great time for new homebuyers to visit show homes, because it allows you to see many of the home features in full operation, like the heating system and the lighting.

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Saturday, Oct. 10, 2026

Renovation & Design

Terra Nova Series photo The Fyre Wing Heuchera series is the first heuchera with deeply cut, lace-leaf foliage. This one is Fyre Wing Spinel.

Hot new plants for 2027

Colleen Zacharias 7 minute read Preview

Hot new plants for 2027

Colleen Zacharias 7 minute read Saturday, Oct. 3, 2026

As you empty your containers and put your garden to bed for winter, take time to assess how well your plants performed. Which plant varieties bloomed consistently or provided long-lasting, vibrant colour? Is there an area of your garden or patio that would benefit next year from a splash of bold colour or texture?

Many new plants will be introduced in 2027. Gardeners can look forward to an eye-popping array of shapes, sizes and colours that will breathe new life into beds and containers.

The Fyre Wing Heuchera series from Terra Nova Nurseries is truly groundbreaking. There is nothing like it on the market in heucheras. It is the first and only heuchera, commonly known as coral bells, to have deeply cut, lace-leaf foliage. Fyre Wing debuts next year with varieties in seven different colours. Each variety is named after a gemstone — Amber, Heliodor, Hematite, Jadeite, Jet, Rhodonite and Spinel. This new series received Retailers’ Choice Awards this summer at both Cultivate and Farwest, the two most important green industry trade shows in North America.

So much buzz surrounds this new heuchera series that demand by retailers has been described as a frenzy. I reached out to Chuck Pavlich, director of new product development at Terra Nova, to inquire about Fyre Wing’s availability in Canada. He replied, “Oh yes, we indeed anticipate it to be in Canada in spring 2027. It will show up first in British Columbia, then work its way eastward.”

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Saturday, Oct. 3, 2026

New Homes

Todd Lewys / Free Press The gorgeous great room hits all the right notes with its rear wall of windows and eight-foot linear electric fireplace set in a stunning grey tile feature wall. Situated on a huge, country-sized lot, the stately bungalow offers just under 5,000 total square feet of thoughtfully designed living space.

In the lap of luxury

Todd Lewys 6 minute read Preview

In the lap of luxury

Todd Lewys 6 minute read Saturday, Oct. 3, 2026

Surveying the interior of his 2026 Fall Parade of Homes show home at 40 Ash Cove in Forest Grove Estates, KDR Homes’ Diego Vassallo said the impetus behind its design was simple.

“We really wanted to have it explode in front of people as they walked through it. We just wanted it to grow and grow and grow.”

He added that the front of the home provides a preview of that explosion of style, texture and function.

“To draw people in right away, we put on a huge covered front porch with a composite deck. It’s west facing, so it’s a perfect spot to watch sunsets from. To make that easier, we put on a porch swing chair. It goes nicely with the wood-style low-maintenance siding and stone wall behind it to create a nice country feel.”

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Saturday, Oct. 3, 2026

Resale Homes

Todd Lewys / Free Press The gorgeous great room hits all the right notes with its rear wall of windows and eight-foot linear electric fireplace set in a stunning grey tile feature wall.

Enjoy your own estate

Todd Lewys 5 minute read Preview

Enjoy your own estate

Todd Lewys 5 minute read Saturday, Oct. 3, 2026

Back in 1999, a young couple had a vision.

They wanted a safe, beautiful place where they could raise a family, and they searched long and hard to find a suitable place to put down roots.

Eventually, they found a 6.12-acre plot of land in St. Anne, Man.

It had pretty much all the attributes they were looking for — it was peaceful and private, yet only 20 minutes from Winnipeg and a short commute to other centres, like Steinbach.

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Saturday, Oct. 3, 2026

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