Simply Staged - Sidney & Victoria BC

ABOUT Carell-Ayne Whalen: I am no stranger to style, fashion and decorating. I grew up with an "avant garde” mother who was the epitome of a woman who was ahead of her time. She never left the house without her fashionable black hat or bright silk scarf wrapped around her head, and definitely not forgetting her string of pearls. No one would have ever noticed her "re-purposed" little black dress. Now that was style! Ever since I can remember I have followed some of the greatest fashion and home designers, including Edith Head (The Dress Doctor), Barbara Barry, and Geoffrey Bradfield. So it was a natural course of events that I would end up in the field of fashion, style and decorating. I worked as a personal shopper for prestigious clients of Holt Renfrew. From there I became an independent wardrobe consultant. In 1998, my partner Charlie & I started an antique business in Sidney, called “Funtiques.” Through this business we were able to combine our knowledge & expertise of antiques and style, and began to style and stage many homes in Victoria. Due to a sudden illness and subsequent death of my partner in “Funtiques”, I decided to down-size & move forward. I staged my own home with my existing furniture and accessories. The good news, the home sold within weeks. I was thrilled! I realized through my life’s journey and experience of loss, grief, transition, downsizing and feeling totally alone - that I could understand and express empathy and compassion for others. Thus became the beginning of Simply Staged. MY DESIGN PHILOSOPHY: Accentuate the positive, camouflage the negative!