Love! The orange lamps are my favorite pieces.

it's so refreshing and exciting to see canadian representation in the house tours. love love love the entryway! thanks for sharing!!

hello from vancouver bc!

Brilliantly done! I love that there are touches of red, black & green throughout to unify the space. Thank you for the exterior photos, too, as i could not even picture your setting.

Loving the mix of color and patterns!

I love this. I'm torn between the living room and the bedroom being my favorite, but those klippans look sweet in the bemz covers against the wallpaper.

So glad AT did a full house tour. I was very curious to see the outside and views.

I love that laundry poster! I've been scouring Etsy and can't seem to find it. Anyone have a link?

amazing what you have accomplished. simply and truly inspiring.

but i'm really curious as to why you choose to live in Iqualuit. It just seems like such a huge hassle.

"Hello" from Saskatoon SK! Love seeing Canadian tours, especially from places other than Toronto. This place is fantastic!

I'm always hearing about how expensive food is up north, so I can't even imagine furniture. Well done.

Mesmerizing. Your color and pattern choices are inspired, and inspiring.

I really like the idea of the wallpapered bookcase, and I like the wall hanging over the bed.

I LOVE that outdoor lighting fixture in your laundry room!

Thanks for the outside pics! Very interesting the way the homes are built. Why are they built that way?

But brrrr, I'm getting chilly just thinking about Iqualuit!

I am also very curious about why you ended up living in such a desolate place. Jobs? Anyway, love your place, especially the bedroom!

I love the textile over the bed, and the turquoise mirror!

Very well done with lots of constraints!

The wallhanging in image 18 is beautiful! Where did Sarah and Chad find it? Also, the Frtiz Kahn Poster is great - where to find a print....

love this! Feels so like "home" not show home at all! I truly feel like I could move in next week! Love your resourcefulness and what must be patience! Hello from steveston bc!

I'm impressed that it was all done in 6 months, but because the home incorporates basically every curent design trend I wonder if it's going to feel dated in a year or two. I certainly admire the effort however!

I had lately rearranged my sofa so that it's at a 90 degree angle to the TV.. yes, i get more space that way but yikes my neck pain!

This is a lovely HT. I, too love the mix of colors and patterns! Good job!

The bedroom is fantastic! Love the artwork/tapestry. Mandi.

I can totally understand living in such a beautiful place as Iqaluit! It's a whole different world up there. I live on Vancouver Island where everything comes by plane or boat but now I won't complain about it ever again as it's only about two hours to Vancouver. Beautiful and inspiring job on your place!

hello from St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador.

Great to see a place in Canada and one that is as handily and creatively done as this.

For those who ask why they would live in iqaluit - what an arrogant question. Why do you live where you do? Is New York, or Boston, or LA, or SF the centre of the universe? People who fall in love with the north will tell you of the wondrous beauty, the immense peace of silence, the community that comes from living together in such a remote location, and amazing colours of the northern lights.

Different strokes for different folks.

This is awesome. I always tend to appreciate a house a bit more if it isn't plum full of CB2, Ikea, or Pottery Barn. Nice work!

plumb* excuse me.

Love it. The Bemz covers are perfect for your place.

Bindy, I'm with you! That question comes across as pretty rude.

It's so great to see Nunavut represented on here! Gorgeous house. I love your style - it's fresh but warm and friendly. Great job!

What is the wall paint in your bathroom/powder room? I love it.

I don't see the question of "Why Iqaluit ?" as rude at all. Keep in mind that most of us don't live in such a remote area. So to willingly want to is bound to elicit curiosity.

That being said - I LOVE the two chairs in the LR: the one with the green velvet upholstery and the FABULOUS one next to it.

Beautiful place folks!

I love this tour...I loved it as a house call and am glad to see the rest of the place...the colours are great. Love the kitchen back splash, too! Great inspiration for only living there for such a short period of time.

I remember your house call and am glad to see a fulll tour. I also have black and white as a base and it works brilliantly. The tapestry in the bedroom is great and I love the couches and that wallpaper. Everything is nice. Wow I can't imagine having to wall up and down those stairs several times a day. Good for you. I am sure it keeps you young.

I love your place too! So bright and cheery, I know that it's not always so sunny outside as it is in. It will do you well this winter no doubt!

I don't think that "Why Iqaluit" alone is a rude question - it's a good one! and the answer has to be your work, I would think - but the way people asked came off a little ignorant of the north (i.e., "desolate" definitely has negative connotations). But if you've never been, how would you know what it's like?

I love how you've mixed black and white prints with bright splashes of colour. It's my favourite combination in decor. That Otomi panel is to die for, too!

Great job! I've lived in far less remote areas where I couldn't do 10% of what you've managed to do. Congratulations on the logistics alone ... and, of course, on the beautiful space you've created.

Amazing! A true oasis. Love your use of colour and admire your quick work. 6 months! Wow! After 4 years our place isn't even close, and we're not in Nunavut.

PS Go territories!

So happy to see a tour, I loved your home from your house call.

You did a wonderful job mixing prints and color, looks modern but homey too...I love your perfume bottle collection.

obsessed with the hanging above the bed

Amazing! Love the paint jobs, kitchen tiles, bold graphics. And I'm in the curious camp, what brought you there? I'm fascinated. @bindy not rude I'm sure I'm not the only reader who never heard of iqaluit.

wow - that's quite a lot of work to do in 6 months! i've been planning a paint job of my living room for twice as long! kudos on a job well done.

you place looks wonderful. a well balanced use of colors and patterns - brings it all together. i'm not a fan of the minty green you are using throughout certain rooms - but it does work as a color theme.

the only bummer i see, and i preface this with the fact that we pitched our tv set 9 years ago, is the dominance of the flat panel tv screen in the living room. i wish there were better ways to hide these sets (behind a large painting?) so they wouldn't dominate the space so much.

but other than that i really love your place and am intrigued by the exterior and entire housing complex. any more details and this would be helpful. thanks for sharing. edgaroso

WOW, WOW, WOW! I think you have an extraordinary job. You guys have such a great eye for putting it all together, I am a bit ashamed of myself for not doing more with what is available here in the T.O. I do agree with Cashew, it is nice to see other parts of the the "Great White North"!

You live above the Arctic Circle and you don't have a garage?

Nice place; very ambitiously done for people who have to pay so much to have everything delivered. Creatively put together.

Also very glad this was made into a full tour. I am so impressed by the use of color and pattern throughout Sarah and Chad's condo. Not to mention the patience and resourcefulness required to pull it off in such a remote area of the world.

bindy, there's no need to get defensive over the "why Iquluit? question. This whole site is devoted to lifestyle choices--apartment versus house, urban versus suburban, high-tech versus low, and so on. I actually think it's more rude that you assume those of us asking the question must live in a big American city (is that where you think "arrogant" people come from?) and that you then answer the question posed to the homeowners.

*"Iqaluit"

This is a definite favorite of mine! The tree wallpaper is so fantastic, and the small tiles in the kitchen backsplash have been added to my list of options when I have my own place. I'm feeling so inspired!

Part of the why question is, I think, a how question. How did you end up in a small, remote place, what is life like, and how do you make a living there?

My question was definitely not intended to come across as rude. I don't think that by asking "why" i'm at all commenting on the fact that where i live is superior. Their introduction, their interest in design, and the community nature of this forum are all good reasons why it's not rude to ask such a question. It's called curiosity!

amazing!

Totally inspiring. I am going to stop complaining about Maine ever again.

Very beautiful and original. Love that a shot of the exterior was included even though it is not lovely...really puts the space in context.

That bedroom is sheer perfection. I assume you painted two different nightstands the same color. I like the multi color large pillow on the bed and how it coordinates with that spectacular tapestry. The orange lamps add a lot of umph. The black and white bedspread provides a nice base. It's just the perfect balance.

I am curious about the flokati rug in the living room. I adore flokati but if you are tracking in snow and mud from outside it would seem difficult to maintain. Do you have a no shoes or boots policy?

house voyeur - don't know about the folks profiled, but in general, in Canada, we take our shoes off at the door. I don't know of any house, in all of the five provinces where I've lived, where people keep shoes on.

you know, curiosity about where someone lives is one thing. Adding a value judgment ('desolate') is something entirely different; then it's moved from curiosity to something quite derogatory.

Note that nobody ever asks people who live in big cities why they live there. But these are questions that come up when people live in small towns, remote areas or, sometimes, the midwestern US. perhaps we might want to ask ourselves why that is.

I love this house tour!! You made it all come together to become a beautiful warm home. I have relatives from Oregon, Cali and are always amazed we Canadians take off our shoes at the door, I can't think of a Province that doesn't. To the question as to "why" live in Iqaluit, I ask "why not" ....Howdy from Abbotsford, BC

I am very impressed by this style.

I looked at it and thought how refreshing and unique it looked. My first thought was that they must live somewhere that has a TON of cool resources that I don't have, because this place is stunning.

I'm seriously happy to see that this can be accomplished without living in NY or California.

I LOVE LOVE LOVE that the wallpaper is from WALMART. I don't even like walmart, but it's the place we shop. I think it's awesome to see that you don't have to have Design Within Reach to get an amazing fresh look.

Kudos!

bindy: it seems that you are hung up on the word "desolate." This is a home ABOVE THE ARCTIC CIRCLE. We are not talking about Toronto or Vancouver or Calgary. Most people think of any place that far north as "desolate" in the sense of "lonely or isolated." I do not think any offense was meant by the people who asked the question--rather, we are all fascinated and impressed!

And you are wrong to suggest that no one questions why people would live in big cities. Ask anyone who pays an exorbitant amount to live in Manhattan how often they get the question--"you pay THAT much for a tiny fifth-floor walk-up studio??" I get asked frequently why I would move to the upper Midwest from the tropics and never take offense, even when people say "are you crazy? why would you want to live in such a (forbidding, nasty, unsophisticated...insert word of choice) place?"

I know we live in tense times, but not everything has to be turned into a confrontation. Sometimes a question is just a question.

P.S. the no-shoe rule makes me want to move to Canada.

Charming and full of self confidence. You provide proof that good taste doesn't require big bucks, rare commodities or fancy lables (that is, so long as shipping expences are reasonable)
27 years ago, I spent time in Iceland (probably warm by your standards). I noticed that they made extravagent use of color, even dayglow florescent paint on house exteriors, which in the low northern summer light looked perfectly normal, and in the winter may be necessary to locate isolated buildings.
You made extensive use of gray, yet also used lots of pure, strong color accents. Did the light affect your choices? Does the home create the same feelings in summer and winter?
Greetings and complements from one of the world's hot spots: Jerusalem.

What a great house tour. Like some of the other responses I love you yellow lamp and the wall hanging above your bed.

Yea! Canada! So awesome. I'm in awe of the beauty of your space, especially amidst the complexity of getting everything there. I really want to see the Territories and your tour has made me even more! Way to go.

Love! And Love Canada!!

Artistic, and cozy. When does the snow fly?

Wow! This place is incredible. Playful, bright, modern - with an array of prints and colours. Beautifully put together. Well done my Canadian friends :)

This place is so much fun. I adore it. What talent you two have to mix patterns and colors so. I am a bit jealous. :-) How is it that you live so far North? Jobs, internships, relationships bring you there? I live in the country, and my friends ask me about living where it is so quiet, so far away from "stuff". So I am curious about what got you there!

@Sally305
I'm afraid I'm with Bindy. I'm sure people are curious (I am) but the same question can be asked without the use of negative-sounding word like "desolate", and without the immediate assumption that it could only be for work purposes.

@Sarah and Chad
Great job! Such a lovely and inviting place.

Love it! Thank you for sharing your home and your story.

It's nice to see someone who is unafraid of pattern on pattern design!

I think this is beautifully done, and combined with the challenges they faced, it is superb. I love the silver birch wallpaper and I cannot believe it is from Wal Mart! Love it!

I was hoping we'd get to see a full tour, and you delivered. I'm absolutely charmed by this space.

Wow! What a place. So cheery and light. Well done :)

I had a friend that did some seasonal work in Iqaluit a few years ago, and personally I think it is a completely reasonable question to ask "why Iqaluit?" I mean come on, Bindy:)
If I didn't know why my friend was going there specifically, I would have asked him the exact same question.

Also, I'm from St. John's and have long-since moved away. I suspect that the reason Bindy is coming across as defensive is because St. John's is sometimes treated like some sort of far-away land of northern remoteness (or as some sort of East Coast hick town full of fishermen by even other Canadians!), and often people mistakenly think that Canada's East Coast ends at Halifax. I think she's defending Iqaluit because she's probably had to defend St. John's. Just a theory...

I came back to look at this house tour again because I love it so much.

I don't really see "desolate" as insulting. Personally, when I think of desolate, I think of natural beauty, silence, serenity. I live in the lovely Providence, by the beautiful Brown University, and my friend calls it a "sh*t-hole". Now THAT is an insult.

You could do worse than desolate.

I love the tree wallpaper, entry way tile and the industrial wall light fixture. The green wall color is pretty sick too! Is that a new Kenmore Elite Dishwasher...? How do you like it?

Thanks everyone for the nice comments. Here are some answers to questions;
-The laundry room poster was vintage from Etsy so I'm not sure there are any more but the seller was AccessoryAddiction
-The buildings here have to have pilings drilled into the permafrost so that's why they are on 'stilts'.
-It is desolate here but that is part of the beauty. We both originally came here for work but have stayed because of the great community and friends we have made.
-The wallhanging was purchased on a trip to Mexico. I've seen them online but they've been almost three times the price.
-We bought the Fritz Kahn poster in Berlin, so I'm not sure where else it can be found.
-Yes, the huge TV was a compromise. One of us would prefer not to have it but both of us love watching movies on it.
-The flokati rug is hard to keep clean but it's so soft. We don't wear shoes in the house- although in the winter you could since the snow never melts so there is no slush or mud.
-We didn't pick any colours with light conditions in mind- they were just ones that we liked. It helps to have a variety of light sources all on dimmers which makes it cosy in the winter.

Also-yes it is a Kenmore Elite Dishwasher and we absolutely love it. It is so quite you only hear the water draining.

TOTALLY didn't intend to be rude! Just curious that's all. I live in a small town in Ohio, so I appreciate community, peace, and quiet.

The patterns here are so much fun. Sarah and Chad, I am really curious, what kind of work do you do that led you to Iqaluit?

Actually, Iqaluit is a few degrees below the Arctic Circle, though it is "North of 60", well above the tree line and has an Arctic climate. There isn't quite 24 hours of darkness there in the winter either, though it can feel like it sometimes, and is of course offset by the longer days of summer. The first lost white guys showed up there in 1576 when Martin Frobisher brought a load of fool's gold from there back to England and it was called Frobisher Bay for a while. There was an air base there during WWII and a DEW line site.

Adore the little pops of patterns!

This is an AMAZing house tour! Just goes to show what you can do with a little ingenuity....

You rock Iqaluit! How're the walls? Superinsulated and surprisingly warm?

Love love love the tree/branch wallpaper and the backsplash! Gorgeous place.