If you can’t get enough of extreme home transformations, Styled is the show for you! This new docu-series follows design dream team Nicole Babb and Caffery Vanhorne as they grow their design empire.
In honour of the new series premiere, we sat down with Home Network’s newest hosts and best friends Nicole Babb and Caffery Vanhorne. Here are ten things you need to know about this dynamic duo:
1. Home Sweet Home
Nicole grew up in Toronto, Ontario, the biggest city in Canada. (You can also see glimpses of the Six throughout the show!)
2. The Story Behind the Name
Nicole’s successful staging business is called R + P Home. And the story behind the brand name actually has pretty tasty origins. “I have a line of Caribbean-inspired sauces called Rich and Pour Food Co. That business came first. I’ve always known that I wanted to build an empire, around the theme of home,” she explains. “When we started the staging and design company, I thought it would be good to play off the words Rich and Poor. Our motto is to be rich with your investing and poor with your spending. From these concepts, we went with R + P Home.”
3. Nicole’s Passion Behind Staging
In today’s competitive real estate market, it’s never been more important to set your property apart from the rest. “Staging is an investment, not an expense,” she explains. “You can yield high returns with staging.”
4. Words of Wisdom
Nicole is a big advocate of self-care. Her favourite ways to fill her cup include visiting her nieces and nephews, going for a massage, making a gourmet meal, and taking a nap. “My grandma used to say no one is going to take care of you like you.” Now that’s advice we can get behind!
5. Nicole’s Favourite Paint Colours
We asked Nicole a tough question. If she could only use three different paint colours for the rest of her career, what would they be?
Her first pick is Chantilly Lace by Benjamin Moore. “It’s the perfect shade of white,” she explains. She also adores Black Beauty by Benjamin Moore, which she describes as rich and luxe. “I love the contrast of the two and I’ll forever love a good striped wall,” she said. Lastly, Nicole would opt for Hale Navy by Benjamin Moore as her third choice. “It’s a deep jewel tone hue that looks great in small washrooms, on cabinets or as a feature wall.”
6. Caffery’s Favourite Toronto Neighbourhood
Caffery is a proud Torontonian (just like his best friend, Nicole) and lives central downtown. Caffery moves a lot, but when it comes to choosing where to live next, he follows one rule. “I have said if I can’t walk to Chanel I won’t live there,” he says with a laugh. “I don’t shop at Chanel, but I feel they invest heavily in where they operate so I piggyback off that.”
7. Toronto Eats
Toronto is known for its world-renowned culinary scene, and Caffery has been a loyal customer of one specific restaurant for over 20 years. “Hong Shing (on Dundas Street West) is my spot and I always live within walking distance,” he says. His order? Deep-fried spicy shrimp, chicken fried rice, General Tso chicken, beef and broccoli, and spring rolls.
8. Caffery On His Two Great Loves: Fashion and Interior Design
“The dressing of self and home are reassuringly familiar, that’s my mantra,” he says. For example, he says that after finishing a fashion collection, he’ll use the leftover fabrics to make pillows. “If you like it on you, you will love it around you. In my case, my home is an extension of my wardrobe style.”
9. His Fashion Muse
Caffery’s favourite fashion designer is Pierpaolo Piccioli of Maison Valentino. “We have a very similar mindset… I lay in bed and watch the shows and literally burst into tears.”
10. Why Caffery Will Always Believe in Manifestation
On his personal website, Caffery wrote that he manifested his new role as a host of Home Network. “I knew early on that one day I would do television, and that style, fashion, design, would be a part of it,” he explains. “The laws of attraction will always place you where you need to be at the precise moment. If what you’re manifesting is what you truly want, and you’ve been working at your skills, and sharing positive energy, it will come. You just have to be prepared!”
