Every home has a story,
Let us help you tell yours.
Designing Well-being for the Home
Creating a comfortable space is about more than just colour and layout. It is about all of the senses: light, touch, feel, colour, smell. Reach out and ask us more about this!
From custom built ins, kitchen reno’s, upholstery to personal shopping, customised colour and product specifications, we have got you covered.
Whether you want a Harry Potter theme room makeover or the perfect office with maximised productivity, we can help you make it happen. If you have an idea, we have the execution, the experience and the network to bring your vision to life.
Thoma has owned a local paint and design store for 30 Years! We are the colour experts.
The Goldilocks Method
The Goldilocks Method:
“Our job isn’t to tell you what looks good. It is to help you discover what feels right to you!”
Finding your just right.
Finding the right colour isn’t always about knowing exactly what you want. Sometimes, it’s much easier to know what you don’t want.
And that’s where the magic happens.
We don’t expect you to arrive with a perfect colour palette, a Pinterest board full of answers, or the vocabulary to describe exactly what you’re looking for. That’s our job.
With years of experience and a highly trained eye, we know there are thousands of colours, fabrics, finishes and possibilities. Rather than simply telling you what we think looks good, we help you discover what feels right to you.
Think Goldilocks.
It’s not industry jargon—just a wonderfully simple way to describe part of our process.
We might place several colours side by side and ask, Which do you prefer?
Perhaps one feels too dark. Another is too cool. One is too green, another too grey. But somewhere in between, there’s a colour that makes you pause and say, “Yes. That one.”
So we keep refining.
A little lighter.
A little warmer.
A touch softer.
A little less of this, a little more of that.
Until we find your just right.
And it goes far beyond colour.
The Goldilocks Method can help us find the right fabric, furniture placement, window treatment, finish, pattern, proportion—or any of the many details that come together to create a room.
You react. We listen.
You tell us what makes you say yes, what makes you hesitate, and what makes you say absolutely not. We pay attention to all of it.
Because sometimes the quickest path to what you love is through what you don't.
We are facilitators, not dictators.
Our role is to bring the expertise, experience and possibilities. Your role is simply to respond honestly. There are no wrong answers and no need to know the “right” design language.
Together, we narrow the endless possibilities into choices that feel unmistakably you.
The result isn't a room that looks like it came from a showroom—or someone else's idea of beautiful.
It's a home that feels like you.
Beautiful, considered and personal.
Comfortable enough to live in.
Thoughtful enough to stand the test of time.
And, most importantly, just right.
We listen to you. We notice what you like, what you avoid, and we use questions, an acute ear and a trained eye to help you bring your dreams to fruition - on budget and on time.
Change your space.
Change your state of mind & body.
We specialize with creating
well-being in your home…
What does wellness in the home really mean?
Especially during these times, we are spending so – much – time – at – home! How does it make you feel when you walk into your bedroom right after it has been cleaned, the surfaces are clear and sparkling, the carpet has those perfect vacuum lines and no footprints in it? Okay, okay now you know one of my little pet peeves. But what does it take for you to feel a deep exhale when you enter your home?
Our home’s environment has such an impact on our mindset and our health. As we are spending more time at home, we need our spaces to do more! They need to be multi-purpose, calming and functional. From exercise to leisure and entertainment, to working from home with no one else around to home schooling the kids, we need our spaces to do be overachievers!
Wellness in the home encompasses a whole lot of things
Sound & Acoustics
Lighting & reducing fatigue (or encouraging it at night)
Exercise & Leisure
Toxic chemicals (Yes, that includes the bleach, lysol wipes and even Windex!)
Building materials
Air quality
Water & Plumbing Quality
So, where do I come in? I can help you with acoustics (reducing the echo). Design has loved the hard surfaces – the wood floors, that beautiful stone counter faux wood blinds - but there isn’t much to buffer the sound.
Did you know cleaning materials use chemicals that could cause breathing problems and skin conditions? When I detoxed my home, my health changed dramatically. I can literally breathe better! Even building materials contain volatile organic compounds (VOC’s) and formaldehyde – YIKES!
I can help you select lighting that works with your bodies natural rhythm, help you consider placement for the most function and the least agitation. Now, I know there is a lot to consider and the list goes on. I don’t want to impact your wellness by keeping the list going. Reach out, and I would love to help you figure out a way to design a space that helps you feel good at home.
- Thoma Doehring
What People Are Saying
“I trust Thoma with all my renovation and design projects. Thoma worked on my commercial project in 2010, and we are still getting rave reviews on the decor 8 years later. In 2012 Thoma worked on my home reno and the results were amazing. I have recommended Thoma to many friends and everyone has been exceptionally pleased with the results. Thoma and her team just finished the interior renovations to my heritage home in Port Moody this March 2018. Thoma and Tri-City Design have taken a disaster zone and turned it into a work of art. Thank you so much you have come to my rescue once again.”
— Andrew Taylor
I hired Amazing Dave to do a small handyman job for me. It's been a while since I've had a regular contractor I could call to tackle household jobs. I got his name through a Google search. I now have a handyman I will call again and again. Dave is polite, returns calls, shows up on time, gives good advice, does great work, keeps the price to something I can afford, is personable and always in a good mood, likes dogs, and, and, and ... I can't say enough about how pleased I am with his services. I like finding professionals I can rely on. Dave fills the bill.
— Lynne Melcombe
“We first met Thoma 15 years ago when she did a colour consultation for our home. We were so impressed by her professionalism and sense of style that when we decided to renovate our bathrooms and laundry room 10 years later, she was our first choice. We were not disappointed. This year we once again went to Thoma for a major kitchen/dining/living room renovation. Thoma’s guidance, amazing sense of style and colour along with her ability to listen to her clients and source out quality products was instrumental in making this project both a success and positive experience. My kitchen is beautiful! It fully meets my needs and wishes and surpassed my expectations. The living and dining room which are now open to the kitchen have been elevated in their design with beautiful mouldings, flooring and colour. I love my house again! Thoma is very well respected in the design community and I understand why. We have a few more projects on our renovation list and Thoma and her company will be who I go to.”
— Jo-Anne Pearce
“For the past 25 years I have had the pleasure of experiencing the design expertise of Thoma and Dave at Benjamin Moore Tri Cities. From color consult on my entire home….inside and out ….. to window and floor coverings and personal touches……they are my one stop shop. Benjamin Moore products are superior to all others. Trust me when I say Benjamin Moore Tri Cities is a place you can trust.”
— donnawalks60