Ahead of the Curve: Identifying Trends and Taking Risks – Sébastien Fauteux

Shaun Majumder: It is important to see how people interact with their space, but also how they choose to present themselves. Do I look old in this old-school sweater?

Shaun: Today, we're diving in to how to identify emerging trends. Trends, yes. What is trending? What isn't? I'll tell you who knows about that is a man by the name of Sébastien Fauteux, and he is from Urban Barn. He's the creative director for Urban Barn, Canadian-owned, Canadian-operated. This guy has been forecasting trends for over 30 years, which, if you think about trend years, that's over 1,000 years, really. The guy's been at it forever. Think of him as a trend meteorologist, but with better lighting. He knows how to predict the weather, but with better lighting. The guy's great.

We dive into everything. We figure out how to identify emerging trends, how to stay ahead of the curve, how to read your audience, and why forecasting in real estate does actually matter. Not only in the marketplace, but you as REALTORS^®, how important it is to understand shifting buyer attitudes, what actually attracts and keeps clients coming back for more. Also, we have a great little section on, when staging a house, the things. He's got some great tips about that. Let's waste no more time talking to me. Let's get into it with my guest today, Mr. Sébastien Fauteux from Urban Barn.

Look at this. Sébastien, what do you think of my sweater? This sweater is something my wife has been shopping for me. She goes to a lot of secondhand stores. She has brought back, probably a box a day of some great finds of old-school sweaters. Do I look old in this old-school sweater?

Sébastien Fauteux: No, not to me. Not at all. Not to me. It's funny that you say that because I think that you have vintage shopping and things like this, and the new with the old as well, and things like this, it is something that we see. Listen to your wife. That's what they say.

Shaun: Now listen, you're an expert at seeing these things that we're seeing over periods of time. Trends, something that you are-- You have to be dialed into trends, don't you, Sébastien?

Sébastien: This isn't something that we look at as well. Here at Urban Barn, I look at, certainly, home decor and furniture trends, but you look at trends overall as well to see what influences people. As much as you look at food trends and fashion trends and also lifestyle activities as well, and the patterns that have changed over the years as well, it is important to see how people interact with their space, but also how they choose to present themselves, how they choose to do the choices that they make as well, and how can we connect those dots as well? It's not as unconnected as we think it is. When we talk about home decor and lifestyle and the way we present our home, the way we present ourselves, all this is connected.

Shaun: It's all connected. Now, tell me how you first connected with Urban Barn. Tell me about your story. How did you become involved with Urban Barn? What's your background?

Sébastien: It was 28 years ago that I joined Urban Barn. Urban Barn is 35 years in the making. A proudly Canadian company, still to this day, own and operated in Vancouver. I was a young university student in Montreal, and came here on vacation and fell in love with the West Coast. I decided to move here to do my graduate degree, my master's degree. Then one thing led to another. I met these two founders who started Urban Barn 35 years ago. Then I joined them when they had two stores, and the company grew to what it is today at 55 locations across the country. That's my journey.

It became truly like a passion for me, like the idea of being creative and having a business and a merchant idea, and the idea of being analytical at the same time. Then that's how it happened. Often, we think of retailers in Canada starting in the East Coast, often in Montreal or Toronto, and making their way across the country. At that time, looking back, there were Little Lemon, Aritzia, Arc'teryx, Urban Barn. We all started around the same time in Vancouver. They're all now success stories in Canada. Looking back on this, we're proud to what we're doing and proud to be now across the country as well.

Shaun: That's amazing.

Sébastien: We opened a store in Nova Scotia, and we're so happy with that.

Shaun: When you first met the two founders, did you know you wanted to get into retail? Did you know you wanted to get into design? What were the things that drew you to working with them, and how did that relationship start?

Sébastien: My story is a little different because I studied Canadian literature in French, moved here to pursue it in English. I got a job in the book industry as a book buyer. I realized that maybe the business aspect of it I really liked. That business was what really spoke to me. Old and behold, I figured out that maybe there was not a lot of profit and business in the book industry back then was a bit struggling. Back then, it was Amazon starting selling books at the beginning, and then there was a real competitor.

I joined Urban Barn, but I always knew I was creative. I always knew that. I really developed the business aspect of it when I joined Urban Barn, and they welcomed me with open arms. These two guys that says, "Yes, you want to do this, this, this. Go for it, and let's move forward." Then this is when we start expanding to Edmonton and Calgary, Winnipeg, to start with focusing on the West Coast, and then later on to Ontario, Quebec.

Shaun: Naturally, your skillset, no matter what it was, you came from books, but yet you had this hunger, and that seemed to align with their early development, because you said they only had two stores, is that correct?

Sébastien: That is exactly what happened. Also, it's a path of a lot of people, maybe of my generation, and even today when I talk to my colleagues here that are younger, it's like we're supposed to decide, and I can speak to a lot of people, very early on, what are you going to do for the rest of your life, but you're supposed to be 17 when you decide that. You know yourself, you know what you don't like, you don't really know necessarily what you can develop to become better at as well.

Your journey sometimes, and you hear that a lot, where the journey goes in a different direction than you might not have planned, but looking back, it was the right direction that your life took. This is how I came to do what I do, but I think it's a journey that is not too unfamiliar to a lot of people as well.

Shaun: Yes, because you started early with them, and you've been loyal, and you've been with them ever since. That is an uncommon path for a lot of people. Usually, I'd be speaking to you, and you're like, "Yes, I went to business school. I started my own company. We failed three or four times, so I got a job as a therapist. Then I became a figure skater. Now I'm jumping back into the retail world, and all the skills that I learned doing the other things that I wasn't supposed to do, I now do."

For you, what were those things early on that you felt most aligned with, not only generally retail, but also Urban Barn-specific vision?

Sébastien: I think you're right. I think looking back and see, you've been here for 28 years, it's a long journey, but I haven't done the same thing for 28 years. The company has grew over the years, and I had the chance to grow alongside in the same journey as the company. It's not always the case. Often, there's a crossroad, you need to choose different directions to grow and develop, and widen their scope and their expertise as well.

For me, the company grew at the same time as I did as a person, both in leadership and business and acquired skills and things like this. I was really open about adapting to change as well. That's a big thing. The market has changed over the years, the access to product, the customer's journey has changed over the years, the social media aspect has changed over the years as well.

When I started, print magazine was the thing for home decor and furniture. We did participate in that. Then TV shows, segments in TV shows, so the Marilyn Denis of the world, and the CityLine of the world, and then HGTV. You participate, and you're embracing that as well. Then it became social media, website. The presence of the website took a very different part of the journey of an omnichannel retailer.

As a business and as a person, whatever role you have, I think you need to decide if you're ready to accept change and play a part in change management yourself, and not just ask for change to happen to you, but be active in change, but also learn to develop and grow your skills. That's been my approach as well. That's the approach that the company had as well. Over the years, any kind of company, any kind of business, you're always going to have some roadblock, or what we call sometimes walls into a journey of a company. They're part of a process of a business. They're part of an illusion of a business.

The goal is to work through those walls. As you get better, I did see them coming in forecasting, the walls are going to happen. Then the choice that you have is then to be an active participant in change. Then in the future, be able to look back on those hurdles or roadblocks that you had or big change in the company and say, "This was a milestone." You work through it, it was a milestone. It's anybody's personal journey or business journey, I think that's the way I see it, and it's the way we ended up moving forward as well.

For me, yes, I've been here for a long time, but one can argue that I've been in four different Urban Barns through the journey because changes happened along the way. I was open to change and open to grow and develop as well.

Shaun: That's amazing.

Sébastien: You also have to be open to having new people coming that are from the outside into the organization. They have a different journey, different experience. I think you have to be open to that, coming in and say, they have a toolbox that you don't have, and they have experience that you don't have. It brings you something, and you can learn from them because what you can bring is the experience of the legacy of Urban Barn. That's the way I see it.

Shaun: That's amazing. I remember I was working once on a New Year's Eve special in Newfoundland, and the clock for the countdown in Newfoundland was off by 10 seconds. It was the turn of the new millennium, the Y2K thing, when the world was supposed to end. The clock was off by 10 seconds in Newfoundland, go figure. It made us laugh. The producer I was working with, he said something that has stuck with me forever. He was like, "Shaun, excellence through flexibility."

That was his little grab of that moment. It's like excellence through flexibility. Exactly what you're saying in terms of going with the flow, moving, following the ebb and flow of the company, but also things that are happening with the customer and marketplace, all of that. You develop those skills. What is your position and title, if we can say that, for Urban Barn?

Sébastien: I've got two titles. One is a bit more creative, and one is a bit more business-driven, but I'm the creative director for the company.

Shaun: Creative director. Big role.

Sébastien: I lead the purchasing team, the planning team into product assortment, creative directions, colours, and feels, and theme for seasons and directions that we're taking short-term, medium-term, and long-term as well for the product. That's my title. Then, when we look at the business title, it's general merchandise manager. I manage all the product categories because it's beyond just the purchasing and the design.

It's also managing distribution, allocation, product planning, assortment planning, budget. That becomes part of the mix as well. It's like you become good at budgeting and you didn't think you would want to do that, but you say, "Oh, this is a skill that I have that maybe I don't like, but I'm not that bad." That's what happens.

Shaun: Jack of all trades. Now, what are the categories in Urban Barn? What are the product categories? Take me through some.

Sébastien: I would say we have two big buckets. I think the big buckets are furniture and home decor. These are two big buckets that we have. We have outdoor furniture in the summer. We have holiday decor at Christmas. This is the exciting part. Decor is the exciting part, also where you can be a bit more playful, a bit more whimsical, and maybe take a bit more chances in colours and textures, and styles, and so on and so forth.

Shaun: You really have to be dialed into what's trending and what isn't.

Sébastien: You have to dial into what's trending, and both in a trend, per se, but also you have to read and understand your customers. Often the best way to do this is to analyze product performance and see what did well, what did not do well, what colours did well, what scale did well. If it did, why? If it did not, why? Was it the price point? Was it the scale? Was it the colour? Was it because it was sometimes ahead of the trend? It happened before. Sometimes, did you push it too far, too early? Then, or is it just maybe the trend has tapered down as well, which happens as well.

Shaun: Where do you spend more time thinking about? Are you forecasting? Are you reading the tea leaves? Are you looking into your crystal ball and you're going, "Ah, I think this is happening. It's big in Australia. It's happening in the States. Maybe we can get ahead of it here." Are you taking your cues from the customer who's saying, "We don't like this," or "We really want this," and then, therefore, you're playing catch-up? That's a real challenge. How do you make those forecasts, and what are you looking for for inspiration?

Sébastien: It's funny you're referring to the crystal ball because it's a running gag at the office right now when we talk about buyers. What's in your crystal ball for 2027, for example, as we work 12 to 18 and up to 24 months in advance? In your head and in your office, physically, it's a big clipboard of information because we do travel around the world. We spend time in Germany. I travel personally. This is where business and hobby and lifestyle blends in a little bit. My friends and family, they go like, "On your vacation, are we going to go at furniture stores again?" I'm like, "Yes, you bet we will. This is what we do in Amsterdam. This is what we do in Valencia. Why not?"

Shaun: Yes. "You're going to haggle. You're going to experience the local markets."

Sébastien: "This is fun."

Shaun: I love that.

Sébastien: "We're going to go do drifting in Paris. Yes, we will. That's fun. Yes, we will. Maybe I can find a print that would be inspiring. Is there a real thing about tapestry coming back or needlepoint as an accent for textiles?" Yes, there's a big clipboard of information, and trying to make sense of it. You want a rounded assortment in each of the subcategories that you do to make sure that you have a balanced look and a balance. You want to push it to be exciting and fresh and new, but not push it too far that it's unrelatable for people. You want to make sure that there's a relationship with the product. I think it's a very fine balance there.

Shaun: I would imagine when you have a market like Montreal, very progressive, very forward-thinking, and then you may have somewhere that maybe isn't quite as bold in choices, does that affect what trends are happening regionally, or is it Urban Barn across the board, this is what we stand for, this is where we're going?

Sébastien: This is a very good question. I think that looking back on this, when social media and even television, for that matter, was not as prevalent in the way people connected with trend and style, I think there was a bit more of a difference geographically within the country. We don't see it as much anymore. A best seller and a customer's favourite article or item or collection is a favorite across the country. That's no denying. I think we see that as well. Is there a certain demand for other product in certain areas? Sometimes it's more due to scale of where the store is located within a trading area.

For example, if you have a store that is an urban store in Toronto versus a suburban store in Toronto, possibly, not always, but the larger-scale furniture might be doing better in the suburban area where the homes could be larger, as opposed to an urban area, where space is at a premium, where people chose to live in an urban space, the amount of space they have to live there. Sometimes, smaller-scale do better in areas. Sometimes we see that as well.

For example, maybe when people live in condominiums, large extension dining table, maybe don't do as well in urban areas. Certainly, they do really well in suburban areas, for example. We also know that everybody needs counter stool, for example. The other thing that we realize is that condo dwellers or urban dwellers, we call them, they might have a smaller space, but they're always going to have a counter or kitchen island or a peninsula to have counter stools. So is the people in the suburbs as well, and people in rural areas.

For example, for us, our counter stool categories is wide and varied and very popular. We do really well, and we are a destination for counter stools because they appeal to all demographic and all type of living as well, for example.

Shaun: Do they all have backs?

Sébastien: Every season, we try to bring some without backs because, visually, there's a look there. They're never as popular as the ones with the backs. People want back support, and they want comfort as well, because I think they use it a lot more than we think. A lot of people are using counter stools to eat, most likely Monday to Friday, because of the lifestyle and everything, and feeding the kids or being single and multitasking at a kitchen island, and things like this. We try to bring some without backs, but they're not always successful.

Shaun: Again, that's the balance that you have to weigh with regards to what our customers want versus what you think looks the best or is best. Let me ask you on that kind of prediction model. What are the top three things that you look for when determining, of all those categories, how something may be trending? What are the top three things you look for?

Sébastien: The first thing is that we look around and we get inspired. That's the first thing we do. Sometimes I go to fabric shows just to look at upholstery fabric. You look at what's trending and things like that. Then you see, how does that relate? How does that fit within, for example, whether it's furniture, decor material, like fabric or wood or wood finishes, or even-- How does that fit within the assortment, and how does that fit within the Urban Barn design aesthetics that we've established or design styles that we have established for ourselves? How does that fit in? How does that relate to the Canadian consumer as well? Is it something that we see them connecting with?

Now with experience, we understand more and more what maybe the Urban Barn customers or the Canadian consumer are looking for and what they connect with as well. We know they like comfort. We know they like texture. We know they like something that is aesthetically pleasing, but they don't want to forfeit the comfort for style.

Shaun: When you talk about you have the three of you, essentially, you have the two founders, you have yourself, and then you have to make some decisions in the upcoming season, and you said you could be looking, what did you say, up to 28 months in advance? You're trending for 27, you're working on early 2026, and so on, all the way down the line. Is that fair to say?

Sébastien: Yes, that's fair to say. Also, to clarify this is that the two founders, one of them totally left the business since. The other one is still a shareholder, but no longer works at Urban Barn. I'm the only one who's still physically active in the business today.

Shaun: Oh, wow.

Sébastien: I'm the only one who's still here active. That being said, I was quite a bit younger than them as well. I'm the only one from the original crew who's still working here at Urban Barn as the--

Shaun: You have a team. You must have a team.

Sébastien: Oh, we have a great team. Yes, we have a great team as well. Yes, of course. My goal is to make sure that everybody's aligned and we're working together in the same direction, and we achieve our deadlines and our goals, and we have enough inventory to support the demand.

Shaun: When you're making these decisions as a team, do you find that there are opportunities to take a bigger risk? Do you find that risk is something that you try to avoid? If you do make a big risk, what are the factors that come into play when you're trying to take a big creative risk?

Sébastien: Well, I like to say that we're going to have to make calculated risk. I know it's always the right answer to say that's the goal. You try to analyze what your decision is, and you try to understand the reason why you would be making such decision as well. We can take more risk. If you think about product purchasing, for example, we can take more risk. We know what category we can take more risk.

For example, we know that accent furniture, people are more inclined to be a bit more playful, whimsical, add more colours, and be a bit more on the edge. The larger core pieces that are more expensive or more of an investment, you want to calculate your risk there as well. This is the kind of decision you make as well. Even when you decide to onboard a new vendor, for example, is this a risk? How do you calculate that risk? You don't, for example, put all your eggs in the new vendor's basket. You give them a chance to prove themselves before you give them a larger piece of the pie within your assortment. That's an example, for example. There's a strategy involved and calculation involved with the risk that you take, whether it's a business decision or it's an assortment or a purchasing decision as well.

Shaun: Right. As you step into your time machine and you go back 20, 30 years, and you think about the risks that people were taking back then, there has to have been some swings and maybe misses, or maybe they were hits then, but now we look back, and we go, "Oh, that was probably a miss. It'd be a miss today." You know what I mean?

Sébastien: Yes, I know. That's true.

Shaun: I'm guilty. I bought rugby pants, and I had frosted tips at one point. Those were swings, but I was hot back then, but now I would never do that.

Sébastien: Yes, exactly. Then, also, as a business, we grew with our customers. We grew with the Canadians that supported us. Certainly, at the beginning, we were looking at where do we fit within the Canadian landscape? Where do we fit as a brand? What is our aesthetic? This was all part of the equation. We did buy things, looking back on this, that I would never buy again at the end of the day.

Shaun: Like what?

Sébastien: For example, we talk about different design aesthetics, and we were buying things that are a bit more glam, I would say, or Hollywood classic, I would say, or Vegas classic. Table lamps and floor lamp with crystals and a bit blingy and things like this. Looking back, it was my Liberace period, I call it.

Shaun: Yes. [laughs]

Sébastien: It was hard to let them go at the beginning because, looking back, we made a lot of money. They were successful. Looking back, it was really outside of what we should have done. It's not because there's only so much you can buy. It's not because you can sell it that it does justice to your brand and to the other product around it as well. The crystal chandelier was good then, but it's not something you would do again. Even looking back, I've got files of all creative directions that I did even 10, 15 years ago, where the colours for summer were really bold, bright teals and bright oranges and bright yellows, and it sold. It did really well. We were really successful. It's not something that people are attracted to today.

Today, the direction is so different. The colours are very soft and organic, nature-inspired. There are suiting palettes. Nothing is bold and everything. We do the same thing with fashion. I think we look back, as you said, like, oh, the fashion choice that we made or people made 15 years ago, and then 20 years ago, you're like, "I think I was hot back then. I'm not sure this is something that I would do today." Don't show this to your kids because they're going to be like, "Aye yai yai yai yai."

Shaun: It does feel like, yes, more earthy, generally speaking, wood, getting back to nature. That feels like that is really trending right now, and it feels good. There's a feeling associated with trends. How do you draw from your own personal emotional connection to things, or how much of it is data-driven?

Sébastien: I think it is data-driven, but also, I think you have to read the times as well. Certainly, without looking back, but a few years ago, there was a big change that forced people to stay at home a lot more. The work remotely, for some people, was very intense for a period of time. It became more of an hybrid situation for some. They rediscovered their homes, and I think that was a big change as well. The way they used their space became very different as well. I think they're starting to own their home in a different way and use their space in a different way.

You can see the difference as well. You can see the shift in the behaviour of what people were looking for, as well, the colours that people were looking for. People were looking for sanctuary. That was clear. People are looking for something that is comforting, and that change very quickly. Also, inflation. We saw this inflation going up very quickly as well, where maybe going out for dinner, a group of six friends, are you better off having people at home for a tenth of the price, really, and as much fun, if not more, because it's a bit more of a relaxed atmosphere? I think that changed a lot.

The emphasis on your home and how you create a space, and now, do you make this inviting not only for yourself, not only for your family, or your spouse, or yourself, if you're single, for me, but how do you make it inviting for others as well and make them feel welcome? I think that changed very quickly as well, and we've seen that as well. Often, even the bedroom that was often the forgotten room in a space, because people felt like the bedroom, nobody goes in the bedroom, there's no guests in the bedroom, there's no family members in the bedroom. The bedroom became even more of a sanctuary over the years as well, and we've seen a drastic change as well.

Not only in colours and trends and feel, but the purpose of the space, and how we can reappropriate the space as well, became very apparent as well. We've seen this in trend of also home decor, but also in cooking and baking and gardening. Everything is home-related. I think we've seen this as well.

Shaun: When we talk about Canadian, I think about Canada. I've recently repatriated back to Canada. I'm a self-deported, repatriated, born-again, new Canadian. So proud to be back. How does Urban Barn tap into that Canadian mentality and express what it is to be Canadian versus, let's say, a US market, or is there any differentiation there?

Sébastien: I think the first is, really, for us, we realized that even more so today than ever before, acknowledging and sharing with everybody that we are a Canadian brand. For us, on the business aspect of it, for Urban Barn, since day one, we partner with Canadian manufacturers for our upholstery categories. A lot of the product we have in our store, not all of it, clearly, but a lot of it, is made in Canada, and we have it on hand, available to ship right now. We also have them made to order as well, so you can change the fabric and you reconfigure the product. That's a huge part of our business.

It gives a chance, also, to people who come to our stores and go online for us to really customize a piece of furniture that truly maximizes their space, and they can really make it their home as well by saying, like, "No, I'm looking for this color, this texture, this fabric. I've got kids, I've got pets. Oh, I don't have kids, I don't have pets, and things like this. My room is a little funky, so I need to have a sectional, but that kind of shape of sectional." Then she says, "My husband is 6'6", but I'm 5'2", so we need to make sure both bodies are fitting." That's also when we go to--

[laughter]

Shaun: That's so interesting.

Sébastien: It happens all the time. We have to, "How do we make this work for everybody so everybody's happy?" We do made-to-order product as well, and we also have a lot of stock upholstery made in Canada as well. We love these puzzles. We love this idea of, yes, it's great for us.

Shaun: You travel around the world, you see all these different countries that are leading the way. I can think of a few countries when we see furniture design and so on and so forth that seem to be the lead influencers around the world. What do you see as being the lead influencers around the world within Urban Barn? Then also, in a magical world where you can say, "I'm going to lead the Canadian trend around the world." What are the countries that are leading the way? If you could be hired by the Canadian government and say, "Listen, I need you to spread Canada and its design all over the world," what would be the things that you would like to spread all over the world that says, "We are Canada"?

Sébastien: I think the first thing is, where in the world do I get inspired? Do we think that I can get some-- Certainly, I think that the Netherlands and Belgium and France and Germany, I think there's something there as well in the colours and the textile and the material and the wood that I use. Often, I get cues there as well to say, "How can I make this practical for people? How can I make this work for people?"

They might use a lot of linen textiles, for example, for upholstery. Well, a linen sofa is not necessarily the most practical, so I can achieve a look like this by having something that's more practical, because Canadians are more practical, for example. These are the things that I look at. A market, for example, another fun information is that a market that's very similar to Canada in aesthetics is Australia.

It makes sense when you think about it, although it's halfway around the world. Australians are of very similar aesthetics as well, and things like this. What's fun is that their seasons are often than ours. They need their outdoor furniture when we don't, and things like this, but at the same time, they need Christmas product and outdoor furniture at the same time, which is always funny as well.

Shaun: Can you speak to what you would do to-- You're the lead ambassador for Canadian design around the world. Go.

Sébastien: I think I would say, for Urban Barn, our core is contemporary furniture with rustic materials, and where we don't sacrifice style for comfort. I think this is what we do. We offer a suiting color palette. We don't sacrifice comfort. We also want, for people to have a chance, we want to inspire them to create a space that reflects who they are. Then I want them to feel right at home. Our tagline is, right at home. That's our thing.

Shaun: Sébastien, this is amazing. I love all these insights. We've talked a lot about design trends. We've talked about Canadian pride. We've talked about Urban Barn and how they are such an amazing company in Canada, Canadian-owned, Canadian-operated. We're a podcast about REALTORS^®. We are the podcast for REALTORS^®. There's a lot of parallels here when we talk about trends, when we talk about how to really see what's happening out there. I think someone like you can give some insight into what are the things that even REALTORS^® have to look for when considering broad trends, whether it be in specific housing, design within the housing, when you're staging a home.

Talk a little bit about that, like how REALTORS^® should think about approaching trends to follow, but also finding the balance between that and staying true to themselves and their customers as a business philosophy.

Sébastien: Well, this is very apropos that you're asking me this question because one of the things that we do here, we do look at listings, property listings in markets. Number one, if we want to go to a new market, we want to say, "What's for sale? What properties are for sale in that market? What's happening in that market?" Scale, size, and everything. We look at that. We also look at resale properties in current markets as well to see what people are needing and what kind of floor plan our people are doing, maybe it's going to give us some insight to what we have to bring into your assortment and things like this.

Also, for me, I think because I'm in the industry of home decor and furniture, I've been really successful in real estate myself. I think it's my sixth or seventh property that I've bought and renovated and resold, and four out of those were sold with the furniture. Not that I was asking, but people did ask, "Can I buy all the furniture and everything?" My agent said, "Well, actually, he's in the furniture industry." This is why maybe it looks like that. It looks so put together, and that a floor plan is done to that matter.

We all know the basic of real estate listings and things like this to make sure that you declutter, you remove all personal belongings, personal pictures, and things like this. That goes without saying. These are the basic points. I think really, be a bit more, especially when business is not always as rosy as it once was, and things like this, and there's some highs and some lows, really working with the client to make sure that the space is really ready, really picture-ready. Sometimes, some minor adjustments would go a long way. I often see furniture placement and space planning on a listing not done to the way it's supposed to be.

Shaun: Talk to me about that. I love that idea of the little things go a long way, but I think some clients, they're not sure. They're like, "I've got to change the entire home because I've lived in it for so long and it needs a full refresh."

Sébastien: It depends where you are, but it depends, also, with the listing, who is this property listed for, and who is it going to attract. For example, I have a friend, and he lives in a condo. Now, he's got two babies. It's too much for two babies. I'm like, "Clearly, if it's too small for you for two babies, you don't want to have any of the baby stuff in that property when you list it because you don't want to sell it to somebody with two babies. You bought this, you were a bachelor, and it was perfect. I think you need to make it look like a bachelor apartment, a bachelor condo, like a stylish place, such a stylish bed, because if you make it look too small for a family, I'm not sure who you're going to sell it to."

Sometimes, even like a larger home, I think sometimes you look at maybe the sofa and the two accent chairs are placed in a certain way because it suits your lifestyle, which is great, and nobody's judging that, but it's not doing the space justice. It's blocking the windows. It's blocking the light. It's blocking the view as you walk in the pathway. Moving the furniture around, replacing the furniture, often adding an area rug to define a space in an open-floor plan makes a huge difference as well because it creates a living room area, a dining area, and a kitchen area, so adding a rug, not buying too small of a rug, this is a big mistake.

Go big, an 8 by 10, follow the rules, 8 by 10, 9 by 12. Don't go with a 5 by 8 because you want to save money; it's not worth it. Then there's rules in place, where should the furniture be on and things like this. I think investing on things like this, like rugs and space planning, goes a long way, even if it's only for photography, for example, because first impression, we know this is it. If you don't get a good first impression online, you're not going to get a viewing. I think these things are important.

In the bedroom, I don't say change the entire bedroom furniture, but you know what goes a very long way? It's cleaning up the bedding, updating the bedding, having something that is lighter, brighter. It goes a long way. Updating the bedding. A rug and bedding are the easiest thing to do to update a space, and there's no elbow grease involved.

Shaun: What is the rule about window treatments?

Sébastien: Often, the home will have roll blinds or shutters and things like this that are already in place. I think often those are sufficient. What I often see people for privacy or for sleeping or for sometimes because of their work schedule, they need to have an extra layer of drapes on top of it. Sometimes, in a smaller room, maybe not in a smaller home, but in a smaller room, it makes a space look very small sometimes. You might need it. You might need it because of your schedule, because you have to go to bed at 7:00 PM throughout the year, and so you need to have blackout drapes, or you need to sleep in, or something like this. You might need them. Is it giving the room the best? That's the question.

The opposite is if you have a larger home, having drapes in a larger space could cozy up the space and add a layer of privacy. I think it's very room-dependent and space-dependent. I see in small rooms and small bedrooms, if you don't really need an extra layer for the listing, I would say remove it. At the same time, if you have a larger space and if you want to make it more cozy because it looks too stark and uninviting, it's going to cozy up the space for sure. That's purely for listing purposes as well.

Shaun: That's what I mean. One of the things that we debated was, we had some cool furniture that did look amazing in pictures. However, it was bold, and our fear was, if I'm a buyer and I'm coming into this space and I'm seeing all this amazing, cool furniture, it's not really my taste, even though they know that the furniture is going to be gone. It's like, how do you balance that out? How flat and neutral do you want everything to be so that they can imagine their own selves in that space, and do the things that they would do, versus making it attractive and cool and hip to trick the brain into thinking, "Dude, I got to have this space, even though this isn't going to be my furniture"?

Sébastien: It is a fine line as well, but sometimes you might have to remove a few pieces, although that might be dear to you, to remove a few pieces to make it more palatable for people, and either replace it with something else or just leave it empty. That's one way to do this. Sometimes you might have to add something. I know it's counterintuitive because I want to sell my home. I'm not going to buy two accent chairs, but you have a space in a home that you could show a purpose for. It might be a good investment for the money you could really make at the end to invest in buying two accent chairs and a side table to give a purpose to that space.

It sounds, and it looks counterintuitive as well, but at the same time, if you look at what the money is at stake, spending, I'm saying, like $1,000, whatever it is, might go a long way as well. It's not like this front chair is thrown away, either. You're going to be able to repurpose it somewhere else when you move. I think sometimes certain things like this, investing money, could sound counterintuitive, but I think it turns out to be often a good investment from my experience and from the experience that I've seen in the marketplace as well.

Shaun: What would you say, then, are the top home decor trends right now?

Sébastien: Right now, people are really focusing on texture. I think we often thought of space planning, of scale of furniture, of aesthetics of furniture, but I think people are putting a lot of emphasis on texture, textures of woods, of fabrics, of leathers, of metals. I think texture is a big thing. I think nature-inspired colour palettes are very on trend right now. They're very suiting, so a lot of beige, a lot of creams, and so on and so forth. Even cognac for leather are really popular as well right now.

In accent colours, also nature-inspired. The greens and the blues are still doing well. They've been doing well for quite a few seasons. It's pretty much nature, the ocean, and the sky.

It's really easy, actually, with a green accent chair or a green accent, and you pop a plant in the corner, and you have a focal point very easily. Then a new colour that's it's been awakened for a few season now, it's more like the oranges and the burnt orange and terracotta colours also are doing well as well. Again, this is all nature and very earthy and very nature-inspired as well. It's a big thing for us.

Then, in wood tones, I think right now in 2026, we're seeing a shift in the wood tones a little bit as well. A lot of the wood tones, for the past few years, were really light, so very light wood tones, a bit almost like a gray wash or white wash to it, or sun bleach. Now it's a bit warmer. It's more like through wood tones are warming up as well, and things like this.

Shaun: The temperature it's warming up generally.

Sébastien: It's warming up.

Shaun: There was that repurposed wood, the barn door, the barn wood furniture, that whole thing. That may be softening a little bit now, is what you're saying?

Sébastien: Yes, we're seeing that. As far as aesthetics, we're seeing a bit of a revival in something called-- we call it new classics. Furniture that is in what we call case goods in the industry, which is hardwood furniture. In bedroom, dining, and living room, which new classics, a bit more-- we saw it with the bobbin design on the legs and the cone legs, and things like this. We've seen a bit more ornate, but still contemporary modern. We've seen this new classic being revived over the past two seasons-

Shaun: That's cool.

Sébastien: -and it's still going forward as well.

Shaun: Are designers now designing in that trend, or are there a lot of repurposed older pieces that are coming to the fore again, or both?

Sébastien: This is exactly how it started. It started with people doing thrifting or using their grandparents' furniture and things like this, and incorporating this into our heirloom pieces, incorporating this to their space. That's how it started. Now, new furniture is being designed following that aesthetic and that trend as well. It was inspired by vintage pieces being introduced to homes, or being kept as well, just old secretaries and things like that.

Shaun: All on that tip, there's homeowners, there's designers, but then when you're talking directly to REALTORS^®, what do you think-- You've dealt with a lot of REALTORS^® in your life. From a design perspective and bringing your expertise, what is the biggest and most important piece of advice that you could give to REALTORS^® when dealing with clients, new listings, et cetera?

Sébastien: I think they really need to focus on first impression. We know it's a delicate conversation between the client and the REALTORS^® to make sure that the place is picture-ready and viewing-ready. It's very delicate. It's less delicate if you have a long-lasting relationship with a client, certainly, but certainly with new clients, it's delicate because you don't want to offend people, and you want to make them understand that you're not judging their space. You're trying to make it look as picture-ready as possible to maximize the sales potential because there's nothing better. First impressions are most important now, especially now with social media and listings and the way it's done because people want to travel.

I think this is a really big thing as well, and making them understand that they might have to invest a bit of time and money, and by adding pieces in order to really maximize their sales potential and their opportunity as well. I think this is always a fine line, and it's always a delicate conversation, but I think you're doing everybody justice, and I think at the end of the day, they will thank you for the way it's going to be presented and the way it's going to be ideally shown as well.

Shaun: Amazing. I cannot think of a better way to end this conversation with that wonderful piece of advice for our REALTORS^® who are watching this today. You know so much on so many fronts, from a design perspective, from a purchasing perspective, from a homeowner and flipper and buyer and seller yourself. This has been an amazing, fascinating conversation, Sébastien. Thank you so much for joining us today on REAL TIME. I hope the conversation was enjoyable for you as well.

Sébastien: It was great talking to you. It was perfect. It was a lot of fun, so I appreciate it so much.

Shaun: Awesome. Go Urban Barn. Shop Canadian.

Sébastien: Awesome. Thank you very much.

Shaun: Thank you, Sébastien.

Sébastien: Thank you.

Shaun: Big thank you to Sébastien Fauteux today for hanging out with us, Creative Director for the Urban Barn, Canadian-owned, Canadian-operated. I love hearing stories about that. The guy is a master trend forecaster, which is wild when most of us spend most of the time thinking about how do we just keep up. I learned a lot today. When it comes to REALTORS^®, I find it very interesting to think about things, not only to react to trends that are happening in the marketplace, but also to analyze, to anticipate, to interpret, and then guide your clients through all of these ever-changing waters.

Thank you to Sébastien for our great conversation. Of course, if you like today's episode, go subscribe on your favourite podcast platform. Today's episode of REAL TIME is brought to you by the Canadian Real Estate Association, CREA, and production courtesy of Alphabet Creative. We'll see you all next time on REAL TIME. My name is Shaun Majumder. Peace.