“Ever since my sister moved to Calgary, in 1989, I used to come and spend the summer vacation with her. After I finished my bachelor degree I decided to call Calgary home and start my very own family in this city,” says Rabih, who, along with his wife of two years is one of 147 families that live in the Brava tower at Westgate Park. 
And that dream of family will soon be brought to fruition, with the couple expecting their first child, a baby boy, this fall.

Rabih moved to Calgary as a bachelor after graduating from the American University of Beirut and two years later, after their wedding, Rabih and Leila moved to Calgary as husband and wife and the pair initially moved into a single-family home in Cougar Ridge.

But they learned the burdens of maintaining a yard and shovelling snow were not their favourite pastimes, and, after having lived there for less then a year, they decided to move into Intergulf-Cidex’s Westgate Park project. “We moved into an apartment condominium because it’s just me and my wife and we like the cosmopolitan feel that living next to downtown offers.” The move not only entailed a new home, but also a new lifestyle with it, says Rabih. “Condo living offers many advantages that are not available when living in a single-family home. For example, I don’t have to mow my lawn or shovel my driveway, and it only takes me 15 minutes to get to work, door-to-door, as opposed to the 45 minutes it used to take me.”

Their new address adjacent to Westbrook Mall also works into the newlyweds’ lifestyle. “I just have to cross the pedestrian overpass to get there,” says Leila, adding “also the fact that Safeway is in the mall makes grocery shopping so much easier.” The complex is also conveniently located next to the Shaganappi public golf course, the Wildflower Art Centre and minutes away from a public library. Also within reach is the Westgate Park Club, a large in-house amenity centre including a pool, gym and an entertainment and multi-function room. As Rabih puts it, “this kind of luxury does not come when living in a single-family home.”

Hailing from Lebanon, family plays an essential part in the Chaars’ lives. Not only did Rabih’s sister influence his move to Calgary but she also had a significant impression on the apartment’s décor, he notes. “My sister’s an interior decorator and her professional opinion had an important effect on the way that we ultimately furnished the apartment. She inspired the very contemporary look and feel of our home. The clean lines and modern furniture parallel the cosmopolitan feel that we were looking for when we moved into this apartment.”

The two-bedroom and one-bathroom condo remains simple and very clean cut. Although mostly decorated in muted tones, a dash of colour is added in accents such as a small orange pillow on the couch, or a turquoise throw on the bed in the guest bedroom. The bed’s unique headboard in the master bedroom is truly a focal point in the sleeping quarters, as it’s made of glass and has small lights built in to the side of it—which add both form and function by acting in lieu of bedside lamps.

Continuing this tone is another hidden gem of the apartment, the kitchen’s backsplash, which is not the conventional tile but rather a collage of coloured glass. “It gives the kitchen a feminine feel. Once more my sister’s doing, she wanted something special and different,” says Rabih. The couple’s living space extends to outdoors with a hammock, “big enough for two,” which sits on the balcony offering a spectacular view of the neighboring golf course and of downtown. “We love to sit on the balcony and drink a cup of coffee while watching the sunset,” says Leila, adding, “it’s moments like those that make life worth living.”

Even though Rabih and Leila have lived in their condo for two years, Rabih says he feels a responsibility towards their unit and the complex. “Less then a year after having moved into my new apartment I ran for and was elected as the president of the condo board. I took this position because I feel a sense of belonging and responsibility towards my home.”

Rabih and Leila Chaar have truly embodied the builder’s motto and have made their “house a home.” CL