Pickle Barrel
BY HER OWN estimates, every minute
of Candice Olson's life is scheduled
until at least April 2009. Or at least
that's how it feels.
As the host of the W Network's Devine Design, Olson might be the hardest-working woman on television.
Not only does she host the popular home make-over show, but she also juggles a busy family life. And with a sick daughter at home, the intrepid host only managed three hours of sleep last night.
"I've got two kids, one just turned four and one is 21 months, so you can only imagine what a day is like," she says. "The kids go to bed around eight or eight-thirty at night, so all the extra design work I do happens around that. I usually get into bed around midnight, and that's a good night."
"I have a whole philosophy," she adds. "If I can go to bed at night and nobody's bleeding, it's a good day."
Busy schedule aside, Olson says she always finds time to spend with her kids and her husband a builder by trade.
Living in Bayview gives the family of four the ideal location to enjoy wonderful restaurants like Oliver Bonacini, shopping at Bayview Village and taking in the beauty of the city's great park system where they find ideal spots to spend a day.
"We're real granolas," says Olson with a laugh. "We love our hikes, our walks, and we have our little spots where we take off from the insanity of our daily lives pack up the kids and go for a picnic with a nice bottle of red wine."
Now in its sixth season, Divine Design, which airs on HGTV in the U.S. and the W Network here in Canada, has perhaps one of the longest production schedules on TV. With production crews in tow, the five fab professionals work 14- and 16-hour days, shooting and designing 26 episodes a year over 10 months.
"Good design takes time," says the affable 42-year-old interior designer. "We don't have actors or models [she laughs]. We're all professionals."
The days are tough, but if anyone has the energy for such a gruelling schedule, it's Olson.
As a skier and former Canadian national team volleyball player, the statuesque Olson is every bit the athlete (though she says she hasn't found time to exercise in years). She has a confidence that only an elite athlete can give off.
While working her natural charm in front of the camera, Olson, a native of Calgary, cracks jokes, drops a few puns on the audience, then gets down to the business of designing someone a beautiful new space.
"It's not rocket science we're doing here, but it does affect the way people live in their homes, which is extremely important. But we certainly don't take ourselves too seriously," she says.
This just might be the key to her success: seamlessly blending the professionalism of interior design with a playful artistic side. It's a combination that has made her one of North America's most
recognizable media personalities. She's very flattered, admitting she's still "blown away that so many people watch the show" and by how many people recognize her on the street.
"I look very different when I'm not on-camera. When I show up, I'm usually in sweatpants or hockey pyjamas," she says, laughing and thanking her makeup artist for turning her "into something that looks like a reasonably presentable 42-year-old woman."
Even a casual observer can see she's more than simply presentable. But that takes work for Olson, and it is a price to pay for a licence to design.
"Anyone who knows me knows that the TV part is my least favourite. I love the design projects. I'm a pretty hands-on person. I love to roll up my sleeves and get in there."
Divine Design's lead carpenter, Paul Daly, definitely values what Olson brings to the show. After his seminar at this year's Canadian Home Workshop Show, Daly sat down to talk about the interior designer.
"Candice is one of the best designers I've ever worked with, and I've worked with many," says Daly. "She really knows what she's doing. If she didn't, I wouldn't work with her. Candice designs the space but also knows a lot about the construction background, so it's a lot easier to get the job done."
Olson has worked more than two decades in the business, but interior design wasn't the career she had in mind while studying at the University of Calgary.
Originally enrolled in sciences, she was also working on a minor in fine arts. "I never thought you could make a living at art. I envisioned selling my black velvet paintings on the side of the road for five bucks a piece," admits Olson, giggling warmly.
Fresh out of undergrad, Olson had two choices: either continue with science in the medical field or apply for Ryerson University's School of Design.
Olson never thought she would get accepted. The course at the time had about 3,500 people apply for only 35 spots. She credits her strong portfolio for getting her in and her determination for making it this far in her career.
"At the time, I knew that if I was going to make that kind of a change I had to make the most of it." she says. Olson's talent blossomed, and she was recruited by Yabu Pushelberg, one of the country's top design firms, right out of school.
"I was overworked and underpaid like every young junior designer out there," she says.
Of course those days are long gone. When HGTV went looking for a host for their new design show, they combed the industry for a charismatic rising star to helm the program. And in 2001, they approached Olson and offered her the job.
Today Olson is not only hosting Divine Design, she is also working on a long list of product lines.
Her first was lighting, but that has evolved into a line of upholstery, fabrics, carpets, linens, furniture and towels, and she just wrapped up an art licensing agreement. A far cry from five-dollar velvet paintings.
And now for the part we're all dying to know: what does a design diva do to decorate her own home?
Olson's home at York Mills and Leslie is modern and contemporary with clean lines and natural influences.
"We love our woods, our stone," she says. "My home is like the products I design: it's rooted in the classics. I'm always looking for new and interesting materials to interpret that, to simplify the design, use something that's new and current.
Olson is actually a newcomer to the area. Prior to her current digs, she lived much closer to the hustle and bustle of downtown Toronto. But with baby number two on the way, it was time for a change.
Candice is quite happy with the decision to move into a more secluded area and has even drawn inspiration from the architecture of her home. She loves "the bones of the houses, the modern lines and those old stone fireplaces" and the sidesplits; backsplits; and the '50s, '60s and '70s architecture of the area.
Naturally her new habitat is also a new canvas, and she has plans to add a second storey to the abode.
However, that renovation might prove more elusive than expected, she says with a sigh.
"There is no balance, but I can't
imagine it any other way. Everything
seems to be on crunch time, but it
feels like it's been a six-year crunch.
If it wasn't for coffee in the morning
and red wine at night, I don't know
how I'd make it." 
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