Penny Southam

Designer Host

Penny Southam is an award-winning interior designer known for creating inner spaces with modern lines and classic elements with an emphasis on function. Her love for animals almost led Penny to become a vet, but her flair for design veered her towards a career as a designer. Born in Montreal, Penny has worked and lived in Los Angeles, Hawaii and New York City until she finally settled down in Ottawa. With 18 years of experience under her belt and over 25 awards, including Top 40 Under 40 Business Professionals in Ottawa in 2005, Penny is the front runner of SOUTHAM DESIGN INC. The Ottawa-based company opened its doors in 1992 and has a client list that extends from Vancouver to New York City. In 2009, Penny won Greater Ottawa’s Home Builder’s Association Award for interior design. The previous year, Penny won 7 of the Association’s awards, which is the most won by a single person in its 25 year history. Penny has been a contributing writer for Style at Home, Canadian Architecture & Design and the Ottawa Citizen.  Penny loves horses and is a member of a local polo team. She lives at home with her two wonderful children - Kalie and Morgan.

Penny tours each All For Nothing? home with an eye to making the home functional and pleasing to potential buyers. Making her way from room to room she formulates a plan for the homeowners, keeping in mind that they have little to no budget to spend and that they will be completing these tasks themselves. She provides a solid plan to each homeowner – but then it’s up to them to make it happen!