At home with:

Karen King

BY: Terese Sears
PHOTOGRAPHY: Michael Chambers
MAKEUP: Roxanne DeNobrega

WHEN SHE WALKED into her Scarborough house six years ago, Karen King knew she was going to need to use her imagination. The country paneling, fake wooden beams and hideous wallpaper felt right at home in Nashville’s Grand Ole Opry.

Luckily, King could see beyond the superficial.

The place resonated on a deeper level, says the production executive for drama content at Canwest Mediaworks. There were spacious rooms, a child-friendly layout and the two-storey house had a nice location on a quiet suburban street.

So King and her husband, award-winning journalist Okey Chigbo, put in an offer and soon began transforming the place with her two sons, Chiemeka, 12, and Chikezie, 16.

Now, their richly decorated, art-filled home is a reflection of their family: Afrocentric, vibrant and welcoming.

“For me, it’s about being cosy,” says King. “Some people feel that it’s cluttered, but I feel like it’s enveloping.”

Karen King is now, arguably, the most powerful person of African descent in Canadian television. She develops and supervises the production of national drama programming and comedy series, including the hit Caribbean sitcom, Da Kink In My Hair. She has produced more than a dozen films that tie into Canada’s cultural and racial diversity, including Rude, directed by Clement Virgo. The movie had its premier at the Cannes Film Festival, and King became the first black woman to produce a theatrically- released dramatic feature film in Canada. She is also the only producer to have won two prestigious Gemini Awards.

With those accolades, one would think King would be more boastful.

“I don’t feel that powerful,” King responds with a laugh. Still, like most working women, King leads a dual existence. Her other life begins and ends with her home. In her eclectic space, she is surrounded by the vast collection of statuary, vessels, busts, masks and African textiles collected by her and Chigbo during the last 30 years.

“We’re at home with all the faces of the ancestors looking at us,” she says.

King’s keen eye for interior design has served her well in furnishing her home. Many interesting pieces have been bought from production sales during her day job.

“You pick up all kinds of fabulous pieces for next to nothing, like this table, teak cabinet, lamps,” she says. But more than the material things in the home, it’s the people who surround her which are of the greatest importance and provide her with the most joy.

“The thing is, my kids are the things that I’ve been searching for all of my life; they give me all that in a way that’s way more rewarding than being on the stage at Cannes or picking up a Gemini or any of the awards that I’ve ever received,” she says.

“Those kids, family unit and love, that’s what it’s really all about.”