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In traditional decorating there’s a fine line between classic and contrived. It’s something Europeans seem to know almost instinctively. Think of a typical Parisian apartment or a grand British country house. The decor is timeless yet fresh, polished yet unpretentious. This Vancouver Arts and Crafts style home evokes a similar easy elegance, and as with the best traditional decorating, it isn’t based on furnishings that are so safe they’re boring, or paint colours that perfectly match fabrics. The spark comes directly from the personality and passions of the couple who created the space.
This home is one of distinction, with inlaid hardwood floors, exquisite mouldings, wood panelling and leaded glass windows (all original features). The couple raised six children (now adults) here over 25 years and have now moved on from this place, but they decorated this home with furnishings of high calibre, while instilling the rooms with a spirit of spontaneity. One characterizes the style as eclectic, but eclectic-elegant might be more accurate. “I don’t put things together in a calculated way, that’s why this house is a little bit of this and a little bit of that,” she explains.
The “little bits” of which she speaks, however, are often fine antiques that both husband and wife have a passion for. “We love old stuff, we’re antique freaks,” they say. “But we’re not building collections. If we see something we like, we get it.” The resulting look is evocative of a European country house, where treasures of different periods gathered from near and far mix easily and are at home among classic architectural elements.
It’s a timeless look—the antithesis of trendy—that doesn’t need a makeover every few years. White paint, for instance, has been a mainstay since day one. “The house is a bit dark,” she says, pointing out features like the fir-panelled family room. “I can’t stand gloomy, so we did gallons and gallons of white paint when we moved in. I have white walls, sofas, chairs—everything is white, white, white.”
The light palette not only never goes out of style and gave the couple the airy feel they craved, it is also the ideal neutral backdrop for the antiques and ensures that where colour is used, it pops. The exquisite 18th-century French chair with its unusual arched back and pale green silk seat, for instance, stands out in the white living room, as do the boldly patterned antique rugs, fine artwork, and plentiful bouquets of fresh flowers plucked from the gardens that surround the house.
And when the occasional major renovation project is necessary, the same adherence to the principle of timelessness takes precedence. The kitchen, for instance, was redone 15 years ago, but the traditional design still looks fresh and top-quality materials ensure longevity. Brass hardware gleams on dark mahogany cabinetry, and off-white solid-surface countertops lighten the look and bring the light palette to the kitchen. “I love the counter,” she says.
“Fifteen years of being absolutely abused and it still works and looks great.” The breakfast area, created from a porch because the family needed to seat a half-dozen children for breakfast (the youngest was four at the time), has an indestructible stone floor. “It’s care-free,” says the woman. “Very practical for when kids tramped in and out.” Aesthetically, the combination of the floor and the mullioned windows again suggests a centuries-old English country kitchen.
The room, though, like the house, isn’t a museum but a work in progress. In her relentless pursuit of light, the couple are considering adding a conservatory roof of windows over the table. It’s easy to imagine, and it would make a great thing even better—something that, for this couple, seems to come as second nature.
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