Interior: West coast living space

Without sounding too much like Men Are From Mars, Women Are From Venus, it’s probably safe to say women’s friendships are different than men’s. From getting ready for high school dances together (“Does this look okay?”) to shopping for a sofa for your first place, women seek their friends’ advice on all sorts of things.

That’s how it was when designer Nancy Riesco of Riesco & Lapres Interior Design helped jewellery designer Shereen de Rousseau decorate her 1920s Vancouver home. The two moms met through their children, and it was a case of like attracts like. “We hit it off,” says Nancy. “Shereen just exudes fun and intelligence and creativity.” But despite similar aesthetic tastes, Nancy was surprised when she first saw the house Shereen shared with her husband, Wilf, and son, Silas. “She has such a big, interesting personality and her home was lovely in terms of the basics… but she had very little art, no tchotchkes, no bits from travels. I kept saying to her, ‘You can’t tell who lives here; it doesn’t look like you, Wilf or Silas.'"


Family room
Homeowner Shereen de Rousseau found the settee on Craigslist, while designer Nancy Riesco found the bold oversized print (that camouflages Leo the dog) to update it with - that's just the way this relationship works. The round mirror from Nancy's shop was painted orange - Shereen's choice accent colour.