House Tours
This Century-Old Home Gets A Personality-Packed Transformation
Photography, Provoke Studios
House Tours
This Century-Old Home Gets A Personality-Packed Transformation
A Vancouver designer animates her century-old home with an aesthetic retune that sings with personality.
House hunting isn’t for the faint of heart, but sometimes when you know something, you just know. “We had been living in a long, narrow duplex and wanted something different – more open and definitely wider,” says designer Victoria McKenney. When she and husband Adrian Stevens came across this 1912-built residence in the city’s Southlands neighbourhood, they knew it was the one and were certain their three- year-old Boston Terrier, Radish, would agree.
The three-level, 4,030-square-foot space and its 66-foot-wide lot ticked the expansive box and more. Though the house had been neglected and leaned to a mostly dark brown palette, Victoria’s eye for a diamond in the rough saw the sparkle: original elements like panelled ceilings and walls and wood-paned windows. She says, “There was so much natural light and the shape of the house felt grand and spacious.”
Victoria was determined to honour the character of the home while reinvigorating it with brighter interiors and sunny joie de vivre. Her goal was to fashion a space that would feel comfortable and welcoming – the couple love to have friends over and host dinner parties – but also be visually interesting. Over the course of nine months, she wrought a personality-packed transformation that included bathroom renovations, new kitchen appliances and refinished hardwood floors, but the real crown jewel was the decor. “Cheerful paint colours, graphic wallpaper, a mix of furniture styles and patterned fabrics definitely created the warm and interesting feeling in our home,” she says. “We don’t have children, but I wanted this to feel like a family home, one that was put together with lots of love and personality.”
DESIGN, Victoria McKenney, Enviable Designs. PAINT, Dutch Orange W76 (door), Pointing 2003 (panelling), Hague Blue 30 (walls), Farrow & Ball. LAMPS, Kelly Wearstler.
The once bright- pink front door was at odds with the home’s character and needed a rethink. “I opted for a rich yellow that is so cheerful and welcoming,” says designer Victoria McKenney. She enlivened the foyer’s brown panelling and ceiling with white paint imaginatively contrasted with rich blue on the flat walls. The furnishings are diverse – rustic woven baskets, contemporary lamps, an antique con- sole and a mirror in a gold family-heirloom frame – but they have a lively coherence.
PLATES, John Derian Company. Secret Garden MURAL, Phillip Jeffries. Namesake Collection PLINTH, Enviable Designs.
“I love the overall feeling when I walk through the front door – the sunny yellow, the natural light, and the mix of old and new elements. I never tire of any of it.”
The staircase and landing show off the home’s original panelling to great effect. Victoria and Adrian made a bench especially for Radish so she could take in the street view. Bird plates the couple purchased in Paris sit above the windows. Victoria adorned an upper hallway wall with a fantastic grass- cloth mural that references the gardens outside. An antique pine cabinet acts as a linen cupboard and is a nice foil to the modern plinth from Victoria’s furniture collection.
WALL PAINT, Card Room Green 79, Farrow & Ball. Yellow CUSHION, Gild & Co.
Victoria found the sunroom’s antique desk in a nearby back lane. “A family was clearing out their parents’ home and giving away some beautiful antique pieces. This desk is from 1881 and we’re so glad we could save it and find a new home for it,” she says. The wall colour was chosen to reflect the leafy garden surrounds.
“There are so many different light-filled pockets in the house that make it feel really cozy. The sunroom in the afternoon sun is a magical spot to read or just sit and relax.”
Namesake Collection Graeme CHAISE, Enviable Designs. Vero CHAIRSIDE TABLE, Once a Tree Furniture. Hackney FLOOR LAMP, Visual Comfort.
The sunroom’s chaise is part of Victoria’s Namesake Collection of furniture. She designed it to allow for two people to lounge comfortably, face to face. “We think this room was once a balcony that was enclosed and that’s why there’s original raw cedar ceilings. We decided to leave them, as they add such warmth,” says Victoria. A contemporary ceiling light, found online, fosters the eclectic look.
Rockbird FABRIC (windows), GP & J Baker. SHELF PAINT, Pointing 2003, Farrow & Ball. Namesake Collection Upholstered FURNITURE, Enviable Designs. Laforge CONSOLE TABLE, Once a Tree Furniture. Hackney FLOOR LAMP, Visual Comfort. Andrea Klann PAINTING, Kurbatoff Art Gallery.
Window coverings elevate the sun- room’s colour and texture quotient. “The dramatic print on luxurious velvet is beautifully classic and the perfect application for relaxed Roman valances and blinds,” says Victoria. She painted the wooden shelves white to better dis- play treasured books and collectibles.
“The living room is all about the varying textures and patterns on the main pieces.”
Victoria (shown above) had to get creative with furniture placement in her home’s living room. She says, “It’s a very large room with two doorways, a bay window and an offset fireplace, but I wanted it to feel pulled together and really cozy.” She relied on a mix of textures and furniture styles to get the look. “The swivel chairs have a wonderful organic feel that softens the more linear sofas in the room.”
To add a layer of interest to the bay window, Victoria added a narrow console table that’s slightly lower than the sofa. “It fills the otherwise empty space nicely and allows a spot for a sculptural lamp and vases with floral arrangements that we continually change,” she says. Patterned drapes softly frame the area while the black curtain rod lends a contemporary vibe.
“The pillows are one of my favourite elements of the liv- ing room,” says Victoria. “The one on the swivel chair, covered in Pierre Frey’s Le Jardin du Palais fabric, adds so much whimsy and colour.” The tufted ottoman is a tactile focal point that’s big on practicality thanks to durable vinyl upholstery. A silk and wool rug anchors this seating area and its softness is an element that Radish appreciates.
Tondo ACCENT TABLE, Currey & Company.
“I didn’t want typical, all-symmetrical furniture placement, so I put a sofa below the TV, which nestles in beside the fireplace,” says Victoria. “It’s one of the most popular seats in the house because of the proximity to the fireplace and beautiful view out the bay window.” Its pinstripes add interest without contrasting the larger sofa’s bouclé-like fabric. Shades of blue punctuate the mostly neutral space and link to the blue paint in the foyer.
PANELLING PAINT, Manor House Gray 265, Farrow & Ball. Namesake Collection TABLE, CHAIRS, Enviable Designs. Brunschwig & Fils’s Les Vagues Emb DRAPERY FABRIC, GP & J Baker.
“For the dining room, I chose a cozy grey colour,” says Victoria. A vintage chandelier the couple purchased in Florence hangs above a whitewashed walnut table with a marble inset that Victoria designed. “The geometric woven fabric on the chair backs adds instant visual interest as soon as you walk into the room,” she says. Embroidered coral and grey drapes puddle on the floor in a traditional fashion, while a marble sculpture exudes modern energy.
Ludlow SCONCES, Waterworks. Barclay Versailles SINK, Wayfair.
“I wanted some super fun wallpaper for the powder room. I found this bold heron print on Etsy and love its rich green background.”
Graphic, whimsical wallpaper provides a fun pause point in the powder room, which was originally painted an oppressive deep red. A console sink, versus a vanity, helps keep the small space feeling airy, and the combination of materials is a modern approach. Says Victoria, “I love mixing finishes in any home, and here I played the polished chrome fixtures off of the brass.”
CARPET, Colin Campbell. Namesake Collection Janet SIDE TABLES, Enviable Designs.
“Our bedroom is both fresh and cozy. I love all the natural light in the day and there’s nothing better on cool nights than having the fireplace on – it’s so warm and snug.”
When we purchased the home, there was carpeting on the upper floor,” says Victoria. “When we removed it, we found original fir floors, but they were in a terrible state and replacing them wasn’t an option. While I do love hardwood floors, I also love the luxury of carpet in a bedroom.”
Expansive windows on two walls are softened with embroidered floral drapery that Victoria chose for its subtle pattern and creamy champagne hues. “One of my all-time favourite fabrics is Colefax & Fowler’s Bowood, which I chose for the bed’s cushions,” says Victoria. “It ties in so well with the champagne tones and adds a fresh green energy to the room.” She found the chandelier in an antique shop and knew she had to have it when she discovered it was made in 1912, the same year the house was built.
Victoria knocks home-office design out of the park in her upstairs study. She designed the sleek desk, which is integrated with the chaise lounge at one end. Upholstery seating makes lingering comfortable, and framed abstract art is a stylish counterpoint to the floral drapery.
CUSHION FABRIC, Kravet.
“Our guest room is very peaceful with its soft colour palette and the simplicity of the decor. We do have a lot of return guests, so I think they enjoy staying here!”
Victoria designed the headboard with the guest room’s windows in mind. “I placed the bed in front of the windows, so I made sure the scale of the headboard wasn’t too tall and would still allow light in,” she says. “It’s such a pretty profile and the cut-velvet print fabric adds detail and softness.”
Victoria names the cushion’s floral-print fabric the star of the show and used its blue and white palette as a jumping-off point for the throw and even the door colour. Hotel-stay touches, like bedside storage, fresh flowers and pressed bedding, further the getaway feel for guests.
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