BC Home & Garden

R REVIVAL How one homeowner infuses eclectic elegance into a traditional home TEXT BARB SLIGL PHOTOGRAPHY TRACEY AYTON You might not think a stately Tudor house off Southwest Marine Drive in the posh enclave of Vancouver's west side holds any surprises. Picture rolled-arm sofas, parquet floors, ornate fireplaces and elaborate banisters and you'd be wrong. Partly, anyway. Yes, you will find needlepoint accessories, curvaceous armchairs and mottled mullion windows, but these more traditional architectural features and design items are juxtaposed with a sleek Saarinen dining table, a cowhide rug, Eames chairs and contemporary artwork. Think eclectic – in a good way. The sweet ceramic pig on the front steps and hot-pink wire rabbits on the lawn hint at the joyful combo of carefully curated and collected pieces inside – from family heirlooms to backstreet bargains found in Brazil. It's all a mishmash, says homeowner Shelley, who moved into the heritage house along with her husband and three kids a decade ago, largely for its location. The huge 100-foot-by200-foot lot had plenty of privacy and space to play. All that was needed was a revamp of the long-untouched house itself, which was no small task. Shelley wanted to retain the original character and "do as little as possible to make it a bit groovier." So, while a major addition doubled the square footage from 2,200 to 4,500 square feet, the home still fits seamlessly into the tony neighbourhood. In the original part of the house, features like those warbled windows, the wood floor and built-in niches and bookshelves were kept. The old banister was removed and stair railing flattened and modernized. The living room fireplace was stripped and replaced with a floating marble mantle. The revamp was done bit by bit and remains a work in progress. Things change, tastes evolve. Shelley's approach was to "groovy it up" in stages, live in the home and then figure it out. The new addition, which still conforms to the shapes and rooflines of the original house, gave her a chance to play more with her personal style. She told the contractor to forget crown mouldings, door jambs or window casings. It's all about open concept and an airy expanse of windows. "I even added windows in funny little places to let in more light," says Shelley. West Coast Modern inspired Her inspiration, after all, was Dan White, the renowned Vancouver West Coast Modern residential architect who designed her childhood home. She remembers "growing up in a house that was really beautiful and, at the time, kind of avant-garde." Shelley managed to incorporate West Coast Modern-style into the envelope of a traditional Tudor house. The kitchen is as plain as possible with no clutter on the creamy-white marble countertops and no distracting hanging pendants or island stools. Simple white cabinetry and one long, unadorned, horizontal window over a huge custom sink are embellished only by Shelley's approach was to "groovy it up" in stages February 2013 BC HOME & garden | 21 p20-29_Ferris Home.indd 21 13-01-23 10:52 AM

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