Month: July 2019

This welcoming 1905 Arts and Crafts–style home once belonged to two elderly brothers who had never remodeled during their decades of possession. When bought by architects Ginger Sorbara and Douglas Birkenshaw, the century-old home had amazing period details, like a grand stairwell and nice background, that they could blend with more modern components. The couple place to function, extending and modernizing the storied house with a glassy improvement when retaining and relishing its amazing layers of patina wherever possible.

in a Glance
Who lives here: Ginger Sorbara and Douglas Birkenshaw, his daughter and their two sons
Location: High Park/Roncesvalles neighborhood of Toronto
Size: 5,000 square feet; 4 bedrooms, 5 baths

Great Five Lakes

From that vantage point in the end of the backyard, the century-old house and its glassy modern extension look like an island in a sea of green. However in need of landscaping, the inviting backyard supplies opportunities for outdoor dining and play.

Great Five Lakes

The rear extension’s floor-to-ceiling windows create a glass block that overlooks a big wooded ravine lot. Sorbara confined her silk-upholstered living area furniture to a cream wool rug so the set seems to float on the dark walnut flooring.

While there were numerous late nights renovating, working collectively on their family home was a simple collaboration for this couple. “We wanted it to be the best it may be; there was no room for ego or being right,” says Sorbara.

Furniture: Knoll

Great Five Lakes

Graphic, scientific and fine arts objects occupy a low bench running along one side of the living room. Sunlight pours through the sails of a version.

Great Five Lakes

The extension also features a modern fireplace plus a custom crosscut Eramosa rock mantel. Sorbara designed the wall to protrude and to shelter the rock.

Great Five Lakes

The kitchen flows down into the dining area, since the original house was previously grade. Thoughtfully mismatched chairs surround the table.

Great Five Lakes

In the kitchen, spacious shelves hold a range of treasured objects, including two lifesize felt rabbits around the upper shelf. The kitchen and main floor hall cabinetry is made from rift-cut walnut. Sorbara’s uncle and cousin — John and Dylan Barlow — did all of the millwork in the home.

Great Five Lakes

A multifunctional cutout on the left side of this kitchen offers sitting space, a perfect framework for flowers and art, and a glance in the home’s original Arts and Crafts staircase.

The home opens to a broad, classic front hall, with the original pocket doors resulting in the original drawing room on the right side.

Abigail Pugh

Sorbara had the storied interior recorded when the couple moved in. The pictures, shot by photographer Greg Pacek and Sorbara, were displayed at the Toronto’s Telephone Booth Gallery in an exhibition titled Call Home: Domestic Narratives. The photographs, combined with documentation of chosen missing items from the last homeowners, such as film stills and family snapshots, were published in a book that accompanied the display.

Pacek’s prerenovation photographs look in every remodeled room. This particular image, capturing yellowing oil-painted partitions and dim wood ceiling accents, is of the front room, which now serves as the kitchen.

Great Five Lakes

The original stairwell — the backbone of this house — unifies the three tales. Sorbara deliberately left the stairway as untouched as possible, letting its dark timber and hefty form comparison with the home’s blank white walls.

Great Five Lakes

These pale wood sliding doors beyond the master bedroom offer a stunning framework to the landing and staircase. The children’s bedrooms, a toilet and a guestroom are located to the left and right of this half-story rise pictured here.

Great Five Lakes

The 2 sons wanted to keep sharing a room when they moved into this new residence. Their bedroom space has a bed large enough for both of these, so each night is a sleepover. The room has plenty of wall storage in stylish plywood cross sections.

Great Five Lakes

Upstairs, Sorbara’s open-layout office space features heat-treated oak floors and alternately serves as a hive of activity for the boys and her harbor.

Great Five Lakes

A lengthy custom-built cabinet runs beneath one side of the roof. Colorful Plasticine clay testifies to just how much the 2 boys love here.

Since the house is on a ravine, the couple’s application to reestablish was initially turned down. “We needed a one time opportunity to consider and reconsider the drawings,” says Sorbara. This resulted in a beautiful coincidence of timing: The licenses came through 100 years to the day after the initial construction permits for the house were accepted. Pictured here is your building permit the couple eventually got for your renovation.

Photo courtesy of Ginger Sorbara

Great Five Lakes

The welcoming Edwardian exterior of the house is semitimbered from the Tudor revival style. The residence sits on a gorgeous 200- by 50-foot great deal near the peak of a little mountain, surrounded by huge sculptural old oak and maple trees.

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The French adore high-quality dining — but the caliber doesn’t start and finish with the meals; it’s about the whole dining experience. Long, leisurely foods are developed for spending some time over great wine and food with family, friends and their kids. My mum’s side of the family is French, and also my parents tell stories of foods in France of eight or 10 little courses over a period of five hours or so.

You may or may not buy into the more relaxing eating rate of the French, but you can’t resist the casual charm of this French farmhouse dining area fashion. Lovely rustic farmhouse dining tables and linens, fairly wild flowers gathered from the backyard and casual mismatched plates and bowls have a wonderfully casual and intimate feel.

Take a peek at those French farmhouse–fashion dining places to inspire your very own delicious fresh dining experience at home — perhaps you’ll want to linger a little longer.

Mustard Seed Interiors

Blue and white French chic. A white and blue colour palette is quite common in French layout. Use the classic white and blue French lines in odd ways, such as on upholstery for Provençal-style chairs or on a casual tablecloth.

Continue the shades of blue round the area with white and blue floral drapery, cabinets in soft shades of blue and art using blues. Add some heat with natural woods.

Add fine finishing touches to a table with alloy chasers under plates, simple pieces of fruit plus a jar of mixed wildflowers.

Dreamy Whites

Bright and airy with antique-style accessories. French style frequently comprises a classic or two, or cheaper Provençal-style chairs like these. Paint them fresh white for a classic look or have fun and use a more modern colour. A simple, delicate crystal and iron chandelier adds some glamour to a rustic area. This weathered grandfather clock (although more Swedish than French style) adds to the rustic appeal.

That I really like this simple table setting which uses java cups as little vases. Purple is quite common in French florals — attempt mixing lavender with yellow daffodils.

To keep everything bright and airy, paint the walls . Flood the area with natural light by using simple white sheers and prop up an oversized mirror to assist bounce light around the room.

Yvonne McFadden LLC

Warm, earthy tones. For a more sophisticated sense, use a palette of bright, earthy tones. This chamber just needs to hug you.

Banquettes are a great way to mix up dining seating, and they will be able to let you squeeze in just one more aunt or uncle at the table.

Straightforward linen seat covers in muddy colours add texture. Insert some organic patterned throw cushions for a more comfy seat and freshen the space with some unfussy green flower arrangements in terra-cotta pots.

Dreamy Whites

Fresh and diverse. Attempt a mismatched flea market style for something collected and relaxed. Paint the walls a soft grey and keep the trim white and clean. Paint wooden chairs at a washed-out colour (such as this distressed sage green) and display collected trinkets and flea market finds round the room. Display pretty vintage seltzer bottles colored glass with drinking glasses onto a simple tray, ready for an informal afternoon drink.

When you have soft furnishings, help them blend into your strategy by covering them in white sheets, and throw in a burlap accent cushion or two.

Dreamy Whites

Use soft shades of lavender. Create your very own purple haze of Provence lavender fields by putting simple purple flower stems in antique lavender glass bottles. Take it a step farther by badger amazing water (Perrier of course!) With abundant purple berries, such as blueberries or blackberries.

Keep it simple and unfussy. This chamber is simple and unfussy — the epitome of French farmhouse style. Re-create this look by using a palette of white and biscuit, then adhere to the basics.

Keep materials down to a minimum — attempt a table setting with white crockery and linens, white candlesticks in pewter candelabra or solitary candlesticks and a galvanized jug to maintain simple white flowers

Red and white gingham checks. With organic green walls, white and red gingham can make a very typical French café look. This is a nice, comfy color scheme for a relaxing evening meal.

Aim to get a palette of white and red checkered cloths for your drapes or blinds, natural pine country-style tables and chairs, and seat covers in striped red, green and cream cloth. I adore these French-style cockerel cushions, too.

Search for paintings or images of fruit — like those red apples — and a classic black and white clock. A bowl of genuine fruit can also be very welcoming. Last but not least, add a vase of bright yellow flowers, such as sunflowers, as a final bright touch.

Dustylu

Layer white on white on white. Plenty of white on white really brightens up any space. Begin by whitewashing all of your furniture and walls. Subsequently coat white textiles, utensils, plates and seat covers. Display an assortment of white crockery in open cabinets and soft-color flowers — like those pale pink hydrangeas — at a white enamel jug to get a rustic finishing touch.

More:
8 Parts of a Farmhouse Kitchen

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Interior designer Molly Frey did not always love the design of this cabin. Before the renovation, Frey recalls that the home has been a “designer’s worst nightmare” — a split-level floor plan with multiple, disconnected staircases and disjointed rooms. “The first things I did were reconfigure the rooms, open walls up, build a central stairs and create a functional flow between distances,” she states.

The designer layered in elegant decor inspired by the expansive ocean, sky and sand. “I love that this summer home has an air of sophistication. The cabin evokes a casual-chic sense of the household while they visit in the summer, but it’s also elegant enough for dinner parties and entertaining guests,” says Frey.

in a Glance
Who holidays here: A couple and their 3 kids
Location: Marblehead, Massachusetts
Size: 4,800 square feet; 5 bedrooms, 4.5 baths

Molly Frey Design

Frey built a custom made stage to the 11-foot model sailboat from the entry and surrounded it with built-ins for extra storage space. But initially, the boat’s height posed a challenge.

“We moved the front door to a new location and produced a two-story entryway that is open to both the living room [foreground] and household room ]backdrop) — the most ideal location for the vessel screen,” Frey says.

The stairs visually opens the cabin and makes its different parts available to one another. Frey augmented the space economically, and the design — that started off as a nightmare — turned into a feature that the designer along with her clients came to adore.

Molly Frey Design

Frey opened up exactly what she describes as closed-off and dated rooms on the ground floor by eliminating a wall separating the rooms. She maintained the structural wall’s aid poles but incorporated them into custom cabinetry, therefore adding storage to the kitchen side and paneling detail (not visible) on the living room side.

Molly Frey Design

Molly Frey Design

White keeps the space looking as clean and crisp as a freshly ironed shirt at the eat-in dining area and the kitchen. Beadboard paneling provides a quaint, cottage appeal to the kitchen, contrasting well with the sleek marble countertops and stainless steel appliances.

Slipcovered armchairs by the window, throw pillows from cool coastal colors and inviting chairs lend a casually chic sense to the living room. Sunlight floods the distance by the surrounding windows.

Molly Frey Design

Molly Frey Design

In the living area is a great case of TV styling with wires and unsightly wires out of sight. The built-in offers drawers for a DVD player and media storage, and bamboo shades decrease glare on the track.

Molly Frey Design

The guest package’s reading corner welcomes day nappers. Framed cubes, a cushioned seat and a sandy colorway of khaki and white encourage guests to put their feet up and stay awhile.

Molly Frey Design

A dressed-down four-poster canopy bed feels completely suitable for the coastal setting of this vacation home, don’t you believe?

Molly Frey Design

The household entertains guests over the duration of their stay in the summertime, so incorporating additional sleeping places was crucial.

“We made great use of this space by adding daybeds and beds at nooks where guests could sleep comfortably while seeing. These spaces were designed to be more quaint, unique spaces that add character to the house in addition to being functional,” says Frey.

Molly Frey Design

Clad in a cooling colour of olive oil, the guest bathroom feels bright and airy. A tree gives colour and some solitude to the window-side bath.

Molly Frey Design

The master bedroom appears the only high-flair note in the house, with a mini Florentine chandelier perched above shabby chic furnishings and a casually made bed.

Molly Frey Design

Frey augmented the seafaring theme from the boy’s room with nautical flags along with a navy blue loft-style bunk mattress.

Molly Frey Design

Labeled wicker bins corral toys, making arranging and cleanup a cinch after a day of play.

Molly Frey Design

Personalized hooks offer an easy way for kids to hang their moist towels and clothing from the mudroom.

Molly Frey Design

The designer thinks she was meant to accept this project. After closing on their cabin, Frey’s clients arrived from California eager to hire a designer and clutching pictures of a home they saw at a magazine.

“They chatted with a friend who watched the photos and recognized the house immediately. It was my home,” says Frey, “just down the road from this cabin.”

More Tours:
Clean-Lined and Casually Coastal

A Summer Beach House Charms and Welcomes

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For quite a while, the term “prefab” had about as much architectural cachet as “double-wide” or “trailer park” But about a decade ago, that changed when a couple of gifted architects, engineers and designers started making beautiful, modern, eco friendly homes. Really houses, really.

It was a prefab revolution.

While they’ve become a great option for anybody considering building a home or adding an outbuilding, there are still many misconceptions about prefabs, both positive and negative.

If you are thinking of going prefab, here’s some stuff you need to understand:
They aren’t necessarily less expensive than traditional structure. Along with the actual house, you need to consider any site preparation and the base . Placing a prefab on anything besides a set lot can get expensive fast. They aren’t allowed everywhere. Many jurisdictions do not want them. It is a leftover bias from the pre-prefab-revolution era. But there you have it. They aren’t cookie cutter. At the same time you do picked from a bundle of choices, and each version has a set layout, there are a variety of approaches to personalize prefabs, based on the organization you’re working with. Everything from the amount of bedrooms into the amount of tales to the type of tile is left up to you. You can’t order the home and then put it up yourself with a few friends. The whole process requires professionals, and you’ll have to employ a contractor accustomed to prefabs to manage it all. Complications aside, they signify a wonderful mix of form and function, of thinking beyond the box and pushing design and architecture to work for individuals, the environment and the community. I am a little in love. Here’s the reason why.

Sett Studio

I have long fantasized about having a prefab plopped down in my backyard to function as a workplace. This 92-square-foot beauty is by Sett Studio.

Marmol Radziner

This is a customized desert home by Marmol Radziner Prefab, one of the leaders in contemporary prefab. It has established also the ability and designs to make a home that was fully customized.

Blu Homes now owns Michelle Kaufman’s prefab designs, such as the Breezehouse along with the Glidehouse. Its fixed-pricing includes everything but the website preparation, and unlike many other prefab companies, this company has its own mill.

Stillwater Dwellings

A two-story prefab by Stillwater Dwellings in Seattle. Stillwater’s fixed-price packages revolve around energy efficiency and environmental responsibility.

Resolution: 4 Architecture

This contemporary three-bedroom, two-bath prefab from Resolution: 4 Architecture isn’t what most men and women think of when they hear “Vermont cabin”

Resolution: 4 Architecture

You do not require a wide-open space. Many prefabs, like the Bronx Box by Resolution: 4 Architecture, are designed for urban infill.

Resolution: 4 Architecture

Here’s the deck of the Bronx Box.

Resolution: 4 Architecture

Open interiors, multiuse spaces and a connection with the outside are signatures of most modern prefabs.

Method Homes

Clean lines, minimalist stuff and a lot of lighting are another frequent characteristic of modern prefabs. This one is by Method Homes.

Izumi Tanaka Photography

The open kitchen in the C6, a renewable prefab home by LivingHomes in Santa Monica, California.

Izumi Tanaka Photography

The living room — open into the kitchen — of those C6.

More:
Creating Prefab Work for All

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Originally a dim, wood-paneled and closed-off area, this house in Dallas was bought by Ryan and Paulette Bock, who had big plans in mind. The typical 1950s layout was not conducive to their lifestyle, so they ready for a complete remodel. “We’re determined to turn this midcentury-style house into something special,” Paulette says.

Comfort and simplicity were vital for this particular fun-loving and laid-back couple. “I enjoy things that make me feel good, and that is what drove the design,” she says. So with Ryan serving as the general contractor, and with the assistance of architect and friend Keith Weik, the two created their dream house.

in a Glance
Who lives here: Ryan and Paulette Bock, infant daughter Ava, cat Jade and dog Hannah
Location: Preston Hollow area of Dallas
Size: 2,400 square feet; 3 bedrooms, 2.5 baths

Kara Weik

When the couple bought the home, walls enclosed each room. “We tore down walls and added all new trim, crown molding, casing and doorways,” Paulette says. Now their dining and living area has one great spacious layout.

The dining table is one of Paulette’s most significant scores, given to her by a friend.

Chandelier: West Elm; dining seats: Overstock.com; Paint: Polar Star,Valspar

Kara Weik

The kitchen was gutted and remodeled into a bright and spacious area. “Now it is one of our favourite rooms,” Paulette says. “We handpicked everything, and it is the center of the home.”

“We’re always in here,” Ryan adds. “So it was important for us to make it our own.”

Paulette made the curtains over the kitchen sink out of a Target shower curtain. “I looked for a cool layout, and because the cover of the drape was already complete, all I had to do is cut it in half and correct the length,” she says.

Kara Weik

Ryan calls the cupboards over the refrigerator”Paulette’s graveyard.” She says,”I have made mistakes before once I attempted to step out of my comfort zone with colour and pattern, only to quickly retire those things to my graveyard.”

All of the kitchen appliances, such as a double oven, a wine fridge, a microwave (on the opposite side of this island) and a commercial refrigerator and freezer, are out of Frigidaire.

Pendant lighting: Lowe’s

Kara Weik

Glass doors from the great room lead into a new house office area, which had been a formal dining area.

Kara Weik

Your home office is next on their list of upgrades. Light gray, whites, greens and neutrals are all Paulette’s favourite colours and are observed within this area and throughout the house. “I could roll around in sea-foam green,” she says.

Desk, console, storage tower: Crate & Barrel; desk chair: Sam’s Club; art: World Market; Paint: Smoke Infusion, Valspar

Kara Weik

One of the couple’s main challenges was the prior mudroom, they renovated to a powder room. The first floor was a concrete slab that sloped away from the home. They replaced the concrete using a wood-framed subfloor to tie it into the rest of the home.

They also found a false ceiling in the present mudroom, so that they added nine classes of brick into the wall to bring it into the new ceiling level.

Sconces, mirror: Home Depot; dressing table: Nadeau; sink: Kohler

Kara Weik

Originally, the entire living room was had wood paneling.

Sectional: Macy’s; ottoman: West Elm; painting: Z Gallerie

Kara Weik

Paulette and Ryan removed all the timber paneling, replaced the millwork (one unit utilized to function as a gun rack), painted the mantel and fireplace surround a bright white, and utilized dark gray as a dramatic accent.

“We redesigned the bookshelves to possess an inset cabinet door, similar to our kitchen,” Ryan says.

Lounge seats: Crate & Barrel; lamp, wire side dining table, fireplace accessories: Dulce Consignment; brick paint: Stone Mason Gray, Valspar

Kara Weik

Kara Weik

Paulette designed Ava’s nursery and considers it one of their newest splurges. “I started off needing her entire nursery to add colors of cream and white, because I needed it to mimic a hot tub,” she says. She layered in vibrant accents while still making the room feel calm, relaxing and girly.

Ava likes to wear tutus, which add colour to the small fashionista’s cupboard.

Chandelier: Lamps Plus; crib: Burlington Coat Factory; rocker: Pottery Barn Kids; paper lanterns, crib mattress: Etsy

Kara Weik

“I believe her room turned out perfect for our perfect baby girl,” Paulette says.

She swapped out the present hardware on a Hemnes Ikea dresser with pretty pink ones found at Target. The”Ava” wall decal was custom ordered from Etsy, one of Paulette’s favourite sites to search for the nursery.

Paint: Sweet Leaf, Valspar

Kara Weik

Ava’s bathroom was ready way before she even arrived, including the cotton-candy-pink tile. The couple chose not to renovate this original bathroom.

Paint: Seashell Gray, Valspar

Kara Weik

Paulette gets her eyes on replacing their present bedding with the Soho collection from Natori. “It is glamorous, chic, relaxing, calm and flirty, and I don’t think I’ll ever get tired or bored with the routine,” she says.

The master bedroom is one of their dog’s favourite rooms. She loves sleeping almost every night on a seat from Dallas consignment shop Dulce.

Bed, nightstands, tall dresser: Bassett Furniture; lamps: Target; paint: Pewter Tray, Behr

Kara Weik

The master bathroom was gutted so that the couple could start their design using a blank slate. They chose an all-white palette, adding new cabinets and an Arabescato marble countertop. Remnant bits from the Arabescato marble slab were utilized from the window sills flanking the mirror and as a transition strip on the threshold of the bathroom entrance.

Accessories: Target, Pier 1 Imports; sconces: Lightology;
Paint: Wave’s Crest, Valspar

Kara Weik

To conserve space using their new glass shower surround, then the original door was replaced with a pocket . Travertine tile laid in a brick pattern and trimmed to 12 by 16 contrasts against a mosaic tile accent wall.

Tile: Daltile; shower machine: Brizo

Kara Weik

Paulette’s solution to Jade’s unsightly litter box was to keep it from sight using a door installed in a utility closet. “Unfortunately, it backfired on us since she’s a 14-year-old ninny who loves the warmth and now spends all her afternoon hanging out from the warm room,” Paulette says. “She comes out in the evenings and when it’s time to go to bed, with Mom and Dad of course!”

Here, you can see Jade exiting her room through a cat door in the pantry.

c: Do you have a creative, modern home? Share it with us!

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