House Tour - Oakville Showhome by H&H

The Family Room - Princess Margaret Hospital Showhome 

Last fall I toured the Princess Margaret showhome in Oakville designed by Linda Reeves and the editors of Canadian House & Home Magazine.   If you've picked up the current issue of CH&H, you'll see the family room (and Linda) on the cover (same room as pictured above).  In November I toured the home with a girlfriend during the early afternoon of a weekday so it wasn't nearly as crowded as I'd heard it was on the weekends.  Since I never leave home without a camera and I didn't see any signage forbidding photos (and we looked!) I discreetly snapped away as I walked thru the house.  I only had my small point and shoot camera with me and I was literally shooting from the hip so sorry about the quality of the images.  Knowing that video tours of the house would be featured on the H&H website and a photo spread eventually published in a future issue, I opted not to post these photos until after the showhome lottery was over and their own photos had been published (as you'll see most of the images here are of spaces you won't see in the magazine feature or are from a completely different viewpoint.)

I have to say the house showed as beautifully in person as it shows in the magazine, with the exception of but a few small accessories and fresh flowers, it looked just the way you see it in the magazine spread.  There were many things I loved about the house; the floors, the cabinetry, the layout, the grand sense of spaciousness, the light and natural colour palette (natural materials), and the abundance of natural light.   Being right on trend like the magazine always is, the inspiration for the overall style of the house was Modern Belgian Farmhouse.....

If you've already seen the feature story in the current issue of CH&H, then you'll see some spaces here that weren't published,,,,,and if you didn't have a chance to view the room tours on the H&H website, or see the house in person, then this will all be new!  But please,,,check out this issue for the full story, sources and of course some spectacular photography.

Kitchen - open concept to family room (on the left)

Servery

to the left of this servery is the kitchen, to the right you see the Dining room.  I'm a huge fan of natural wood (especially floors) so the built-in cabinetry and floors were my favorite feature of the house.  

Hall of french doors across the back of the house leads you from the kitchen thru the

dining room to the living room beyond.  The doors open to the backyard patio.

The dining room - on either side of the mirrored wall are doors

that lead to the front hall.  On the opposite side of the mirrored wall is the foyer's fireplace. I couldn't hep but wish that it was double sided.....

Living Room with one of the houses 4 (or was it 5?) fireplaces, and an Ikea area carpet.

The Master Bedroom - upon entering you see this chaise seating,

which faces a fireplace to the left

The master bedroom was quite a large space with dormer ceilings..

The red and white flat woven carpet across the foot of the bed 

was the only colour in the room

Dressing Room - vanity table located under a dormer window just as you enter from the bedroom area.  The ensuite bathroom is to the right, dressing area is to the left.

I loved the Dressing Room....

My favorite room in the house was the Master Ensuite. The 12x24

limestone tiles laid in a herringbone pattern is stunning!  I often do this with small 3x6 tile but rarely work on spaces large enough to do this with large tiles.  Gorgeous.

Simple and White, what's not to love.

The same built-in cabinetry used in the servery is seen again in the master ensuite but with a light coloured counter.  The wood is exquisite and makes for a furniture quality vanity.

Sitting area on second floor outside of the master bedroom.

Second Bedroom, viewed from the doorway.

Ikea desk/dressing table.

Third Bedroom

The basement.  This same staircase detail continued from top to bottom.  The furniture and cabinetry beyond along with a wetbar was all from Ikea, leather chairs on the right are by Lazy Boy.

Basement Guest Bedroom...bed, bedding, seating and accessories by Ikea.

Basement washroom, vanity by Ikea

Main floor Laundry Room

Main floor Laundry Room

Main floor Powder Room, this sink area was a doorless room off of the front hall with a separate water closet to the right of the sink.

My interest in touring showhomes is primarily to experience the layout, and see all the material finishes, fixtures, built-ins and architectural details, in other words the bones of the house - to me the furnishings and accessories are really all secondary to this.  When you get the bones right,,,a house will make a statement and look beautiful even when the rooms are empty.  But an empty house is not a home!! The furnishings is this case were beautifully appointed too and given that they had the task of furnishing an entire house working on a budget and with sponsors, it was really well done with a clever mix of high and low.  One of the things that I felt had the most impact were the gorgeous draperies and window shades used throughout the house which is what gives the spaces a truly finished, bespoke look.  

Regardless of the grand scale of this showhouse, its a good example for those furnishing a home from scratch (owner or renters) of how you can take a budget and spread it out over your entire house with all the essentials, leaving space for layering in more pieces and collections in the years ahead.  You don't have to spend 'high' on every piece or in every room all at once.  The point of this strategy is you won't be left with empty unused rooms (for what could be years to come) and you can immediately enjoy living and entertaining, enjoying your  home to its fullest instead of just dreaming about it.  

All photos above by Carol Reed

House Tour - Oakville Showhome

Beautiful 12 x 24 honed limestone floor tiles laid in a herringbone pattern.

This past week a girlfirend and I took some time to visit the Princess Margaret Showhome in Oakville, decorated and furnished by Linda Reeves and the design editors from Canadian House & Home.   We planned our visit for early afternoon and it proved to be good timing as we were able to enjoy viewing all the rooms in the house at a leisurely pace and without a crowd of people following us from room to room, from what i’ve heard the house is drawing lots of attention and streams of visitors from all over.

As someone who loves neutral spaces (for my personal home) the palette of this house was right up my alley.  Natural woods and white walls mixed with lots of linen and greys.  I’ve always lived in all white homes, with the exception of one or two rooms that I love to have done in a dark grey, so I was drawn to the brightness and simplicity of the white throughout the first and second floors of the house.  To me its the perfect timeless backdrop and I find that nothing sets off wood tones and artwork like white, and dark grey.  Although in this house, there wasn’t much artwork present, but you could easily envision how artwork could transform some of the many blank walls.....

Because of all the white, the rustic exposed beams, bleached wood,  and use of linen, I felt the house had a sense of Belgian style to it.   I did manage to get some great photos throughout the tour but for now, I’ll just post these pics of my favorite room in the house which was the master ensuite.   To see more of the house I highly recommend the drive to Oakville to see it all for yourself in person - its for a great cause so while you’re there be sure to buy a ticket and a chance to win this lovely home - it takes just one ticket to win.  Good luck!

The large spacious double walk-in shower is to the left of the chair, complete with dormer ceiling and window.  The entire shower, walls and ceiling were tiled in a 1x2 mosiac grid of the same honed limestone that was used on the floor.

I believe the vanity was white oak, unfinished or waxed perhaps.  The wall is clad in the same mosaic 1 x 2 limestone that continues into the walk-in shower.  The oil rubbed bronze knobs relate well to the light fixtures and emphsizes that understated casual elegance.

As stated on the CH&H website, "The Princess Margaret Oakville Showhome is the grand prize in The Welcome Home Sweepstakes for Cancer Research, built from the ground up by Lynda Reeves and her H&H team, with architectural designer Ray Murakami and custom home builder PCM Inc."   For more info and showhome hours visit here.

Victorian House Tour - Powell & Bonnell

I had the pleasure of being invited to tour an open house this week of a beautiful victorian semi-detached house in Toronto.  I'm fortunate enough to work with one of the best real estate agent's in the city, Kara Reed, who also just happens to be.......my sister-in-law of the past 20 years.  (You may recognize her from HGTV's Sarah's House I, and Sarah's House II).  Kara had the pleasure of listing this 1890's victorian house on mls this week and is preparing for a public open house this weekend, more info here.  Knowing that I'm in house hunting mode myself and knowing my love and appreciation for great interiors of all styles, she insisted this was a must see for me -and I'm glad she did.

The house was designed by the award winning Toronto interior design firm, Powell & Bonnell during an extensive renovation of the house back in early 2000's.  What's  unique about this house is its one of the few (if not only) traditional, victorian style home this team have designed.  If you're familiar with Powell & Bonnell's work, you likely conjur up images of clean, dynamic contemporary spaces when you think of their projects, however, a quick browse thru their portfolio reveals a diverse range of projects from clean and contemporary to modern rustic.  I've always believed that the best designers have diverse portfolios and can apply their design philosophy to a range of styles and I can definitely see this diversity throughout their past projects.  You can check out their on-line portfolio here. 

Before the renovations began in early 2000's the house had been open plan and void of any original architectural detail and character.    All of the walls that had previously been taken down and all of the mouldings and details that had been stripped away were painstakingly re-created from top to bottom.  Today the house is a beautiful example of a traditional victorian home who's original character and architectural detailing has been well considered and thoughtfully brought back to life.

One of my favorite things about the house was the collection of artwork throughout and the manner in which it was displayed - it's masterfully done.  You'll see in the photos to follow that every room and hallway has beautifully arranged groupings of artwork and objects in all shapes and sizes.

Living Room Vignette

Living Room

Dining Room

The dining room measures only about  12'w x 9' deep but its grand and impressive.  The combination of the dark wall colour and the large mirror add depth and create a dramatic, inviting space.  It was simply stunning.

This is Kara in the hallway outside the dining room as she was pointing out the dining room's velvet parlour draperies that would have been an original detail in a house of this era. 

The master bedroom was striking and handsome with its dark walls, antique furniture and sisal carpet.  The variety of light sources and use of mirror again make this room both sparkle and glow, creating an ambience that's so inviting and intimate.

The tone on tone stripe effect on the bedroom walls was actually so subtle that I didn't even notice it until looking at the photos afterwards.

The main bath had some clever built-in storage around the radiator.  There's nothing over the top in this room but there's a great sense of balance.  You can see that the surface applied panel moulding, its repitition and the symmetrical display on top of the cabinet give this room a classical look.  The gorgeous soft blue colour combined with all the white and polished chrome just takes your breath away when you walk in the room but yet the bathroom's tile and fittings are just very simple and timeless.

The Den

The second floor den was again, dark, inviting and intimate with a wonderful eclectic collection of pieces displayed on the walls and cabinets.  Despite that most of the rooms in this house would be considered small spaces, the use of large scale furniture and dark colours make it feel luxurious and grand.  The key to this,,,,,, is the great use of lighting.

Second floor hallway

Main floor bathroom, again the use of simple white, pale blue/grey and silver metal gives you that refreshing sense of a nostalgic old world spa.

The kitchen was simple and classic with its beadboard backsplash and butcher block topped centre island.

Again a wonderful integration of storage with the rad cover.  The use of metal apothocary style cabinetry and carts were used again here which I also saw in both bathrooms, this cabinet appeared to be vintage but the two small wall-hung ones in the bathrooms were newer. 

Basement bedroom.  

This was an irregularly shaped small room but I love the fact that despite that, they went for maximum comfort by using a full size bed - its cozy and luxurious looking even though its placed in this tiny nook.  The attention to the way the bed is dressed and accessorized would make any guest feel important and special.

I could notice from the reaction of those who were touring the house while I was there that the traditional style and detailing of this home was really resonating with all of them as they were were drawn into one room after another,,,,,,,,and not wanting to leave!   I have no doubt this house is going to attract a lot of attention this weekend......

All photos:   Carol Reed