A painter has to start with a blank canvas. A writer has to start with a blank computer screen. Craig Stanghetta has to start with blank walls, ceilings and floors.
As the creative force behind Ste. Marie Art + Design the name is a nod to his home town of Sault Ste. Marie hes come up with the concepts behind such places as Meat & Bread, Revolver, Pidgin and, most recently, Homer Street Café.
I feel my role is not to design a space but to curate an ethos, an atmosphere, he says, sitting in the Cockpit Room (named for the paintings of chickens), one of the quiet retreats he created at the café.
Since opening in June, the café has become hugely popular thanks, in part, to the way his understanding of that ethos draws you in and keeps you there.
When owner Lilliana De Cotiis asked him to help transform the 100-year-old space into a new Yaletown destination, the first thing he did was feel the space to see where it wants to go.
Working with Denise Liu and Linus Lam of Bespoke by Edison and Sprinkles, they turned to frequent collaborator Scott Landon of South Granvilles Scott Landon Antiques. We wanted to combine architecture and interior design into one process, Stanghetta says. We knew we had a good idea and had this guy who could find this great, salvaged stuff.
Each decision was the cue for the next one, like an improv piece played by people who reach deep into their repertoire to fuel new interpretations of old themes.
Quoting heritage design can often feel contrived, but not at Homer Street Café. Theyve created a space that feels like its always been there or, if it wasnt, could (or should) have been. There are no clichés or design tropes. It answers an innate yearning for a sense of space that both engages us and makes us feel instantly comfortable.
On my day off, you wont find me in most places that have been designed, he says. I find them vacuous, disingenuous, impersonal. I just care about what it feels like to be in a room.
This ability to dream was not always valued. It was a character flaw as a kid because it meant I never focused, he says. Today, its made him one of Vancouvers most sought-after designers. (His current projects are an expansion of Gastowns Revolver and a boutique hotel in Mexico.)
As part of IDSWest, he and Kelly Deck will discuss bringing restaurant design into your home.
To those who want to create their own interpretations of space, Stanghetta says, Follow your instincts and just do what you want to do.
If only we all had his instincts....
