When I was first approached by clients who had purchased an early 1900s heritage condo in False Creek, I was hesitant about how to meet their needs for a fresh family space while maintaining the charm and intricacy of the building’s history. As we did our initial walk through of the space, the most notable thing was how heavy the interior felt – rich, saturated colour overpowered each room with the paint choices. As such, I began the project by leaning on my design go-to for an instant update: stark white walls.
I definitely have had my fair share of “perfect” whites over the years; however, I have recently discovered a new all-time fave from Dulux: its basic, un-tinted, pure white. There’s no colour added, just the straight, stark, base white. I’ve been looking to this one because, no matter the natural or interior lighting for a room, the white remains pure – with no undertones of blue, yellow or otherwise. Every wall, ceiling, trim, baseboard and possible paintable detail got a whitewash in a satin finish, and we used the same finish for walls, ceilings and trims to create a full open effect. The end result was incredible. By giving the space a white out, every character detail that was overshadowed by the previous palette now had an opportunity to shine, allowing the entire space to feel bright, open and cohesive.
Keeping in mind that a young family was moving in and white walls at every turn are a magnet for dirty little handprints, I wanted to introduce strong hits of colour and pattern with wallpaper. The living room – the brightest room in the house – received a feature wall with oversized charcoal and coral florals. While the flowery pattern initially seemed like an overtly feminine choice, I knew that we would be bringing in strong industrial elements with the décor, so it would counterbalance in the finished design. One of my favourite industrial finds became a focal point for the living room: an industrial cubby from the ’20s that was repurposed as the catch-all for any kiddy must-haves that didn’t aesthetically fall in line with our vision. Often the trick to introducing vintage or “found” pieces to modern décor is finding a way to repurpose them.
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Vintage treasures were also used in combination with custom industrial pieces (found at Space Lab in Chinatown) in each room to add a sense of story to the space. Lighting is one of my favourite areas to use vintage, so from the Nelson pendant in the living room, to the industrial cage light in the entryway, to the industrial warehouse lights hung in the kitchen, the house was lit with history. Using so many standout vintage finds allowed the modern, larger furnishings like the sofa to have their place without seeming too “new” for the style of the home.
