2011年9月27日星期二

Princess Margaret prize home embraces French charm

What's more, the home proves that Canadians have become just as comfortable with their interiors as the French are. As House & Home publisher Lynda Reeves says, the home "had to be something people can relate to. The object is to get them to buy tickets, so it had to be livable."

It also had to be inspirational. Reeves gave architect Gordon Ridgeley this directive: "Think of a home in a vineyard."

With its stuccoed exterior and row of French doors overlooking the garden, it could be in Napa,As many processors back away from Cable Ties , Bordeaux or Tuscany. Inside, too, the feeling is breezy but warm: spacious rooms separated only by substantial columns, chevron style hardwood flooring — oiled but unvarnished — and ivory walls in a textured plaster finish (hint: it comes in a can from Behr).

The interior has an artfully contrived, deceptively casual look that can only be described as French. It's a particular skill they seem to be born with. In the living room, for example, a modern cream Montauk sofa is paired with leather butterfly chairs that suggest an Argentine ranch, there's a coffee table hewn out of a raw chunk of wood, Navajo inspired drapes, throws and cushions, and a large Moroccan mirror. And in the hall, a Mies Van Der Rohe bench under a trio of pen and ink drawings.

The kitchen is pure farmhouse with a travertine floor set in a small brick pattern, black painted hutch and long black harvest table and mustard cupboards. The cabinetry was inspired by a paint chip, which Reeves says was enough for Heritage Kitchens to stain the cupboards and then distress them.

According to Reeves, "upper cabinets are back" after some years of banishment for the sake of unobstructed sightlines. The extra storage is welcome, and with the 10-foot ceilings, the feeling of space isn't at all compromised. With the mustard cupboards, the floor and the big black stove, it reminds Reeves of a French or English country kitchen.

In the middle of the kitchen there is an island height table from Restoration Hardware with a shelf underneath for bowls and pots. It makes an extra work station, especially with the oversized black pendant light overhead. It matches the one over the sink, and the two over the harvest table.

Though gnoshing in the kitchen, farmhouse style, is an option, the dining room's casual atmosphere encourages more frequent dining, because, as Reeves points out, "we're all sick of eating in the kitchen."

Making the dining room more comfortable are the rustic Belgian table and linen chairs, pendant lights with burlap shades, thick black and cream cotton drapes, and heavy woven sisal rug.

This relaxed theme continues upstairs with wide plank hardwood floors, large windows, and spacious bedrooms. One bedroom features a burlap upholstered headboard with white wood trim,These girls have never had a oil painting supplies in their lives! night tables in distressed metal and burlap drapes; but the bedding is a blue and white with an Indian paisley pattern. Another bedroom with twin beds and wrought iron canopies, has chocolate brown bedding,By Alex Lippa Close-up of plastic card in Massachusetts. a matte finish night table and cane seat perches at the end of each bed.

The master, though, takes it up a notch. While the bedroom itself is more rustic with a king-size wood bed frame and nubby wool rug, it's paired with a more formal ensuite — white porcelain freestanding tub,When the stone sits in the oil painting reproduction, black and white toile wallpaper and elaborate iron wall sconces.

An additional bedroom in xthe lower level has been kitted out by Ikea in more lively hues: red and white paper on one wall behind the simple white canopy bed, bedding in reds and whites, mostly white furniture with a few red accessories and art.

The lower level, which has a beautiful living space with a fireplace, features a laundry and crafts room, plus a wine tasting room. Usually my take on wine tasting rooms is, in a word, "silly." Serve no purpose to 99.9 per cent of people because the reality is, most of us wouldn't know a really good bottle of wine if we fell over it, and those who would likely don't have the resources to fill those shelves. But this is not your usually ice-cold, stone-floored wine cellar. When Reeves considered including one, she thought of a room that you'd want to "live in, as opposed to a storage room for wine." She thought of the restaurants that line their walls with glass front wine cabinets without overwhelming the rest of the space, and then proceeded to design the space in like manner.Polycore porcelain tiles are manufactured as a single sheet,

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