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House Beautiful: New life for rustic Salt Spring Island retreat

Donald Mackenzie has lived in ultra-modern high rises in Hong Kong, Victorian houses in London and a lavish ski chalet in Whistler, but when it came to retirement, he chose something altogether different.

Donald Mackenzie has lived in ultra-modern high rises in Hong Kong, Victorian houses in London and a lavish ski chalet in Whistler, but when it came to retirement, he chose something altogether different.

The international businessman now lives in a hand-hewn work of art on the shores of Salt Spring Island.

“I have lived all over the world in all kinds of houses, but this is my favourite,” said Mackenzie, whose partner, Luis Araujo, is a former classical ballet dancer in London and Portugal and now a child and youth counsellor.

“The tradespeople on this island are great, and the people who worked for us have been outstanding compared to everywhere else … especially our builder, Johnny Villadsen, who is amazing.”

Mackenzie and Araujo visited the island after Mackenzie’s parents moved there several years ago. They fell in love with the place, the people, the climate — and an extraordinary oceanfront house.

The ruggedly handsome custom structure is not only a wonder of century-old beams, chiselled stonework, millwork and fine landscaping, but also a building with a unique history.

And it’s all about threes.

Built in 1972, it has been renovated and expanded three times, and the work was done by three generations of the same family, who have lived on Saltspring since 1937.

It has tripled in size and now comprises three buildings joined by glass corridors and walkways.

The original summer cottage was a square, designed by Vancouver architect Barry Downs and built for University of British Columbia fine arts professor Ian McNairn by island carpenter Aage Villadsen.

In 2003, the building was sold to a Seattle businessman, and the original architect drew up new plans.

Those plans were executed by the original carpenter’s son, Keld, and grandson Johnny Villadsen. The enlarged home — now L-shaped and 3,700 square feet — features the same post-and-beam-style construction and joinery skills, as the owner wanted to expand the building while retaining its thematic link with the past. That renovation included adding a double garage with guest quarters above, and a master suite with loft above and exercise room below.

“When my grandfather did the original house, he salvaged a lot of wood from old barns,” said Johnny, whose grandfather was a furniture maker who emigrated from Denmark.

“Some of the logs were partially burnt and already looked 100 years old. In the 2003 renovation, we used all new logs, but let them age naturally, so the additions are seamless.

“It was great to modernize without losing the feel, and it was also great to work with the original architect, who is extremely talented.

“He could come on site and if a detail wasn’t clear, just draw up a new sketch and hand it to me. A lot of credit goes to the previous owner, who put all his faith in this architect and didn’t interfere with his vision.”

Grandson Johnny returned last year to update the home for the current owners, who wanted new lighting, an office instead of an exercise room, a new driveway, fencing, gate and an expanded deck.

The current owners also noticed a feature on the original architect’s drawings that appealed to them: a pool, which the previous owner had made into a gravel swale instead.

“Luis and I carried all the rocks out and up a hill, dug out the pond, put in a liner, then carried all the rocks back down again like Egyptian slaves,” said Mackenzie with a chuckle, adding he feels lucky to have met the original family of builders through his realtor.

“That is what’s so wonderful: When you get connected with the right people, who connect you with more of the right people.

“There is a big difference between working with someone who builds rows of suburban housing units and working with a real craftsman. You can have a vision, but if you don’t have the craftsmen to create the vision, you live with an illusion.”

Speaking of illusions, architect Barry Downs, now 84, is known for creating secret doors and passages. This house is no exception, with a hidden closet in the master bedroom and secret passage off a hall.

“Such hidden doors are a modernist precept stemming from the idea of simplicity and continuity of walls flowing from one space to another,” said Downs from his home in Vancouver.

An early proponent of West Coast modernist style, Downs also designed the Sedgewick building at the University of Victoria, co-designed Pearson College of the Pacific and was recently given the Order of Canada.

He noted that this house won a national Architectural Institute Award when first built, and displayed “a oneness of materials, inside and out,” which has continued.

“When we added the two pavilions, linked by bridges, we honoured the integrity of the original old cabin, but replaced the driftwood-grey floor boards with myrtle. That’s what ties it all together.”

Downs also created a special entry room, in the style of a Japanese meditative space. “This chumon is a small arrival court, a moment of transition between car and house, where you sit for a moment and think about the world and life.”

He sees the burnt and scarred poles as skeletal forms, ancient tree-like shapes “that reinforce the aura of spatial simplicity and timelessness. I wanted to capture the forest and sea views, create an interior of serenity and harmony. …

“It is one of my favourite houses and I’m very happy the new owners are personalizing the space with a contemporary look.”

From an interior-design perspective, a building like this could go rustic or modern, “but we decided to go modern or else it becomes too log cabin,” said Mackenzie, who retired at 44, took eight years off work and is now back consulting and recently chaired an interior-design firm in Vancouver

“I love super-modern architecture, but I also love West Coast design and treehouses … and this house brings all three together.”

Landscape designer Lorraine Hamilton of Rhubarb Designs said the new owners have fantastic taste and interesting textures in their house, so she wanted to reflect that in their garden.

“We planted about 150 Japanese blood plants that flow like a river of colour through the property. I believe in massing flowers, using fewer varietals but lots of them.

“And as there were already some large vine maples on the property, we augmented them with Pacific fire vine maples, working around the existing natural features and playing off that. It’s a really wonderful site.”