Last summer, architect Andrew Beckerman moved himself and all his art from a steel-sided home in Fairfield to a condo in the Songhees, and he is delighted to see how fresh his old favourites look in their new setting.
It’s the same collection, just a different gallery.
His suite has two large expanses of glass that open onto a broad L-shaped balcony, but there is still plenty of wall space to hang his collection, and moving into his new condo didn’t require a lot of expensive changes.
“I used cheap tricks — paint and mirrors — because they can make the most dramatic changes and are relatively inexpensive compared to things like granite and hardwood floors. They give you the most bang for your buck.”
He installed a full wall mirror in his entry hall and another in the master ensuite, to visually double those spaces, as well as expand the views and light.
And he created an intriguing and subtle effect on several ceilings by having them painted in a nearly invisible checkerboard, using white and soft cream. The elusive pattern is only seen in a certain light and catches many visitors by surprise with its delicate and transient shadings.
The owner added curving track lights in his living and dining areas, as well as an eight-metre-long piece in his entrance hall, where he positioned four Ikea bookcases.
Originally, he had planned to arrange them in pairs, but that didn’t look right, so he spaced and staggered them on opposite sides. “This hallway is overly wide at 4.5 feet, extraordinarily generous actually, and I have hung four of my star pieces above the bookcases.”
The architect enjoys how different everything looks in his new home. “When you live with things for a long time, you almost don’t see them anymore, but then you move into a new place and suddenly appreciate the art again.” “Even pieces I’ve had for decades look new here. They have acquired a second life.”
A front entry wall displays six, late 19th-century Japanese woodblock prints that previously were in separate rooms. “Now they are together, you get a different narrative.”
They are arranged above a chest from Swat, a region in the Hindu Kush area near the border between Afghanistan and Pakistan. Years ago, the owner was trekking there “and got snowed off the mountain. When we came down into a small village, I saw this chest.”
While he admits it’s “not exactly practical,” he appreciates the unusual, carved piece, which comes apart for travel.
When he left Karachi, the chest was dismantled — he still has a piece of paper taped to its side that explains how to put it back together.
In the same region of Pakistan, he also bought a number of early 20th-century wooden window frames, which now hang in his bedroom.
One of Beckerman’s biggest redesigns was removing a breakfast bar that used to extend from the kitchen — “I wanted that extra foot of depth in my dining room instead” — and wrapping two sides of the kitchen in a slim, shoulder-height wall of white Carrara marble, custom-made at Stone Age Marble.
“I installed the screen wall so people at the dinner table won’t see the mess I’m making.”
A lover of natural stone, he added a new countertop of contrasting, boldly striped sedimentary marble, also from Stone Age. “It’s a little more expensive and not as bulletproof as granite, but for a counter this small, the cost difference was inconsequential.”
Designing the screen allowed him to add another lower cabinet that has been very handy. “The funny thing about this kitchen, and many condo kitchens, is there is room for glassware, dishes, serving plates, mugs, cutlery, pots and pans — but not much room for food.
“I guess the expectation is that you will make coffee in the morning, and eat out all day.”
He partially solved the problem by placing his former dining-room sideboard at the foot of his bed, and using it to hold dry goods.
“I have food scattered throughout the condo and it drives me crazy sometimes, looking for things.”
He noted another minor frustration has been getting used to moving through the underground parking area, the lobby, elevator and hallways to get to his front door. “It’s a whole new process — I call it the curse of the fobs.”
The 1,530-square-foot condo is only marginally smaller than his previous house, so moving did not require serious downsizing, but he felt it most in the living room. In his former home, he had two chairs either side of the fireplace and a large red leather sofa, but here, he had to edit down to one chair either side of a small sofa.
But he loves his new digs, especially the 325-square-foot balcony. “It’s the wow factor.”
The floors are original except in the bedrooms, where he added light maple. He also installed two feature walls in maple plywood, with clear varnish for a golden glow.
A new, smaller fireplace was installed in one of the walls. The previous one was on the floor but he prefers it at eye level when sitting, and opted for rocks over plastic logs.
Having a round dining table was a designer friend’s suggestion years ago. At the time, Beckerman scoured showrooms for a perfect round version, but they were excessively expensive, $6,000 and up.
“Then one day in Los Angeles, I walked into a Crate and Barrel and found this five-foot-diameter one for $1,200.” His dining chairs are knock-offs of the famous Eames rolling office versions, three black and three ivory.
In the master suite, he dropped a ceiling panel over his bed and installed LED spotlights because he doesn’t like standing lamps or table lamps. “Again, this was not super expensive.”
Beckerman noted that he was lucky to buy his condo at exactly the right time.
“Other purchasers paid close to a million dollars for similar suites when the project first came on the market, but I bought this for almost half that in 2011, at the bottom of the market … just dumb luck.”
The condo had been empty for two years and after buying it, he rented it out for several years.
Beckerman continues to be an avid collector and art patron, too, having announced a $750,000 gift to the Art Gallery of Greater Victoria last year, as well as a $100,000 challenge fund. He was delighted when an anonymous donor matched the latter recently.
“Now we have $200,000 for the gallery and I’m hoping we can match that, too, and turn the gift into $400,000.”
Marble wall had to be sunk into wood floor
Giovanni La Fauci, owner of Stone Age Marble, said Andrew Beckerman’s request to build a slender wall of bianco Carrara marble in his kitchen was unusual and challenging.
“This was totally different for us, a unique request, and it was exciting to do,” said La Fauci.
“It’s very unlikely that people do this kind of application, but Andrew is an architect and has a different perspective.”
The wall is two centimetres thick but very strong because it is dense material. La Fauci had to make special preparations.
“For stability, rather than having the wall sitting on the floor, we had to sink it into the actual floor by three-quarters of an inch. The carpenter cut a channel for us.”
Then the owner chose a striato olympico countertop, “a natural beauty from Italy with layers created over the years … not a standard material.
Typically, the wall would go up first, before the counter was installed, but in this case, the main counter was done first. “There would be very little space to get in once the wall was up — and because it is quite high,” La Fauci said. “This marble is not light. It’s not like plastic.”
La Fauci, who comes from Calabria in southern Italy and formed his company here 20 years ago, noted Stone Age was the first marble-fabrication shop in Victoria.
While all marble will stain with time, even with a sealer on it, it’s all part of the beauty, he said. “That is why people love Italy. The marble gets its own patina, so everything is old but still beautiful.”
