When you have a wonderful collection of contemporary art and classic furniture, chosen and purchased with great care and love over more than five decades with your wife, it’s not easy to downsize.
Yet Charles Locker, whose wife, Victoria, died three years ago on Boxing Day, has managed to create a new home and stylish setting in his new condo at Bayview One by keeping only the best of the best — and adding a few well-thought-out pieces.
The Lockers, who previously lived in a house that was twice the size of the condo with a well-tended garden, always entertained on a grand scale inside and out, with candlelit tables, linen cloths and masses of roses.
Initially, Locker thought he could stay in those long-familiar surroundings if he changed the look.
So he replaced the dark floors with pale grey wood and repainted the dark jewel-toned walls with bright white.
But the sad memories lingered, despite the cosmetic facelift. After all, he and Victoria had met when he was 16 and she was 18 and they were together 53 years.
So this year, he sold the house and moved into the Songhees condo.
“The best thing about this place is I don’t feel lonely here,” said Locker, whose previous garden had a tall, manicured hedge that made him feel a little cut off when suddenly on his own.
“My eldest son came over here the other day and said: ‘Dad it feels like you have a home again.’ ”
It was a major effort to downsize, because Locker had a lot of furniture, including some large pieces.
“It was hard to give up so many of my favourite big pieces of furniture, but what was nice was, my sons took many of them, including our Chinese tables and green leather sofa.”
He managed to find room for the large sideboard from his old dining room, but the former dining table went to a friend and was replaced by a smaller, round, antique reproduction by Lillian Auguste, from Jordans.
The 1,350-square-foot condo has a broad 150-square-foot deck that runs across the front of both the south-facing living room and den, adding to the physical as well as the visual space. It offers glimpses of the legislature buildings and Empress Hotel.
Inside, Locker has transformed the space into a handsome home — although he admits with a laugh that he’s gone “a little over the top for Christmas.”
Since moving in this summer, he has repainted many walls and ceilings, replacing the previous off-white shades with deeper colours, such as a dark smoke-green in the den, which is currently being redone.
He didn’t sketch out furniture arrangements in advance to see if things would fit. “I just brought pieces in, pushed them around and took out what didn’t work.”
He hung large mirrors and canvases by local artists Andy Wooldridge, Robert Genn, Harry Heine, Wendy Skog, Phyllis Sorota and British watercolourist Edward Simpson, as well as many pieces collected on his travels with Victoria.
He is not installing any crown moulding or other millwork because, although he has many classic pieces, “I still want this space to look like a modern home.”
That’s also why he chose a deep, down-filled white sofa with a faint silver-thread stripe running through it. The sumptuous piece injects a contemporary note into the compact living room.
Short hallways lead to two separate bedrooms either side of the living room and both have large ensuites with showers, expansive tubs and vanities. In one hallway, Locker has hung a Wooldridge painting, in the other a hand-carved Italian mirror.
Most of the furniture is from Jordans, including a Theodore Alexander coffee table from that designer’s modern classic collection.
Four dining-room chairs, by the same designer, include two “ladies” chairs without arms and two “men’s” chairs with arms. The latter swing round when not used for dining to double as armchairs in the living room.
One of Locker’ pride and joys is a large, round, handcrafted reproduction table from the Althorp Living History Collection conceived by Earl Spencer, the brother of Princess Diana.
Other favourites are two matching marble-topped tables either side of the fireplace, which Victoria found at John Brown’s store Mirage, on Fort Street, in 1983. Made in Indonesia, the two have carved golden eagle pedestals and were featured in a tony design magazine decades ago, said Brown, whose new store, Acanthus by the Sea, is in Sidney.
Locker noted that his late wife had great taste and a natural talent for interior design. They enjoyed travelling together and her favourite country was Italy — hence the painting of Venice in the bedroom. “She liked to live in a comfortable, elegant environment, but always wanted our house to be a home, not an ice palace.”
When it came to choosing a new residence for himself, the gregarious Locker noted with a chuckle that he didn’t want to move to “an old folks home.”
“I wanted something close to town for when I don’t drive anymore and a place with a young feeling, because I want to stay active.
“When I came to look at Bayview, I walked into the lobby, which is very minimalist, and felt this place had a lot of character. It is classy, simple and elegant. And I realized a person could do anything they wanted with a suite here. You could live very traditionally, with a classical European look or go high contemporary.”
Locker says interior designer Wendy Marley helped him choose the paint colours, while florist Debbie Lamb and Penny Campbell assisted with flowers and a few other seasonal decorations.
“And Jean Farrington at Jordans helped me mix my old and new furniture.”
He loves the fact he doesn’t feel the least bit lonely anymore. “I know so many people here already — it feels wonderful.”
Among other events, Bayview management recently hosted a holiday celebration for residents, with a 1920s theme and the cast of Chicago as special guests
“The security is high here and the concierge people are first class. Lisa, Jennifer and Andrew do shifts from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m., and are amazingly helpful. It’s so convenient if you have something being delivered. This place is very well run and it has a great workout room, car wash, pet parlour, kayak and bike storage …”
And Locker, who is an adept cook and entertainer, loves his new kitchen.
“It is better than ours was at home. The island works really well and there are two ovens, a five-burner gas stove [and] two huge sinks.”
He had Island Custom Cabinetry add eight rollout, soft-closure drawers in the kitchen and fit his wardrobes with shelves, so he is all unpacked and ready to lock the door and go on a cruise at a moment’s notice.
Locker recently discovered he likes cruising and spent six of the last 18 months on the high seas — another reason why a condo makes perfect sense.
