With First Nations carvings, floor-to ceiling windows, Mondrian-style carpets and shimmering labradorite, the owners of this open-concept home have made a dramatic artistic statement.
“It’s practical and it’s tactile,” said owner Sherri of the 1994 home designed by architect John Keay.
The house feels neither old nor new thanks to its post-modern, handcrafted appeal combined with subtle hints of Art Deco and a vibrant colour scheme — a welcome change in an era when many homes are relentlessly beige, taupe or off-white.
Clearly these owners are unafraid of colour and enjoy using it lavishly.
Sherri jokes they have achieved a pretty good balance of “his” and “hers” colours, considering she loves red, purple and pink, and Bill likes to dive into aqua and other blues.
The entry is deep red, a feature wall in the great room is Prussian blue, the lower living room is sky blue, the master bath is drenched in juicy grape tones — and the extensive woodwork throughout is a unifying, pale-toned maple.
They have also decorated their home with a collection of art by people they either know, or that relates to places they’ve been, including works by Pat Martin Bates, Charles Elliott, George Hunt, Meg Walker, Jennifer Brenner, David McGregor, Pam Holloway, bill bissett and even a couple of Picasso prints.
The artistically intriguing Gordon Head home — which is being featured on the Sept. 13 Art Gallery of Greater Victoria house tour — is full of attractive features.
Among the most striking elements are the labradorite countertops and sideboards.
This semi-precious stone first discovered in Labrador in 1770 is treasured for its iridescence and was a popular gem in Europe in the 18th and 19th centuries.
“I love it because it looks like salmon skin under water,” said Sherri, who grew up in Campbell River. “Even though it is 21 years old now, it still looks perfect. I still feel I am looking at swimming salmon.”
Bill noted it was quarried in labrador, inventoried in Sweden and polished in Italy, so like the owners, “it is well travelled.”
Not surprisingly, it appealed to Bill as well because he is a mineralogist and their home has an extensive display of minerals from near and far.
He and Sherri, a communications specialist — both long time performing arts enthusiasts and supporters — were decisive when it came to what they wanted in their home, starting with lots of light and an open floor plan.
“I had my nose in the construction right from the beginning, and one of the things I am most proud of is we have only 10 feet of hallway,” Bill said.
“Our original design was for about 6,000 square feet and we asked John Keay to squeeze it down, which he did. It’s now 4,000 square feet and we use every part of this house.”
Bill calls himself an “avocational” architect and the keen novice said he and his wife wanted their home to reflect the open-floor influences of famed Swiss-French master Le Corbusier as well as the organic and harmonious architecture of Frank Lloyd Wright.
“We have done many pilgrimages to the buildings of Frank Lloyd Wright,” Sherri said. “While creating this house he was constantly on our minds, on our radar.”
They decided to build after living on the half-hectare property for two years in an existing home that they never really liked. It was the property they adored from the first moment they saw it.
At one point they disliked the house so much they put it up for sale, but changed their minds and decided to demolish and build afresh since the location was such a gem. “We knew exactly what we wanted to do differently,” said Sherri, noting they basically reversed the floor plan.
“We wanted the living space to be upstairs to take advantage of the views, and the bedrooms to be downstairs.”
Being artistic in her own right, as well as an enthusiastic fan of Mondrian paintings, she designed two carpets for the great room. In the seating area is a loose interpretation of a Mondrian painting — “although it does respect his balancing of feminine and masculine” — while a literal copy of another of his celebrated works is under the dining table.
“Our dining table was live-edge design before live edge even had a name,” she said, adding the wood came from her uncle, a logger who had a portable mill and cut the Pacific yew boards many years ago, then left them to dry in her parents’ basement for 12 years, before their table was made.
The contrast of rough-edged table and native carvings suits the geometry of the home, its clean and eye-pleasing lines.
“We spent a lot of time dreaming about what we wanted to build, drawing and thinking, and one of the things we really enjoy are the high ceilings and clerestory windows which make it feel so much bigger,” she said.
Her husband also enjoyed designing several pieces of furniture including the glass and labradorite sideboard in the dining area, and similar two-level countertops in the bathrooms.
Born in Washington, D.C., Bill describes himself as more of an engineer than a designer and someone who is passionate about sustainability.
He emphasizes there is no old growth wood in the house.
“That was one of the things we stipulated. We reused and reclaimed wood as much as possible.
“For instance the boards on our deck all came from an old, yellow cedar dock, and were re-sawn. Laminated structural beams came from Oregon, engineered wood “I” joists from Alberta and high-density furniture-grade composite board was used in the cabinets and covered in maple veneer from farmed plantations.
“We did this because it would have taken a heck of a lot of trees to build this house.”
They both credit Bill Hustler of Anderson Cove Construction for the high quality interior woodwork throughout the home.
“He had a team of crafts people working for him and one of the things that’s so wonderful about building this house was, the amount of love and work that went into it,” Bill said.
“That’s why it looks like this after 21 years,” Sherri said.
