Lakeside
escape
stoney creek
retreat finds
enduring comfort
in craftsmanship
and restraint
Simplicity is something we crave
in all aspects of life and nowhere is that fact
more evident than in the home. Escape from the
static of the mundane world, after all, depends
on having a safe retreat. So even while we dial
up the intensity of our professional and social
schedules, we spend whatever free time we have
reinforcing the comforts of domestic life. That’s
certainly apparent in this lakefront condo, part
of a Stoney Creek enclave that took its external style cues from island resorts and its decor
Assembled with an eye
to detail by designer Regina
inspiration from the Arts and Crafts movement
Sturrock and her associate
and the discerning eye of Waterdown’s Regina
Laurel Nicholson, the open-
Sturrock Design. The award-winning develop-
concept floor plan takes ad-
ment by Marz Homes is lovely enough from the
vantage of the home’s natural
assets. The great room adjoins
outside, but it’s once you step inside that you
a spacious gourmet kitchen,
truly start to appreciate the perspective.
creating an ideal backdrop for
entertaining
by david young
photography by roy timm
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41
Millwork and materials evoke the design of the Arts and Crafts period (top)
and help create a harmonious relationship between form and function. Grids of art
glass (left) lend a spark of colour and subtle visual texture
If the embrace of a short-lived century-old
design movement seems out of step with the sunny disposition of
Mediterranean villa-style architecture, you need only step over the
threshold to appreciate how harmonious the pairing is. The aesthetic
disconnect is slight: both modes embrace clean, straight lines and
hand-crafted detail, and both shy from visual excess. In recent years the
Arts and crafts movement has grown more resonant for contemporary
homeowners looking for a classic look that hasn’t been exposed and
marketed into anonymity. The designers of the movement and those
inspired by it (Gustav Stickley, William Morris and Frank Lloyd Wright
among them) have left an enduring legacy of thoughtfully detailed but
not overly decorated pieces of quality construction, functionality and
material beauty — rich woods, metalwork accents and colourful art
glass. Minimal but palpably human, its aesthetic idiom stands apart
from the laboratory sheen of many high-tech solutions, and seems to
possess an innate ability to ground and calm frenetic minds.
A sense of ease is conveyed immediately upon entering into a doubleheight entrance foyer. An Arts and Crafts storage bench embodies the
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fall 2006
The great space (top) invites convivial company to drink in lake views and
striking sunsets. The rich tones of the wood and polished limestone (right) brings
the master ensuite into harmony with the rest of the home
ideals of beauty and function and anchors the airy space. Porcelain
tile mimics the effect of a geometric rug, a pattern picked up in the
raised design of the stair runner. Custom newel posts and stair detailing lead you up past a chandelier inspired by the period inspired, while
window treatments of patterned silk sheer and silk create the effect
of stained glass. An arrangement of shadowboxed door knockers on
the wall above the stair rise serves as whimsical point of interest for
both floor levels and help to resolve the potentially imposing vertical scale of the area.
Opposite the entrance landing is an alcove dining room furnished
in step with the period. A chocolaty ceiling defines the space somewhat more formally and provides a dramatic setting for the chandelier.
Cocoa tones are restated in varying materials and textures, resurfacing
in crisp silk drapery and valances, rugs and leather captains chairs
and lending the room a low-key air of authority and a signature presence. Accent details — silver, pottery and metalwork — enliven the
palette while monochromatic earth-toned landscapes underline a
[Continued on page 46]
connection to nature.
interiors
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fall 2006
43
Regina Sturrock Design
Above: a dramatic king-sized leather-panelled sleigh bed, flanked by marble-topped nightstands,
905.690.6789, 1.866.288.6056
anchors the master bedroom. Thoughtfully selected accent pieces preserve a sense of proportion.
www.reginasturrockdesgin.com
Brown, gold and crimson bedding, lustrous silks and suede accents impart a modicum of opulence.
At right: A chocolaty ceiling crisply defines the home’s alcove dining room and offsets the
chandelier. Cocoa tones are resurface in drapery, valances, rugs and furniture, creating a signature
presence. Complementary landscapes underline the home’s artful connection to nature
44
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lakeside escape [Continued from page 43]
To the north of the dining room, the
home broadens into an open-concept floor
plan designed to take full advantage of the
home’s natural assets, panoramic lake views
and stunning sunsets. The space is discreetly
divided in two by half-wall units: a great
room adjoins a spacious gourmet kitchen,
creating the ideal backdrop for entertaining
and relaxation. (A third half-wall adjoining
the central hall provides open cubby storage and small drawers for keys and mail.)
Assembled with an eye to detail, both areas
are characterized by their clean lines, judicious use of colour, luxe materials and custom millwork, all hallmarks of Sturrock’s
design sense. The millwork and materials
that evoke design idioms of the A&C period and strive to create a harmonious relationship between the form and the function of the space.
The great space’s furniture — dark brown
leather sofas with brushed nickel nail heads,
with accent cushions in varying textures
and patterns — invites convivial company.
Defined by a hand-knotted Jaipur area
rug with a strong crimson coloured background, the seating arrangement encircles
the room’s most prominent feature, a fireplace with a seamless limestone surround
and handsome wood over-mantle. That column stands as the only visual break in a wall
of windows that opens the room to a dramatic view of the water. It’s Lake Ontario,
but since land appears only at the far periphery, it might as well be open sea. Indeed,
say the owners, stormy weather creates the
illusion of being aboard an ocean liner. Window treatments, in richly patterned velvet
and crimson silk, are careful not to mar the
view; if anything, their visual weight heightens the natural drama beyond.
The subdued palette is naturally disposed
to showing off accents such as the customdesigned stained glass doors on the media
unit or the Wright-like geometric grids of
art glass used in the cabinet doors in the
kitchen and wet bar, which enliven the
space with sparks of gem-like colour and
subtle visual texture. The wet bar offers a
functional and visual focal point to both
kitchen and great room and features custom designed stained glass upper cabinet
doors, a polished limestone backsplash and
granite countertop. A substantial kitchen
island, topped with topaz-like “Brown
Antique” granite in a deep mink hue, serves
as a social hub and incorporates a main sink
area, dishwasher, compactor, storage and
prep surface. Chestnut glass mosaics by
Sicis Murano Smalto are inset into the limestone backsplash as a recessed detail above
the range and play off the cinnamon tones
of the maple cabinetry. Polished Pietra Piasentina limestone squares are integrated
into the hardwood flooring between island
and main cabinetry, and an inset limestone
rectangle defines the dinette space as if it
were an area rug. Those grids of pale, polished limestone lend dramatic ballast to the
richly toned wood flooring.
Drama is also present in the master bedroom, adjoining the great room. A leatherpanelled king sleigh bed, flanked by marbletopped nightstands, commands the space
but the judicious use of pieces of considered
scale preserves an expansive feel and sense
of proportion. Part of that owes to the abundant natural light: As in the great space, the
lakefront view is given due consideration,
with flat suede valances with silk side panels defining the portals in an understated
manner. Brown, gold and crimson bedding,
lustrous silks and suede accents impart a
modicum of opulence. Arts and Craftsinspired lamps with hand-tooled copper
bases and mica shades provide a sense of
period authenticity, and Asian accents offer
an exotic touch while also underlining the
ideal of natural beauty.
The master ensuite is a retreat within a
retreat. Custom ‘his’ and ‘hers’ vanities in
cinnamon maple with polished stone tops
stand along opposite walls. Designed like
furniture, the units feature open spaces for
towels and storage baskets, recessed toe
kicks, pilasters and crown lend a pleasing
symmetry to the room. (They also serve as a
reminder that Sturrock’s CV includes a line
of custom furniture products.) A sunken
Jacuzzi tub is in the centre of the room and
a nearby glass-walled vertical spa shower
expands the hedonistic options. The rich
tones of the wood and the polished Pietra
Piasentina limestone (used in flooring
and countertops, shower walls and tub
deck) brings the master ensuite into harmony with the rest of the home. The subtle
Asian influences at play elsewhere are most
explicit in this space: cherry blossoms in
simple glass vases and a bonsai, a painting
of a cherry blossom bough, framed by two
windows with pagoda-style cornices. Spacious and serene, the ensuite encapsulates
something the essential qualities of the
home: relaxed, inviting and crafted with
an insistence on utility and beauty. hi