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design and lifestyle in Newfoundland & Labrador
2019
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table of contents
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12 52 60
Dining 40 in a dining mood
Living 10 a masculine mood 12 a fresh look 14 staged to sell Sam Follett 16 slow living in the family room Marie Bishop 18 a place to call home Emily Campbell
Bedroom 42 glamourous comfort
HOME and Cabin 2019
42 66
Entry 8 mudrooms Jillian Thorne
Kitchen 20 subtle? no. stunning? absolutely 22 symmetry and texture 24 modern net loft 28 a different angle 30 old bones new kitchen 32 accessible spaces 34 buying kitchen cabinets Neil Matthews 2
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Bath 44 bathroom luxe 46 new bath old house 48 one of a kind 50 freedom to move 52 warmth, naturally Features 56 change is good 60 contemporary meets outport 66 one cabin two way Samantha Martin 72 tucked into the lewis hills Samantha Martin
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Better hearing keeps you open to meaningful conversations Oticon Opn n’s ’ BrainHearing™ technology makes speech easier to understand and remember, keeping you connected to those you love The better you hear, the more engaged you are in life – and being socially connected helps keep your mind active and sharp. Research links people with hearing loss with a higher risk of cognitive decline and conditions such as dementia*. The Oticon Opn™ hearing device can help. It uses BrainHearing technology to reduce your listening effort and make speech easier to understand. With Opn, you can stop worrying about your hearing – and start enjoying the moments that matter. * “Dementia prevention, intervention, and care,” The Lancet Commissions, July 20, 2017
C CALL ALL
(709)754-4327 (709)754-4327 TODAY TODAY A to to arrange arrange a
FR FREE EE
cconsultation onsultation & take take h home ome trial trial
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editor’s note
Change is good. Nearly every project in this issue is a renovation. In some cases, the homeowners liked the exterior look and bones of the house, but weren’t keen on the interior, so they gutted it and put in something more in line with their tastes. In another common scenario, the homeowners had been in their home for years and didn’t want to move, but they did want to make some changes. For some, they could finally justify that kitchen they always wanted, or the time had come to make the ensuite bathroom a more luxurious and/or functional space. These projects, each one of them remarkable for various reasons, look great, as you can see in the following pages. To get to this point took many people. Take, for instance, a kitchen renovation. That kitchen feeds many families. There’s the designer and their staff; the cabinetmaker shop – the cabinet designer, the salesperson, the people who build the cabinets, the installers; the countertop came from a shop that employs several people, and before that people were paid to excavate the material from a quarry and to ship it; the construction crew who did the demolition, rebuild, and final install comprises several people of various trades, including electrical, plumbing, carpentry, tiling, drywall and painting. There may be others we missed – the point is that these renovations put food on the table for many families. This issue is a showcase of Newfoundland and Labrador decorators’ and designers’ work, but it’s also a tribute to all those people who made each project possible. Thanks for reading,
Tobias Romaniuk tobias@downhomelife.com
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Published by
SPRING TO POWER
43 James Lane, St. John’s, NL, A1E 3H3 1-888-588-6353 • www.homeandcabin.ca
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Editor Tobias Romaniuk tobias@homeandcabin.ca
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Entry
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Why We’re Mad For Mudrooms BY JILLIAN THORNE
There’s magic in mudrooms. Journeys begin and end in them. They ring with the happy laughter of busy children gearing up for the big game, returning cake-stuffed from birthday parties or giddy from a school dance. Kisses hello and goodbye, joyously just-walked dogs eager to return to their favourite household haunts, the ebb and flow of family and friends celebrating all seasons. Mudrooms get a lot of action. Aside from hosting life’s small (but significant) dramas, what else do they bring to the proverbial table? It’s a form and function thing. Their raison d’etre is to prevent the clutter of outdoor shoes, coats, boots and bags from invading the rest of your house. However, their workhorse purpose needn’t come at the cost of attention to detail or design. Ideally, a mudroom is a happy marriage of storage and aesthetics. In the modern mudroom, storage reigns supreme. The sheer volume of ‘stuff’ that moves daily through the average home warrants an elegant solution to the “where the heck are we going to put this stuff” conundrum. Smooth banks of cabinetry open to reveal hangers, hooks and shelves for stowing seasonal outdoor wear. Walls host neat rows of hooks for the quick on-and-off of coats, drying soggy gear and hanging those grocery totes you always seem to forget. Generous seating is a must. We like benches and banquettes that hide extra storage — for receiving guests changing their shoes, supporting us while we wrestle with winter gear and cushioning the petite posteriors of little ones rolling out for their first skate down the block. Sturdy boot racks are a must for keeping footwear in check and durable floor mats save the day after wet walks or snow-day shovelling. Mudrooms are transitional spaces. They bridge the gap between our inside lives and the world outside. Despite their rugged reputation, mudrooms are as worthy of care as the rest of our living spaces. There’s room for beautiful tile, perhaps even (gasp!) in a chic, patterned lay. There are no boundaries on colour palettes; mudrooms can carry bright and bold as effortlessly as muted and neutral. Walls can be ship-lapped (the finish du jour for many mudroom mavens), chairrailed, papered or painted. Lighting can be industrial or whimsical, modern or vintage — whatever brings joy. Cabinetry can move beyond the mundane through clever custom design and clean finishes. In a modern mudroom, good design deserves to shine — after all, they’re a part of life. A part of ‘home.’ If you take a moment, you’ll find magic there.
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Living
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CONVERSATIONS MATTER, ESPECIALLY WHEN THOSE TALKS ARE BETWEEN A DESIGNER AND A HOMEOWNER. For designer Susan Drover, owner of SAM Design, these discussions – about what you like, what you want, what you do in the space – are an essential part of the design process. It was from these homeowner chats that she was able to discern exactly what they needed and wanted. Take, for example, this causal living room, with its cabin feel. Susan wanted the house to have a masculine feel, and to be somewhat moody, with dark colours. It also had to be comfortable. The house, built in the 1960s, is unique, to the point of being almost quirky. The architect seems to have been influenced by the modernist movement, although this house isn’t modern, per se. But it is very midcentury, with various oddities from the era, like accordion fold doors. Sometime after the original build was completed, an addition was put onto the front of the house, and a renovation gave the house a traditional look, with crown mouldings, chair rails, a curving staircase and other touches that didn’t match the style or feel of the house. All of these elements were removed in the latest renovation.
DESIGN Susan Drover, SAM Design BUILD Kildare Renovations
In the family room, the dark colours work thanks, in part, to two large windows on either side of the room that flood the space with natural light. For added warmth – as much emotional as physical – a wood burning fireplace was added to the living room, with firewood storage in a nook to the left of the fireplace. The wood stack to the right is primarily decorative.
The décor gives a nod to the owner’s indigenous heritage, with leather sofas and dark colours giving it that moody, masculine feel Susan was after.
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Living
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A Fresh Look “The house is well lived in, which I think is a tribute, really, to the house, because that’s what spaces are for,” says Marie Bishop.
The family room in this house is a well-used room, where the family gathers to watch TV, play games and hang out together. But it was starting to look a bit dated, and the family wanted to give it a fresh look, something inviting and cheerful. Marie had previously completed a cabin rebuild for the family, so she used that oceanfront property as the inspiration for this room. The green walls, once stylish but now dated, were repainted. The browns and dark woods of the previous iteration were replaced with light colours in soothing, ocean-inspired tones.
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The JC Roy painting on the wall gives the room plenty of colour, and adds to the bright and airy feel of the room.
Side chairs in a complementary colour add seating, while also providing a sense of symmetry.
The round coffee table, big enough to play board games on, sits between a pair of sofas, their curved fronts cradling the arc of the coffee table to give the room a cohesive feel.
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Living
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Staged to Sell
BY SAM FOLLETT
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As a home stager,
my approach to design and decor is different than my approach to most other design clients. The look and feel of the space is not necessarily about the homeowner, it’s about the potential buyer. The space needs to appeal to a market, rather than one specific taste. Light coloured furniture and white bedding and towels may sound impractical for the average family home. These are items that may not be used as often with the average design client; however, staging allows us to design without the boundaries of everyday life. Home staging is for the eye, not for comfort or durability. This allows the home stager to play with palettes, textures and finishes that we may have stayed away from before. Staging furniture isn’t lived in, the beds aren’t slept in, the dogs aren’t on the sofas and the tables aren’t used for eating. It doesn’t need the same durability or functionality that is needed when designing for the lived-in home. The look and layout is what is most important. When viewing a home for sale, the first impression is key. You have minutes to capture the potential buyer’s eye; therefore, it is important that the home is clean, fresh, modern and showcases the space to its fullest potential. Keep it neutral. We suggest painting the home before we stage, and the colours we gravitate towards are calm and inviting neutrals. Not only does painting the home cover up a lot of wear and tear, it also makes the space look bigger and more modern. As a designer, I love and appreciate dark and moody colours and bold patterns; however, staging isn’t the place for those. It’s important to appeal to the masses and show that the house is “move-in ready.” Keep away everyday clutter and personalized items in the home. When staging a vacant home, we don’t incorporate the client’s personal style or specific needs. A staged home’s furniture and decor will best showcase the home, not necessarily the taste of the homeowner. What we call the “selling rooms” include
the entry/porch, living room, dining room, kitchen, powder room and master bedroom. These rooms are a must when it comes to staging your home. The placement and layout of furniture is extremely important when staging, especially in larger rooms, open concept, small rooms or oddly shaped layouts. Furnishing a room actually makes the space look larger rather than the opposite. Staging an open concept space shows the client how best to utilize and divide the room. More than 80 per cent of home buyers find that home staging makes it easier to visualize the property as their future home. For example, staging a bedroom will show the client what size bed will fit and where to place it. Furnishing a dining room or eat-in kitchen will also show the client where the table is best suited and how many people can comfortably sit there. Designing homes to sell gives us, the stagers, more creative freedom. It’s similar to styling for a magazine shoot. We make the space look beautiful, inviting, a place you’d want to call home. We usually start with a cushion, rug or piece of art and pick the other items based off that color palette. We often find inspiration in home design magazines, Pinterest and by following fellow home stagers and designers on social media. Staging a home to sell is a much quicker transformation than when you design for the owner. Some of our staging go-to items include white luxurious towels, faux plants, white bedding (including duvet), upholstered dining chairs and stools and large pieces of abstract art with soft hues. If you were to come to our warehouse and view the pieces we use to stage, you would notice they are all mostly light in colour, easy to transport, modern and on trend.
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Living
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Slow Living in the Family Room
BY MARIE BISHOP
Similar to the slow food movement, slow living is an intentional focus on living slower. It’s a call to put away your devices, mute your incoming text, email, Twitter, messenger and Instagram notices. Not everyone has to know everything, all the time, right away. Thing is, it becomes addictive and we become obsessive. Everyone is suffering from FOMO, or the Fear Of Missing Out. It’s time to unplug and become reinvested in your own life, to reconnect to your family, your friends and yourself. Science has proven that everything has energy – even things we assume are inanimate or dormant. We react to and are influenced by the energy of everything around us. As a simple observation, take note of the space you are in right now and how it makes you feel. To use a phrase from Marie Kondo’s book The Art of Tidying Up “does it spark joy?” Are you comfortable, do you feel nurtured, supported? Is it warm? Is the lighting appropriate? What kind of mood does it put you in? Do you feel inspired to create something, or sit back with a good book? Do you feel relaxed or energized, or both? Are there too many things in the space that distract you? Is it inviting, or does it make you want to walk away? Take those thoughts with you and go through every space in your house, especially rooms where you spend a lot of time. We’re going to focus on one of those spaces – the family room – where you escape the world and reconnect with those closest to you. Of course, the look and feel of your family room will depend on your family. Whichever category your family fits, the goal is the same: to create a space where connection is key. Creating your family room should be a fun project, but it can also be a little challenging. There are so many options. It may help to keep a few basic rules in mind as you create your space.
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Be realistic. Measure it and draw it on a piece of graph paper. Understand the limitations as well as the advantages. Show the flow of traffic in the space, especially if there is more than one door or if it’s close to a stairway. Note where the windows are, their size and orientation. South facing will give light all day long; north facing will give very little light.
Furniture. Provide enough seating as well as the comfort level you want. Draw it to scale on your floor plan and if it looks good, mark it out with painter’s tape on the floor. Don’t forget lighting – lamps should be functional as well as decorative.
Choose colours that make you happy. Neutrals are great for the major pieces that you won’t be changing any time soon, but accents – rugs, cushions, an accent paint colour or small amount of wallpaper can go a long way in adding personality.
Incorporate the things that bring you joy. Tell your story: collections, photos, musical instruments, pieces of art or mementos from family trips or walks on the beach.
Keep it real. It’s a space where you can totally be you, where gatherings are all about connecting with your loved ones, sharing time together and enjoying each other’s company. If it’s not totally tidy all of the time, relax. It’s life, not a photo shoot. At the end of the day, it’s wonderful to have a place where you feel welcomed, nurtured and comforted. A room where you and your family can truly Love Your Space!
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A Place to Call Home BY EMILY CAMPBELL
Housing is a human right.
You may call it core housing need, homelessness, unwell inhabitants or housing challenged. Whatever you call it, lack of suitable affordable housing is becoming increasingly problematic. I take care of homes or “manage properties.” While some of what I do is assuring upkeep or that the physical condition of a building is maintained, much more of what I do is navigating human relationships. The homeowner wants their investment protected; the tenant wants a safe and stable place of refuge. Right now, in Newfoundland and Labrador, 30 per cent of renters are in core housing need. Half the lone-parent tenants in this province live in housing that falls below at least one of the adequacy, affordability or suitability standards as defined by the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC). Housing in our province and country is in a troubling place. Many within the housing sector consider consistent indifference and weak policy to blame for the current housing crisis. While we are shy to admit it, many of my clients are uneasy about renting to people who find themselves in core housing need. These are people, like single mothers, who are stereotyped as bad tenants. Having a bad tenant is a real risk when you rely on your investment property and don’t have many properties to distribute your exposure. So how do you make sure you choose a good tenant while also fulfilling a social responsibility? Most landlords and property managers will tell you that it’s “just a gut feeling.” And while that’s true, there are two specifics things that I look for. I want my tenants to be well supported and to communicate honestly. A successful tenancy is not predicted by socioeconomic status. What do I mean by well supported? When we are going through hardship, who will be there to bail us out, pick us up or hold us accountable? For someone on income support this may be a case worker. The young mother who just got
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out of an abusive relationship may have her family helping out until she’s able to get on her feet. If it doesn’t come up in conversation, I ask my tenants, “What’s your support network like?” or “If you come up short one month, who’s going to help you out?” You can ask a tenant if they are comfortable with you being in touch with their case worker. Most of the time, their case worker will be honest with you. Sometimes a tenant on income support is more reliable than someone who isn’t, because their rent comes directly from the government to their landlord each month. Things go wrong when communication breaks down. People have a really hard time doing something like not paying rent or causing damage if they feel their landlord is kind and has their best interests at heart. That is, if you take care of the house, are direct and upfront about your expectations and communicate regularly, it’s really unlikely that someone will leave a house damaged. With regular communication you can usually anticipate a problem before it goes too far. Any tenant/landlord relationship can be good or bad. Whether someone is supported and communicative is a far greater predictor of success than their income, or whether or not they have children. Housing is a human right. As an owner or manager of a property, we have a responsibility to provide good quality housing without discrimination. You just may find that taking care will reap benefits you never could have predicted.
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Subtle? No. Stunning?
ABSOLUTELY.
Knowing they wanted to introduce a real wood surface to the space, Kelly and Kiersten saw their chance in the lowered island surface. The butcherblock-style surface is made of birch, a hard and durable wood with a pale colour. They wanted a dark wood, though, so they stained the birch a walnut colour, which plays well against the real walnut flooring in the dining area.
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The lighting above the island isn’t your typical home lighting – it’s actually commercial lighting, sourced through a friend of the homeowners. It’s unique without taking attention away from the counter surfaces.
The island features a two-level design, with a table-height surface wrapping two sides of the island. This gave the space they wanted for socializing and casual eating, while the dropped surface makes the island not feel as large as it really is.
Kelly and Kiersten
at Property Projects began this kitchen design with the multi-coloured Vetrazzo brand countertop. The coloured chips are recycled glass, set into a composite material. Initially, Michelle, the proud owner of the new kitchen, wanted to use Vetrazzo for all the kitchen’s countertop, but Kelly and Kiersten convinced her it could be too much of a good thing, since they wanted to limit the admittedly expensive material use to one slab. Kelly, co-designer and project manager on this job, had the idea to mount the material normally used as a countertop vertically, allowing this brightly coloured slab to have maximum impact as a backsplash behind the stovetop. The oven vent hood is suspended from the ceiling, instead of mounted on the wall, to maximize the visual impact of the material. Getting to this point, of a final island design with the complementary wall tile, was a process of design and redesign, of working through various options and configurations, including the consideration of doing a waterfall countertop. Michelle approached the project with a few wants – keeping the corner sink, adding double ovens, and incorporating the Vetrazzo countertops – but that was about it. “Outside of that it was let’s just go and see what comes together,” she says. Among the first things to go was the wall separating the kitchen from the dining area. This gave them the space for an island, while bringing in natural light from the dining room windows formerly blocked by a wall. The cabinets mounted to the curved wall also didn’t make it through the renovation. To make up for the loss of cabinet space, a pantry was added off the kitchen in a space reclaimed from the garage, which sits adjacent to the kitchen. The rest of the kitchen is dressed in muted neutrals, to draw attention to the Vetrazzo counters. The cabinetry makes use of Shaker style doors to balance the contemporary feel of the kitchen with the traditional look of the rest of the house. They could have gone really modern with the kitchen design, says Kelly, but it just wouldn’t balance with the more traditional elements in the rest of the house.
The green of the pantry cabinetry is pulled from the countertop, as is the blue of the kitchen cabinets. In fact, all the colours used throughout the kitchen are pulled from the countertop material.
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Symmetry
Texture
and
An ordered approach, a neat and tidy environment, a feeling of balance. These are the promises of symmetrical design, which happen to mirror the feel many people want in their kitchen.
This feeling of balance and ordered living – the feeling that, when in the kitchen, everything is right in the world – can be transformative, life changing, even. Yes, it sounds like hyperbole, but it’s not. The world, for anyone paying attention to the news, is in a bit of a shambles. There are many things worthy of attention, and several ways we could all work toward making the world a better place. But we aren’t talking about the entire world. We’re talking about your DESIGN Charli Junker, Your Space Our Design BUILD Kitchen Design Boutique
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world, limited to that which you can see and touch. And in that sense, a kitchen renovation can be lifechanging, by bringing happiness where once there was resentment, by bringing joy to what was previously viewed as a chore, by providing a space through which one’s former passion for craft is reignited. This kitchen, says the homeowner, has made her life better, brought joy, and improved her quality of life. Design can be life changing. It may not be the sort of change that makes history, or that leads to a grand social movement, but it does bring happiness, and that, in itself, is important. We all deserve to be happy in our homes.
It is in these dual functions – providing both a space for socializing and a space for cooking – that we realize the reasons for expanding the kitchen’s original footprint. A wall was removed to extend the kitchen, with the fridge and ovens now occupying the space once reserved for dining. The added space allows for a spacious kitchen design in which baking, food preparation, cooking and seating all have their separate spaces, without overlap or interference. The result is a kitchen in which a person can entertain while preparing a meal calmly, with unimpeded freedom of movement.
The floor to ceiling drapes, in a luxurious gold tone, and the rich, blue velvet of the island seating brings a softness to the space and offers textural variation. The island, the focal centrepiece of the space, is highlighted by the seating, with the bold colours offering an invitation to gather. And while a space for socializing was important in this kitchen island design, fulfilling the need of a baking area was of equal importance. The drop counter, at the far end of the island, with a contrasting dark counter top, is intended as a baking station, located close to the wall-mounted double ovens that, otherwise, fall outside the kitchen’s main sight lines.
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Kitchen
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MODERN NET LOFT The Great Fire of 1892 left much of St. John’s in
DESIGN Doug Allen, Ulu Cabinetry BUILD Sable Building and Design
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ruins, a charred landscape where once a city stood. Among the first houses to be rebuilt, this downtown residence has resisted the ravages of time for more than a century and retains much of its original character and charm. Except for the kitchen.
This house, like many of its size, originally had the kitchen in the basement, and cooking was a task for the hired help. As times changed, so did the layout of our homes, and the kitchen eventually moved to the ground floor, placed at the back of the house in a space that was, likely, added on years after the house was built.
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The copper ceilings add warmth to the space, and were something the homeowner wanted to include, but was unsure whether or not they would fit, until Doug assured him the look would work.
The layers of surfaces, with open nooks built into the cabinetry and cabinet tops are surfaces designed for object display. Mark has an affinity for cultural artifacts, like the glass milk bottle from the now-defunct Kenmount Dairy displayed on a cabinet top.
The kitchen remains in the same spot today, although vastly different from its previous incarnation. Mark likes his house and the old-time character of it, but he was never really struck on the kitchen, which he refers to as a ’90s-era kitchen with an awkward layout. One day, he decided he wanted a kitchen that he actually liked, and brought in Doug Allen of Ulu Cabinetry to design a new space. Using “modern net loft” as a guideline, Doug had some fun with the design, creating a beautiful and functional space. Design is a collaborative process, says Doug, and any well-executed home design needs to take into consideration the wants and needs of the homeowner. The placement of the kitchen, off the back of the house and separated from the other living spaces, allowed for a completely different look in this room without ruining the feel of the house. It is, says Mark, pretty much the only room in the house that could be updated without concern for sacrificing the home’s character. Most kitchens have the cabinets and countertops in a somewhat linear pattern, but this isn’t most kitchens. The pantry cabinets begin in the far corner of the kitchen, adjacent to the dining nook, with tall doors stretching from the floor nearly to the ceiling before intersecting with the counter, where they rest above the surface. The span is unified by a continuous grain pattern of white oak across the door fronts. In addition to improving function and utility, the redesign has once again made this kitchen a livable space. “I really enjoy it and want to be in here more and spend more time just hanging out,” says Mark. 26
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Eclectic is a fair description of Mark’s taste and home décor style, and Doug wanted the new kitchen to reflect that – it mixes retro, ’50s-style appliances, Victorian ceiling treatments and modern cabinetry.
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Kitchen
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a
Different angle 28
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Unconventionally shaped kitchens
can sometimes look awkward, but this one, through good design, avoids that problem. The quirks of the house were celebrated and incorporated into the design to create a functional kitchen with a distinct look. A stairway to the lower level separates the dining room from the kitchen, and the slightly dropped ceiling above the stairway has a unique geometric design. After removing the walls surrounding the stairway and replacing them with a glass safety barrier, Susan Drover of SAM Design referenced that ceiling shape in the shape of the island. It’s a subtle design feature but it really adds to the space. In addition to opening up the sight lines to the dining room, the removal of walls allowed Susan to create a kitchen with better flow, while also adding much needed space for cabinetry. While by no means an open concept house – walking through the house is a journey of discovery – the kitchen now feels more like a part of the house, rather than an isolated room.
DESIGN Susan Drover, SAM Design BUILD Kildare Renovations
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OldBones
NEWKITCHEN
The island has a white countertop with a sapele-stained birch eating bar. With dark counters around the perimeter – reused from the previous kitchen incarnation – the white really stands out. The sapele colour is carried through the house, appearing in the dining/living area ceiling beams and a wood wall containing the stairs.
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The metal surfaces throughout the kitchen are a champagne bronze in a contemporary style.
The backsplash is natural, untreated slate laid in a herringbone pattern. The floor is also slate, but with a treatment.
This is a 1930s
It also had a large yard, a central location, and a double car garage. If only something could be done about the inside… Sherry-Lynn and her husband, who recently moved back to St. John’s after several years away, were renting a house while they looked for something to call their own. They looked at this house several times, attracted by the home’s exterior and the indoor parking, but the inside of the house kept pushing them away. If only the house didn’t have so many walls, they thought. But maybe it didn’t need all those walls? The couple visited the house yet again with a contractor, who assured them that yes, they could remove some walls and make the modifications they wanted. The result is a stylish, beautifully appointed contemporary home inside a classic shell, featuring a kitchen by Modern Millwork and Cabinetry built on the homeowner’s desire for a gender-neutral colour palette and a large island.
house, and it had many of the things you’d expect from a house of that vintage – a lack of insulation in parts; a small, galley-style kitchen; and a layout that doesn’t quite work with the way we live in our homes today. DESIGN & BUILD Modern Millwork
Extra storage is hidden under the seating side of the island, with no hardware to get in the way.
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Accessible Spaces Accessibility was the main focus for Nicky Allen when she was designing this kitchen. The homeowner needed a wheelchair accessible space and had brought in an architect to expand the house to make room for a larger kitchen, while also adding an elevator and a new master bedroom and ensuite. Although the kitchen had a rough plan, it wasn’t accessible. Nicky remedied that with her design considerations. In addition to making the kitchen larger, the renovation also gave room for a pantry, which Nicky outfitted with open cabinets, without doors, because in a wheelchair, opening doors in a tight space can be difficult, she says. The cabinets reach high above the countertops because there are others in the house not confined to a chair. This kitchen is now one of the favourite rooms in the house and where the owners find themselves spending much of their time. 32
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In the kitchen, the floor spaces were widened to accommodate a wheelchair, and one end of the island was lowered as well. Because the cooking will be done by the non wheelchair users in the house, the cooking and food prep surfaces are at a standard height.
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The island uses a beautiful piece of stone with crystalline highlights, which Nicky kept as one piece by doing a waterfall drop-down to the lower level. The lower level was made large enough to accommodate the entire family of four, so that it serves as both a dining area and an accessible work or food prep space.
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Buying kitchen cabinets BY NEIL MATTHEWS
The cabinet advice
I’m offering is based on 25 years experience specializing in cabinet installation. An installer will recognize quality and quirks better than anyone else in the industry, as we are completely hands-on with the on-site product. An installer has seen almost every possible product issue that can arise. We know what works, as well as what is bad news. The same footprint for your kitchen can range in price by thousands of dollars from different suppliers. You really need to know what level of quality you are wishing to end up with and understand why there can be such a huge range in pricing. Let’s break it down to the construction basics so you can understand what elements are important to you, what to look for and the right questions to ask your supplier.
THE CABINET BOX OR CARCASS SIDES (GABLES), TOPS AND BOTTOMS Will likely always be made from 5/8" – 3/4" thick melamine panels with color appropriate vinyl or veneer edge banding. Cabinetry with glass doors will often be made of staingrade material such as veneer, or paint grade material such as MDF (Medium Density Fibre) core material. MID SHELVES Most will again be 5/8" melamine material. This is fine. However, you may look for or request 3/4" as this will withstand more flex over time, as you can well imagine the weight each shelf is holding. On that note, any cabinet wider than 21" should have a centre hole drilled in the back of the cabinet for a rear shelf clip support to avoid almost instant sag when loaded. All cabinet shelving should be adjustable in height as opposed to fixed.
CABINET BACKS Most cabinet manufacturers have now switched to 5/8" solid backs. Excellent! This is a superior product in terms of strength, rigidity and true square of the product during installation. Some manufactures are still using 1/8" or 1/4" masonite backs with screw strips. You can easily tell by opening the door and pushing on the back of the cabinet – if there is flex it is a masonite back.
DRAWER BOXES As a bare minimum, look for the same quality as the cabinet box: melamine sides with a solid 5/8" melamine bottom. Wooden Dovetail boxes look great and are perhaps amongst some of the most durable product. Some of the metal drawer boxes offered today are fairly impressive with great visual appeal, weight load capacity, smooth range of motion, as well as built in undermount slides and easy adjustment mechanisms. Continued page 36
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Popular Misconception
My cabinet boxes are not “real”or solid wood! Correct, making the boxes from solid wood is far too expensive. Also, solid wood expands and contracts with humidity levels, require more maintenance, and is far more susceptible to scratches, dents, and water damage from wet dishes. Melamine is indeed the best material for the job.
DRAWER RUNNERS Quality counts here, for sure. Drawer runner hardware takes some of the most brutal use and punishment in your kitchen, boasting the most moving components and highest weight load requirements with today’s demand for rollout trays, garbage/recycle bins, and heavily loaded pot and pan drawers that are typically 30" - 39" in width.
DOOR HINGES The hardware (drawer runners and hinges) used by cabinet companies is, in my opinion, where the “rubber hits the road” so to speak. This is perhaps where the supplier can save the most money in production by using either low-cost or state of the art hardware. So it’s up to you, the consumer, to know what the differences are. I encourage you to get past the face value and really do your research. Play with this stuff in the showroom, make sure you like the feel of it; compare it to other products so you know the difference.
DOORS & DRAWER FRONTS There are literally hundreds, if not thousands, of styles, colours and species of product out there from solid wood, to painted MDF, to thermo-foil wraps. This is really all a matter a preference, considered to be the face or the “eye candy” of the cabinet. My advice here is to look for smooth, consistent finishing in whatever product you choose. In my opinion, lacquer finishes are far superior to any other finish on solid wood and paint grade product for consistency, hardness of finish and durability. Thermo-foil wraps have come a long way, are very durable, and offer some really exciting alternatives to solid wood, so don’t be afraid of this product.
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Shopping Hints The product you view in the supplier showroom is probably the best-case scenario for your expectations of what will end up in your home. If there are questionable subtleties here, you should expect at least the same when it ends up at your door. Don’t just stand back and look at the product from a distance; rub your hands over the surface, looking for a smooth, consistent finish on cabinetry faces. Open the doors and inspect the interiors for shelf chipping, exposed screw heads, multiple attempts to hit studs with no effort to conceal, poor screw placement, no cosmetic screw caps etc. This may be good insight into installation ability and professional attitude. Compare. This is expensive stuff! If you settle on the first pretty kitchen you see, you’re not giving yourself a chance to know any better. This is one area you really need to practise due diligence. Research and, if at all possible, ask for referrals from people you know who can give you some insight into the whole process. Be confident in your designer’s ability, experience and knowledge of the product. Be sure you are well aware of product turn around times; installation qualifications, warranties, and warranty wait times.
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Dining
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The table, a large live-edge slab, is the focal piece of the space, done in a dark tone, similar to the kitchen. The rug under the table brings in some colour.
The fireplace is original to the house, and brings a feeling of comfort and coziness to the dining area.
In a Dining Mood
Large windows bathe this moody dining room in natural light, giving it a bright, inviting feeling.
DESIGN Susan Drover, SAM Design BUILD Kildare Renovations
Susan Drover of SAM Design worked with Kildare Renovations to complete the work. Structurally, not much was changed here, aside from the removal of a wall around the stairs to improve sight lines to the kitchen. The walls were plastered and replastered several times because as the light changed throughout the day they would notice places on the wall that needed attention. “A lot of the effort in this house went into the subtle details,� says Susan.
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Bed
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GLAMOUROUS
COMFORT
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Charli used fabrics and textures to give the room a welcoming feel, including the use of floor-to-ceiling curtain panels to frame the window while also creating a sense of warmth and coziness. The large upholstered bed headboard adds to this feeling.
“This is my favourite bedroom that I’ve ever designed.”
Everything in this room just came together very well, says Charli Junker, designer and owner of Your Space, Our Design, of this master bedroom and ensuite makeover. In the bedroom, the changes were largely cosmetic. The walls were given a fresh coat of paint, the pre-existing window seat was given new seat cushions, the light fixtures were replaced, new window coverings were brought in, and the bed was replaced with a new upholstered sleigh bed. Those alterations were enough to create a significant change in how the people who live here interact with the room. Previously, the bedroom was used only for sleeping. Now, the window seat is an often-used reading spot. “I just love the texture and feel of this room,” says Charli. In the ensuite bathroom, the work was far more than just cosmetic. The room was stripped bare, the corner Jacuzzi tub was replaced with a standalone soaker tub, the toilet was realigned so that it sat perpendicular to the wall, the shower was rebuilt, and the bathroom was given more storage through the use of pantry cupboards on either side of the vanity.
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NEW BATH OLD HOUSE
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“It’s worth it to go through the work to pull off something like this because you don’t see something like this every day,” says contractor Neil Matthews, of Trendsetter Renovations. He did the work on this bathroom, designed by Wanda Young of Wanda Young Interior Design. The design goal, says Wanda, was to create a spa-like bathroom. But they didn’t want to go too glitzy or contemporary, because it wouldn’t fit with the character of this older home. Wanda used penny tiles and a stained-glass style window to bring that old-home character into the bathroom. She used patterned tile to create a feature wall visible through the glass shower wall when entering the bathroom.
Penny tile was used above the toilet for visual interest, and a heated towel rack keeps bath towels warm.
Before any of this could be done, Neil’s team had quite a bit of work to do on the mechanical. The shower was relocated and expanded into a double shower, which means all new plumbing and drainpipes had to be run. And because the shower floor is flush with the rest of the bathroom, they had to cut into the floor, lower it, lay down the sloped shower floor pan, then build it all back up. Additionally, waterproofing had to be laid throughout the bathroom to minimize the possibility of leaks.
DESIGN Wanda Young, Wanda Young Interior Design BUILD Trendsetter Renovations
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BATHROOM LUXE
Although Charli usually prefers to use a muted blue, she went with a bright blue in this space to make it feel light, airy and more joyous. And it also plays well with the mirror, she says.
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EXPANDING
this ensuite bathroom into the former walk-in closet gave Charli Junker of Your Space Our Design the room to create a luxe bathroom with room for storage as well as a freestanding tub. The new walkin closet was placed in a formerly unused portion of the attic, on the same level as the bedroom and ensuite.
The soaker tub has a classic, vintage look that matches the homeowner’s traditional taste and style. It’s paired with a table that has a gold base and dark top to tie in with the bronze lighting. The floor-to-ceiling curtains behind the tub add softness to a space otherwise filled with hard surfaces, while also accentuating the height of the room. Across from the tub, an armoire style built-in provides storage.
The double vanity provides more storage, with gold hardware and cast iron, patterned sinks providing a luxe feeling. The full height mirror makes the bathroom feel larger, but also has a more practical use, too – the homeowners are tall and needed a high mirror. The use of wall sconces instead of vanity lights also helped create more height in the mirror.
The floor tiles, a porcelain in a marble look, are large, at 24 by 48 inches, and were chosen both for the look and the way they make the room feel larger.
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One of
a kind
Modern Millwork and Cabinetry designed and built this bathroom vanity to have a mid-century modern feel, while also having the look and feel of a piece of furniture.
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Freedom to Move
Designed by Nicky Allen with accessibility in mind, this bathroom features a wheelchair-height vanity and a roll-in shower with plenty of floor space for maneuvering around.
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Proudly dly serving Prou industry, industry tryy, tradespeople, tradespeop le, home & cabin owners in the Atlantic provinces for
years. ears. 70 7 0 ye
Let us us pu putt ou ourr experience & knowledge to work for you! you! 222 Kenmount Road, St. John’s 20 Maple Valley Road, Corner Brook 170 Akerley Boulevard, Dartmouth
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Warmth, Naturally
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A warm look using natural materials with more functionality – that was the direction Wanda Young, of Wanda Young Interior Designs, was given for this ensuite bathroom renovation.
To make the ensuite more functional, the former single sink was replaced by a double vanity, the corner Jacuzzi tub was replaced with a standalone soaker tub, and the shower was replaced with a larger version. A window was added to bring in more natural light. In the shower, a herringbone patterned faux-wood tile was used as an accent, while a feeling of roominess in the bathroom is maintained by using a frameless clear glass shower enclosure.
Wanda chose solid walnut for the vanity, paired with walnut window blinds, for their colour and feeling of warmth. Walnut, Wanda notes, ages well and will look good for years.
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HOME
change is
good
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Change
everything about the way you live at home. It’s a bold statement, and although not what they set out to do, it’s what Neil and Shelly Matthews ended up doing when they bought a rental property near Memorial University in St. John’s.
Like many houses in the neighbourhood, it was about 60 or 70 years old, and the garage had been converted to a rental suite some 25 or so years ago to capitalize on the pool of students needing a place to call home. The original plan was to keep the house as a two apartment income property, after doing a bit of work on it. The plan changed, and the rental property became their home. But not before a significant amount of work was done.
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Neil, who owns Trendsetter Renovations, has decades of experience renovating homes, so he knew what he was getting into. When they bought the house, “It was just in the most terrible shape ever,” he says, but it was mostly cosmetic – some new paint, new carpet, and other touches, including a new roof – should do the trick to get the garage-turned-apartment ready to rent, he figured. Then the roofers called. Something had let go up there. Neil climbed a ladder, cut an access hole in the ceiling, and had a look. It was bad. All the trusses had been cut and there was, he says, some weird stuff going on. His reaction? “Oh man, I’m in for it now.” The job would become a full gut, back to the studs, as Neil and his crew fixed all the problems. They put in new everything – electrical, plumbing, drywall, and everything else between the exterior walls. Right, that’s done, let’s put somebody in there and start on the main house, Neil and Shelly told themselves. It should be a fairly simple, straightforward job, they figured. The larger side of the house is 600 square feet on the main level and, being an old house, was walled off for a separate kitchen, dining room, living room and hallway. Some of those walls had to go.
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With one wall down, they saw the potential for a more livable space if they removed another wall or three. But one of those walls was holding up the second storey. “Next thing you know,” says Neil, “we’re into calling the engineer, saying we’re taking out a load bearing wall, what do we have to do?” What they had to do would take six guys, three on each side, lifting a large metal I-beam, some 15 feet long, higher and higher up the wall – lift, rest on temporary supports, move to the other side, lift, rest on temporary supports, repeat – until it was finally close enough to bring in hydraulic jacks to place it in its final position. With an eighth of an inch clearance, they settled the beam into place atop supports that would carry the load down through to the concrete basement floor and removed the temporary false walls that were, until now, holding the load of the second storey. 58
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“It was a cool process. I loved it,” says Neil. As the renovation progressed, they found problems and bad former renovations every time they peeled back a piece of drywall. Once again, the renovation would become a full gut of the house. The plan at this point was still to make it a rental unit, albeit one with a more open floor plan and new everything instead of the facial fixes they had originally intended. The entire house was rewired and replumbed, and spray foam insulation made the house airtight and gave the 2x4 cavity an R22 value. It was, their appraiser told them, pretty much a new house in an old shell. At the end of each workday, Neil would drive to his home in Conception Bay South. He would go past the large yard, into the completely renovated house done in a traditional style. Neil describes it as a significant step up from builder grade, and somewhat of a niche property, explaining part
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of the reason it had sat on the real estate market for the past two years. Then one day, a young couple came by to view the house, liked it, and made an offer. They wanted to take possession in a month. “That left us with a problem: where we going to live now?” says Neil. By this point, the rental house in town was getting to the drywall stage, and the couple decided they’d move into the rental unit temporarily. “And then it was, well, if we’re going to live here, we might as well make it nice and put in a few extras,” says Neil, and temporary became permanent. With the decision to make it their home, they changed some finish choices. The cabinets got an upgrade, the fireplace got a tile makeover, the appliances were upgraded, and the house became a home. In the process, Neil and Shelley changed everything about the way they live at home, from traditional style and brown tones, to contemporary with whites and creams; from spacious rural living to compact urban life; from driving everywhere to walking more often. “We felt like we wanted a complete change,” says Neil. He also wanted a yellow door. “That’s my most favourite piece of this project. That’s my sunshine door. You can’t help but look at that and smile.”
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contemporary meets
outport Traditional outbuildings of Newfoundland, with their open rafters, exposed planking, and flat sloped roofs inspired Max and Alison’s build of this contemporarymeets-outport home.
“It’s contemporary, with traditional touches and influences,” says Max. The couple designed and built the house themselves, doing everything except the electrical and plumbing work. Max has built several sheds and additions to houses, and renovated houses, but this is the first home he’s built completely from the ground up. The house size – 16 by 23 feet – was determined by a foundation Max had poured years ago for a different project that never materialized. Deciding to contain themselves to the foundation’s footprint, and knowing they preferred living in a smaller space, the two set to work figuring out what the house would look like. Like the old-timers used to do back in the day, they didn’t bother with paper plans and instead set straight to building it, knowing they wanted the interior to be open, and for the main floor to contain a kitchen and living room, with the bedroom and bathroom occupying the upper floor.
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Building the house in this manner was, in a way, similar to the way a jazz musician approaches a song – they know the structure of the tune, and where they want to end, but not necessarily the details of how they’ll get there. So they improvise. Or, as Max says, “We just made it up as we went along.” The only room that got a definitive drawn plan was the kitchen, because the plumber and electrician needed to know where things went. To figure out the final placement of appliances, Max and Alison used cardboard sized to their appliance’s footprints, then moved them around the unfinished kitchen floor until they found a configuration they liked. It’s unconventional, but it worked. Now that 62
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they’re living in the house, they both really enjoy the kitchen and its layout. “This kitchen works brilliantly,” says Alison. On the main level, there are plenty of interesting things to look at, like the lights made from an old block and tackle, the uniquely notched wall bordering the staircase, and the wooden fish used as blocking in the open rafters. From the outside, the window placement gives the house a unique look. Inside, one realizes the front windows are placed in a way that allows for a corner propane fireplace. Upstairs, the bedroom is bathed in natural light from Continued on page 64
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large windows that provide expansive ocean views. A sitting area for two, off to the side of the bedroom, serves as a place to read a book or relax, and makes the small home feel a bit bigger by offering a second seating area. Although the house is small, by placing the bathroom on the second floor with the bedroom Max and Alison were able to build an inviting and spacious bathroom retreat, complete with soaker tub surrounded by a cats and sharks print shower curtain. “It’s such a small place,” says Max. “You don’t really have a lot of ways to make it interesting inside, so we thought it would be neat if wherever we were, there was something that we could be like, ‘I’m glad we chose that’ instead of more generic finishes. Being a small space, I think we did a pretty good job of keeping it interesting.”
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Cabin
one cabin two ways BY SAMANTHA MARTIN
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Cabin life is all about time outdoors and with family. One west coast brother and sister have taken it a step further and live in copycat cabins beside each other on Pinchgut Lake, just west of Corner Brook.
The structural design may be copycat, but nothing else about these two cabins suggest one is modelled after the other, or that both were completed with the help of the same local designer, Holly Costello. Holly loved the challenge of creating and recreating two main living spaces for different tastes and functions, but within the same blueprint. She says it was interesting trying to keep the spaces organized in her head as she was choosing design elements like finishes. “Hers is a more traditional, country cabin style,” she says about the Bradbury home. “He has a more modern, even industrial style,” she adds, regarding the Randell home. Gertrude and Robert Bradbury’s cabin, built in 2010, has been the gathering place for the family for years, but was originally built to simply function as a cabin. When they decided to retire there, they knew they wanted to renovate the space. “After spending time there, it became apparent that in order to live there full time as the primary residence, changes would have to be made,” says Gertrude. “What we had built was designed very much as a cottage, not a home.” Holly had the inside scoop here. Having helped in renovating the interior of the Bradbury home in Corner Brook, she knew their style very well prior to taking on this cabin conversion project. In the end, a large, functional cabin kitchen, naturally lit living space and loft were transformed into a light, bright, well-designed space that harkens to its old life as the family cabin, but speaks to the lives of those who have decided to make this place their full-time home.
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“She wanted her kitchen to be a more formal, less rustic style,” says Holly. “The cabinets used to blend into the walls because they were the same wood stain.” An angled, red island, red sink and stained wood cabinets were given a modern country re-haul with splashes of the cabin’s character. The original sink was left intact, but painted seafoam to freshen up its look and match the island. The spindles from this key point in the kitchen were replicated for the island to marry the old and the new and give a more unified feel to the space. And because the couple were losing significant light from the wall of windows that had to be removed for the addition, Holly went with a very light cream finish on the cabinets and a calming seafoam on the island. The island is topped with creamy quartz and oil-rubbed bronze hardware finishes it all off. “She’s super sentimental,” Holly adds, pointing out a few of Gertrude’s keepsakes. “Everything has a lot of meaning. Most of the materials we took out, we reused in the house.” She adds that the couple knew they wanted a larger island and to keep the stained glass but were pretty open to anything, which she found helpful in letting her creative juices flow. “Choosing to live in a space, rather than just visit during holidays and weekends, means you have to ensure you have enough space,” says Gertrude. Many organizational elements were incorporated into the new kitchen. The island now measures 12 feet to accommodate a little table at the end where the couple eats most of their meals. A coffee station and bar were added to the corner to create more storage and useable space. Some open upper shelving was included to display some dishes and mugs. The pantry size was increased to incorporate the new Thermador fridge, now hidden in cabinet panels. Baking sheet storage for Gertrude, who loves to bake, was a must, as were convenient drawers for pots and pans and spices, and hidden drawers for smaller appliances like the toaster so the counter space could remain clear. A corner cabinet 68
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features a lazy Susan of recycling bins to stay even more organized within the space full time. When considering the overall space, Gertrude didn’t want stools that were tall and overpowered the sleek island, so she chose rustic, country ones with a short back to tuck right into the island lip. They decided to keep the lighting in the kitchen and added more lighting to the insides of the cabinets to brighten up the space even more and to highlight the gorgeous, custom stained-glass cabinet doors by local artist Urve Manuel.
Cabin Two Just a short jaunt down the dirt road, with only a collection of trees separating it, is Gertrude’s brother Joe’s new cabin. “We started from scratch,” says Holly. Joe sent her some inspirational photos, including the idea to incorporate navy blue cabinetry. “They gave me a lot of freedom. They wanted a more contemporary style with a rustic spin on it.” Joe says building a cabin was inspired by his dad’s gift of the property next to his sister. The privacy, expansive view and beautiful winters generated the idea of building something they could escape to, enjoy time with friends and family and, most of all, enjoy time in the great outdoors. “We looked at several layouts and felt this layout would be the right size and functionality for us,” says Joe. “We liked the open concept, the high ceilings, the light from the many windows, the natural wood and the mezzanine.” When you step into this cabin, the difference in style from its neighbour is immediately apparent. The simple design and clean lines draw you into this brand new space. The cool colour scheme of grey, blue and black give it a more masculine, modern flair. In contrast to the Bradbury home, this cabin is very simple in its design. “We needed a wonderful, elevated view of HOME and Cabin 2019
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the lake, a ready area for going out sledding on the trails and a feeling of warmth inside,” Joe says. “Holly was referred to me by my sister. I really like her approach and how she is straight forward with feedback. And I really like her taste.” The kitchen plans that came with the cabin were reworked to create a custom space for entertaining. “The kitchen is the heart of the cabin,” says Joe. “We use it for everything and will going forward. We haven’t gotten to spend as much time as we’d like there so far. It’s meant to be a Newfoundland kitchen for social purposes and we will have a few scoffs.” Joe pulled the idea of blue cabinetry from a magazine while in the planning stages of the design. “I really loved the denim blue with the white contrast on the backdrop of natural wood,” he says, adding they always knew they wanted to have colour contrast with the natural colours of the log cabin. “They were able to go a bit crazy and take more risks on colours and finishes there because it’s their cabin,” says Holly, who was able to be creative and bold knowing the couple would not be living here daily. Because this cabin kept the original footprint, the wall of windows taken out of Gertrude’s cabin to make room for the addition remains here, adding so much extra light to the kitchen. This meant that Joe could go darker with cabinetry and finishes. They went with shaker style cabinetry in blue and Terazzo-style quartz countertops in white, with a 10-foot island for entertaining. The quartz carries up to a clean backsplash. And here the stainless steel appliances are visible, adding to that cool, sleek style, while rustic, industrial-style pendants and chandeliers add a warm glow to the space in the evenings. “They wanted to add some contrast so I added dark, charcoal doors to play on that rustic, industrial style,” says Holly, loving how the doors, which are mostly pocket doors, turned out.
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Cabin
BY SAMANTHA MARTIN
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is located at the end of a bumpy, one-hour ride over a logging road with just a few turns. On the way in, Craig and Mary Hiscock always check the “moose bog,” a prime lookout over Robinson’s Bog. This time, one 8-point bull stands there taking in the afternoon. They chat about their grandchildren and their cabin to-do list during the 49-kilometre journey from their home in Corner Brook, dodging potholes they know are there before they see them. They know this road like the backs of their hands: every bend, every rut, every scenic lookout and every chance for a cell signal. Craig and Mary Hiscock started dating in high school after sharing the same street and meeting on the bus. And now, 47 years later, they drive (or ride) out to their self-made, off-grid, backwoods cabin every chance they get to enjoy the good life. Once parked, they stroll under the arch they built and up the worn path. The original cabin, that houses the kitchen and living room, was built in 1990 by “three fellas from the mill,” including Craig. In those days, it was mainly a guys’ cabin for hunting and snowmobiling. “Never dreamt at the time it would turn into what we have now,” says Craig, looking around at his growing castle.
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They added the bunk area as an addition in 2009, then added a bathroom in 2010, making trips to the stylish pink outhouse (the colour being chosen by their granddaughter) no longer a necessity, but a choice. This secluded oasis has been a work in progress for three decades now. It was quick action at first when they saw a chance for a rustic cabin all their own. They applied for the land in September of 1989 and by late November, they were approved and immediately started bringing in materials, mostly by snowmobile. They laid the floor and waited until March when they shovelled off the floor, put up the walls and made the cabin liveable within a couple of busy months. “The first night we spent here was with Mom and Dad,” says Craig, explaining that the roof was only half-tarred and water was coming in on them all night. “It was a wet night for sure,” Craig remembers, laughing. “We drove out, got another bucket of tar and finished it that next day.” The original roof was finished with fabric from the mill, where Craig was working at the time, and tar. “A lot of cabins were done that way back in the day,” he says. Now, the cabin and outbuildings boast red steel roofing, installed in 2011. The outbuildings make living in this one-room cabin doable. One shed was built in 2000 to house all their gear and another in 2010 to store the wood. Craig laughs, saying he doesn’t even have one shed at his home in Corner Brook. Continued page 76
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Now they have the family cabin where everyone gathers, and that’s exactly what they planned for. There are four double beds and a sofa bed, so the cabin sleeps 10 comfortably. One night it even slept 14. Not surprisingly, they are on their sixth logbook now. The views from the huge deck out front are priceless and serene, overlooking an inviting swimming hole in the private pond with a dock beckoning for jumping. Mother nature helped optimize the sightlines here, where views of the pond and bog were limited by tree cover until hurricane Igor fixed that. “I was out cutting trees in the night until 3 a.m. so they wouldn’t fall on the cabin,” says Craig, who notes that even so, there were two trees laying across the patio when they woke in the morning. The cabin not only runs self-sufficiently (off the grid with 100 per cent wind and solar power), but was decorated that way, too. Craig doesn’t stop building and welding and tinkering to create furniture and new features for this place. “I pictured having a bar table in front of the window, so I built that,” says Craig, as he sips his coffee and enjoys the view through the front windows. 76
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He loves using scraps to create new, useful items. He built the patio wood stove from scraps. “I guess I got it from dad,” says Craig. “He was always handy with stuff like that.” Craig says 95 per cent of the material in the construction of the cabin and outbuildings were scraps from old crates at the mill. “Most all of the framing and exterior sheeting is from scrap paper machine clothing boxes,” he notes. “They are approximately two feet square and 22 to 24 feet long.” The numerous 2 x 4s from these boxes helped the couple save big time on material costs. What also saves on costs is the fact that Craig does everything himself, from plumbing to welding to carpentry. He built his own log splitter and trailers years ago,
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too. “I’m kind of a stickler for detail,” he admits, having painted the wood splitter meticulously. “When I make something, I like to make it as though it was bought.” Craig built all the pine kitchen cabinets at home and brought them in one spring after having to snow blow a pathway in first. The snow can get rather intense in the hills here, he says. One winter, they parked the skidoo straight off from the patio railing. When you see how high the patio is perched, you can imagine just how much snow there was for that to be possible. Walking through the open space, clad in simple aspenite for the walls and flooring, you notice names written on the floor panels. Friends and family got together and brought a sheet each to lay the floor one Christmas. Pretty sweet for a floor that used to be just brown craft paper and had to be changed out once or twice a year. The pine ceiling, however, took quite a bit more time to install. The floor is not the only thing in this unique cabin that 78
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has a story to tell. Old windows above the bunks came from an old truck camper that blew over in a storm. Craig and Mary salvaged them and replaced the glass. Two more windows in the cabin were reused from the mill. The light fixture over the dining table was salvaged from Deer Lake Power and Craig made the base to hang it from the ceiling. Craig, however, is not alone in his handy nature. Mary fashioned all the valences in the cabin and keeps a sewing machine around for mending and creating. A clock hangs on the wall between the bunks. It was made by their daughter in industrial arts class about 18 years ago. “It’s still ticking away,” says Mary. The wood cooking range, kept on all day to keep the coffee hot and the outdoor gear warm on the suspended drying rack, was also made from scraps. “It took four of us to get it in here,” says Craig, noting how massive and heavy it is. Old bearing cages from the mill are used as hot
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plates on this stove and one large one was used to create a one-of-a-kind pot hanger. “There’s always a use for everything,” says Mary. Creature comforts have not been pushed aside at this remote getaway. The cabin features hot and cold running water all summer, while the insulated water house provides water all winter and the stove keeps a tank of hot water at the ready. It’s no wonder half of this couple’s time is spent here enjoying the peace and quiet. Cabin days are marked with an “x” on the calendar. The day trips are marked with an “o” and swimming days are marked with an “s.” “The beauty about being retired is you don’t have to rely on weekends or days off,” says Craig. “Now, we can pick and choose the days we come in.” They putter, relax, split some wood, cut some trails and really take the time to appreciate what all of their hard work has gained them with this sweet cabin in the middle of the backwoods.
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