Modern Luxuria Vol 21 February 2022

East Coast Country Living Meet Big City Sensibilities

Marie Hebson brings a little bit of cottage, a little bit of city, and a whole lot of reasons this house can be a home

WORDS BY MONA BUTLER

PHOTOGRAPHY SUPPLIED

Like usual, it all started with a floor plan and a moodboard, but when working with Hillview Master Builder, Marie Hebson has room to work thanks to thetrust they have built over multiple projects. Hillview leans away from contemporary or the hyper modern and so with that in mind, she went to work.

“I usually try to put two different style genres in a home and I like to put a spin on the combinations. This Jagare Ridge Modern East Coast has a bit of modern in the lighting, some of the plumbing fixtures and the upholstery, but we have that beautiful pop of color and the accessories are leaning toward more country. Just little hints here and there like the pattern on the floor that's geometric and a little art nouveau.”

Marie loves fit & finishes, like cabinetry and tiles but acknowledges that they are also a lot of money to replace. Unlike working with an individual client with specific tastes, a showhome must be designed to look like a curated space while also being neutral enough for people to be able to move in their own furniture and art after the showhome furnishings have been moved out.

“I try to make those as absolutely timeless as I can. We all know this floor plan, it’s not new. You know, you walk in and there’s a little home office on the way to the living room. What was new is that we created this little London telephone booth with the doors on the corners. It really opened that space up and gave it character and personality.”

Another gorgeous example of this is in the ceiling in the foyer. Instead of using the same tile from the floor on the ceiling, which would have been distracting and restricting, Marie traced the pattern from the floor tile and repeated it on the ceiling but in black, tying it all together without limiting a future homeowner’s options.

The key to designing and decorating a home that looks like the ideal dream home while also being a space that potential buyers can come in and picture themselves unwinding at the end of the day on the couch or doing art projects with their kids, is the accessories. It’s all in the balance of too much or not enough. When the perfect accessory cannot be found, or something arrives at her home office not looking as expected, Marie takes matters into her own hands.

“With all the white flowers that are on the wall, I wanted to add more depth, so I hand painted them with gold metallic paint. I also did all the silk flower arrangements myself, as well as the little succulent arrangements. I can’t have a house without flower arrangements! There’s also a little cookbook holder in the kitchen that when it arrived, it wasn’t the light blonde color I was expecting. It was more of an orangey, red color, so I sprayed that matte black instead.”

WWW.INTERIORSBYDESIGNAB.CA