Summer2015

east coast

LIVING Inspiring home life in Atlantic Canada

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PROMOTION

A MAN MADE OF

WOOD

Perhaps it is the twinkle in his eye or that boyish grin which belies the age of its wearer. In either case people who meet Jeff Amos are quickly and quietly brought to ease. Here is an unpretentious man, equally at home in all settings and amongst all walks of life. He speaks with calm assurance on many subjects and is able to share insights and knowledge in a manner which would rarely intimidate. If he isn't already a country gentleman he certainly will be, should he ever entertain the notion of slowing down.

Jeff is most at home when surrounded by and speaking on the subject of his life-long passion...

WOOD. Together with his son Obe and a talented crew of craftsmen they carry on one of Nova Scotia's oldest and proudest traditions. The working of wood.

Jeff Amos Jeff brings his experience as a custom furniture maker, house designer/builder, and commercial retail designer/builder to the team while Obe, in his capacity as production manager, ensures that a mantra of "straight, square and sharp" remains ever present on the shop floor.

The real secret of the Amos Wood success story is the way in which they interact with their clients.

Unlike more traditional stores, here they take the time to understand what someone is trying to do by asking questions and offering knowledge. They recognize that many people share their deep passion for the beauty and enduring qualities of wood and yet aren't always able to speak the language of wood. At Amos Wood, staff and customer take that journey together until they arrive at a destination the client recognizes and knows to be their own.

Wood has been with us on our journey through life from the very beginning. As elemental as food and water it has warmed us, protected us, carried us across great seas, and allowed us to build and create as we evolved to take our place in the wider world.

So elemental in fact, that we often take for granted wood's great diversity and talents.

Yet each of us to one degree or another finds comfort in its presence and welcome it into our homes and our lives.

Today, we are witnessing a resurgence of interest in wood and to some extent it has arrived from what may at first appear the most unlikely of sources... technology. The Internet, in its role as great disseminator of knowledge is connecting people eager to share their love of wood. From Intstagram to facebook, Pinterest to YouTube, and beyond, people are sharing ideas and being inspired!

design millwork furniture

Amos Wood has become a destination of sorts for the fulfillment of those inspirations. Not constrained or limited by "stock numbers" or "standard sizes" they can often meet the unique requirements asked of them by customers. If they don't have it, they can make it. If a specialty wood is required, they will find it.

To be certain, they have their share of "run-of-the-mill" products and stay current with competitive offerings but it is their ability to go beyond the norm which has earned them a loyal and growing following of wood lovers. Many of whom end up taking advantage of Jeff’s design skills in the commissioning of one-of-a-kind furniture pieces.

Inside wall coverings or exterior siding... hardwood or softwood flooring... ceiling, mantels, stair components... and just about any type of moulding including historical reproductions, the Amos Wood team has probably done it or can do it.

A popular trend taking place in the kitchen is the use of live-edge, solid wood countertops.

Each homeowner may take pride in the knowledge that no one else has an identical.

What makes a man worth knowing? We say check his percentage of wood content! www.AmosWood.ca

contents

SUMMER 2015

16 Inspired summer décor

30

Halifax home dazzles with mid-century furniture and rustic wood surfaces

FEATURES

EATING IN

DEPARTMENTS

20 Décor: For the love of fabric

58 Master marinades

15 Currents: Inspiration and trends from

24 Décor: Frame by frame

64 Cold comfort

Creative ideas on transforming your space with fabric and upholstery.

Ramp up your next barbecue with our easy made-from-scratch marinades.

A fun DIY project, creating your own gallery wall is a great way to display artwork in your home.

Learn what ice-cream flavours are hot this season and how to make your own icy treats at home.

30 HomeStyle: Finders keepers

Retro accessories and salvaged midcentury furniture find new purpose in this renovated Halifax bungalow.

70 Summer-sipping suds

Craig Pinhey lists the top summer-session brews from Atlantic Canadian breweries.

44 In-Depth: Gateway to style

A custom gate can be a focal point of your property, showcasing artistry and your personal style.

48 Cover story: The next chapter

This new riverside cottage in P.E.I. is a multi-generational escape for one family.

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the design world.

40 Count on coleus

Carol Matthews explores how easily this versatile plant grows, bringing colour and texture to any outdoor space.

73 Buying Guide 74 Last Look Textile artist Rilla Marshall draws inspiration from P.E.I.’s vulnerable shorelines.

Welcome

home I

t’s great to work outside again. I just spent all afternoon weeding and edging new garden beds in my backyard. I don’t normally enjoy such backbreaking work, but this time I loved every minute of it.

Nature has taken on a special glow for me this summer.

I’m captivated by anything green, growing and colourful.

The leaves look brighter and the flowers seem more vibrant and smell sweeter than usual. Even dandelions look appealing.

The sunny weather means we’re on the lookout more than ever for homes to feature in the magazine. We rely on your input and tips to find the incredible spaces we showcase in our pages. Is there a home in Atlantic Canada you’ve visited recently that really blew you away? Send me a line about it to jhudson@metroguide.ca.

It’s easier than you think to be featured in the magazine.

In this issue, a Tweet from a reader led to the story about Suzanne Hickey and Steve Anderson’s cool home in Halifax.

This couple adores the mid-century look and they’ve created a home that pays tribute to this fun retro style, with salvaged furniture and lighting they’ve refurbished themselves. Nova Scotian photographer Bruce Murray’s gorgeous photos make their space glow with new energy. Turn to page 30 for more.

Our readers really are our eyes and ears. You know the artisans, designers and builders making amazing things in your communities. I learned about Prince Edward Island textile artist Rilla Marshall on page 74 after getting an email from Rilla’s former neighbour in Halifax. It’s great when readers share ideas.

Our cover story on page 48 profiles a beautiful summery home in Murray Harbour, Prince Edward Island designed by local architect Lorin Brehaut. I love how homeowner Cathy Lumsden-Bonnell took charge of the décor, sourcing the artwork, furniture and other details on her own to create the family home she’d long imagined. The stunning shots by Island photographer Stephen Harris make you feel like you’re right there playing washer toss in the backyard.

One of the best parts of my job is meeting the people behind the spaces. Our best stories are often as much about the homeowners as they are about the homes. I’d like to thank all of our homeowners for opening your doors to us over the years. This magazine would not exist without your hospitality and support. Thank you for sharing your spaces, and your lives, with us.

Janice Hudson jhudson@metroguide.ca Twitter: EastCoastEditor EastCoastLiving Instagram: EastCoastEditor Facebook: East Coast Living Magazine

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cleans

broils

bakes

like a Bosch.

The 2015 Bosch kitchen is here. Powerful, efficient and quietest in class, our dishwashers are renowned for bold German engineering. Now you can experience the same performance and innovation throughout your kitchen. The perfect balance of careful planning and elegant European design, the 2015 Bosch kitchen is ready for any challenge.

See the 2015 Bosch kitchen at bosch-home.ca

© 2014 BSH Home Appliances. © 2014 BSH Canada. All trademarks are property of their respective owners.

Davidson Food Equipment 116 Smythe St. Fredericton, NB (506)450-4994 ross@davidsonfoodequipment.com

Mac Arthur Appliances Inc 96 Mount Edward Rd. Charlottetown, PEI (902)368-2200 macarthur@macarthurapp.pe.ca

Wildwood Cabinets 400 Collishaw St. Moncton, NB (506)858-9219 info@wildwoodindustries.com

Feron Kitchen Inc 110 Chain Lake Dr., Unit 31 Halifax, NS (902)450-5144 1-800-565-4044 dferon@feronkitchens.com

Creative Appliance Gallery 38 Fielding Ave. Dartmouth, NS (902)481-3313 info@creativeappliance.ca

Dave’s Appliance 1 Sandy Point Road Saint John, NB (506) 634-1888 sales@davesappliance.ca

s d a e r y h c a e B

On our cover: Heather Bonnell Gosse and Richard Gosse relax in the sunroom of the Bonnell vacation homestead in Murray Harbour, P.E.I. Attached to the main house via breezeway, the space has a laid-back beachy vibe, with large windows giving incredible views of the Murray River. Read more about this unique space on page 48.

Photography by Stephen Harris.

Publisher Patty Baxter Senior Editor Trevor J. Adams Editor Janice Hudson Contributing Editor Suzanne Rent Graphic Designer Gwen North Advertising Sales Tara Joosse Meghan Lawlor

ey ss Journ A Sea Gla onfiction | $29.95 Lunenburg ri Hall | N Te

Keith Baker | Fictio

n | $19.95

& Soul ok of Sea 5 Little Bo 0.9 dams | $1 Denise A

Production Coordinator Stephanie Peters Printing Advocate Printing & Publishing

PRODUCED BY METRO GUIDE PUBLISHING For editorial and advertising inquiries: 2882 Gottingen Street Halifax, Nova Scotia B3K 3E2 Tel. 902-420-9943 Fax 902-422-4728 E-mail: publishers@metroguide.ca www.metroguidepublishing.ca www.eastcoastliving.ca To subscribe, contact Bonnie Marchand at bmarchand@metroguide.ca or 902-420-9943 or subscribe online: www.eastcoastliving.ca Canada: one year (four issues), $14.99+HST; U.S.A.: one year, $14.99 US. No part of this publication may be reproduced without written consent of the publisher.

While every effort has been made to ensure accuracy, the publisher cannot be held responsible for any errors or omissions that may occur.

Return undeliverable addresses to Metro Guide Publishing at the address above.

Volume 18, Number 2 Summer 2015 ISSN 1714-1834 East Coast Living is a member of:

East Coast Living is a Metro Guide publication.

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路路路

SUMMER 2015

Meet our contributors Photography for cover, cover story “The next chapter” Based in Charlottetown, photographer Stephen Harris produces work for various ad campaigns and publications worldwide. www.studio-28.ca “Gateway to style” Victoria Dekker is a Prairie-born, Moncton, N.B.-based freelance journalist caught in a torrid love affair with the East Coast. Her clients include Metro News, Brunswick News, The Chronicle Herald and Jezebel. @in_this_issue “Frame by frame” Heather Laura Clarke is a Truro-based journalist and columnist whose work appears in newspapers, magazines and websites across Canada, including the Huffington Post, New Homes & Renovations, and The Chronicle Herald. www.heatherlauraclarke.com @HFXHeather Photography for “Master marinades” Beth Dunham is a Halifax-based commercial photographer and professional food stylist. She also teaches photography part-time at NSCC, and produces a popular recipe blog at bethdunham.ca/updatesnews. www.bethdunham.ca @beth_dunham “Master marinades” Richard Woodbury writes for both local and national publications. He developed his passion for food after living in France for close to

a year when he was 22. www.richardwoodbury.ca @RichardWoodbury BRIDGEWATER Bridgewater Plaza 902.527.2212

DARTMOUTH Woodlawn Plaza 902.434.7220

NEW GLASGOW 980 East River Road 902.752.1234

“The next chapter” A 25-year veteran of Prince Edward Island’s daily newspaper, The Guardian, Mary MacKay of Clyde River showcases the people and places of her province. @guardianmarymac

GREENWOOD Walmart Plaza 902.765.0600

TRURO 46 Inglis Place 902.843.3273

www.atlanticfabrics.com 12

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“Cold comfort” Valerie Mansour is a Halifax-based writer/ editor who has worked on food television series and documentaries.

She also reviews cookbooks and for several years, reviewed local restaurants. @ValerieMansour Photography for “Finders keepers” Bruce Murray has been creating food and lifestyle photography for over 20 years in the Maritimes and in his original studio in Vancouver. He delivers compelling images to a diverse clientele of magazines and top Canadian companies. www.visionfire.ca @VisionFire “Count on coleus” Carol Matthews has been gardening for over 40 years and writing about it for more than half that time. Her work has appeared in magazines, newspapers, online, and on the radio.

Photography for “Cold comfort” Dennis Evans resides in Halifax as a commercial photographer. His work can be found in print and online. www.evansphoto.ca

“For the love of fabric” Heather Fegan is a freelance writer, book reviewer and blogger based in Halifax. www.heatherfegan.com @HeatherFegan

“Summer-sipping suds” Craig Pinhey is a sommelier and freelance writer. www.frogspad.ca @frogspadca

7 pm,

Seapoint time SEAPOINT IS COMING SOON TO HARBOUR ISLE Harbour Isle is a 22-acre oceanfront community located on Halifax Harbour. Phase One, The Hazelton is almost fully occupied. Phase Two, the landmark Seapoint Condominium is launching soon and will offer unparalleled value to Halifax condo buyers.

Seapoint is the first landmark condominium at Harbour Isle Waterfront Village. It will offer stylish suites, inspired architecture and active lifestyle amenities. Suites will feature large balconies with glorious views of the harbour, city skyline and the Dartmouth Yacht Club next door. Seapoint time is coming. It’s your time to own! Register for an advance preview before we open our Model Suite and Presentation Centre to the public.

• • • • •

Grand party room with gourmet kitchen Professionally equipped gym Guest suite for family and friends BBQ patio common area Village concept with planned grocery store, restaurants and other retail stores • And much more!

Waterfront Village Condos

200’s

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CURRENTS

currents Inspiration and trends from the design world

BY: JANICE HUDSON

Art direction: Janice Hudson

Into the wild A trip two summers ago to Trout Point Lodge inspired Halifax artist Karen Kulyk to create a new collection of vibrant oil paintings.

Trout Point Lodge is a remote wilderness inn located in East Kemptville, N.S., about 50 kilometres from Yarmouth on the edge of the Tobeatic Wilderness Area. “Its position is considered sacred by the Mi’kmaw people,” says Kulyk.

Lacking TV and Internet, it was a serene setting for Kulyk to create the drawings that became the 12 paintings of her collection. She found the lush tangle of vegetation inspiring. “When you looked up, you wouldn’t always see the sky because of the canopy of trees,” she says.

Silver Birch, pictured above, depicts the forest view from her room.

“When we arrived, I sat down and just started drawing,” she says. “I did four drawings of that view alone.”

Kulyk is working on two more pieces for the collection. “I still have more to say,” she laughs. “Who knew we’d have such a remarkable experience by going somewhere so simple. It’s the idea of letting the woods replenish you.”

Silver Birch oil on canvas by Karen Kulyk, available at Gallery Page and Strange in Halifax. www.pageandstrange.com SUMMER 2015

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Summer style

The latest decorating ideas and developments in design

Set in stone Bass River, N.S.-based stone carver Heather Lawson sources much of the stone for her dramatic sculptures from local quarries. She found the Wallace sandstone for this piece in the Wallace quarry and hand-carved it into an intricate sculpture ideal for a garden. Lawson is featured in Life’s Work: Six Conversations with Makers, a new series of short films profiling master artisans in Nova Scotia. Visit www.lifesworkfilms.com to watch the films.

Spiral with bird by Heather Lawson www.heatherlawson.ca

Perch is a new line by Urbio of sleek wallmounted magnetic containers in varying sizes and shapes, perfect for growing plants or stowing items.

www.myurbio.com/perch

Make a splash

Photo: Julian Beveridge

Vivid colours (and fun feline faces) embellish the unique porcelain mugs by Ginette Arsenault of Shediac, N.B.

www.ginettearsenault.com www.madeinthemaritimes.com

First faces In Niniskamijinaqik/Ancestral Images: The Mi’kmaq in Art and Photography, author and historian Ruth Holmes Whitehead presents over 90 compelling pieces of art and photography of the Mi’kmaw people of Atlantic Canada. She includes artwork centuries old created by the Mi’kmaq themselves, opening a portal into their unique culture and way of life.

Niniskamijinaqik/Ancestral Images www.nimbus.ca

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Growth potential

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SUMMER 2015

CURRENTS

Top it off Collaborating with decorator Michael Penney, Canadian company Homestead House Paint has launched seven new East Coast-inspired colours for its Fusion mineral paint line.

Perfect for DIY projects, the paint requires no wax topcoat and can cover almost any surface.

Fusion mineral paint in Soapstone www.fusionmineralpaint.com

High strung With its elegant spirograph shape, this new 10-light chandelier from Currey & Company has a handapplied silver and gold leaf finish.

Zenda orb chandelier by Currey & Company www.curreycodealers.com

Serene seat Made in the Maritimes (www.madeinthemaritimes.com) is a new artisan boutique at Sunnyside Mall in Bedford, N.S. that carries work from 90 Maritime artisans, including handcrafted chairs by Bobby Grace. A furniture maker in Lower Sackville, N.S., Grace created this beautiful Maloof-style rocker out of curly maple sourced from Prince Edward Island.

www.bobbygracefurniture.com

Modern geometry These recipe boxes have been screen printed by hand with a fun new geometric design, called the Wedge, by artist Alissa Kloet. Kloet makes a range of handprinted housewares at her Seaforth, N.S.-based company Keephouse Studio, and all feature her original patterns. For the recipe boxes, she screen printed the pattern onto birch plywood and finished it with local beeswax.

Lidded recipe box in Wedge design by Keephouse Studio www.keephouse.ca SUMMER 2015

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THE

BEST DEFENCE

FOR YOUR

DECK FENCE OR

To protect your wooden deck, shed, fence or furniture, there’s nothing tougher than Wood Shield Best Stain from Beauti-Tone. Made in Canada, long-lasting Wood Shield Best Stain is your best defence for anything our Canadian climate throws at us.

Exclusively at Home Hardware and Building Centre locations.

beauti-tone.ca

Online

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now at www.eastcoastliving.ca

• Search for recipes, browse galleries of exclusive pictures from our photo shoots, read about upcoming stories, plus much more.

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• Discover local designers, read up on décor trends and learn about new products for the home on our editors’ blog.

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For exclusive updates, follow us on Twitter: @EastCoastEditor @EastCoastLiving Become a fan of the magazine on Facebook: East Coast Living Magazine Check out our page on Pinterest: pinterest.com/eastcoastliving

@VisionFire “Billy the cat” is such a diva! Had a great time!

Wonderful house, wonderful people! @ReloveHalifax @ReloveHalifax it’s so fun to have you here! @SeaAndBeScene WONDERFUL!!!! @ReloveHalifax @eastcoasteditor I feel like I brokered the love there Ms. H ;) @Steve_Jess with @eastcoasteditor at the Atl. Journ.

Awds. We won silver, gr8 evening, food and company

With East Coast Living and

@PEIslandGirl I have the same print in black and red! Love it!!! @MadeMaritimes My friend Amy is the artist :) @prepit Lots of Realtors enjoying @EastCoastLiving mag this morning from @Staging_Pros event TY ECL

Your Facebook notes:

ENTER OUR SUMMER CONTEST for a chance to win the BOSCH Tassimo multi-beverage machine and Tassimo Second Cup coffee.

The T65 can read a barcode and brew the perfect cup of coffee, plus it knows 20 languages and can light up your cup as it brews.

Enter online at www.eastcoastliving.ca.

Contest closes August 12, 2015.

Congratulations to Sandra Blockader from Quispamsis, N.B., winner of the Feiss Carlisle 3 pendant light from Atlantic Lighting Studio.

Win on Facebook Enter on Facebook.com/EastCoastLivingMagazine to win a copy of A Sea Glass Journey, a new book by sea glass jeweller Teri Hall, published by Nimbus (available in stores in July). We are also giving away a handmade vignette by Nova Scotia artisan Kyla Williams that features sea glass collected from the shores of the Northumberland Strait.

Contest closes July 6. www.nimbus.ca

On Dine By Design East: What a fun event it was for me and my team. Can’t wait for the opportunity to do it again! Sappho Griffin On the Spring 2015 cover story: Stephen Kopp and Monica Adair are on fire!! Omar Gandhi On being short-listed for best cover at the Atlantic Journalism Awards: Congrats on the nomination! Way to go photographer Steve Jess and the ECL team! Emma Morris On what room you want to paint: My kitchen is super small and has orange tiles and white cupboards. I need to repaint the cupboards and was thinking lime green cupboard doors. I love colour!

Shannon Stone On creative uses for fabric: You can make cushion covers out of anything! Skirts, curtains, tea towels, sail material, even old cocktail dresses are being used. Joan E Boney Ratcliffe On Royal Doulton dishware at Attica in Halifax: Is the design on the plate by the artist “Pure Evil’”?

Hilarious that Royal Doulton would team up with him!

Very cool! Dan Quinton

SUMMER 2015

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For the love of fabric Creative ideas on how to freshen up your home with fabrics BY: HEATHER FEGAN

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SUMMER 2015

DÉCOR

D

amien Packwood loves transforming a space with fabric.

Recently, he worked with a client who reupholstered an antique fainting couch in grey-and-white animal print. “It’s taking something really old and putting a new fabric on it, making it come back to life,” says the interior decorator.

Part of the team at Interiors by Lynette in Charlottetown, Packwood sees more reupholstery than he used to. “A lot of older homes have older pieces of furniture that people don’t want to get rid of,” he says. “It’s better to reupholster, rather than getting something completely new that you have to try out and may not like as much.”

One upholstery fabric he’s seeing more of is velvet. “It’s shocking because everyone’s been trying to get rid of velvet, but it’s coming back,” Packwood says.

When decorating, begin with a fabric you love. “If you start off with draperies, choose coordinating fabrics for the sofa and toss cushions, and then choose paint colours from that fabric,” says Packwood. “It’s easier to match up a paint colour with a fabric rather than going the opposite way.”

For draperies, he sticks with linen-like fabrics. Linen is wrinkle-prone and just doesn’t hold up as well. “You can get some really great cotton/ polyester blends right now that look like linen,” he says. “It’s much less expensive than linen is, and way more durable.”

Tone-on-tone fabric is also popular. Recently, Packwood decorated a home with grey draperies, grey walls and grey furniture. “It sounds boring but when you have all these different textures on different fabrics—your linens, velvets, chenilles—it’s really interesting, warm and cozy,” he says. “You don’t need a lot of pattern if you [have] different textures and different tones in that palette. It will still look beautiful.”

If you do crave pattern, keep the upholstery neutral (try grey, cream or charcoal) and bring in pops of colour with drapery and toss cushions.

Both patterns can still be geometric (Packwood sees a lot of chevron and

ABOVE: Charlottetown-based interior decorator Damien Packwood reupholstered this antique fainting couch in a vibrant animal print for a fun contemporary look.

BELOW: In this family room, Packwood picked neutral fabrics and layered in lots of textures to create a warm and cozy space.

OPPOSITE PAGE: Some of the playful patterns by Bedford, N.S.-based textile artist Marilyn Smulders, and an antique chair upholstered in her fabric. She makes pillows, bags and small upholstery projects.

“You don’t need a lot of pattern if you [have] different textures and different tones in that palette.”

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“It’s taking something really old and… making it come back to life.”

RIGHT AND BELOW: Marilyn Smulders’ fabric designs feature colourful motifs of animals and of sea creatures. Look for her wares in Halifax at Attica Furnishings and at the Art Gallery of Nova Scotia’s gallery shop, in Dartmouth at Kept, and at Made in the Maritimes in Bedford.

trellis), but make them different sizes for more visual interest. “If your drapery is a large-scale pattern, then I’d do a smaller-scale on your toss cushion,” Packwood adds.

Gord Ladner has been in the upholstery business for 39 years. He owns Ladner Upholstery in Brackley, P.E.I. The shop carries over 20,000 different fabric samples and offers upholstery services.

When selecting fabric for upholstery projects, Lander recommends checking the rub count (the number of times you sit on the piece of furniture) to see how durable it is. A higher rub count indicates how long it will last. “Twenty thousand to 25,000 double rubs is considered normal-wear fabric, so getting a customer to use 45,000 to 50,000 is awesome,” Ladner says. “It doesn’t fall apart in a few years.”

For furniture upholstery, he recommends chenille, polyester-chenille, or acrylic blend. “That’s certainly the most popular,” he says. “The rub count is high, at 125,000 rubs, and the price is low. It’s a nice, soft feel to sit in, and it looks more comforting than a flat, shiny material does.”

While his fabric prices range from about $27/yard to well over $300/yard, Ladner can sell a good material in the $50 to $60/yard range. Something like cotton velvet is pricy. “They used it hundreds of years ago,” says Ladner. “We have samples of cotton velvet that they use in Buckingham Palace. It’s well over $100/yard. We don’t use it often unless someone has a nice antique they want to look authentic.”

Marilyn Smulders (a regular contributor to East Coast Living) is communications director at NSCAD University in Halifax, where she’s also picking away at a BA in textiles/fashion. She creates original screen-printed designs inspired by nature. “For that you have to use natural fibres because once it’s

FINDING FABULOUS FABRICS FABRIC SHOPS Fabricville and Atlantic Fabrics are reliable go-tos. Specialized shops like Patch Halifax, the Island Fabric Outlet in Charlottetown and The Fabric Cupboard in Moncton, N.B. are just as worthy. Some shops offer workshops to get your DIY projects started. Most upholstery businesses and interior design companies carry a range of fabric lines for clients.

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VINTAGE Scour antique shops, second-hand stores, auction houses and thrift shops. Fabric that is unused and in mint condition is best. Watch out for stains, thinning and fading fabrics, and handle these wares gently.

ONLINE Etsy, Ebay and Pinterest have endless listings of Canadian and local online fabric sources. Toronto-based Tonic Living is an online modern home décor fabric store that sells fabric, custom window treatments and pillows, with swatches available.

Check out textile artist Marilyn Smulders’ screen-print designs at ellemeno.squarespace.com.

DÉCOR

FABRIC CARE COTTON

MACHINE WASH COOL

HANG TO DRY OR TUMBLE DRY LOW

LINEN

MACHINE WASH COOL

LAY FLAT OR HANG TO DRY

Photo: Jay Hiltz.

ACRYLIC

MACHINE WASH COOL

ABOVE: In this cottage bedroom, upholstery fabric from Fabricville in a black-and-white damask print over pine board backing makes an elegant DIY headboard. Matching toss cushions from Rona complete the look.

screen printed it goes through a heat press, so anything that’s polyester would just melt,” she says. “I use cottons and linens, mainly. Plus they’re just nicer fabrics for what I’m doing.”

Smulders makes pillows, tote bags, cosmetic bags and does small upholstery projects: ottomans, benches and chairs. Her designs feature whimsical patterns of stylized woodland animals, plus island-inspired prints with lobsters, whales, kelp, mermaids and seahorses in vivid colours.

She also sells her fabric by the yard, and says custom orders are the best way to work. “You can make sure you’re making something somebody absolutely wants,” she says. “It can be tailored to their home or whatever use they have in mind.”

She has plenty of ideas for anybody looking to freshen up their home with fabric, from curtains, blinds and upholstery to table runners, napkins and tea towels. “I tend to use a mid-weight fabric that will have multiple uses. One that would be good for drapery but would also be good for a chair or a footstool.”

When it comes to DIY upholstery projects, Smulders says a simple piece like a bench or footstool is not hard. But other furniture can require specialized skills. “It’s like archeology almost,” she says. “I find pieces at auction sales and junk shops and I’m taking off layers and layers [of] old nails and old staples, and there’s a lot of disgusting stuff under there.” She once

HANG TO DRY OR TUMBLE DRY LOW

POLYESTER

bought a chair at an auction that had seaweed stuffing in it.

“Working with textiles is a great way to update your house because you can swap things out in the season,” says Smulders.

“You can be more whimsical with your pillow designs and you don’t have to have neutral colours. You can add a pop of colour by swapping in a pillow and make everything look fresh…It’s a little change that makes a big impact.” o

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Photo: Seaside Interiors

frame

frame BY

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BY: HEATHER LAURA CLARKE

路路路

SUMMER 2015

DÉCOR

Easy to create on your own, a gallery wall lets you showcase art pieces and treasured keepsakes in an eclectic way

Y

ou nudge a frame to the left, and then the gap seems too wide. You try sliding the mirror a little higher. Is there a frame tiny enough to fit inside that space on the right? Hmmm. Creating a gallery wall isn’t supposed to be this hard, is it?

Interior designer Luis Roman, owner of Studio L Interiors in Charlottetown, P.E.I., laughs that the most common mistake when creating a gallery wall is simply “winging it.”

“When you’re doing one of these walls, you have to plan ahead,” says Roman. “You need to curate all of the elements, lay them out on the floor, and arrange them until you find a composition that’s pleasing to you. Then, at that point, you transfer it carefully to the wall.”

Roman works mostly on commercial properties, and has designed beautiful gallery-wall arrangements in Charlottetown’s Prince Edward Island Convention Centre, including an intricate layout of starfish-shaped plates and glass beads.

“Gallery walls have absolutely been more prominent lately, not just with framed art and photos, but with alternative wall décor and 3-D elements,” says Roman. “If you have a large empty wall, this is a very easy way to get a high-impact look without spending a lot.”

Most of the time, Roman says a homeowner won’t have a series of perfectly matching frames, which eliminates the possibility of a tight grid arrangement. But you don’t need identical frames to pull off a casual, asymmetric gallery wall, although it’s a good idea if they’re a similar tone.

“Keeping the frames cohesive is a good way of uniting them, especially when you’re mixing a lot of different styles,” says Roman. “Try to keep them all the same colour or the same range. You wouldn’t want a maple frame next to a mahogany frame, for example.”

Start by arranging your most prominent items, and then fill in the gaps with smaller frames and accent pieces.

Add interest by incorporating pieces other than frames, canvases, and mirrors, such as keys, clocks and hooks. “The trend seems to be very eclectic arrangements, with all sorts of different things, not just all frames or all mirrors,” says Roman.

To keep your arrangement looking fresh, swap out photos seasonally, and update shots as your family grows older or brings in new members. You could update a hallway arrangement in November to showcase family holiday photos from throughout the years. In January, update it again with your collection of ski trip snapshots.

ABOVE: For the recent Mary Pratt exhibition at the Art Gallery of Nova Scotia, staff arranged a salon hang of various food paintings that chief curator Sarah Fillmore described as “a visual orgy of food.”

OPPOSITE PAGE: A gallery wall can bring drama and interest to a space. This grid-style display, by interior decorator Katrina Giles of Seaside Interiors in St. John’s, makes a dramatic focal point in this hallway.

It’s not difficult to create a stunning, museum-worthy display of your own.

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Photo: Seaside Interiors

Interior decorator Katrina Giles recommends leaving one to two inches (2.5 to 5 cm) between each item in a gallery wall. Grid-style walls like this one can be tricky to arrange because you must measure the artwork carefully.

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DÉCOR Interior decorator Katrina Giles, owner of Seaside Interiors in St. John’s, N.L., says a gallery wall can create a focal point in a space that lacks a natural one (like a fireplace, a picture window or a built-in bookcase).

“It allows you to display a lot of pictures and items in one large group, which gives them more impact and adds a sense of drama to a room,” Giles says. “With a little planning, it’s not difficult to create a stunning, museumworthy display of your own, starring the most important people and memories from your own life.”

Her favourite trick for hanging a perfect gallery wall involves something she calls the “57-inch on centre” rule. To find the ideal spot for the centre of your arrangement, mark the centre point of your wall (exactly 57 inches or 145 cm from the floor) with a piece of painter’s tape.

There’s plenty of measuring happening at the Art Gallery of Nova Scotia in downtown Halifax. A team of staff ensures every piece is hung perfectly, using mathematical formulas to centre the main work and computer software to position the surrounding pieces.

Sarah Fillmore, chief curator with the Art Gallery of Nova Scotia, says group arrangements are called “salon hangs” in the gallery world, dating back to the French salons of the 19th century.

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Interior consultant Eileen Crowley Couse of Emerald Interiors in Halifax created this fun, asymmetrical gallery wall for a staircase. She used frames in different sizes and textures, but all in black, to unify the look.

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Photo: Seaside Interiors

“Galleries were trying to offer more space to artists, and this allowed them to show as much work as possible, from the floor to the ceiling,” says Fillmore.

She says AGNS staffers often hear visitors oohing and ahhing over the salon hangs, and wishing they could achieve the same look in their home. “It can look so stunning, and it gives you a lot to talk about,” she says. “When you get it right, it’s very impressive.”

If math isn’t your strong suit, Fillmore suggests tracing each item on a piece of scrap paper or newspaper, and securing them to the wall using painter’s tape. You can move them around until you like how they look, and then simply replace each piece of paper with its corresponding item, without making dozens of unnecessary nail-holes in your walls.

If you decide to skip the paper templates, you may find yourself making a few tweaks to the final arrangement, but that’s half the fun. “Don’t be afraid to move things around once they’re up because you can always patch a hole,” says Fillmore. “I think our walls are half putty at this point!” o

This casual, symmetrical gallery wall created by interior decorator Katrina Giles uses vintage records and filmstrip prints.

Off-the-wall items for your gallery wall Love the look of a gallery wall, but you’re not sure where to begin? Here are examples of treasures and items you can use in your arrangement.

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DÉCOR

SIX BASIC GALLERY WALL STYLES It seems so simple: art + hammer + nails + wall = done. But there are so many creative ways to showcase your pieces while also complementing your furnishings and highlighting the architectural beauty of your home. Here are six classic arrangements to try.

ASYMMETRICAL

FLUSH LEFT

LEDGE

STAIRCASE

ASYMMETRICAL: A flexible, casual arrangement that looks great with 3-D elements. Hang your largest pieces first, and fill in the gaps with smaller pieces, keeping one end of the arrangement slightly higher than the other, and dipping the bottom lower in the opposite corner.

GRID

SYMMETRICAL

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FLUSH LEFT (OR FLUSH RIGHT): The frames all align on one side and end unevenly on the other side. For example, if you hang a large vertical frame, and hang a series of smaller frames to its immediate left. The smaller frames will all line up neatly against the larger frame on one side, and will reach out to different points on their other edge. Hang out in the frame aisle and experiment with how different frames “play together” before making a purchase.

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GRID: A tricky arrangement to pull off because everything must be measured carefully. Pick frames that are exactly the same style and size. Take your time, and don’t forget to use a level. Mat black and white pictures on brightly coloured mats to make the arrangement less formal.

LEDGE: Don’t want dozens of holes of your walls? Install a picture ledge or floating shelf, and lean a series of frames of varying heights against the wall.

You can also hang several ledges of varying heights to add more interest.

STAIRCASE: This kind of arrangement follows the rise and fall of a staircase, and moves smoothly up in a diagonal pattern. Your lowest frames should be about 8 to 10 inches (20 to 25 cm) from your banister. Keep the height of the arrangement consistent (i.e. four frames tall) as it works its way up the stairs.

SYMMETRICAL: If you drew a line down the middle of this arrangement, it would be exactly the same on both sides. Hang a large focal piece in the centre of the wall, and then hang smaller frames in exactly the same spots on either side.

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For lovers of salvaged furniture and retro décor, an outdated bungalow in Halifax’s North End was a chance to test their creativity

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HOMESTYLE

Working as a team, Steve Anderson and Suzanne Hickey overhauled their entire house. In the kitchen, Steve tore out the upper cabinetry and built new shelves and countertops from roughcut timber. Suzanne picked a cheerful turquoise wallpaper in a retro pattern. “The kitchen now has got an industrial-vintage vibe,” she says.

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BY: JANICE HUDSON PHOTOS BY: BRUCE MURRAY, VISIONFIRE

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“You just can’t get pieces this well made anymore.”

S

uzanne Hickey and Steve Anderson get a thrill from turning discarded things into treasures that shine with new purpose. “We love reviving old items,” says Suzanne. “But we don’t go over the top and always keep a balance between vintage and modern.”

The couple’s shared passion for reinvention has sparked many interesting collaborations, including their home-based business called Relove.

They launched the online store two years ago, just six months after they met, selling furniture and lighting pieces that they find and refurbish, plus custom furniture they create from recycled materials.

“We really inspire each other,” Suzanne says. “And when we fell in love and discovered that we had compatible skills, we started talking about biglife changes. We took the leap together, which didn’t seem so scary.”

For her, that meant leaving a career in marketing and public relations. “I had studied interior design and had a creative side that I really wanted to explore,” she says.

Steve craved change, too. A graphic designer, he’d already returned to college to study carpentry. “I wasn’t excited about my work anymore,” he recalls. “I wanted to do something hands-on. As a kid, I did woodworking with my dad and I loved it. I was always doing it on the side as a hobby.”

A year ago, a dated bungalow for sale in Halifax’s North End caught their attention. It went on to become their biggest project yet. “We loved its 1950s style, but we wanted to update it and make it modern,” Suzanne says.

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HOMESTYLE

LEFT: Suzanne and Steve relax in their living room. Fans of the mid-century look, their home features vintage furniture and lighting, much of it sourced from junk shops, flea markets or Kijiji ads.

Suzanne made the cushions from vintage fabric.

BELOW: Billy the kitty chills out on a mid-century Danish chair next to the fireplace. Steve clad the back wall with old barn board.

BOTTOM PHOTOS: The new shelves make the kitchen airy and bright. Steve finished the roughcut surfaces with a polyacrylic sealer.

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LEFT: The dining room features Danish wishbone chairs from Structube in Dartmouth Crossing and a vintage starburst, mirroring the starburst clock that hangs over the fireplace (below).

BELOW LEFT: The couple found the twometre long sofa and matching chair at a second-hand shop for $65 and reupholstered them in vintage fabric. Suzanne took the photograph of the motel sign along the highway in Saint-Louis-du-Ha! Ha!, a community in Quebec, north of Edmundston, N.B.

Finding it cramped in their Dartmouth, N.S. home, where the dining room was also their studio, they knew it was time for bigger digs. “We really needed a workshop,” says Steve.

Located on a sloping suburban lot near the harbour-spanning MacKay Bridge, the twobedroom bungalow had a spacious basement and an attached garage, providing room aplenty for their projects and lots of storage, too.

But it needed a complete overhaul. “It was a huge transformation,” says Suzanne, adding that they did most of the work themselves. “We changed pretty much everything, we touched every surface in the home.”

They started in the living room. They tore out the brick pizza-oven fireplace and mantel, adding a concrete hearth and painting the firebox black.

“The whole house was beige when we moved in,” says Suzanne. She painted key walls on the main level a rich grey to unite the open-concept kitchen, dining and living room areas. “Grey reads like a neutral now and you can move it from room to room,” she explains.

Steve has an abiding appreciation for old wood, and the interior features many rough-hewn boards he’s salvaged. He gets the wood from fences, old barns and even lumberyard cast-offs that would otherwise be tossed in the chipper.

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HOMESTYLE

Steve’s daughter, Hannah, picked out the turquoise paint for her bedroom on the main floor. It matches the folk art piece over the bed by Ray Purcell, an artist from Portuguese Cove, N.S. One of the family’s first salvaged finds, the steel shelf next to the window displays a vintage radio and Beatle’s memorabilia. They found the lamp at a flea market in Maine.

Steve built the side tables. Pendant light from Ikea.

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“We’re very resourceful,” he says. “We don’t like to waste anything, so we try to use every piece we can.”

Behind the hearth, he clad the back wall in old barn board, lending a weathered texture to the room. “Some of the reclaimed wood came from my grandfather’s barn in Southern New

ABOVE AND LEFT: The mid-century aesthetic continues in the master bedroom with vintage accessories and furniture. Steve studied at NSCAD University and did the Group of Seveninspired painting on the wall. He used rough-cut timber to build the headboard, side table and shelving.

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SUMMER 2015

Brunswick,” recalls Suzanne. “I love that I have a personal connection to it.”

The couple scours junk shops, flea markets and Kijiji for furniture and décor to revamp. For them, it’s a chance to give special items with a backstory a chance at a new life. “We love mid-century design and our home showcases that,” Suzanne says. “There’s nothing new in our living room except for a light shade from Ikea. Everything else is re-loved and re-styled.”

Danish 1960s industrial office lamps and a two-metre long sofa with matching chair are highlights in the space. “We got the sofa and chair at a second-hand store for $65,” says Suzanne.

“You just can’t get pieces this well made anymore, not in this style. There’s a lot of life left in them.

We reupholstered them in vintage fabric I bought online.”

Cool little timepieces and clock radios dot the interior. “I find them fascinating,” says Steve.

“They have such a different vibe than modern electronics.”

They have a soft spot for old motel signage, too.

“There’s something special about it that speaks to both of us, that nostalgia,” Steve says. “It reminds you of summer vacations with your parents. It’s a warm feeling. Hotels aren’t like that anymore.”

In Steve’s teenage daughter’s room, a little steel display shelf holds a vintage radio and Beatle’s memorabilia. “That shelf was one of our first upcycled pieces,” says Steve. “I was driving with my daughter on Crichton Avenue in Dartmouth, and it was on the side of the road. She yelled, ‘Stop the car!’”

HOMESTYLE

ABOVE: In the basement is Suzanne’s workspace and studio for the couple’s furniture and décor business, Relove. They find and refurbish vintage pieces, and build custom furniture from recycled materials. Vintage doors cordon off this space and still let in the light.

RIGHT: The rec room on the other side of the basement features more rustic shelving Steve built from rough-hewn timber.

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“Some of the reclaimed wood came from my grandfather’s barn in Southern New Brunswick”

The original kitchen sported pink laminate countertops, dated vinyl floors and overbearing wood cabinets. “It felt closed in with the upper cabinets,” Steve says.

He removed them along with the laminate, and built new shelves and countertops from roughcut timber. “We just love the material and the warmth of it,” Suzanne says. “It links the rooms together and mixes the old and the new.”

They kept the lower cabinets but painted them a deep charcoal and added new steel hardware.

They treated themselves to a new sink and faucet, and installed new vinyl flooring over the old stuff.

Suzanne picked out a bright mid-century-inspired wallpaper for the space.

“We’re thrifty but we love good design,” Steve laughs. “We spent about $2,000. The plumbing, electrical and appliances were all good. We didn’t have to spend tonnes of money because we had the material and we could do the work ourselves.”

They kept the wood floors. “When we bought the house, the previous owners offered to refinish them for us but we said no. We liked the wear.

They probably thought we were nuts,” laughs Suzanne.

In the basement, they tore out the old carpeting and wood panelling. “It was a 1970s rec room,” says Steve. It’s now workspace for Suzanne’s Relove furniture and sewing projects. They also added a divider to make a TV room.

In there, the TV sits on an old record player cabinet. One Friday night, they built the bookshelves on the sidewall using wood scraps and end cuts. “It was our date night,” Suzanne smiles. “You get creative and use what you have, playing around with design ideas.”

Steve’s workspace underwent perhaps most dramatic transformation of all. “It was a dumpy smelly garage with crumbling concrete,” he says.

“It was stacked full of everything from hula hoops to oil cans. It had no lighting, no insulation and

When they bought the home, the garage was in rough shape, with no electricity, no insulation and no drywall. Steve gutted it and made it his workshop, which now has space aplenty to store the wood he needs for his projects.

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HOMESTYLE no drywall. We had it upgraded for electrical but everything else we did ourselves.”

Today, he’s working on a special project for a client, building headboards out of massive antique armoire doors. “They came from her grandmother’s attic in Prince Edward Island,” Steve says. ”She grabbed them when the house went up for sale. She’d been lugging them around with her for 20 years. Obviously the wood meant a lot to her. It was dry, straight and clean. She’d taken great care of it.”

He has enough wood to build headboards for a king, queen and two twin beds. “It’s exciting to be returning them to her as something she can use.”

Looking back on the entire project, Steve takes pride in the quality of the work they did on their own. “It was really important for us to be creative and be professional in the installation,” he says. “It was about how creative we could be in designing something that meets our needs, and is simple, warm and reflects our style.”

Suzanne agrees, and is already planning their next big collaboration: hosting their backyard wedding in September. “Our backyard is like a nature park in the summer,” she says. “We love this house and the work we put into it. The stars have aligned for us in so many ways.” o

FEEDBACK jhudson@metroguide.ca www.eastcoastliving.ca @EastCoastEditor @EastCoastLiving East Coast Living Magazine

Suzanne makes good use of the old sewing machine she found at Value Village for $23: she makes pillows using vintage fabrics. “The best scores come from curtains, linens and old wool blankets at yard sales and consignment shops,” she says.

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count on

coleus BY: CAROL MATTHEWS

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SUMMER 2015

GARDENING

This vibrant plant comes in bold new varieties that can spruce up any outdoor space

Photos at top of pages: Proven Winners; at sides: National Garden Bureau.

W

hat was once your grandmother’s parlour plant is now the rage in outdoor plantings, both in pots and in garden beds. Best known for its vibrant leaves, coleus brings colour, texture and dimension to any garden. It can also be sweetly aromatic.

Taxonomic authorities originally considered coleus part of the mint family and grouped it into different species or classified it as hybrids. But in 2006, they named all coleus plants Solenostemon scutellarioides. In 2012, that changed to Piectranthus scutellariodes.

The plant has evolved in other ways, too. It’s been popular at various times over the last two centuries: as a houseplant in Victorian times and in the 1950s, and later on, as a trendy shade plant in summer gardens.

Today, people are admiring it once again. The National Garden Bureau, based in Illinois, designated 2015 year of the coleus. One of the reasons for the renewed popularity is because of its range of colours, sizes and uses. The plant comes in green, yellow, orange, pink, red, dark maroon, brown, cream and white.

There is bound to be at least one cultivar that you admire. Leaves range from less than 2.5 cm in the “Thumbelina” plants and up to 20 cm in the “Kong” varieties. Its foliage can be solid or mixed in colour, smooth or ruffled, and comes in an array of leaf patterns that can feature splashes, flecks and veins of different colours.

Its structure can be upright or spreading. Coleuses are splendid in masses. The cultivar “Redhead” is a good example, which also excels in pots.

The brighter colour combinations will bring interest to a shady corner. But new cultivars can grow in sun too; many of these require sun to bring out the best colour in the foliage. Check with your nursery to obtain the best coleus for sun or shade.

Perhaps best of all, coleus plants are not difficult to grow. One reason for their popularity in the past as houseplants is that plant enthusiasts could pinch off a few leaves (sometimes surreptitiously), place them in a glass of water on the window sill, and in two weeks have rooted cuttings they could plant.

You can also start coleus easily from seed. If you want masses of plants, start them inside in the early spring so they will be ready to set outside after all danger of frost has passed. Warning: the seeds are tiny. Sprinkle them on a layer of pre-moistened, sterile potting soil in a shallow tray. Cover with a thin layer of fine soil, and protect the whole tray with a sheet of plastic to retain the moisture until the seeds sprout (about two weeks).

Total Eclipse

Coleus is known for its foliage, which comes in a range of dramatic colour combinations and patterns. Most people remove its insignificant flowers because they can take energy away from the leaves.

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GARDENING Then remove the plastic and keep the tray in a warm place, with bright (but not direct) sun until the seedlings are large enough to be planted into individual pots. Keep the soil evenly moist (water from below), and place the pots in a spot sheltered from wind and hot sun until they are ready to go into the ground.

Once planted in the garden bed, keep the soil moist but not soggy. Here in Atlantic Canada, they will benefit from morning sun and some protection from the hottest part of the day.

However, coleus can survive even afternoon sun as long as the soil doesn’t dry out. Mulch will help with this, but do not place the mulch near the stems or foliage. Composted manure will provide both fertilizer and mulch.

If you don’t want to start the plants inside, simply scatter the seeds on the ground once there is no fear of frost. You don’t have to wait for flowers to bloom, so you’ll have colour almost immediately.

The difference between growing from cuttings or seeds is that a cutting will grow into the same type of plant from which you took the cutting. A package of seeds can contain a variety of colours and leaf patterns.

If you want to use Coleus in containers, plant them in plastic pots; natural terra cotta will dry out too quickly. You may even want to add water crystals to store excess water that will be released when the soil begins to dry. The larger the pot, the less quickly it will dry out. The soil mix should contain lots of organic material and be light and airy.

For spectacular displays in pots, use a time-release fertilizer or a liquid fertilizer at half strength every two weeks (too much fertilizer will make the stalks grow too long). The plant also benefits from adding products that contain mycorrhizae to stimulate root growth.

Coleus plants are tender annuals and will not survive a frost. Even frost-free nights below 10°C can damage or slow growth. Make sure temperatures remain around 15°C at night before planting, and they will flourish.

To promote the fullness that makes coleus plantings so lush, be sure to pinch back the ends of the branches once the plant is established. This forces side shoots to grow on each branch. Pinch off all flower spikes as soon as you notice them.

If you plant coleus in a location with suitable sunlight, lack of wind and moist soil, it will be relatively pest and disease free. If there is a problem, it will probably be mealy bugs. Look for tufts of white fuzz on the leaves or stems and remove them using a cotton ball dipped in alcohol or insecticidal soap.

Coleus plants in your garden will add colour, texture, interest and even fragrance. They are also relatively inexpensive and easy to grow. You can’t ask for much more of a garden plant. o

Photos at top and left: National Garden Bureau, bottom right: Proven Winners.

This vibrant multicoloured plant is easy to grow in containers. It prefers moist (but not soggy) soil, so plant in plastic containers over clay pots to help retain moisture.

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gateway to style BY: VICTORIA DEKKER

I

With a little creativity, your gate can be a unique highlight of your property

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t’s an intriguing portal to a secret garden, a warm invitation to rest and relaxation, and a strong set of arms that swings open wide to welcome us home.

A piece of exterior hardware that keeps people out and pets in, a gate can also be an opportunity for creative expression. “It offers the owner a high-impact place to express themselves a little bit more,” said Halifax-based landscape architect Sue Sirrs. “We see an awful lot of gates that look the same.

Really what we notice are the ones that stand out.”

Many East Coast homeowners are stepping away from cookie-cutter, big-box gates, opting for custom entryways into their outdoor spaces, says Sirrs, owner of Outside Planning and Design Studio.

A gate can add ornamental artistry to a green space and also offers visitors a glimpse into a homeowner’s hobby, style or heritage. Designs can include boldletter initials, family crests or symbols (like Celtic knots, fleur-de-lis or Acadian stars), graphics like animals, fencing sabres and sailboats, or sharp points, dramatic curves and ornate carvings.

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IN DEPTH

Made from metal, wood or a combination of materials, gates are among the favoured exterior pieces to design for contractors like Whycocomagh, N.S. blacksmith Grant Haverstock. “They’re all so unique,” Haverstock says. “It’s a real melting pot.”

While Haverstock’s shop, Firehouse Ironworks, regularly creates garden, pool and backyard gates, driveway gates are among the business’ most common commissions.

A simple garden gate can run around $100 on the low end, while an elaborate driveway gate can run upwards of $20,000. Design and hardware options (like intercoms, electronic locks and motorized hinge systems) can vary vastly, depending on a client’s budget, Haverstock says.

Though the shop only opened its doors in 2011, Haverstock’s elaborate hand-forged work already peppers the province. In October 2014, he designed an organic-inspired gate for Dine By Design East, a design and culinary showcase hosted annually by East Coast Living in Halifax.

Modern blacksmithing is a specialized art form homeowners can use to add unique features to their properties. “Even on the most simple gates, you’ll see artistic touches hidden in small parts like the hinges,” Haverstock says.

And though there seems to be a rise in popularity for modern gates in urban settings, Sirrs says that styles don’t seem to follow any one trend.

While she may recommend that clients tie their property together using the same style of gate on the yard, play structure and garden shed, a gate need not match the house.

“If you’re in an old Victorian house here in Halifax, you don’t necessarily need to carry that aesthetic in your landscape,” she says. “You could, and your gate design would follow that, but it’s up to the homeowner to make a decision about what they want the overall aesthetic to look like. I don’t see one being more represented. It’s really about the homeowner’s interests.”

Photos: Sue Sirrs

Garden and backyard gates need not be ho-hum. Pick a bright or contrasting colour, or a different shape or design, to make it really stand out on your property.

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Photo: Anita Fontaine

“We have a lot of urban backyard spaces that really are sanctuaries for people.”

ABOVE: Driveway gates are growing in popularity. Metalworker Paul Fontaine, of Heritage Wrought Iron in New Brunswick, created this one for a homeowner in Rockport, N.B.

Photo: Dennis Evans

MIDDLE: Cape Breton blacksmith Grant Haverstock of Firehouse Ironworks built this gate for interior consultant Janice BatesHawkins’ space for Dine By Design East, a design and culinary showcase in Halifax.

Photo: Anita Fontaine

BOTTOM: This backyard fence with a small entrance gate by Paul Fontaine has an intricate hummingbird design.

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SUMMER 2015

And because a gate is a working piece in a landscape, its ideal design is a marriage of function and style, says metalworker Paul Fontaine. “It’s great to have something that looks good, but if it doesn’t function well, you may as well not have one,” says Fontaine. His Monctonarea shop, Heritage Wrought Iron, specializes in hand-forged exterior and interior hardware.

Reputable contractors will examine a homeowner’s needs in the onset of the design process. Traffic volumes, security and privacy all factor into the aesthetic possibilities.

A strategically designed gate can help “soften” the element of privacy, for example.

“Privacy is a really important piece in a city,” says Sirrs. “We have a lot of urban backyard spaces that really are sanctuaries for people…

Sometimes it’s wonderful to talk to the neighbours, but other times you just need a break and want to sit in your yard.”

Gates designed to keep children in and predators out, for example, must feature closer spacing between spindles and higher-set latches.

Building codes dictate specifications in some cases, which can limit the design.

In Canada, winter weather is another consideration for gate functionality, Fontaine adds. While driveway gates on wheels are common in warm-weather states, they aren’t suitable to withstand the ravages of snow and ice.

Mild steel is the industry standard for gates and their hardware. It’s a material on the pricier side of the spectrum, but it offers incomparable durability alongside hollow pre-fabricated gates made of aluminum. “You’ll see those ones bend, sag and crack after a few years,” Fontaine says.

Proper installation is one of the most important elements, and according to Fontaine, the most overlooked by homeowners when adding a gate to a property. It’s a labour-heavy process that involves digging at least as many feet into the earth as the gate sticks out, and pouring a rebar-reinforced concrete foundation. Installation costs usually match the price of the gate itself. “It

IN DEPTH

Photos: Gwen North

EXPERTS ROUND UP THE TOP PAINT COLOURS OF 2015

Rustic wooden gates that lead to gardens and backyards look great in the height of summer when they teem with leaves and vines.

will last a lifetime or more if it’s done properly,” Fontaine says.

And while gates have long been seen as an exterior workhorse around the region, the landscape is beginning to change. Chatting with a client who hails from the Middle East recently, Sirrs discovered Atlantic Canada is just catching on to a trend in custom portals that’s long been the standard in other countries “That’s really where we’ve started to divert away from using standardized gates and started to really think of incorporating an element of creativity,” she says. “In many parts of the world, everybody makes their own gate or has one made. They can be very elaborate or very simple.

That piece is really quite interesting.” o

FEEDBACK jhudson@metroguide.ca www.eastcoastliving.ca @EastCoastEditor @EastCoastLiving East Coast Living Magazine

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The next

chapter BY: MARY MACKAY PHOTOS BY: STEPHEN HARRIS

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Moving from an old farmhouse into a sleek new cottage, one family creates a summery retreat for all seasons

The Bonnell family relaxes in their lofty, light-filled living room of their home in Murray Harbour, Prince Edward Island. An Island scene by Halifax artist Fionnuala Reynolds makes a dramatic focal point over the mantel. Furniture from Bowring, floor lamps by Restoration Hardware, cage lights over island from ABC Lighting New York, painting on right wall by artist Lindsay Walker of Walker Studios in Charlottetown.

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F

or John Bonnell and Cathy LumsdenBonnell, home-away-from-home is now where the heart is.

After three decades of making do with their summer-only converted farmhouse cottage in Murray Harbour, P.E.I., it was time for the Halifax couple to move up and over to a new allseason retreat built on their property.

The new home has all the comforts of urban living, including an elegant propane-fueled fireplace and other cozy amenities, with the added bonus of tranquility that only nature can provide. After all, it’s heaven on earth just knowing the promise of a cooling dip on a private red sand beach and a meal of freshly harvested clams is just a barefoot grassy stroll away.

“When we walk in the door, we’re both like ‘Ahhh, it’s so nice to be here.’ It’s heaven. We love it,” Cathy says. “The summertime is basically filled with company or family, non-stop, which we love. And then in the winter it’s like a little escape for us.”

This multi-generational escape started out with an old shell of a house on a four-hectare riverside piece of a larger property purchased in the 1960s

by John’s P.E.I.-born and raised father, who first made it livable.

After acquiring it in the 1970s, the Bonnells added to the house and it soon became the P.E.I. place to be in the summer for their growing family. “Our children grew up here, with me being off every summer for five or six weeks,” says Cathy, who operates a pre-school in Halifax.

After roughing it in the farmhouse cottage for 30 years, they decided to create their dream home-away-from-home in 2012 when John retired from his career in medical sales and distribution.

For its design, Cathy had long imagined having a breezeway that would connect the main house to a sunroom, which even on a cool spring day brings a breath of summery sunlight to the soul.

“I wanted a separate building from the house so when we are having company, you can sit out here and the noise won’t carry to people who are sleeping,” she says.

The 350-square-foot space features a wraparound expanse of transom-topped windows that let the natural light in while providing an almost unhindered view of

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TOP RIGHT: The vaulted sunroom is aglow with whitewashed pine and decked out with indoor-outdoor furniture from Home Outfitters.

The wrap-around expanse of transom-topped windows sport Levelor blinds from House of Excellence.

TOP LEFT: A soft beige (Balboa Mist from Benjamin Moore) permeates the main living space, which includes kitchen cabinets from Ikea and stainless steel appliances from Sears, such as a six-burner Electrolux Icon propane stove.

BOTTOM LEFT: A massive wood dining table from Wicker Emporium is a rustic touch in the modern dining room. Chairs and pendants from Ikea. Towering pocket doors with tempered glass panels are standard throughout the house.

BOTTOM RIGHT: The Bonnell family’s connection to Prince Edward Island has deep roots and it shows in their love for the province’s history.

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“We splurged on windows because we wanted to bring the outdoors in.”

nature’s best and screened-in protection against mosquitoes. “It’s almost like being outside,” she says. “If we’re not on the beach, we’re here.”

One of their priorities during building was tapping the talent of local tradespeople, one of whom was architect Lorin Brehaut of Guernsey Cove, near Murray Harbour. He designed that breezeway to act as a teaser portal to the scenic space that lies beyond. “It creates a big entrance: a protected area at the main entrance and entrance to the screen porch,” he says. “It also frames a view to their beach, the Murray River and the Murray Islands,” he says.

The Bonnells also did their research to situate the structure so it would take advantage of the property’s natural sightlines. “We looked at Google Earth to see the way that the sun was going to be coming in the afternoon [during the summer], so it would be nice and sunny,” says Cathy. “And we can see the sunset up the river the way [the house] is angled. That’s the whole idea.”

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BUILDING

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ABOVE: An insert propane fireplace provides warmth on cool summer nights and in the off-season months. To keep clean lines, the electrical outlets in the floor correspond with the living room furniture placement.

OPPOSITE PAGE: A stainless steel nautical railing with wood birch trim crafted by local P.E.I. tradespersons adds yet another marine element to the beach-themed home, which features a second-floor look-out nook with unique see-through floor panels.

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OPPOSITE PAGE BOTTOM: Beach finds like sand dollars and starfish bring the element of special outdoor memories to the indoor décor.

Beachy is the theme for the décor and colour.

The couple enlisted the services of friend and decorator, Janice McCrea from Halifax, to pull everything together.

In her free time, Cathy (who is a consummate bargain shopper) went hunting for quality items that were in keeping with the rustic-modern feel they both enjoy. The 99 boxes-worth of kitchen cabinets came from Ikea, and Cathy had a local person who specializes in their assembly install them.

But there were some essential design details for which the Bonnells spared no expense, such as the sliding doors and the windows. In both the sunroom and the main house, they tower above the typical standard height. “We splurged on windows because we wanted to bring the outdoors in,” Cathy says.

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TOP: The master bedroom on the second floor will eventually become a guest bedroom when the Bonnells add a second wing to their dream home. Headboard and side tables from Pier 1.

BOTTOM: The second-floor bedroom is crisp, nautical and navy with headboards crafted from salvaged barn boards.

There is also a series of 2.5-metre pocket doors with tempered glass panels, which are standard for all rooms but one. “It had to be in keeping with the large windows too,” Cathy notes. “We tried to keep everything in proportion.”

The Bonnells also invested in details that made the space more comfortable. The kitchen island, for example, is a four-metre long, one-metrewide seemingly seamless island of Staron, a manufactured product by Samsung. It was custom made with a five-centimetre-thick profile so the

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bar stools hunker up with a 35-centimetre leg space instead of the standard 30. “So you can actually pull up and put your knees under and your elbows on it,” John says.

Also on Cathy’s must-have list was a walk-in pantry for an easy-to-access storeroom for food, extra dishware and also all the usual kitchen gadgets that clutter countertops. They also integrated the sound system into the house and onto the large outdoor deck so they can play two series of music simultaneously.

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And then there’s the unique second-floor look-out alcove that’s a combination of both the architect’s and homeowners’ concepts. On each side of strategically placed pair of chairs is a structural glass floor panel through which light flows.

The initial design was for two open spaces with railings on each side of the nook, overlooking the dining room below, but Cathy suggested they be like glass-bottom sea boats with a view of the dining room below. The end result of solid

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TOP: Structural glass floor panels give a peek-a-boo view of the dining room below. Although they can easily bear the weight of anyone who walks on them, few visitors dare to venture beyond the assumed safety of the wooden floor.

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BUILDING glass panels, that allow natural light to filter through, while providing additional floor space and openness, freaks out even the most stalwart.

“Some people won’t even stand on it,” she laughs.

They kept the proportion for dream and budget in check, however. Cathy initially had bigger ideas in mind for her dream cottage home. “I really wanted a house with two wings,” she smiles. “I wanted the master suite downstairs but when we got the quote, that was nixed. Some day.”

To keep their options open, they did put in place unseen but essential elements for the possible master suite wing of the future.

Meanwhile, what will become the dressing room is now a den. On its back wall is a doorway to what will become the master bath that now exists on the main floor level next to the living room.

The old will now be the new for the next generation who come to visit, especially this summer when the Bonnell vacation homestead hosts the wedding of one of their four children who grew up there. “Now that they’re getting married and our family is getting bigger they will have their space,” says Cathy, who celebrated their new abode this past December by hosting a Christmas in the old place that has been such an important part of their past.

The multi-generational aspect continues for the Bonnells as their old cottage now becomes the heirloom place for their adult children and

Although the Bonnell home is now open for all seasons, summer is still the prime outdoor fun time.

their future families to begin making their own memories.

“Family is such an important aspect of life on the Island,” John says. “When we’d come back [for the summer], one question I’d always hear from people in the community is, ‘When did you get home?’ I think that’s very welcoming and warm and it’s a reflection of the values in the community, it’s very close-knit.” o

FEEDBACK jhudson@metroguide.ca www.eastcoastliving.ca @EastCoastEditor @EastCoastLiving East Coast Living Magazine

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Building Suppliers The following companies supplied products for the home featured in the preceding story.

Burke’s Custom Metal Works Inc. is a custom metal fabrication and welding shop located in rural Prince Edward Island. BCMW is a family run business started in 1993. Experienced in stainless, aluminum and steel fabrication. From small items to handrails, stainless custom counters, fishing gear, marine engineered boats and many one-of-a-kind custom designs. BCMW has grown and services not only local sectors but also international markets as far away as Norway and Chile. www.bcmw.ca

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East Coast Carpentry Ltd is a family-owned and operated company. Proudly serving islanders for nearly a decade, East Coast Carpentry and its crew take pride in all projects. Specializing in new construction as well as renovations. As an Island company working mostly in the Kings County area, we use local building suppliers and tradepersons.

Building a home does not have to be stressful. We work with the homeowners to make a house their home. Thank you John and Cathy for choosing us to build your home. It was a team effort and you were part of the team. eastcoastcarpentryltd@pei.sympatico.ca

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Neil Jackson is a third generation carpenter. He built and renovated homes for years with his father and grandfather before eventually starting his own business. Jackson has been operating independently since 2000. The generations that came before him instilled a strong work ethic that he continues to maintain to this day. He considers himself a life-long learner and is constantly improving his craft. He enjoys the challenges that come in his line of work—no job is ever the same and each client has a unique vision for their home.

Bringing that vision to life is the best part of the job and one that Jackson finds very rewarding.

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master

marinades Using simple ingredients, you can craft your own flavourful marinades

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Keeping your cupboards stocked with spices is a must.

Featured marinades, from left to right: Reesh’s Maple Marinade, Sweet and Spicy Seafood Marinade, Souvlaki Marinade and Gloria’s Steak Tips Marinade.

See recipes on pages 61 to 63.

BY: RICHARD WOODBURY PHOTOS BY: BETH DUNHAM

G

rowing up, my family’s annual summer vacation usually included a trip to visit relatives in the Boston area, where we enjoyed a seemingly endless supply of barbequed meats, many of them marinated. Americans are obsessed with barbequing, especially when it involves marinating. In recent years, I’ve become immersed in this obsession, following the teachings of my cousin Andy.

The culmination of this was a friend’s bachelor party at a backwoods camp in New Brunswick. I carved up a fourkilogram hunk of sirloin, cut it into cubes, marinated it in three different marinades and then grilled it up.

People marinate meats to tenderize tough cuts and add flavour. Fish is already quite tender, so marinating it is mainly about flavour. With fish, “it’s just about adding another dimension,” says chef Garry Gosse, the host of Eastlink TV’s Grill Works.

Research shows health benefits to marinating meat. This is because certain ingredients in a marinade, such as beer, wine, tea, vinegar, citrus juice, vegetable oil and fresh herbs, can help prevent carcinogen formation, says a May 2014 article in The Globe and Mail. The marinade “acts as a barrier, keeping flames from touching meat and poultry.”

One of the best things about marinating is people can do it with ingredients they already have on hand. “You can throw together something very quick,” says Peter Dewar, a faculty member of Nova Scotia Community College’s culinary arts program at the Kingstec campus in Kentville, N.S. Whipping up a marinade from scratch usually only takes a few minutes, so it’s a great thing to do late at night or in the morning for the next dinner.

Always marinate in the fridge and be sure there’s a half-cup of marinade for every uncooked pound of meat or fish. As well, there are a few things to think about, such as how long to marinate the meat or fish, what kind of container to use and what kind of ingredients to include in it.

The timelines for marinating meats vary from as little as two hours up to 48 hours. For steak, pork and chicken, 24 hours is a good rule of thumb. (However, if the marinade is highly acidic, shorten the time. Otherwise, the meat could become mushy.)

As fish is already tender, you should only marinate it for 10 minutes to a couple of hours. If you are finding the food tastes too much like marinade and does not retain its original flavour, reduce your marinating timeframe.

The options for containers come down to personal preference. “I like using resealable bags,” says Gosse. He likes them because you can scrunch up the bag, so the food won’t require as much marinade to be immersed in, taking up less room in the fridge.

While not great for the environment, you can just toss the bag away afterwards for an easy clean up. Stainless-steel bowls and glass containers work great, but avoid using plastic containers. “If you marinate something with heavy flavours in plastic, the plastic can take on those flavours,” cautions Dewar.

In its most basic form, a marinade should have oil and an acid (think lemons, limes and oranges), something to give it some additional flavour (spices), plus a sweet component (such as honey or brown sugar) to offset the acidity.

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LEFT: The ingredients for Reesh’s Maple Marinade, a flavourful marinade that features ginger, maple syrup, and orange juice. See recipe on page 62.

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These ingredients all serve different, but important purposes. The oil makes the food less sticky when grilling and prevents the spices from sinking to the bottom of the marinade. It also helps the spices adhere to the food.

Keeping your cupboards stocked with spices is a must. Besides salt and pepper, think rosemary, thyme, basil and parsley. While dry spices will do the trick, consider having a herb box on your windowsill. “It’s really going to make the difference between good and awesome,” says Jesse Vergen, chef/owner at the Smoking Pig Real BBQ in Quispamsis, New Brunswick. Onions and garlic are also essential.

When making a fish marinade, the marinade should be “something that is light and is going to accentuate the natural flavours of the fish,” says Vergen. For this reason, keep the marinade simple. Use some olive oil, salt and pepper, an acid (such as lemon juice) and some fresh herbs.

It’s as simple as that.

If you want to get a little more exotic, Vergen recommends his sweet and spicy seafood marinade, consisting of molasses, dark rum, cilantro, chili peppers, cracked pepper and sea salt (see recipe on page 62).

You can get more elaborate with meat. Think about working with ingredients like cinnamon, maple syrup, cloves, soy sauce, Worcestershire sauce, Dijon mustard, balsamic vinegar, ginger and hot pepper sauce.

Ultimately, marinades can be as simple or as complex as you want them to be. Follow the basics, but also incorporate your personal taste into the marinades. Don’t be afraid to stray from the guidelines. You won’t be disappointed. o

EATING IN

Chicken Souvlaki This Greek classic also works well with pork. The lemon imparts a light, refreshing taste. Serve with rice, pita bread and tzatziki sauce. Recipe courtesy Richard Woodbury.

DIRECTIONS 1. Assemble marinade.

2. Cut chicken into 1.5-inch (4 cm) cubes 3. Place chicken in marinade and marinate for six to 24 hours.

4. Cut onion and green pepper into 1.5-inch (4 cm) pieces.

5. Place chicken, onion and green pepper on skewers. Use two pieces of vegetables for every piece of chicken. Follow onion, onion, chicken, green pepper, green pepper and chicken pattern. Repeat.

6. Grill on barbeque for about 12 minutes, turning once.

INGREDIENTS 1 lb (454 g) of boneless chicken or pork 1 sweet onion 2 green peppers 1/2 cup (125 ml) of canola oil lemon juice from one freshly squeezed lemon (about 1/4 cup/60 ml) 3 garlic cloves dash of salt and pepper 2 Tbsp (30 ml) of oregano flakes

902-444-3671

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Sweet and Spicy Seafood Marinade The end result of this recipe is a “flavour punch in the mouth” that is sweet, spicy and savoury, says chef Jesse Vergen. This marinade is great with salmon, striped bass and thick scallops. Recipe courtesy Jesse Vergen, Smoking Pig Real BBQ in Quispamsis, N.B. DIRECTIONS 1. Place molasses and rum in bowl, mix in chilis and cilantro, season well with salt and pepper.

2. Marinate seafood for 30 to 60 minutes, depending on the thickness.

3. If grilling the seafood, keep an eye on it so that the caramelizing sugars don’t cause the marinade to burn.

4. Cook for preferred length of time, depending on type of seafood and thickness.

5. Optional. Vergen recommends using an indirect grilling method as opposed to straight grilling. This creates more distance between the food and the heat source. It will take longer to cook the food but reduces the possibility of charring it. One example of indirect grilling is cooking seafood on a burner that is not on, while the other burners are on.

Reesh’s Maple Marinade Best for pork, but also good for chicken or steak. Using maple syrup makes this marinade sweet and truly Canadian. Recipe courtesy Richard Woodbury.

INGREDIENTS 1 lb (454 g) pork, chicken or steak orange juice from one freshly squeezed orange 1/4 cup (60 ml) maple syrup 1 Tbsp (15 ml) olive oil 1 Tbsp (15 ml) soy sauce 2 garlic cloves 1 Tbsp (15 ml) freshly grated ginger dash of pepper a few dashes of cinnamon 1/4 cup (60 ml) chopped onion

DIRECTIONS 1. Assemble marinade.

2. Place meat in marinade for 24 hours.

3. Cook on barbeque for preferred length of time.

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INGREDIENTS up to 2.5 lbs (1.2 kg) salmon, striped bass or scallops 1 cup (250 ml) molasses 1/2 cup (125 ml) dark rum 1 tsp (5 ml) finely diced chili peppers (choose a spicy personal favourite) 1 tsp (5 ml) freshly sliced cilantro cracked pepper and sea salt

EATING IN

Gloria’s Steak Tips This is as good as it gets for marinades. The taste is sweet and savoury, but has a bit of a bite from the crushed red pepper. Recipe courtesy Andy Taylor.

DIRECTIONS 1. Assemble marinade.

2. Get a thicker cut of steak from a butcher, preferably 1.5 inches (4 cm) thick. Cut the steak into 1.5-inch (4-cm) cubes. (In New England, you can buy steak tips, which are cubes of a certain cut of steak. Replicate that by cubing your favourite cut of steak).

3. Marinate steak in fridge for at least 24 hours. For best results, marinate for even longer, as much as 5 days.

4. Get the grill as hot as possible and cook the steak for about 3 to 4 minutes per side. The steak will char slightly and the glaze will candy somewhat.

5. Take the leftover marinade and cook it in a saucepan on the stove. Bring it to a simmer, boiling for at least 5 minutes to kill the bacteria the sauce would have encountered when in contact with the raw meat. Add this sauce to the steak when you are plating the food.

INGREDIENTS 1 lb (454 g) steak, chicken or pork 3 Tbsp (45 ml) Chinese rib sauce 3 Tbsp (45 ml) teriyaki sauce 1 Tbsp (15 ml) honey 2 Tbsp (30 ml) freshly squeezed lime juice 1 Tbsp (15 ml) freshly grated ginger dash of crushed red pepper flakes

For writer Richard Woodbury, visiting New England inspired him to start making his own flavourful marinades at home using simple ingredients.

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cold

comfort Ice cream photos shot on location at DeeDee's Ice Cream in Halifax.

“People are fanatical about their flavours.”

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Artisanal ice cream is an irresistible summertime treat BY: VALERIE MANSOUR PHOTOS BY: DENNIS EVANS

D

itta Kasdan admits she has always been an ice cream snob. “As long as I remember, I would never eat just any ice cream,” she says. “It had to be the best.” She spent her childhood in Michigan where she was a frequent visitor to an old-fashioned ice cream parlour that made its own ice cream from scratch.

Today, ice cream isn’t just for pleasure: it’s become Kasdan’s occupation. She owns and manages DeeDee’s Ice Cream, a popular year-round business near the Halifax Common. (DeeDee’s also operates at Peggy’s Cove, N.S. and at Halifax’s Historic Farmers’ Market in Keith’s Brewery in the summer.)

Whether it’s mango, lemon and ginger or raspberry passion fruit sorbet, Kasdan says her flavours have one thing in common: “I won’t use anything that’s not real.” She laments the quality of store-bought ice cream. “If there’s no milk in it, it’s not the real thing.”

Kasdan’s favourite flavours are always changing. Mocha and caramel swirl are current picks. She’s also keen on mint chocolate chip or coffee. She finds her customers tend to gravitate towards fruit or nuts. “When people find a flavour they know and love, they stick with it,” she says. “People are fanatical about their flavours.” But many people won’t go beyond chocolate and vanilla. Vanilla is the barometer for quality ice cream, after all. “The flavour doesn’t hide anything,” she adds.

On the road, Kasdan does some serious tasting. “I am always looking for ice cream that’s better than mine.” Her travels have taken her to Paris, where she says the best ice cream is at the famous Berthillon tearoom and ice cream parlour. Argentine ice cream stands out, too: it’s dense like gelato but made with eggs. “Argentina makes ice cream most similar to mine,” she says.

Kasdan makes and sells ice cream year round: about 120 litres per week in winter. In summer, she makes 70 to 90 litres a day. “You can walk down the street eating it,” she says. “There’s a whole ritual around it: the crunch of the cone. Some people are biters and some are lickers.”

While going out for ice cream may be a ritual, many Atlantic Canadians make their own at home. Donna Fitzpatrick of Tidnish, N.S. began making ice cream over 20 years ago when her daughter Andrea,

then eight, was a participant in a local children’s entrepreneurship program.

“I’d get the cream and I’d oversee it. She had more money than I did and I did the work,” laughs Fitzpatrick, recalling the four summers they made ice cream to sell at the weekly farmers’ market.

Fitzpatrick was hooked and continues to make ice cream at Christmas, for a summer indulgence or as a unique food gift. “It’s so much better than regular ice cream,” she says. “For me it’s richer and it tastes fresher, and you can make whatever you like; it allows you to mix it up a little. If we’re going to have a treat, I’ll make the ice cream.

It’s fun.”

Two of her favourites are ginger (see recipe on page 66), which was inspired by an elderly friend, and toasted coconut (see recipe on page 67), a flavour she grew to love while travelling in Thailand.

The basic recipe includes two raw eggs with sugar, milk, cream and vanilla, with additions for various flavours, such as strawberries, blueberries or butter pecan. Fitzpatrick recommends experimenting.

She once added crumbled Oreos and another time topped off an Indian dinner with cardamom ice cream.

Cindy Cousins in Pisquid, P.E.I. has been making ice cream for her own family ever since her husband bought her an old-fashioned handcranked machine for Christmas 27 years ago. “We still laugh about it, as he’s the one who loves ice cream,” she says.

They began with his grandmother’s original vanilla recipe, which called for canned milk. They have tried variations over the years, including fruits and grape nut, her father-in-law’s favourite. “If your homemade ice cream turns out well, it’s a lovely creamy texture,” she says.

Cousins and her family made a batch during a snowstorm this winter. “The best part is the fun to do it as a family,” she says. “It’s something you typically do out on the back doorstep.” She continually adds ice and salt to keep the bucket cold as she mixes the ice cream in the traditional way. “I suppose in some ways it’s healthier but some recipes have a litre of whipping cream,” she laughs.

But who worries about healthy when it comes to ice cream? At DeeDee’s, Kasdan shares her own philosophy: “Ice cream might not be good for us, but stress is worse. Don’t eat too much; it’s a special treat to enjoy.” Wise words to remember during our favourite ice cream-eating season. o

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Rhubarb Ginger Sorbet Rhubarb and ginger is a combination that provides a refreshing zing. Feel free to add more ginger, if desired. Recipe courtesy Ditta Kasdan, DeeDee’s Ice Cream.

INGREDIENTS 5 1/2 cups (1.3 L) rhubarb, cut in chunks 4 cups (1 L) water 1 cup (250 ml) sugar 2 Tbsp (30 ml) ginger, peeled and grated 2 Tbsp (30 ml) lemon juice

DIRECTIONS 1. Wash rhubarb stalks, cut in chunks using “ground end” and generously removing leaf end. (The part that is pulled from the ground is sweetest; rhubarb leaves are poisonous due to oxalic acid).

2. Place small amount of water to cover bottom of pot, add rhubarb, cover and bring to boil. Reduce heat, cook until just soft.

3. Purée rhubarb. Set aside to cool.

4. Mix water, sugar and ginger in pot and bring to boil to dissolve sugar.

5. Add lemon juice. Mix together with rhubarb purée and cool in refrigerator.

6. Pour into ice cream freezer and freeze until desired consistency. Makes 6 cups (1.5 litres).

“The best part is the fun to do it as a family.”

Old-fashioned Ginger Ice Cream This ice cream was recommended by a friend, Bud, who recalled the flavourful ginger ice cream of his youth. Recipe courtesy Donna Fitzpatrick.

DIRECTIONS 1. Combine eggs with sugar and heat over low heat.

2. Add milk and cook over medium heat, stirring constantly until heated, but don’t bring to a boil.

3. Allow to cool and add ginger, vanilla and cream. Stir, then refrigerate until cold.

4. Mix well and pour into an ice cream maker (Donvier is recommended), stirring frequently so it won’t stick to the sides.

5. Serve in cones or in bowls; makes 8 to 10 delicious 1/2-cup (125 ml) servings.

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INGREDIENTS 2 eggs 2/3 cup (150 ml) sugar 2 cups (500 ml) milk 3/4 cup (175 ml) ginger glacé, grated 1 tsp (5 ml) vanilla 2 cups (500 ml) cream

EATING IN

Hazelnut Ice Cream The hazelnut paste gives this ice cream a wonderful, nutty dimension.

Recipe courtesy Ditta Kasdan, DeeDee’s Ice Cream.

DIRECTIONS 1. Bring the milk to simmer in heavybottom pot.

2. Meanwhile, beat together egg yolks and sugar in large bowl.

3. Slowly add hot milk to sugar and eggs while whisking.

4. Return mixture to pot, stir in whipping cream and heat slowly until a bit thick.

Do not boil as it may curdle.

5. Refrigerate mixture, preferably overnight.

6. For the hazelnut paste, preheat oven to 375°F (190°C).

7. Put hazelnuts on pan and roast in oven for about 25 to 30 minutes, checking every 10 minutes until they are well roasted (dark brown and almost smoky.

They appear overdone but will not liquefy if under-roasted.)

8. Let cool, then peel skin by rubbing.

9. Blend in food processor until smooth.

Nuts should liquefy within 2 minutes to make dark brown syrup. If not, they need further roasting.

10. Add hazelnut mixture to custard base and mix thoroughly. Pour into ice cream maker to freeze. Makes 2 litres.

INGREDIENTS For the custard base: 3 cups (750 ml) milk 4 egg yolks 1 cup (250 ml) sugar 2 cups (500 ml) whipping cream For the hazelnut paste: 1 1/2 cups (375 ml) hazelnuts, chopped

Nova Scotia Berry Ice Cream Summer is berry season and there’s no better way to enjoy them than in this colourful, yummy ice cream. Recipe courtesy Ditta Kasdan, DeeDee’s Ice Cream.

DIRECTIONS 1. Bring the milk to simmer in heavybottom pot.

2. Meanwhile beat together egg yolks and sugar in large bowl.

3. Slowly add hot milk to sugar and eggs while whisking.

4. Return mixture to pot, stir in whipping cream and heat slowly until a bit thick.

Do not boil as it may curdle.

5. Refrigerate mixture, preferably overnight.

6. Purée berries and sugar, allow to sit until sugar dissolves in fruit juice.

7. Mix custard base and berry purée thoroughly and freeze in an ice-cream freezer. Makes 6 cups (1.5 litres).

INGREDIENTS For the custard base: 3 cups (750 ml) milk 4 egg yolks 1 cup (250 ml) sugar 2 cups (500 ml) whipping cream For the berries: 1 cup (250 ml) berries—any combination of strawberries, blueberries, raspberries and blackberries 1/3 cup (75 ml) sugar

Donna’s Decadent Coconut Delight International travel to countries where coconut ice cream is common inspired this rich and sublime ice cream. Recipe courtesy Donna Fitzpatrick.

DIRECTIONS 1. Place coconut in a large skillet and heat over medium heat, stirring frequently, until browned. Set aside.

2. Combine eggs with sugar and heat over low heat.

3. Add milk and cook over medium heat, stirring constantly until heated, but don’t bring to a boil.

4. Allow to cool and add coconut, almond extract and cream. Stir, then refrigerate until cold.

5. Mix well and pour into an ice cream maker (Donvier is recommended), stirring frequently so it won’t stick to the sides.

6. Serve in cones or bowls; makes 8 to 10 satisfying 1/2-cup (125 ml) servings.

INGREDIENTS 3/4 cup (175 ml) unsweetened coconut, toasted 2 eggs 2/3 cup (150 ml) sugar 2 cups (500 ml) milk 1/2 tsp (3 ml) almond extract 2 cups (500 ml) cream

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EATING IN

Chocolate Sauce Here’s an old favourite to jazz up any ice cream. The quality of the cocoa will determine the taste of the sauce. Recipe courtesy Ditta Kasdan, DeeDee’s Ice Cream.

INGREDIENTS 1 1/4 cups (300 ml) milk 2 Tbsp (30 ml) butter 1/2 cup (125 ml) sugar 1/3 cup (75 ml) brown sugar 3/4 cup (175 ml) dark cocoa 1/2 tsp (2 ml) vanilla

DIRECTIONS 1. Put all ingredients in a pot and bring to a boil.

2. Boil for 2 minutes, stirring only to keep from burning.

3. Remove from heat and add vanilla. Use as desired.

Caramel Sauce This mixture is super hot and will splatter when you add the cream, so wear long gloves to avoid sugar burns. Recipe courtesy Ditta Kasdan, DeeDee’s Ice Cream.

INGREDIENTS 1 cup (250 ml) sugar 6 Tbsp (90 ml) butter, cut in cubes 1/2 cup (125 ml) whipping cream

DIRECTIONS 1. Use a pot with heavy bottom and high sides and have all ingredients ready.

2. Over medium heat, melt sugar slowly, stirring only when necessary with a wooden spatula to gently push sugar to keep from burning.

3. Sugar should reach an even liquid state with no lumps and should look shiny, silky and almost smoking. Take care not to burn and turn down heat if necessary.

4. Add butter and mix with sugar, stirring and cooking until the mixture becomes homogenized. Add cream, whisk well and remove from heat.

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ABOVE: Ditta Kasdan owns DeeDee’s Ice Cream in Halifax. In the summertime, she churns out between 70 to 90 litres of ice cream each day, creating flavours from seasonal local fruits like rhubarb, blueberries and even Haskap berries.

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Lighter brews need not skimp on flavour and complexity. Plenty of Atlantic Canadian breweries are making stand-out, refreshing beers in a variety of styles BY: CRAIG PINHEY

W

hile the demand continues to grow for extreme beer that has intense aromas, complex flavours and higher alcohol content, even the most dedicated beer enthusiasts start looking for something a bit lighter once the thermometer rises.

That’s why “session beer” is another expanding part of the beer business.

With lighter body and lower alcohol content (5% or less), these beers are better for summer sipping than boozy hop bombs.

But that doesn’t mean they are low in aromas and flavours. Many session brews have respectable hop levels, such as European-inspired lagers and the increasingly common ISA (India Session Ale), a lower-alcohol take on IPA (India Pale Ale). Try Halifax-based Garrison Brewery’s In Session for a local ISA (available at Garrison’s brewery retail store on Marginal Road near Pier 21 as well as at liquor stores in New Brunswick, Nova Scotia and Newfoundland.)

Prince Edward Island Brewing Company (PEIBC), based in Charlottetown but now including two brewpubs in Halifax (Gahan House Waterfront and Rogues Roost), is one to watch. It launched a summer beer/flagship lager called Beach Chair after expanding from its Gahan brewpub in downtown Charlottetown to its larger-sized brewery on Kensington Road.

Available at PEIBC retail locations and in liquor stores across the Maritimes, Beach Chair has the crisp hop profile and subtle malt typical of European-style lager. Part of this character originates from using authentic German yeast, according to Bob Lawrence, senior vice-president of operations with PEIBC. “It is cold fermented and condition aged,” he adds.

Halifax’s Propeller Brewing Company has a strong reputation for its pilsner, a mainstay of the company since 2006. “It is modelled after a Czech style with some Canadian influence which makes it unique,” says Josh Adler, brewmaster at Propeller. “It is essentially a Czech recipe with Canadian softened water.”

A refreshing brew, it’s clean and aromatic with spicy hops, and crisp but not overly bitter. “I think adding any more bitterness would make this beer too harsh and thus less thirst quenching,” Adler says. “Our pilsner is our most delicate and sensitive brew, and adding more hops at boil would anger her [throw the beer out of balance].”

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LIBATIONS

Due to demand, Propeller has gradually increased production of its pilsner over the years, with production and distribution ramping up in the summer. It’s on tap at Nova Scotia bars, and the Prop Shop (Propeller’s beer stores on Gottingen Street in Halifax and Windmill Road in Dartmouth), private liquor stores, and as single bottles and six packs in select Nova Scotia Liquor Corporation (NSLC) stores.

Another style perfect for cooling off in the summer heat is North American Wheat. Liam McKenna brews a great example called Wexford Wheat at YellowBelly Brewery and Public House in St. John’s, N.L. “It was designed as a crossover product to allow neophyte beer drinkers to come into the bar, have an approachable pint that didn’t knock them off their chair or chase them out the door,” McKenna says. “It is balanced, low in maltiness, light in bitterness but cloudy by design.

Something very different for your average Coors Light drinker.”

Besides the pub, Wexford and other YellowBelly beers are also available at Newfoundland and Labrador Liquor Corporation (NLC) stores in 750-ml bottles, and on tap at O’Reilly’s, Bitter’s and The Fish Bowl in St. John’s. Although available year-round, Wexford is the top seller in the summer.

One of New Brunswick’s favourite summer seasonals is Picaroons’ Dooryard Summer Wheat, from Fredericton. It’s an organic wheat that’s a hybrid of sorts: a cross between Belgian wit and North American wheat.

Although fermented with Picaroons’ regular Ringwood English ale yeast, it’s 50 per cent wheat and 50 per cent pilsner malt, and uses ingredients typical of witbier. “We use certified organic dried orange peel and ground coriander sourced through our local organic food store, True Food Organics,” says owner Sean Dunbar. “I remember one batch of beer where the store owner, Debbie, hadn’t received our orange peel order from her supplier, so she grated organic oranges and brought us the grated peel for the beer. It worked.”

Wheat malt lends a refreshing character to the beer. “I think the wheat does add some astringency, some crispness to the beer that makes it more appropriate for summer drinking,” Dunbar says.

Picaroons also brews a seasonal watermelon wheat beer called Melonhead, famous for its label that has a cat wearing a watermelon “helmet.”

Based on the Dooryard recipe, it uses natural melon extract instead of orange and coriander.

Melonhead is distributed throughout the Maritimes, while you can find Dooryard in New Brunswick and Nova Scotia liquor stores during summer. “We’ll be shipping both to Alberta, Manitoba and Saskatchewan this year,” adds Dunbar.

There are times when a cold, refreshing brew is just the ticket. “I’d have to say summer is the only time I can drink any fruited beer,” says Dunbar, “and only if the beer is cold and the sun is hot. It’s the only time I like cold beer.”

Quaffing a thirst-quenching beer on a hot day is less about analyzing beer than it is a rite of summer. “The key to a refreshing beer? That’s like asking me what time it is,” says YellowBelly’s McKenna. “Balance and drinkability are the only keys to refreshing that I know.” o

ABOVE: Prince Edward Island Brewing Company (PEIBC) just launched a new craft lager called Beach Chair.

RIGHT: Based in Fredericton, N.B., Picaroons brews a session wheat beer called Melonhead, which features natural melon extract.

BELOW: Wexford Wheat by YellowBelly Brewery in St. John’s, N.L. is a top seller in the summer.

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ADVERTISING

LOCAL TREASURES

YOUR GUIDE TO THE FINEST LOCAL ART AND HOME DECOR

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MRS NICHOLSON HOME 212 St. George Street, Annapolis Royal | 902.532.5263 At Mrs. Nicholson Home, we seek out and sell interesting vintage furniture, lighting, textiles, art and footstools from our own vintage fabric. In other words, we turn the past into beauty you can use today! Come visit sisters Jane and Christine in Annap-

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Buying guide

EATING IN BUYING GUIDE

Now that you’ve seen all the quality products and services available in Atlantic Canada, here’s a guide to help you access these products for your own home.

Allsco Windows and Doors (p. 53) 506-853-8888 www.allsco.com

East Coast Carpentry (p. 26) 902-962-4310 eastcoastcarpentryltd@pei.sympatico.ca

Neil Jackson Flooring (p. 36) 902-969-3156 neiljacksonflooring@gmail.com

Amazing Space Interiors (p. 39) 902-407-7211 info@amazingspaceinteriors.com www.amazingspaceinteriors.com

Encom Alternative Energy (p. 27) 902-860-0081 kelly@encomgroup.com www.encomgroup.com

Nimbus Publishing (p. 10) 902-455-5251 customerservice@nimbus.ns.ca www.nimbus.ca

Amos Pewter (p. 72) 1-800-565-3369 www.amospewter.com

Gallery 1 Furniture Centre (p. 2) 902-466-5552 www.gallery1furniture.com

Nova Tile and Marble (p. 55) 902-468-2945 www.ntmgranite.ca

Amos Wood (p. 4–5) 902-407-7772 agricola@amoswood.ca www.amoswood.ca

Geddes Furniture (p. 76) 902-454-7171 geddesfurniture@eastlink.ca www.geddesfurniture.com

Olympic Paints and Stains (p. 7) www.olympic.com

Atlantic Fabrics Crafts & More (p. 12) 902-434-7220 info@atlanticfabrics.com www.atlanticfabrics.com

Harbour Isle Halifax (p. 13) www.gettheseapoint.com

Atlantic Lighting Studio (p. 72) 902-542-3431 info@atlanticlightingstudio.com www.atlanticlightingstudio.com Attica (p. 37) 902-423-2557 info@attica.ca www.attica.ca Balderson Cheese (p. 69) 1-800-263-2858 www.baldersoncheese.ca Bellissimo (p. 8) 902-423-6014 info@bellissimoliving.com www.bellissimoliving.com The Berkeley (p. 10) 902-802-0346 gloria.haskett@theberkeley.com www.theberkeley.com BOSCH Home Appliances Corp. (p. 9) 506-961-2572 kevin.melanson@bshg.com www.thermador.ca Boxing Rock Brewing Company (p. 26) 902-494-9233 info@boxingrock.ca www.boxingrock.ca Burke’s Custom Metal Works Inc. (p. 39) 902-687-2147 www.bcmw.ca Cabinetworks Limited (p. 53) 902-468-8118 info@cabinetworks.ca www.cabinetworks.ca Caesarstone (p. 11) www.caesarstone.ca Dine by Design East (p. 43) eastcoastliving.ca/dine-by-design-east

Overhead Door of Nova Scotia (p. 28) 1-800-670-5428 www.ohdns.ca

Home Hardware Stores Limited – Beauti-Tone Paints (p. 18) www.beautitone.ca

Robinson Residential Design (p. 47) 306-352-6617 plans@robinsonplans.com www.robinsonplans.com

Hell Bay Brewing (p. 57) 902-356-3556 www.hellbaybrewing.com

Rossignol Estate Winery (p. 55) 902-962-4193 www.rossignolwinery.com

Jules Chamberlain – Red Door Realty (p. 47) 902-817-6007 jules@juleschamberlain.ca www.juleschamberlain.ca

Select Nova Scotia (p.3 ) www.selectnovascotia.ca

Kept Gifts & Housewares (p. 72) 902-469-5378 info@keptshop.ca www.keptshop.ca La Louve Home Interiors (p. 72) 902-697-2380 dancampagne@gmail.com www.facebook.com/lalouveinteriors Liquid Gold (p. 60) info@allthingsolive.ca www.allthingsolive.ca Maritime Painted Saltbox (p. 72) 902-693-1544 www.paintedsaltbox.com Maritime Window Film Specialists (p. 27) 902-422-6290 serge.leclair@rogers.com www.cooltint.com Metro Building Supplies (p. 28) 902-894-5536 buy@metropei.com www.metropei.com Mother Hubbard’s Kitchens (p. 61) 902-444-3671 info@motherhubbardskitchens.com www.motherhubbardskitchens.com

South West Properties (p. 75) Pavilion at South Park 902-425-8012 info@pavilionsouthpark.ca www.pavilionsouthpark.ca Steve’s Property Services (p. 57) 902-483-1541 steve@stevespropertyservices.com www.stevespropertyservices.com The Stone Depot (p. 57) The Stone Depot 902-835-0741 kenstonedepot@eastlink.ca www.thestonedepot.ca TD Bank (p. 14) www.tdcanadatrust.com Terra Verde (p. 23) 506-389-1898 www.terraverdehome.ca WB Fowler Industries Inc. (p. 29) 1-800-290-8510 contact@wbfowler.com www.wbfowler.com Xcel Landscaping (p. 57) 902-880-9779 www.xcellandscaping.com * Supplied products and services for the Building Feature on pages 48-56.

Mrs. Nicholson Home (p. 72) 902-532-5263 jane@mrsnicholsonhome.com www.mrsnicholsonhome.com SUMMER 2015

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LAST LOOK

Off the map

Rilla Marshall has always had a thing for textiles. “As a kid, I was knitting and weaving,” she says. “I went through a phase in junior high where I made my own clothes. At 15, I took private weaving lessons from a friend’s mother.”

Born in Newfoundland, she moved with her family to Prince Edward Island when she was seven. After studying textiles at NSCAD University in Halifax, she now lives in Belfast, P.E.I., on the southeast coast of the province.

While she does make functional textiles (scarves, napkins and tea towels), her passion is creating hand-woven and embroidered wall hangings that depict land and seascapes. Recently, she held a solo exhibition of this work in St. John’s at Annex Gallery. (She’s planning another show in January 2016 at the Mary E. Black Gallery in Halifax).

Marshall draws inspiration for her intricate designs from maps, old photographs and even sightlines from Google Earth. “It about taking hard factual data and translating it into woven landscapes,” she says. “I love taking that data and slowing it down through hand weaving. It’s a way to reclaim the information so it’s accessible and engaging for people.”

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Her evocative pieces explore Atlantic Canada’s changing coasts, particularly P.E.I.’s vulnerable shorelines. “Using Google Earth, I look at areas of the shoreline where water has already breached the shore and created estuaries,” she says. “We’re reliant on our relationship to the water. With climate change, we all must adapt to changes with rising sea levels and coastal erosion.”

She does the work by hand. “I weave each piece first, then take it off the loom, and go back and embroider in the contours and textures.”

For her, incorporating scientific data into her art keeps it exciting. “It’s a real balance of math, geometry and pattern,” she says. “Weaving is a grid-based structure. It’s like architecture on a small scale. And once you understand the technical side, you have a huge amount of freedom. I think I could spend a lifetime exploring this medium.”

North Shore Tributaries #1 to 4 by Rilla Marshall, handwoven/ embroidered wool and cotton. www.rillamarshall.wix.com/rillamarshall

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