The art of home design
SENSITIVE PERIOD RENOVATION creates elegant backdrop for owners’ artwork collection
Exceptional art, luxurious fabrics and lighthearted decor are just some of the design elements that make Kari McLay and Bill Myles’s Victoria, B.C.-area townhome so charming.
Their walls are painted in shades of caramel and apricot — and covered with paintings by Phyllis Serota, Joe Average, Flemming Jorgensen, Lindy Michie, Bill Porteous and Norval Morrisseau, and works by McLay’s late mother, Ayn Maxham, a potter as well as a painter.
The living room’s 11-foot ceiling is wrapped down to the picture rails in a subtle British-made wallpaper encrusted with beaded glass to bounce light. Tables and mantle display unique pieces of ceramic art.
“I grew up surrounded by artists and was raised to appreciate pottery as well as paintings, so we collect that, too: works by people like Walter Dexter, Wayne Ngan and, of course, made by my mom,” McLay said.
After studying art history at university and majoring in social work, McLay was employed at Royal Jubilee Hospital and in private practice, counselling people with eating disorders. She now offers fashion advice through her two clothing stores in Victoria and in Duncan.
Decor is another passion. “This house is not about window dressing or contrived design,” McLay said. “It’s about creating an environment that honours art and the complexity of how it evolves in our life and time.”
McLay said her late mother raised her to believe everything in a house should have meaning and history. “It is not just about things — it’s about creating a beautiful environment.”
She and Myles, a history buff and teacher, have been together since 1988 and have a 20-year-old daughter. They moved f rom Montreal to Victoria in 1992 and initially had bungalows in Oak Bay and James Bay, “but I found it kind of boring and noisy,” McLay said with a chuckle.
“I like a vibrant neighbourhood on a quiet street, and each time we ended up with the opposite. We were looking for a funky, downtown Montreal, artsy feeling and we found it in Fernwood.”
They both love heritage and spotted their dream home in a row of nearly identical Italianate houses near Victoria High School. “Every house in this row is very modest, about 2,000 square feet. They are not grand mansions, but they have a lot of character and they’re a bit like the painted ladies of San Francisco,” McLay said.
The house had been owned by one family for 86 years, and was most recently owned by a
“We loved that everything was original, dating back to 1892.”
BILL MYLES
contractor who did some cosmetic improvements. But the real work began when they moved in and spent $300,000 on restoration.
“We saw the potential and loved the fact that everything was virtually original, dating back to 1892,” Myles said.
They put on a new roof, restored all the woodwork, added upstairs and downstairs bathrooms, redid the kitchen and opened a new doorway from living to dining rooms, for better flow. They also went into the eaves to create a laundry room upstairs and more storage.
They started with some “major landscaping” and almost immediately found the post and beam foundations at the back of the house had rotted and were virtually gone, Myles said. So they lifted the house and added new concrete and steel beams.
“We actually started outside and worked our way in — not knowing how massive a renovation we were facing inside, which eventually meant we had to move out for seven months.”
Outside repairs and landscaping rang up a bill of $100,000.
But their new garden is a jewel, a picturesque environment with stone walls, planters and staircase created by locally based Integral Design. They took off an old porch and transformed the steeply sloped garden into a terraced space that’s great for entertaining, with its outdoor speakers, rambling clematis, hydrangeas, roses, plum tree, lavender and geraniums.
Inside, they focused on authenticity. When they found a damaged windowpane, they replaced it with glass from the period, thanks to expert help from Vintage Woodworks, which also redid all the ropes and counter weights and found original latches. Vintage also made custom storm windows.
“Every inch of the wood was hand-refinished,” Myles said. “It had all been painted over, stained, shellacked and, in some areas, faux-finished to look like wood.”
The new kitchen was originally three rooms, including a laundry/utility room and pantry. They turned it into one large cooking, eating and relaxing area. The long, thin pantry became a bathroom.
The new Urbana kitchen includes solid-stain-finished cabinets with a pewter glaze called Corn Silk. The handworked finish and hand-applied glaze replicates an aged patina, but is long-wearing.
“I love dark wood but wanted it light in here,” McLay said, noting the room doesn’t seem crowded but is filled with large furniture and storage. An ultra-narrow custom cabinet holds glassware, while another hides the sound system.
Heather Draper at Bespoke Design helped create the interiors.
“Heather was able to tap into exactly what I wanted, without creating it for me,” McLay said. “She was like a great psychotherapist … guiding me toward things like Fortuny l amps f rom Venice, Elle Décor and other magazines,” which helped McLay zero in on her personal style — an eclectic mix of old-world charm and whimsical funk.
Draper said her first impression of the house was that the rooms were small, dark and cold.
“It wasn’t horrid, but Kari’s taste is so incredible (and) individual and her art collection is so incredible, the house wasn’t as interesting as she (was).
“I wanted to give her the confidence to embrace who she is, and not necessarily take the opinions of those around her.”
To brighten things up, they added a British ceiling paper with crystals, metallic tables and gold fireplace tile. They warmed the rooms with a palette of fuchsia, apricot and peachy gold.
“Kari is very good when she trusts herself,” Draper said. “Take those great carpets she added in the hallway, typically a room with not a lot going on. You can take liberties in a hall — it is a wonderful space that few people take advantage of.”
She also likes how McLay placed armchairs in the dining room.
“Kari has completely created a moment there, in what is an awkwardly shaped room with a main passage through it. The chairs are perfect for an after-dinner cocktail, listening to music. They add an air of romance.
McLay admits she is a furniture-aholic, a fabric nut and a decor addict.
“I have diagnosed myself with Attention Deficit Decorating,” she says.
So when her designer introduced her to fabrics from Designers Guild in London, she was in raptures. “I couldn’t afford a sofa, but we covered a small chair, ottoman and some cushions.”
Even though she was able to use only a small amount of the “ridiculously gorgeous fabric,” McLay says it still has a big impact on the room’s decor.
She mixes major splurges with second-hand finds and pieces from Design Source Warehouse in Victoria and has several exquisite antiques inherited from her great-grandfather, Sir James Lougheed, whose family was “like the Dunsmuirs of Calgary.” Most of the family pieces are in the family home, now a museum in Calgary.
“A little foolishly perhaps, we have put a crazy amount of money in here,” said McLay. “But we feel this home deserves it and we love Fernwood. We’ve been here five years and done everything inside and out. The only thing left is the attic.
“But we have to figure out how to get up there.”