A cottage without clichés

How a former National Ballet dancer transformed a frumpy building in Greensville

THE

BUILDING was on the ragged end of rustic, but Brett van Sickle could see beyond the cobwebs.

“It was used as a garage, and then a cramped apartment was put in, but it used to be a coach house of sorts.”

With imagination, Van Sickle saw the frumpy building in Greensville as the perfect ticket out of Toronto. For 10 years, he danced with the National Ballet of Canada. When he retired in 2015, he saw no reason to stay.

“I was always trying to escape the city, and I thought maybe I should listen to that.”

Van Sickle grew up in Dundas and was always coming back to visit family. That’s when he saw a big stone farmhouse for sale in Greensville. It had been converted to apartments years ago so he bought it as an investment property. But the little shack at the back called to him.

“I’ve always loved design. I couldn’t have been more than six when I would draw the floor plans of my friends’ houses and then redesign them to work better.”

So armed with his design vision, his do-it-yourself skills and about $50,000, he made a stylish cottage without the clichés.

THE 800-FOOT SPACE is on two levels. The ground floor contains the kitchen and living room, and the loft space has the bedroom and bath. The interior is mostly finished with shiplap style wooden boards painted Cloud White by Benjamin Moore.

Initially when designing the renovation, van Sickle thought he was headed toward a French country look, but he corrected course and veered toward Scandinavian style. That clean, spare, light-filled look meshed perfectly with his anti-clutter esthetic.

“I can’t stand clutter; it makes me anxious.”

A main feature of the living room is a living wall filled with tropical plants. They cascade down toward a lovely Balinese wooden chest van Sickle found at Mobilia. The eclectic mix includes a leather chair rescued from the roadside. On the far wall, here’s just room for an oversized sofa that snugs up to a coffee table made of teak from Bali.

The living room flows seamlessly into the kitchen, where a butcherblock island provides ample prep space and serves as a transition zone to the cooking area.

The gas range is positioned in a polished expanse of marble that van Sickle, ever the shrewd shopper, picked up as inexpensive left over pieces from bigger cuts. Shaker-style cabinets are set off nicely by a beautiful backsplash made by neighbour Sara Wood.

In planning the kitchen space, van Sickle was happy to find space to squeeze in a small pantry. “It’s part of what I love about these renovations. Making things fit and function well while working with what you have.”

Upstairs presented another conundrum. Van Sickle is 6-feet-1, but the ceiling in his shower isn’t. His solution was to put in an opening skylight.

“I have my head outside during a shower. It’s pretty nice.”

With Plexiglas dividers on two ends, the bedroom seems to be floating in air. One open view is over the stairway and the other looks out over the living room.

Built-in storage beside the bed keeps floor space open and showcases the wormy maple floor that van Sickle milled himself with the help of a friend.

Prior to Greensville, van Sickle renovated a 270-square-foot coach house in Toronto that he now runs as an Airbnb. And very infrequently he puts his Greensville home on Airbnb while he works on another project.

“I’m building three houses in Costa Rica, one for me and two guest houses.

“It’s beautiful there, but I really love it here.”

“It’s part of what I love about these renovations. Making things fit and function while working with what you have.”

With 800 square feet to work with, efficient use of space is essential. Extra storage is built underneath the butcher-block island and stools tuck in under the countertop.

A living wall of plants brings gorgeous green texture to the bright, white living room. Van Sickle brought the teak tree-stump coffee table home from Bali.

After raising the roof, van Sickle had room for a bedroom loft above the kitchen/living room.

Brett van Sickle, left, spent 10 years as a dancer with the National Ballet of Canada. But he has always loved design and working with his hands.

When van Sickle started the reno he was headed toward French country design. But that switched as he worked on the cottage. “It feels Scandinavian now,” he says.

PHOTOGRAPHY BY KATHY RENWALD, SPECIAL TO THE HAMILTON SPECTATOR The bedroom is spare and calming for a person who hates clutter.

Van Sickle’s neighbour Sara Wood made the tile backsplash. Countertops are marble. “They are just cutoffs, $200 each. I went to a bunch of stores to collect them,” he says.

Stairs lead up to the loft where the bedroom and bathroom make a cozy fit under the beamed ceiling.