Casual elegance
CRESSEY’S BEVERLEY, THE LOOK IS SIMPLE, YET STUNNING
To learn how simple it is to add glamour to a home, look no further than the work of Insight Design’s senior designer Linda Gallo.
At the display home at Beverley, Cressey’s new development in White Rock, Gallo takes an all-or-nothing approach to adding elegance in a home that is, at its core, quite simple. To appeal to established downsizers, she uses bold patterns and adds the right lighting fixtures to create an elegant vibe — effects that can be quite affordable for anyone inclined to mimic the style.
“The look of casual elegance is everywhere, so I don’t think it will be hard for (people) to find their own versions out there,” says Gallo, who works with principal Kari Henshaw at Insight Design.
“Restoration Hardware is a good place to start, but Home Sense always has some treasures, as well.”
Chrome, silver and lighting establish a subtle “bling” of the display home. She added natural woods, raw dark iron and draping textures to soften up the space and make it feel more casual.
Beverley residents will be fortunate to live in homes with walls of windows, so there aren’t too many places for shelving or artwork, Gallo says. To help attract the visitor’s eye to a stunning highlight, she installed a huge swath of bold-patterned dark marble as both backsplash and countertop. Sure enough, it dominates the open room.
“During our design process, it became clear that whatever material was chosen was going to be seen from the living and dining room as well, so it had to be fabulous,” she says.
Any designer or contractor will attest a good paint job and the addition of new lighting are two of the easiest ways to transform a room. More good news: both are much easier, and affordable, to introduce in a new home than furnishings or architectural details like moulding or millwork.
Lighting, in particular, can make the ordinary look grand, as Gallo shows in this home. In a bathroom, light emanating from around the mirror rim and a chandelier casts a kaleidoscopic pattern on a dark taupe wall. In the entry, a chandelier makes a huge impact.
“Lighting and ceiling details are often left until last when planning a home, but it is actually one of the most important elements,” Gallo says.
“We tried to have different high and low points with the lighting.
“At the entry, for example, we have a raised ceiling to maximize the height of the home, complete with a beautiful crystal feature, in order to immediately establish a sense of entry.”