A COLOURFUL COASTAL HAVEN
Emerge Design draws on local talent and materials to bring homes to life
Many people dream of living by the water year-round. And, with the recent stay-at-home measures, that dream has become a reality for some of us.
Interior designer Gwyntie van Tuyl Weswick is owner of Emerge Design based in Sechelt on the Sunshine Coast. Her firm recently completed two projects for clients who have left the city, and are now living closer to nature.
The first, a renovated townhouse on the water in Gibsons, was completed for a client who normally lives in Toronto and only intended to use it as a vacation home.
“Basically, because of COVID, he’s moved in and is loving it, which is such a treat for us,” she says.
Because of its waterfront location, they based the design around the image of kelp — the colour of kelp in the water, and what the sun looks like when viewed through it.
Greens and yellows are used throughout the home, such as the beautiful glass Bocci lights above the dining table.
“His Toronto house is very city, all walnut, very polished, clean and very minimalist, and he really wanted this place to be a light, bright, inviting place that could be a little bit of fun for him when he left the city. The bunk-bed room, where his son sleeps, has a nautical theme and even has an octopus stuffie that he calls octi,” she says.
They also wanted to incorporate some Mediterranean design elements, says Weswick.
“It’s a bit of a different experience for the Sunshine Coast, cinder block panelling in the walls, lots of whites, blues and rustic furniture. We wanted rustic, but with a more polished, warm, comfortable feel to it,” she says.
Weswick says her firm normally sources materials, products and services locally, and is going more in this direction.
There are many design elements in this project that reflect local talent, says Weswick, such as the “wall of small” picture frames, in the living room, all featuring the work of local artists, including cement work by Sechelt artist Donna Stewart. The photography on the home’s top floor is by photographer Mark Benson, and the killer whale art in the master bedroom is by artist Tegan Ceschi-Smith.
“We found a door in a garage sale, and painted it a matte yellow, and it’s one of the things our client loves most. The upholstery on the bench was done by a local company called Alpine Upholstery, and the millwork was done locally by Mark Donner, of Donner’s Cabinetry,” says Weswick.
The work of local artists, designers and trades was also embraced in another project Emerge Design has just completed: a home for a family of five, in the remote northern community of Dawson Creek.
The owners of this property have a particular love of Finnish furnishings house Marimekko, says Weswick, so fun colours and bold patterns and prints were used liberally throughout the home.
Hygge and West pineapple and bird wallpaper was chosen for the two daughters’ room, furniture was sourced from Article, CB2 and Rove Concepts.
The flooring and building materials were all sourced locally in Dawson Creek and the walnut dining table was custom made by a contractor.
“I love design that is a bit bold, unique and personalized for people,” Weswick says.
“A little bit of wallpaper can easily be changed in a few years if they don’t like it, but if we can get clients to step outside their comfort zone a little bit we can get something more personalized.”