A trip through time in a Maple Bay cabin
Original hillside cabin with sea views has grown and changed to reflect each phase of owners’ lives
What began as a fishing cabin — built in the 1920s, when Maple Bay was considered to be out on the wild fringes of the Cowichan Valley — is now a chic and comfortable home for empty-nesters Michel and Wilma Millette, a place that reflects their beliefs in modest consumption and DIY solutions.
The 1,500-square-foot home required a few renovations to achieve the look it has today.
The Millettes rented the cabin for a couple of years before opting to buy it in 1988. The home’s setting remains a big attraction — it’s set on the hillside with spectacular sea views and is across the road from a public beach access. The area is growing more coveted as Maple Bay development expands and matures.
As they started a family, the couple began adding bedrooms. Early on, they did quick fixes such as closing in the carport to create one bedroom and adding space at one end for another bedroom. Michel dug out a larger basement himself with a jackhammer. That space, with its Kelly green wainscoting, is now a family room next to an art-workshop area for Wilma.
While some people would choose to simply buy a larger house, the couple wanted to make what they had work for them, choosing to spend their money on family travel adventures instead.
But when the kids had grown and they had the house to themselves again, the Millettes embarked on a renovation that took the house from cosy to fabulous, adding some chic design features that give the main interior spaces a sophisticated yet simple ambience.
The 2016 renovation also changed the traffic flow completely. Where there were once seven doors in the kitchen, the space is now open to the dining area and living room, after an interior wall was removed. The entryway was changed as well, with added closet space and a slate-tiled vestibule set on an angle, so visitors are pointed right at the stunning sea view as they come in.
Dark flooring anchors the space, contrasted with classic ivory Shaker cabinets in the kitchen. The backsplash is a combination of white subway tile accentuated with dark grout and a row of patterned granite. The sink is dark granite, but the couple went for a more frugal laminate-style countertop.
On the walls, Wilma chose two different greys, and despite the paint colour names — “freezing rain” and “hailstorm” — the tone exudes warmth. She has allowed herself just one punch of Paris blue on a feature wall.
Some wonderful touches make the space theirs. Hanging lamps above the kitchen island are made of stainless salad bowls. A breakfast bar against the window is a piece of live-edge elm stained dark. The walnut-stained dining room table is made of vintage flooring. The couple decided that the fridge, always difficult to situate gracefully in a small kitchen, should be inset, taking space away from the bedroom behind it, but creating sleeker kitchen lines.
The living room is an example of the fact that you can have lots of visual interest without a room looking cluttered. Wilma, an artist and retired teacher, calls the design approach “curated.” For example, next to the woodstove, her collection of vintage mystery novels and first editions is arranged on the bookshelf according to colour. Her art collages, her old typewriter and an old Bakelite phone from the 1930s all give the space a cottage-industrial edge.
They installed ceiling potlights and in-cabinet lighting in the kitchen, all on dimmers that allow them lots of options when entertaining — getting rid of the clutter that lamps and end tables can add to a small room.
Each of the furnishings makes a big statement. For example, the coffee table is an industrial map cabinet on wheels. The chair-and-a-half armchair sits at right angles to the marled grey couch and the window seat covered in grey velvet. The look is punctuated by patterned cushions.
Finished with whitewash, the panelled ceiling accentuates the cottage look. “I hate drywall with a passion, so I finished the ceiling with tongue-in-groove panelling,” Michel said.
In the bathroom, they opted for a blend of vintage (the original 1901 clawfoot tub) and modern (the subway tile and round above-counter sink).
While they were working on the renovation, the couple lived in an RV in the driveway for several months, a setup that lost its novelty rapidly. The results were worth it, however.
“I wake up every day and think: ‘I live here,’ ” Wilma said. “Before, the house was all over the place, cosy but shabby. Now we are proud that it reflects our values using upcycling and recycling, but it’s a nice place to entertain.”
She said they were glad they waited until their tastes had matured before tackling the project.
For Michel, who took time away from his homerenovation business to do the work (with help from their son), the project has become a calling card. He is proud enough of his own home’s new look to have photos of it on his business cards, designed by his daughter. “We love it. It is the perfect size as a retirement home for us,” he said, adding his theory as to why the project worked so well: “I just did what Wilma wanted. I don’t argue.”
Wilma’s teaching colleagues bought an old library card catalogue when their school library was getting rid of it as a retirement gift for her. She refinished the maple and now it is a stately piece of furniture, holding her caches of old stamps, hardware and art elements that she uses to create her collages. She exhibits with the Visions art group, whose next show is Nov. 3-4 at the Cobble Hill Hall. Visions also has a show at the Cowichan Valley Arts Council’s Arbutus Gallery, Nov. 26 to Dec. 8. (visionsarttour.ca)
The Millettes’ Maple Bay home is truly a house for all seasons, growing and changing with them through each phase of their lives.