Stylistic fusion meets budget-friendly design

High meets low and a fusion of styles to create a budget-friendly home with a modern and very stylish feel that packs a punch

Looks can be deceiving.

Take the Chelsea home of Lise Thibault and Masoud Naseri. From the outside, it looks like what it once was: a traditional farmhouse-style home, built some 20 years ago.

Step inside and it’s a different story. An addition 10 years ago blew open the choppy floor plan to create a sprawling, entertainment-friendly main level, but it wasn’t until interior decorator Emily Tait was brought in last year that the home was transformed into an inviting contemporary space that oozes warmth and sophistication. And much of what was done shows how the smart use of a few expensive pieces, paired with bargain finds, can make a space pop.

“Everybody who walks in here, they don’t expect the space to be like this when they come through the front because it really opens up,” says Thibault, an artist and consultant at Fisheries and Oceans Canada. “It’s a home that has completely evolved.”

Creating their dream home while keeping costs in check has always been key. Budget was top-of-mind when the couple built 21 years ago, which meant forgoing many upgrades and sticking with basic finishes and features. And even though they splurged to add the 13-foot-wide addition across the back of the home, Thibault hung on to her old kitchen cabinets to keep costs down.

This time around, a $50,000 budget to update the look of most of the main floor seemed like a lot, but it had to go far — new tile, new powder room, a complete paint job, redoing the stairs, drywall patching, all new furniture. It meant that, once again, the kitchen cupboards had to stay.

“We wanted to do so much,” explains Tait, an engaging 28-year-old decorator with seemingly boundless energy. “Redoing the kitchen cupboards would have exceeded our budget right off the bat.”

The solution was to paint the cupboards soft grey for a fresh look that works well with the new design scheme. To save costs, Thibault painted them herself, along with all the walls.

A fan of the subtleties of tone and a neutral palette, Tait used eight different colours in the six-month project.

“It’s not necessarily noticeable, but every space is a little bit different,” she says. “I work a lot with neutral tones. I really like to show people that you don’t always need to add colour to add interest … Different shades and different tones can create the same kind of intensity and textures and can add a lot of sophistication.”

Thibault loves the look. “It adds depth to the space and interest when you have subtle changes but all in the same colour tone.”

Her husband, owner of Kebob Kebob Mediterranean grill at the World Exchange Plaza, prefers a more traditional and colourful look so, Thibault says, adding “some sort of oomph and contrast” was a must.

The starting point was the hefty kitchen table, one of the few furniture pieces that was not replaced or repurposed.

“This table needed to stay,” says Tait, who fell in love with its rustic, distressed look.

She added the atom-like chandelier above it for the industrial feel she wanted.

Beside it, a small feature wall that visually separates the kitchen and the family room was painted black for that oomph Naseri needed, then dressed with a foxed glass mirror — which has a discoloured or aged effect — that “helps radiate the space back instead of just staring at a wall,” Tait says.

The black contrasts, first pulled from flecks in the existing granite counters, are repeated throughout and mixed with metal accents to add an industrial and modern edge.

“I really wanted that,” says Thibault. “I wanted more modern, more bright, more open.”

To keep things from feeling cold, Tait mixed the soft with the hard and threw in lots of texture. Cowhide rugs, earth tones, a barnboard door between the family room and dining room, and other natural elements add warmth and interest.

“The industrial feel is not for everyone,” Tait says. “But the feedback I’ve had on this project, everyone loves it, whether their style is traditional or modern or contemporary.”

She’s quick to credit Thibault’s adventurous spirit for their success.

“She was really willing to take the risk of where I wanted to go with this project.”

Now that it’s done, the once-reluctant Naseri has given the two women free reign to tackle the upstairs.

PHOTOS: JULIE OLIVER/OTTAWA CITIZEN The contemporary style favoured by decorator Emily Tait, left, was an instant hit with homeowner Lise Thibault. ‘I loved it,’ she says. ‘I like the neutral palette and I love greys.’

The kitchen table was the starting point for the project, and one of the few pieces of furniture that stayed. Tait paired it with a funky Atom chandelier from Zone and a foxed glass mirror from West Elm, set against a black wall.

PHOTOS: JULIE OLIVER/ OTTAWA CITIZEN Keeping the look simple and uncluttered allowed decorator Emily Tait to show off the home’s interesting architectural angles, above. In the family room, a Moroccan-style cowhide rug (Rugs USA) was an early purchase and ‘brought all of our tones together.’ The sectional from Mobilia is both practical and modern.

A support beam running the length of the space marks where the addition begins. In the foreground, repurposed restaurant equipment has become a stand-alone metal island that makes use of dead space between the entryway and kitchen. ‘It’s all beaten up, but that’s what I like about it,’ says homeowner Lise Thibault.

One side of the family room is a cosy reading area where everything has a purpose. Tait immediately envisioned the wingback chairs, skin rug and focus on the fireplace when she put together this space.

Edison-style pendant lights over the kitchen island bring an industrial edge.

The 21-year-old farmhouse-style home is built on an acre of what used to be a hay field near Gatineau Park. With the addition, it’s now about 3,200 square feet. The classic look of the home disguises the modern interior.