HOMES: West Coast haven
1960s Ten Mile Point house becomes a modern West Coast haven for ex-Calgary couple and their art collection
Dark and gloomy is how Jean and Alan Hollingworth described this house when they first stepped inside the front door seven years ago. “It was very dark, with no light touches anywhere,” said Jean. “It had few carpets on dark wood floors, all the doors were stained dark and the window and door trim was brown, too.
“It looked like a man cave and was sort of unappealing,” she said, adding it had been on the market for a year, because it also had some unusually laid-out rooms.
But Jean and Alan immediately recognized the home’s excellent points, its good bones, location on Ten Mile Point, and West Coast character that was evident in the massive, front entry posts and soaring log pillar that supports the vaulted living room ceiling.
“We liked the feeling of privacy, all the trees, especially after living in Calgary for 37 years,” said Alan, who along with Jean became deeply connected with local cultural causes soon after moving here. He is vicepresident of the Victoria Symphony board and they both chair the Conductor Circle donor group. (See sidebar.)
The Hollingworths covered the floors with light and bright Persian, Turkish and Indian carpets, painted interior doors, wood trim, stair railings and balusters white and completely redid the master ensuite in shades of delicious cream.
They replaced a huge jetted tub, dated tile, and old countertop (with just one sink) with a freestanding soaker tub, glass shower, porcelain floor tile and marble counter with two sinks.
In the garden, just outside the window, they added a fountain.
By opening doorways on both sides of the kitchen, from front hall and dining room, they eased traffic flow, and outside they closed in a former carport and built a new garage, using designer Keith Baker to echo the style of the home.
And then, the new owners filled their 3,700-square-foot home with an exciting and eclectic blend of antiques and modern furniture, contemporary and West Coast art and sculpture from as far away as India and Greece, and aboriginal pieces
For decades, the two have been drawn to First Nations masks and their collection includes pieces by Coast Salish artists as well as those from the Kwakwaka’wakw, Nuu-chah-nulth, Tsimshian, Tlingit, and Haida nations.
Over the central staircase, the owners have hung a cheerful collection of 12 paintings created specially for them by three artist friends in Calgary. The works can hang as three separate paintings of four, or be mixed and massed as the homeowners have done to create a unique, fanciful collage.
“These three artists used to often paint together but this was the first time they did a group work,” said Jean, who added they have since presented similar works to the children’s hospital and women’s hospital in Calgary.
The Hollingworths mostly lived in older homes before moving here, in houses built in 1911 and 1926, but are enjoying their newer 1960s place.
“Until now, we always lived in two-storey homes too, but here, we enjoy being able to live on one level,” Alan said.
The lower floor has two guest bedrooms and two bathrooms, as well as a library and rec room where visitors can walk out at ground level into the expansive back garden. The upper floor is accessed at grade from the front.
“The rec room really comes into its own when the kids are here,” said Jean, of the L-shaped games room and library. “They can run around, eat at the table here, watch television, play games and run out straight out into the backyard.”
“We’ve been doing renos for seven years and keep lurching from one project to another,” said Jean, but they saved some serious money on the kitchen.
Jean used to have a renovation company in Calgary with an architect friend and originally thought of renovating the kitchen, but interior designer Sandy Nygaard, who helped with other details, advised against it, saying they would spend a lot and not gain much.
“Alan really loved Sandy for that,” Jean said, with a chuckle.
The half-acre property has also been totally re-envisioned and redesigned.
“We loved the location because it is close to the city yet semi-rural in nature, and the garden was pretty much a blank canvas,” she explained.
“Initially, I sort of thought we’d have a no-fuss landscape but it didn’t turn out quite like that,” she joked and Alan explained: “When you come from Calgary, if it’s green and it grows, you get pretty excited.”
They took out two big hedges on the sides of the property, but kept a broad, tall one at the back, and are now working with Chris Ball — a third-generation landscaper and gardener, whose father and grandfather both worked at Ten Mile Point — to create a Japanese-style garden.
Jean said they love the home because it is so easy to live in, and they love the forest, the walking trails, the ravens and eagles. “We have a wonderful nest of eagles in the top of a nearby balsam.”
And their home is a perfect setting too, for their First Nations collection, which continues to grow whenever they find a special piece while travelling to Haida Gwaii, Prince Rupert or touring parts of the B.C. coast in an old fishing boat.
Sandy Nygaard helped them display their masks to the max.
“It’s always a good idea to group like things together,” said the interior designer, “and that’s especially important when you have such an interesting collection.
“You lose impact when everything is spread out. You tend to walk by pieces and maybe not glance at anything at all. But when you cluster things together, people tend to stop and study them. You see relationships between pieces. They create a story.”