• The INTERIORS issue
• Who’s got buzz?
• Fine art photographers in the spotlight
• Inspired local homes
• Fab kitchen and bathroom ideas
• Glam New Edinburgh gardens
See the editor’s letter and a full table of contents below.
Letter from the Editor
Readers often ask how we come to choose the gorgeous houses that grace the pages of the Interiors edition. The answer is simple: Ottawa Magazine is first and foremost a city magazine. So while we’re always on the lookout for beauty, style, and panache, every time we tour a house, we’re also thinking about how that house helps us to better know our city. There are hundreds of dedicated design and decor magazines on the newsstands, many of which are filled with generically beautiful homes. In contrast, Ottawa Magazine’s goal is to showcase striking spaces that have a distinctly Ottawa feel to them; houses whose story is an Ottawa story.
This year’s three feature homes are perfect examples of that connection to this city. In “Born Again,” we visit a house in the Glebe that was rebuilt from the ground up after a devastating fire. Here, a determined family has built their dream home — a contemporary gem that fits comfortably into an older neighbourhood. The second house, in Overbrook, captured our attention for its unorthodox interior layout. Designed by Urban Keios, it provides a fine example of just how personal a home can be — especially when its owners have such a varied collection of artwork to showcase. We loved the third feature house for the lesson in city history that it provided. Custom built in the 1960s by well-regarded architect Tim Murray, the style of the house inspired its current owners to fill it with furniture finds that honour the era. Three houses intimately tied to this city.
We’ve come to expect the Interiors photo essay to be great fun — and, once again, our expectations have been exceeded. This year, we tapped award-winning photographer Tony Fouhse (a man whose work has been inspiring us for years) to shoot portraits of five other local photographic artists whose work stimulates our eyes and our imaginations. There is so much talent in this town that it proved hard to narrow down the list, but the process allowed us to do a lot of great photo surfing — and debating. These are photographers whose work speaks to us, both for its beauty and for what it has to say about politics and society. A huge thanks to participants Jennifer Dickson, Louis Helbig, Darren Holmes, Geneviève Thauvette, Justin Wonnacott for agreeing to step out from behind the camera — the place where they’re most comfortable — to pose for Tony. Writer Paul Gessell ties the whole piece together, asking just the right questions to elicit intriguing answers about the creative process at work.
COMING UP: Ottawa, we love you! We regret that in the past we have taken you for granted, made fun of you for being a tad staid, and dissed your small-town quirks. But we’re going to make it up to you. Promise! Next month, Ottawa Magazine launches its first “Reasons to Love Ottawa Right Now.” Time to celebrate our city’s achievements, its residents, and — yes — some of its more endearing quirks. Time to jump aboard the “I love Ottawa” bandwagon.
Sarah Brown, EDITOR
feedbackottawa@stjosephmedia.com
Table of Contents
Features
The View From Here
Award winning photographer Tony Fouhse takes portraits of five other local photographic artists whose work inspires us
Born Again
When fire destroyed their Glebe house, Kellie Major and Warren Newberry regrouped, then built the home of their dreams from the ground up
Welcome to the Fun House
Designed to show off their whimsical art collection to best advantage, Chantal Dion and Gilles Comeau’s bright and airy home is a stimulating mixture of beauty, colour, form, and fun
Hooked on Classics
It was love at first sight when Mary Riopelle and Dave Stewart spotted the mid-century modern house on the canal. When it became theirs, the couple filled the light-filled bungalow with furniture and art, carefully chosen to complement that cool 50s vibe
Sourcebook
We visit three gorgeous kitchens and two baths and tell you where to get the look
Columns
Comfort Zone
Joanne Proulx and Stacey Palangio recently launched Disturbing the Piece, putting their creative energies into recrafting forgotten sofas and chairs
Painters Painting
Melanie Authier and Martin Golland share a studio — and a penchant for dramatic works of art that marry the dark with the ethereal
Extreme Makeover
When Viv Nutt and Micheline Whale took over the reins of an established design and planning firm, they were determined to symbolize the identity shift
Answered Prayers
A couple displaced by war from their home in Africa transform an old Ottawa Valley Church into a place of personal peace
Head trip
In conversation with Christopher Simmonds
Learning Experience
In conversation with Frankie and Andrea De Caria
IN THE GARDEN
Curb appeal
Hattie Klotz creates her own mini garden tour of New Edinburgh, discovering four striking front gardens, knocking on the door, and interviewing the home owners to discover the inspiration behind their great green spaces
A Tapestry of Texture
After discovering hostas six years ago on a garden tour, self-proclaimed hostaholic Sandy Hanson has amassed more than 500 cultivars
Paradise Found
Television personality, gardener extraordinaire, former code breaker, devoted wife and mother: the inside story of the Irish lady and her country estate outside Kemptville
This City
Blogger Kim Johnson hits cult status • Old-time home theatre • House touring with Barry Hobin • Eric Chan’s bright ideas • The ultimate Canadian plate • A trio of designing women • Fab faux painting
City Select
The List
Talking design (and drinking wine) with Jason Bellaire
Food
Confessions of a shopping-cart voyeur
BY SHAWNA WAGMAN
Tasting Notes
Bring out the bubbly
BY DAVID LAWRASON
Restaurants
The ultimate chocolate dessert • the quest for the perfect cheese plate • Plus our star-rated reviews
February Events
WANDA KOOP paints the National Gallery red • Russian ballet on the NAC stage • Ice time at Centrepointe with photographer STEPHEN PERRY