THE INTERIORS ISSUE
* Modern in the city — three amazing homes that make the most of their urban locations
* Modern in the country — two country retreats that complement their rural settings
* Making waves — interviewing three of the capital’s next generation of fine artists
* Creative in the kitchen — four beautiful kitchen renos (and how you can get the look)
* 170+ pages of great city style!
Letter from the Editor
I never begin an issue with a theme in mind, but once the process of researching Interiors gets rolling one always seems to emerge. This year, that theme is “modern.” At first I was a bit concerned. Would readers embrace the pared-down aesthetic associated with the modern home? Would they find this year’s five featured houses too similar? While all of the homes embrace certain truths — all, for instance, showcase the design idea that simplicity trumps complexity, and all have an open-concept model for communal spaces, celebrating togetherness without claustrophobia — each is distinctive once you get beyond that cursory first glance.
A visit to a Hintonburg infill (“Luminous Spirit,” page 76) left me most awed by the brilliant layout that allows light to flood in from three sides, bathing the slim house (16 feet four inches at its widest point) with sunlight all day. A cottage-country hideaway in Wakefield (“Head for the Hills,” page 84), meanwhile, is stunning as an architectural showpiece, but also for the way the owners, two art conservators, have added thoughtful touches that reveal their artistic bent. I was blown away by a compact 1940s bungalow (“Immaculate Concept,” page 92), lovingly renovated by an owner who designed much of the built-in furniture herself. And a warm and welcoming house on a hill (“On the Rise,” page 98) wooed me with its expansive deck, wide open living room, and hidden martini bar — this is a house made for gathering. Finally, I reveled in the deep thinking that has gone into a renovation of another 1940s bungalow (“Forward Thinking,” page 106), this one designed to meet the owners’ changing years over the next 20, 30, even 40, years.
The real value of a city magazine is in the stories it discovers and tells — stories about the individuals who make up a town and give it its character. In this issue, I was privileged to have the opportunity to see three incredible spaces that appear in this issue as Great Room (page 60), Great Studio (page 64), and Great Office (page 68). But as much as they are visually spectacular, these three spaces are just as interesting for what they tell us about the people who envisaged them and turned them into reality. From a vast room dedicated to one man’s passion for hunting to a state-of-the-art performance studio in an abandoned gymnasium to an award-winning office renovation inspired by Mad Men, these are the kinds of stories that represent the creativity at play all around us. They’re also the kinds of stories that make me happy to live in such a dynamic and diverse city.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Features
Luminous Spirit
A couple designs and builds a streamlined house on a slim lot in Hintonburg, overcoming hurdles that included a fire that destroyed the first house just weeks before they were set to move in
Head for the Hills
Two art conservators plan a cottage-country hideaway in which the indoor and outdoor spaces are intentionally blurred
Immaculate Concept
A graphic designer showcases her own furniture designs and Danish Modern finds in an imaginative renovation undertaken over more than a decade
On the Rise
A productive collaboration between engaged homeowners and an architect leads to a welcoming space that encourages friends to stop by and stay a while
Modern Love
After moving into a 1940s bungalow, a design-savvy couple commits to a creative renovation that gives them space while respecting the character of neighbourhood
COLUMNS
Art and Soul
MAKING WAVES: In the past two years, sculptor and installation artist Anna Williams has had a solo exhibition, won a public art commission from the city, and seen her work collected by the Canada Council Art Bank. What’s next, you ask? A date, in studio, with the Big Bad wolf
On A Roll
MAKING WAVES: Though he eschews artspeak, his legions of fans more than make up for his reticence, variously describing his work as surrealist, macabre, humorous. Up a tree (and on the record) with piano crusher Maskull Lasserre
Straight Shooter
MAKING WAVES Jessika Brunet uses traditional photography techniques to explore such diverse themes as identity, sexuality, and time — and to turn her musings into great art
Fatal Attraction
GREAT ROOM: Combining art with science, an avid hunter designs a 3,500-square-foot diorama to showcase the trophies that, he hopes, will one day belong in a museum collection
Gym Dandy
GREAT STUDIO: A luxury property with a scandalous backstory is transformed into a performance space and recording studio dedicated to advancing the art of sound
Mod Men (and Women)
GREAT OFFICE: Inspired by the mid-century modern look and the television show Mad Men, McMillan ad agency undertakes a renovation that makes it even more fun to come to work
One Table, Three Ways
FOCUS: The dinner party never looked so good! Dress up yourself, then dress up your table according to a mood or theme. The key is to have fun
Creative in the Kitchen
FOCUS: Ottawa Magazine visits four kitchens to bring back the goods on where the homeowners got their great ideas and where they found the expertise and products to make everything come together
THIS CITY
Interior designer Anne Carlyle wins big * Inside Vincenzo Pagliaro’s imagination * Insect-inspired furniture design * Calendar girls (and boys) * Two guys and an empty lot
CITY SELECT
My Look
Talking colour — and platform heels — with kitchen designer Caroline Castrucci
Tasting Notes
Warm Spanish values for the dead of winter
Restaurants
A new pub for Hintonburg * Pizza night at Bread & Sons Bakery * Reimagining the egg * plus our star-rated reviews
February/March Events
Homage to Winterlude * Artist Carl Stewart and the legacy of loss at Centrepointe Theatre Gallery * Ronnie Burkett’s puppets take to the NAC stage * A to-do list for the design-minded