Modern Classics of Townhouse design from Pickering

April 12, 2016

The interior designer and decorator Anna Duval is creating timelessly elegant interiors with a solid character uniquely tailored to each specific client. In the following townhouse design project presented today, it was the main reason why a man with Scottish roots made his mind to contact the talented designer regarding the design of the interior.

The house is located in Pickering, Ontario, which is a small town in a countryside, in about 40 km from Toronto on the east, on the shore of Ontario Lake. It is pretty quiet, with a lot of nature.

It is a 3-story townhouse, which has a pretty traditional English-style look. The facade is covered with red brick. It is relatively new (was built about 2-3 years ago). There is a forest right behind the house, which makes the air amazingly fresh.

The total area of the house is about 150 square meters. It has 3 floors. 1^st floor: hallway, powder room, and recreation room. 2^nd floor: 1 open space consisting of living room, piano area and home office, kitchen and dining room. 3^rd floor: 1 master bedroom, 2 guest bedrooms, 1 bathroom, and a hallway.

One of the main targets were to create a relaxed, comfortable, timeless space, which would be a little bit sophisticated and masculine, with simple strong lines, warm natural colours and textures. The living room had to become a relaxed space for reading and conversation. The dining room was planned as a lively, social, casual and fun place for get-together with family and friends. The master bedroom needed to become a comfortable and calm (yet elegant and sophisticated) space.

The interior of the house was inspired by the atmosphere of a traditional Scottish house (which brought the fireplace, stag head, wingback chairs, and tartan throw) and the forest behind the house (which brought natural fabrics and textures to the interior). At the same time, this house is not traditional, but influenced by a tradition.

According to the interior designer Anna Duval, there were encountered some challenges withing the design process:

When I first saw the staircase of the house, I did not like it. It looked very outdated to me. The stairs and railing were made of amber-tone, polished oak, and the runner was made of a waffle carpet. As a solution to this, I suggested to paint the stars and railing in black and replace the runner with an off-white, cut-pile runner with a rich velvety texture. This made the staircase look rather sharp, stylish and masculine, transforming it into an accent piece of the whole house.

Another big challenge was installing a fireplace. Since it is a townhouse, there is no possibility to make a chimney along the wall in the living room (as there is a neighbour unit behind the wall). However, my client (who is very technically advanced) suggested a great solution that worked perfectly well for him. A gel fuel insert, which does not require a chimney and is easy to maintain.

Some pieces with unique design:

The built-in wall cabinetry with the red velvet bench (in the dining room) was fully designed by me, and built by a carpenter based on my drawings and specifications. The design of the cabinet was inspired by neo-classical European cabinetry of the 19 century.

The chandelier in the living room – mesh-enclosed drum, built with fire and anvil, hammer and steel – was designed by blacksmith Jefferson Mack from San Francisco, and manufactured by Restoration Hardware. The mesh creates a gauzy scrim allowing glimpses of the interior chandelier and filtering its warm glow.

The coffee table with a geometric parquet top (in the living room) is handcrafted of solid reclaimed oak timbers from decades-old buildings of Russia. The base is made of a sleek, angular metal frame. Made by Restoration Hardware.

Main colours used in this interior are: soft earthy tones and grays with some accents in burgundy red. Soft earthy tones and grays allowed to create a comfortable, natural, relaxed atmosphere.