A love of decorating and knowledge of the building business are clearly visible in this home, where a husband and wife collaborated to create a handsome farmhouse on four rural hectares in Central Saanich.
鈥淚nterior decorating is the love of my life,鈥� said Gena, who asked not to have their last name published.
She has always enjoyed concocting fanciful decorations for her church, her children鈥檚 schools and creating crafts, but designing an entire home was a thrill. It was particularly satisfying to work with husband Scott, who is involved in construction and has plenty of inventive ideas, too, from lighting to layout.
The newlyweds, married just four years and with a blended family of four children aged eight to 16, found their plans online but made major changes, adding more bedrooms and customizing the bathrooms.
鈥淲e have two young boys and two teenage girls, so we have his and hers toilets and showers,鈥� said Gena with a chuckle. 鈥淭hat way the teens can have their girly stuff and don鈥檛 have to sit down where someone just peed on the seat.
鈥淲e revised the plan so we would have something that really suited our family and the property. We wanted a classic farmhouse with a wrap-around porch and some cutesy style.鈥�
She noted that rather than taking the 鈥渟afe鈥� approach of using one theme or colour palette throughout the entire home, 鈥渨e branched out鈥� and they settled on an eclectic mix of modern and traditional farmhouse, of both rustic atmosphere and what she calls French fresh country.
鈥淵ou can find everything online now, and lots of it, so we found what we wanted,鈥� said Scott, and then had someone draw it up to suit the local building code and their changes.
The owners, both in their late 30s, are thrilled with how it turned out.
鈥淚鈥檝e gone through a few house builds myself, and I do it in my work, too, so I know there is always something you would do differently, if you had the chance to do it again. But we are really happy with this house,鈥� he said.
For example, they both remark on the efficiency of their large mudroom, which ended up being quite different from the original. It can be accessed from both the front porch and the back of the house, and instead of having lots of cupboards and closets, the owners opted for a long open bench and wall hooks.
The family has a dog, raises sheep and lambs, a goat and chickens, so the slate floor of the mudroom does indeed get muddy. The room features an egg-washing station, so boot-shod family members pop in to deposit the fresh eggs.
Gena thinks the 4,800-square-foot house worked out so well because she and Scott tried to physically put themselves into it when making every decision, large or small. 鈥淲e would mentally walk through the plan, think it through in detail.
鈥淲e paid special attention to the function of each room, thought about the natural flow and the habits of our children and guests.鈥�
They also wanted each room to look slightly different.
For example, the sunroom looks like the screened porch on a holiday cottage. The entire room is white and bright. 鈥淲e used heated tile that looks like old painted white wood on the floors, white beadboard siding and three walls of windows.鈥� They furnished the room with white wicker and a four-metre-long rustic table, and it鈥檚 where the family enjoys meals while watching the sheep and lambs play in an open field outside.
For their study, they envisioned a rustic cabin vibe.
They used reclaimed barn wood with hints of red to wrap all the walls and windowsills, decorated with traditional matching tufted leather sofas, a cowhide stool, and added a thin rock fireplace complete with a long-horn skull above.
鈥淭his room has great atmosphere and we didn鈥檛 do anything to the wood except lightly pressure-wash it. We didn鈥檛 glaze or sand it.鈥�
Scott said taking their time when designing their house paid off.
鈥淕ena and I had been in an old house on the property for a couple of years, and I had been there a decade before that, so we really knew what we wanted, where we wanted the windows, where the sun comes up, where it sets.
鈥淚t was nice to have that time, especially on a larger piece of property where you have a lot of possibilities. It takes time to think about them all.鈥�
In the end they decided to build just three metres away from the original house, which they lived in during the build.
鈥淲orking around the existing house was the biggest challenge,鈥� said Scott. 鈥淭he new house was tucked in nice and tight against the old one and digging the foundations right next door was difficult.鈥� Re-routing the septic system presented particular problems. But in the end, the new house was complete and the original old house was lifted off and removed.
Scott said one of the important choices was to put the laundry appliances upstairs instead of in the mudroom. It is more convenient because all the bedrooms are upstairs. A lot of new home plans have a master bedroom on the main floor with kids鈥� rooms upstairs, but neither he nor Gena worry about stairs.
One of the rooms Gena loves best is her new kitchen, with its quartz countertops and painted wooden cabinets from Harbour City Kitchens. Some of the top cabinets have insets of chicken wire to enhance the farmhouse feel, as do long cupboards in the butler鈥檚 pantry.
鈥淭he kitchen is really amazing, a place where children, teens and friends all feel comfortable and come to gather,鈥� she said, especially thanks to the four-metre-long island and pizza oven.
Most people with pizza ovens choose to place them outside on a patio or in a garden, partly because they are made from stone or brick and space is usually an issue. Scott and Gena wanted theirs inside.
鈥淭hat was a challenge as far as codes go,鈥� said Scott, noting a pizza oven is not common in residential buildings. 鈥淎nd a wood-burning fireplace is always more challenging anyway, because most people have gas. A pizza oven requires more masonry, more structural support and, because food is cooked inside, there was an added layer of complication. It needed special venting.鈥�
But they love the result and recently fed homemade pizza to 20 kids from their church.
鈥淚t鈥檚 an elegant home but functional,鈥� said Gena, and they can鈥檛 say enough about their builder, GT Mann Contracting.
鈥淲e had an excellent experience with them,鈥� and the home won three CARE awards in 2014 including best single-family detached custom home over 3,500 square feet; best interior over 4,000 square feet; and best master suite over 500 square feet.
鈥淕T allowed us to enjoy the experience of customizing every detail in our home, without being overwhelmed or stressed with the many decisions a custom-built home entails. They broke down each stage of the build, informed us about each step, and told us what to focus on.
鈥淚 was blown away by the detail and care the GT crew put into our home 鈥� how they went above and beyond. They are true gentlemen, who became like family during the build.鈥�
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Visit This Home
WHAT: Young Life 25th annual home design and renovation tour
WHEN: 11 a.m. to 4 p.m., April 11 and 12
WHERE: 10 stunning new and redesigned homes in and around the Victoria waterfront and Saanich Peninsula.
TICKETS: $25 at Young Life 778-977-3551 or at Cloverdale Paints, Fairfield Home Hardware, Quadra Lumberworld, Baywest Rona and Rona Langford, Capital Iron, Luxe Home Interiors, Christian Book & Music, and Dig This Oak Bay. More info at younglife.ca/victoriahometour
The self-guided tour features 10 homes that will appeal to a wide range of tastes and budgets. It includes newly built modern homes, heritage restorations, waterfront properties, country estates and some examples of older homes that have been transformed into spectacular modern living spaces.
鈥淚t鈥檚 a chance to see the fine workmanship of designers and builders such as Jason Good, Max Huxley and Emma Dane Design,鈥� said volunteer publicist Bill Okell. He noted Young Life is an international, Christian based youth organization and this tour will support local programs, camps and staff.
