Back in June, I wrote about the West LaHave dream home that I was working on. I had been hired to create a custom kitchen, three custom bathrooms, several custom furniture pieces, and to come up with a colour design.
When I first wrote about this project, we had just finished installing the kitchen, and it was nearing completion. Now, I’m happy to be able to show you the rest of the work the henhouse team has done!
Here is the completed kitchen! Since the last blog post, we’ve installed tiling, backsplash, and light fixtures, and all of the appliances are now in place.
When I was coming up with the interior design plans, the the beautiful timber framing was a major consideration. Built by Gillis & Company Timber Framing, it is a prominent feature throughout the entire house. I wanted to let the framing shine and not compete with it, so I created a design that was simple and clean, with a quieter colour palette.
The colour palette is inspired by the landscape. The home is located on an idyllic waterfront property in Nova Scotia, and the views from the interior are incredible. When I first visited the site it was winter, and I noticed the stunning icy blue/ grey colours of the ocean. I wanted the interior colours to reflect the landscape and to fit with it.
The moment when it all came together was when I found the piece of quartzite that was used on the island. It has the texture and colours of the ocean in it. As soon as I saw it, my vision was solidified!
Simple, simple, simple was the mantra with this design. For the kitchen cabinetry, we went with a shaker style, and used a soft grey/blue paint on all the uppers and lowers. The faucets match, and so do the all of the countertops. This steady flow of colours and textures helps to keep those elements subdued.
We chose a mix of subway tile and penny round marble mosaic tile for the backsplash, and used it to create a feature wall behind the stove and cherry shelving. This offers a modern, clean look and a touch of elegance- a nice compliment to the weight and texture of the timber frames.
The harvest table in the dining area is a henhouse piece that we built for this project. Again, we kept the colours within our grey/blue palette, and gave the legs an antique painted finish. The chairs add a bit of femininity and elegance.
The rest of the home is coming along, all of the custom furniture from henhouse is in place. The homeowners are taking some time to sort out how they would like to personalize their new home.
This custom 7’x7′ double wardrobe and dresser provides lots of storage. The curvy details and delicate hardware add a touch of femininity to the room.
It was important to add some curves in the design, to counter the straight hard lines of the shaker cabinetry and the weightiness of the timber framing.
Above you can see some of the custom furniture pieces we made for the home, just freshly completed in our workshop, awaiting delivery.
All of the beds are new custom pieces we built, and have washes of blue, green, cream and stoney colours. We kept the walls neutral, again, to showcase the timber framing, and to create a peaceful and quiet feeling.
The washroom vanities are also custom henhouse pieces. We continued the simple shaker-inspired look here, like in the kitchen. As you can see in the photo on the left, even the washrooms have special architectural features that we wanted to showcase- that round window!
After over a year, it’s really satisfying and exciting to see this big project come to completion. I’m so grateful to have had the opportunity to be a part of creating this amazing home!