Houzz Tour: Black Cabinets, Trim and Doors Wow in This Victorian
A century-old home in Canada gets new life with a black-and-white color scheme and midcentury furnishings
The Strathcona area of Vancouver, British Columbia, started as a carpenters’ neighborhood, says designer Tanya Mclean, owner and creative director of Mango Design Co. Row houses and cottages for millworkers, as well as some shops and a school, sprang up around Hastings Mill in the late 1800s and early 1900s. The Strathcona couple who came to Mclean for help in remodeling their three-story 1902 home wanted to honor its architectural history while melding it with their collection of midcentury modern furniture, and to make it a livable space for their small family.
Entrance
First impression. A tile mosaic inset in the floor by the front door serves as a welcome mat and a place for wet shoes.
First impression. A tile mosaic inset in the floor by the front door serves as a welcome mat and a place for wet shoes.
Screen. A privacy screen built by Union Wood Co. provides some separation between the foyer and the living room. The old “private investigator” office doors often seen in films (think The Maltese Falcon) inspired the torched oak screen with frosted glass.
Molding details. Artisans and carpenters built many Strathcona homes, Mclean says, so they’re loaded with trim and, sometimes, the handcrafted renovations of previous owners. “Some of the moldings were new; some were old; some were missing,” Mclean says. The molding going up the staircase was original, so Mclean created baseboards to match. The window trim was re-created from scratch using rosette designs from other trim in the house.
Paint on trim: Black Beauty, Benjamin Moore
Paint on trim: Black Beauty, Benjamin Moore
Floors. “The flooring on the first floor is all new, but it looks old,” Mclean says. “We wanted it to feel like it had always been there.” The oak flooring (Trestle by DuChâteau) is finished with a nontoxic hard wax oil. It has the same kind of warmth and feel as the original fir flooring, which still covers the upstairs floors.
After. With the dividing wall now removed, natural light floods into the living room from the entrance, adding to light from the bay window.
Furnishings. Mclean designed the wall unit of copper piping with blackened steel. The homeowners already owned the midcentury coffee table and the black-and-white hassock.
Beige sofa: CB2; pendant light: Non Random, Moooi
Beige sofa: CB2; pendant light: Non Random, Moooi
Dining Room
The couple owned quite a bit of midcentury modern furniture, including the dining table and chairs. The furniture inspired many of Mclean’s design ideas for the home. The chandelier is from a now-defunct Vancouver shop called Mint.
Rug: Urban Outfitters
The couple owned quite a bit of midcentury modern furniture, including the dining table and chairs. The furniture inspired many of Mclean’s design ideas for the home. The chandelier is from a now-defunct Vancouver shop called Mint.
Rug: Urban Outfitters
Hutch. The built-in dining hutch (which houses a coat closet on the other side) also hides the “guts” of the house — the electrical wires and plumbing that run from the basement to the top floor. It solves the where-to-hide-the-guts problem created when Mclean tore down the wall that used to run from front to back.
The wall framing the hutch is made of sugarcane fiber panels. Mclean describes the design as “a combination of Art Deco and midcentury.” The diamond pattern on the white panels echoes the diamond design on the kitchen cabinets.
Kitchen
Cabinets. Mclean designed the diamond pattern on the cabinets, which were built locally. The cabinets are white oak painted in Benjamin Moore’s Black Beauty.
Countertops: Caesarstone; copper pulls: Schoolhouse Electric & Supply
Cabinets. Mclean designed the diamond pattern on the cabinets, which were built locally. The cabinets are white oak painted in Benjamin Moore’s Black Beauty.
Countertops: Caesarstone; copper pulls: Schoolhouse Electric & Supply
Statement light fixture. The light fixture over the sink uses the same copper piping as the wall unit in the living room. The piping was soldered according to Mclean’s design and wrapped in lights from Rejuvenation. The lights plug into newly installed ceiling outlets.
Copper stools: Bend
Copper stools: Bend
Powder Room
Door. The door to the powder room off the kitchen is original to the house. Mclean painted it the same black as the trim and kitchen cabinets (Black Beauty by Benjamin Moore). The door knobs are original, as is the pendant light, which is a twin of the ceiling light in the front hallway.
Door. The door to the powder room off the kitchen is original to the house. Mclean painted it the same black as the trim and kitchen cabinets (Black Beauty by Benjamin Moore). The door knobs are original, as is the pendant light, which is a twin of the ceiling light in the front hallway.
Flooring. Mosaic flooring in the powder room echoes the tile welcome mat in the front hall. The wallpaper (Deco Diamonds by Graham & Brown) provides a burst of color. “They really wanted the house to be neutral and wanted it to feel more masculine,” Mclean says. “But they asked for pops of color. They like midcentury greens and oranges.”
Upstairs Landing
Original fir flooring and a bannister grace the upstairs hall. Plans call for more remodeling of the rooms on this floor in the future.
Original fir flooring and a bannister grace the upstairs hall. Plans call for more remodeling of the rooms on this floor in the future.
Nursery
Mclean always builds 3D computer models of her designs. “It’s always so much easier to get everybody on board and get the clients excited about the space,” she says. Originally, she planned to paper just one wall of the nursery, but when she tried it on the computer model, she felt that it wasn’t giving the effect she wanted. “So we tried it on a second wall,” she says. “Then we decided: Let’s put it everywhere.”
Wallpaper: Cole & Son; crib: West Coast Kids
Mclean always builds 3D computer models of her designs. “It’s always so much easier to get everybody on board and get the clients excited about the space,” she says. Originally, she planned to paper just one wall of the nursery, but when she tried it on the computer model, she felt that it wasn’t giving the effect she wanted. “So we tried it on a second wall,” she says. “Then we decided: Let’s put it everywhere.”
Wallpaper: Cole & Son; crib: West Coast Kids
“When you’re in the nursery, you really feel like you’re surrounded by trees,” Mclean says.
Contractor: Claudio Ance
More home tours: Apartments | Small Homes | Colorful Homes | Contemporary Homes | Eclectic Homes | Farmhouses | Midcentury Homes | Modern Homes | Ranch Homes | Traditional Homes | Transitional Homes | All
Contractor: Claudio Ance
More home tours: Apartments | Small Homes | Colorful Homes | Contemporary Homes | Eclectic Homes | Farmhouses | Midcentury Homes | Modern Homes | Ranch Homes | Traditional Homes | Transitional Homes | All
Houzz at a Glance
Who lives here: A couple and their baby son
Location: Vancouver, British Columbia
Size: 2,400 square feet (223 square meters); three bedrooms, 2½ bathrooms
Designers: Tanya Mclean and Nichole Skladan of Mango Design Co.
Scope of work. The couple had already completed a remodel of the basement (which includes a bedroom, full bathroom, kitchenette, family room and laundry room), as well as work on the exterior of the house, when they called Mclean.
Mclean remodeled the main floor of 880 square feet (81.8 square meters). Originally, a wall ran the length of the house from the front door to the kitchen at the back, closing off the living room and the dining room except for a narrow doorway to each room. Mclean took out that main wall and replaced it with a load-bearing beam to open up the space.