good morning! today is going to a be a festival of sorts- a festival of sneak peeks! we’ll be sharing four homes today and then tomorrow we’ll be returning to regular content. i’ve had a few of these homes sitting in my drafts folder for a bit so i thought today would be a great day to bring them out. so, off we go…
today’s sneak peek is all about what you can do with a good shell and a creative mind (and a handy and fearless partner helps too). three years ago emira mears and her partner martin bought this mid-40s “shack” during vancouver’s crazy real estate market. the house had hardly been touched since the 40s, so they had their work cut out for them, “making it not only a livable, but also a beautiful place to live.” also impressive is that they did almost all the work themselves. you can find more full-sized images of their home right here. also, be sure to check out the boss of you, all about running your business your own way – emira’s project with lauren bacon. [thanks, emira!] -anne
Martin has an eye for modern design and we’ve inherited some great pieces from his Danish parents (not furniture but enamel pots, bowls etc.). I’m a fan of modern design, but also love handcrafted and vintage pieces. We’re fortunate have a lot of artwork from local Vancouver designers, many of whom are friends as well as some choice pieces purchased online or on our travels in Denmark and Amsterdam.
The couch in this photo is always the clincher that blows people away when I tell them that Martin made all the furniture in our house. Most of it is wood work, so this upholstered couch seems pretty darned impressive. The base is made primarily of found materials including old 70s chrome office chairs which are used for the legs and supports (the cushions and fabric are all new material). We need to recover it as it is starting to show some wear and tear, but can never decide on a colour. The coffee table Martin made for me to go in my old flat. It’s upholstered in off-white vinyl and then has blue mosaic tile insets for putting down a tea pot/cup of tea. It’s pretty darned swell. The painting on the wall is by a local Vancouver artist, Jude Griebel. Martin and I bought it kind of on a whim at a gallery opening when we first started dating. It was a big/risky co-purchase as we both loved it and we hadn’t been together all that long. Fortunately that all worked out ;) Since then Jude has gone onto be very successful and we’re really glad we were able to purchase one of his pieces when we did.
Martin made me this bench as a birthday gift the first year we were dating. I remember looking out the livingroom window and seeing him bring it up the walk to the one bedroom flat I was living in at the time. I was totally floored. He has a thing for circles/holes in things, so that’s why the circle motif. The lid lifts up to reveal some basic storage below. I used to use it for storing table cloths in the kitchen of my old flat. Here in our office it holds phone books and paperwork.
CLICK HERE to see the rest of Emira’s home after the jump…
Martin made the table and bench here to maximize space in our small kitchen. The table can be expanded to include a leaf (it’s attached on one side to the wall on a runner system). The table top is just two layers of plywood glued together and then cut on a bevel to expose the ply. The legs are Ikea.
The bench has storage for all kinds of biggish awkward kitchen stuff that isn’t for every day use like the juicer, the canning pot, cookie tins etc.
The print on the wall is of course Camilla Engman.
