Crafisman home ge WHEN we purchased this house we knew we faced two design choic- es: be true to the period the house was built or bring the interiors right up to date. We chose the former and tied to slightly modernize the look with paint and furniture. The living room sits central in the house and can be seen from the front hall, kitchen and outside deck. Keeping this in mind, it was important that the room flow with the rest of the house. Once again we were faced with wood panelling and a dark looking room. In order to continue the bright seaside feel we were attempting to convey, We chose fo paint over the wood panels and coffered ceilings. The beauty of this room lies in the positioning of the large oversized windows on three of four walls as well as the high coffered ceilings that are very characteristic of the Craftsman-style home. In order to highlight these windows and add life to this room we decided to use a very soft colour palette and go heavy on white accents and trim, Timeless intetiors are always livable and comfortable. Barb Lunter old house new look It’s important that all the rooms exude a feeling of case and that guests feel encour- aged to linger. We decided on a soft brown for the walls and to contrast it with an antique white trim. The 90-year-old walls were unpainted panel boards, They required a huge amount of prep as the wood panels had more holes than an Italian restaurant after a Corleone drive-by. Needless to say, my hus- band spent quite a few hours spackling. Spackling is filling holes with putty. Not to be confused with swearing, which could be used interchangeably in this contest. After the paint was applied we were quite happy with the look. The tine bevelling in the panels showed beautifully through the three coats of paint . Yes, that’s two coats of paint and one coat of primer. The dark French doors Minimalism back in vogue @ Arts and Crafts Ideals: Wisdom from = the Arts and Crafts Movement in America, compiled by = Bruce Yamamoto Smith, and Gail Yoshiko Yngve, Raincoast Books, 64 pages, $16.95 THE “making of stuffs at a thousand yards a minute does were painted white and a new French door was added by the master bedroons. Vhere’s no question that elegant coftered ceilings are making a comeback, Originally built as a structural necessity, these grids of beams are becoming popular once again with the building boom of the Craftsman-style home. We always thought the cof: fered ceilings in our living room were worth highlight- ing. We felt that by lightening them with white paint, the room would feel larger. As it turned out, the white coffered ceilings feel a foor taller and yet you still notice the details. The white paint gives the beams a much more casual look complementing the rest S timel ofthe roam. The beams wtlso seem to create a definite teel- ing of warmth and comiort. ‘The fireplace was a chal- lenge. Being a definite focal point in the room, F knew we had to somehow update this beast. At first we tried to paint it white. No go. This only made it seem more olvtrusive. We opted for a stucco sign to climinate the old brick and visually reduce the size of the fireplace. There are a few different finishes to choose from with stucco. Styles range from con- temporary to antique. We chose a rustic finish sitnifar to the texture of a plush bath towel and we paint- ed the mantle white to com- Wednesday, August 23, 2660 —- North Shore News - 21 livin plement the antique white stucco finish, The ale on top of the hearth and in front was painted black and the end result was a much reore ele- gant and softer fireplace. The living room carpet and underlay was torn out and replaced with Cordovan car- pec This nvpe of carpet wears extremely well and fits nicely with the era of the house. Our last challenge was the sundeck. When we stand in the liv- ing room, the deck accounts for a good portion of the whole southern facing wall. It has a very farge window that runs parallel to the living room making it a very visible fearure of the room. There was no question that ess touch the existing railing was weak. both structuratiy and visually. So we decided to replace the old iron railing with a Craftsman-style wood railing to give the deck more strength. We felt the wood was a much stronger look than the thin iron and it does tie in the living room beautifully. Still in the works are drapes, tables and plants. See vou in nwo weeks. Barb Lunter is a West Vancouver resident. Send ques- tions or ideas to Barb c/a the North Shore News, 1139 Lonsdale Are. North Vancouver, B.C, V7M 2H4. You can also check out her Web site at