What do you do if you want to bring country style to your West Coast home, but aren't exactly a fan of chintz, rocking chairs and potpourri? You edit that country esthetic down to its bones, losing the fuss and keeping classic touches, creating spaces that work for a modern family. That's what Jennifer Heffel, co-owner of the design firm Heffel Balagno, has done in her seaside home. Call it the contemporary cottage.
Image at left: With furniture designed by Mom, this is a living area with the family in mind. Small stools at the coffee table are sized for daughter Ainsley and friends. Cushions, plant pot, cake stand, all Caban; vases, pop bottles, Restoration Hardware; knife, Country Furniture.
Working on clients' houses, frequently from the ground up, prompted Heffel to dream of building her own place. When a small tear-downable bungalow went on the market on a hill in West Vancouver, she and husband Robert, owner of an art auction house, seized it. "The reach-out-and-grab-it view was the major lure," says Jennifer, referring to the wraparound vista of the downtown cityscape, Stanley Park and gleaming cruise ships gliding under the Lions Gate Bridge. Minutes away from a sandy beach and shopping, the south-facing slope was the perfect site for themselves, daughter Ainsley (now six) and pet pug Otis.
Before 1938, when the Lions Gate Bridge opened, West Vancouver was a vacation spot for city dwellers who would take the ferry across Burrard Inlet to their summer cottages. Today, the words "West Vancouver home" spark images of massive glass and cedar houses sprawling along the waterfront. But where the Heffels live, in the community's older section, the lots are smaller. Jennifer, keeping in mind the area's cottage past, wanted their home to look comfortable in its streetscape rather than overwhelming the property. Drawing on historical references and working with an architectural technician, she planned how to make the most effective use of the space, but still keep the house to 30 feet wide. "We found we have about two rooms we actually live in. I went for fewer rooms with larger spaces per room," Jennifer says.
Image at left: How time flies. A retro clock finds a quirky home on the bathroom wall. Bath towel, Restoration Hardware; bath salts, bath brush, Caban.
From the outside, it's a typical cottage with cedar shakes, board and batten trim, and a winding path leading to the front door. But inside, the space opens up dramatically, with living, dining and kitchen areas all combined into a large room positioned to frame That Amazing View. The interior of the house is a roomy 3,400 square feet on the three storeys made possible by its sloping lot.
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