“We love it!” chimed photographer Stacey Haines and her mother, stylist Elaine Van Berkel, following the recent photo shoot of a Nova Scotia bungalow we dubbed our Little House in the Big Woods.
Taken in hand by Halifax-based designer Jonathan Legate, the residence, located in Westwood Hills (a new subdivision just outside of Halifax), is a sharp right turn off the main highway leading to the South Shore and those calendar pin-ups, Mahone Bay and Chester. Stacey and her mother had arrived shortly after a nor’easter dumped half a foot of snow on the densely forested area, and the duo were instantly enchanted by the magic of the frosty scene.
Greeted at the home’s front door by Jonathan, Stacey and her mother were immediately enveloped in a sense of cozy familiarity—which is all a testament to the designer’s acumen, considering no one currently lives at the house. The property functions as the sales office for the development, and Stacey and Elaine were thrilled at having free rein over every cupboard and corner for the shoot.
“The home is loosely based on the Craftsman bungalow style,” Jonathan explains. He points to the pitched roof and deep porch with its stone supports and the airy 1,300-square-foot open-concept living area as evidence. “See how the foyer, living room and the kitchen occupy a large expansive space in the centre of the house?” The other rooms (two bedrooms plus a study) lie directly off that in full view, not tucked down a dark hallway. “That’s typical Craftsman styling,” says Jonathan.
It’s the amount of daylight streaming through the floor-to-ceiling windows, though, that Stacey falls for. The natural light lends a dazzling clarity to every colour, texture and edge in the house, whether it’s a box in Nova Scotia pine, a chair back in brushed aluminum or a countertop made of ultra-smooth soapstone. In addition, bright hits of lollipop red and spring green scattered throughout the house radiate in the wintry sunlight.
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