The Winter Issue GREAT GETAWAYS Debbie Travis s vacations for body and soul GRACIOUS GIVING Our annual holiday gift guide EMBEDDED IN LUXURY Latest trends in beds and bedding www.vancouverhomemag.com $5.95
GLITTERING GLAMOUR Glorious gold and crystal bling add opulence to design of new home Nelson Batista, a new residential developer, had decided on the type of buyer he wanted to attract to the luxury home he intended to build on Vancouver s prestigious West Side. Batista and his partner, Giacco Barretto, had chosen to build a 6,800-square-foot home for Mainland Chinese buyers who are driving Vancouver s West Side real estate market. They knew if they built it, the buyers would come. They just didn t know how to design the house s interiors specifically to target that market because it s not a demographic familiar to them. But with the help of an interior designer experienced with Asian design, they managed to bridge the cultural divide. The recently completed house is currently listed for $6.88 million, and has already attracted interest from Chinese buyers. I spoke with five realtors and looked at their sales, and I realized that when you are getting into homes above $5 or $6 million, there is a 90 per cent chance it is going to be an Asian buyer, says Batista. Enter Reisa Pollard of Vancouver s award-winning Beyond Beige Interior Design, who has 12 years experience and a background in designing for the Asian market. Because she s worked with feng shui masters on projects, she knows about Asian preferences, including ensuring front and back doors don t align, and ceiling beams aren t exposed. By KERRY GOLD Photography: CHRIS ROLLET STYLING: JANINE LOVE FLORAL ARRANGEMENTS BY POSY Design The two chandeliers in the foyer and stairwell were custom-designed by Beyond Beige Interior Design and manufactured by Montreal s Premiere Luminaire. The stairwell s wall feature, in a lotus design, contains 80 LED lights. 36 The Winter Issue The Winter Issue 37
Pollard spent about a year designing both exterior and interior elements of the house, which had been left intentionally unfinished by the architect. I left it all up to Reisa, says Batista. There were a few things I didn t know would work, but she said, trust me. She knows the market really well, so we kind of went along for the ride. If it were left up to me, I would have chosen things that I like and that wouldn t have worked. So I can t take any credit for it, except for hiring her. The result is a glamorous-yet-clean design, with a neutral palette, high ceilings, white trims, extensive moldings, and dark walnut floors throughout. To take it a cut above most houses, there is also an indoor pool with a skylight, a spa, a home theatre, an elevator, a giant kitchen with a wok kitchen off to one side, a grand, 100-year-old-style fireplace in the living room, and five luxurious bedrooms, each with a deluxe shower. But the house s biggest feature is the attention to detail, particularly the gold and crystal theme that runs throughout. (Opposite) In the master bathroom, a 24-karatgold mosaic tile wall in a damask pattern is a show-stopper. LED lighting illuminates it. I had this idea that it should be raining crystals. 38 The Winter Issue The Winter Issue 39
(Opposite) The kitchen hood fan was purchased at Trail Appliances and designers at Beyond Beige sent it to a local metal-fabrication shop to be custom-wrapped in bright bronze. It continues the gold effect that is a theme throughout the house. (This page) The limestone on the living room fireplace matches the house s formal exterior. Dark walnut flooring was used throughout the house. Pollard says she got her inspiration while on a trip to Thailand. We start with doing our own inspiration gallery, she says. We have inspirational images we collect. They can be interiors, but they can also be completely random. In this case, I had seen a picture of a necklace I really liked while I was in Thailand, and some photos that I thought were inspiring, sparkling off the water. That allows us to then create a focus and to tighten up the direction of the project rather than with each step, having to stop and think of what we do next. Pollard says she designed for an imaginary client who wanted glamorous western design married with Asian flair. The first dose of glamour is at the entryway and just beyond, in the stairwell, where long, sweeping, custom-made chandeliers are big enough for a cruise ship. I had this idea that it should be raining crystals, says Pollard. But we couldn t find anything that had that substantial quality to it that we could present to the developer. So we designed the lighting and got it made. In the entrance, we did a big one that looks like a tornado, and the one in the stairwell has I don t know how many thousand crystals. The three-storey feature wall is the other showpiece, comprised of a three-dimensional, milled lotus-leaf-motif panel that is inset with about 80 led lights. 40 The Winter Issue The Winter Issue 41
The kitchen, which is the heart of the house, is a symphony of cream and gold, with quartz countertops, a mother-of-pearl backsplash, gold-plated cabinet handles, as well as a galley style wok kitchen and top-end appliances. The bathrooms feature 24-karat gold mosaic shower tiles in a damask pattern, big plate-sized shower heads, marble tile on floors and walls, double sinks and deep, stand-alone bath tubs. The three-storey house has its own elevator, with a lotus- flower-motif wallpaper design to complement the one on the feature wall. But the standout element in this house is the $4,000 gold- plated toilet bowl in the dark two-piece powder room on the main floor, which also has a gold sink and ceiling. The intention was to be jaw dropping, and it worked. That sort of wows people, says Pollard. There are so many things in this house I ve never seen, says Batista. Whoever buys this house, they ll want to be one up on their friends. It s that kind of house. The Nameek s sink and toilet are gold-plated. The five-bedroom home is staged with approximately $100,000 worth of furniture, which the buyer has the option of purchasing. 42 The Winter Issue The Winter Issue 43