Step through the front door into a light-filled warm space, an entry that welcomes you to a home that looks like both a haven and a hub for family activities.
The grand prize home of the 2012 Dream Lottery is glamorous and serene simultaneously. The lottery is run by the London Health Sciences Foundation, Children's Health Foundation and St. Joseph's Health Care Foundation.
?This is a nice family home,? designer Raeann Ladouceur said. ?It is somewhere you can walk in and picture the kids doing their work or reading.?
The sitting room off the entry hall does invite with a comfy leather sofa, armchair, flat-screen television and calm, neutral colours.
The colour scheme throughout is a subtle mix of greys, creams and black. ?I started with the zebras and the colours of the house,? Ladouceur said. The light grey exterior, dark-stained hardwood floors and cream tiles were already installed when she began the Dream Lottery project. ?The house was like a blank canvas. I can get creative and pull it all together.?
The zebras were a perfect match for that palette. A large triptych of the African equids dominate a wall in the living room: the effect doubled by a reflection in a mirror above the fireplace. Their distinctive stripes also set the rhythm of pattern throughout the open living, dining and kitchen space. The carpet pattern of grey and cream swirls echoes the stripes, and two club chairs are upholstered in a leaf-like pattern.
The open space is a floor plan many people want now. ?It?s very functional,? Ladouceur said. ?When you?re entertaining, you can be in the kitchen and still be part of the whole room. That?s the way families are living now. Everyone is so busy, that when they are home, it?s nice to be all together.?
Three black runners in a ripple-textured fabric line up on the dining table. A sinuous wrought iron candlabra sits on top. The parson?s-style chairs are covered in a print of white, grey and black dots that form a stripe-like grid.
Ladouceur also planned to echo the structure of the house in the decor. ?I wanted contemporary, clean lines. I didn?t want it to be cluttered,? she said. ?The rooms are very generous, a nice size to work with.?
The kitchen features warm espresso-stained cabinets, granite countertops, stainless steel appliances and a spacious walk-in corner pantry. Wrought-iron pulls indicate another recurring theme. For example, the stair railing and banisters are wood and wrought iron. The combination of metal, wood, mirrors, nubby fabrics and leather produces a rich mix of textures. A console between the kitchen and dining areas is covered in black and clear mirrors with glass pulls.
?I carried it through the house so it flows together,? Ladouceur said. Indeed, the decor is a lesson in flow, both of space and style. It?s a great reason to visit and see what you can apply at home.
?We?re showing what?s new in the market and what you can do with rooms,? Ladouceur said. ?You can see how things are pulled together and go home and accessorize or freshen your own rooms. It can be as simple as liking a paint colour and going home and painting a room to freshen it. You don?t always have to replace everything.
?If you are building, you can see proportion and size and get ideas. And some people love this neighborhood and this is a chance to win a house in it.?
The view from the second storey looks out over neighbouring rooftops to woods. A small family area on the upper landing is fitted with a large desk and chair, creating a great spot to manage the household tasks. Three bedrooms open off this gathering place.
The master bedroom features a new line of furniture. A creamy finish with wrought-iron ring pulls gives an air of casual comfort. Ladouceur calls the style transitional because of its clean lines but traditional elements.
Simple blinds continue the uncluttered approach. The granite countertops from the kitchen are repeated in the ensuite and upstairs baths. The ensuite features a soaker tub, glass-walled shower and double vanity.
The girl?s room is a dream of royal glam ? brushed nickel, streamlined bed frame, mirrored bedside tables and tallboy dresser. ?Mirrored furniture is big right now,? Ladouceur said. The bed?s headboard is padded in deep purple fabric and lights beneath add a purple haze. The lights can be fixed on one colour, or flash in several.
The bed in the boy?s room is also brushed nickel with a padded headboard, this time in black leather. Fabric on the sides can be custom selected. ?They?re both made by a Quebec company and you can choose the metal and the fabric,? Ladouceur said. A dark wood dresser with linear brushed nickel pulls sets a more masculine tone.
The art enlivening the walls throughout the house is all Canadian. Ladouceur and her husband Jon have a Home Furniture and Appliances store in Exeter. It carries 90% Canadian-made furnishings and art. The large stained glass piece hanging in the stairway window is Ladouceur?s work.
An entire wall of windows and 2.4-metre (eight-foot) ceilings make the walkout basement as light-filled as the upper levels. It?s unfinished, but with walls roughed-in for possible future usage. ?It was left so you (the winner) can fix it the way you want to live,? Ladouceur said.
?It?s a very bright house. It feels nice ? it?s open but is a manageable size.
?The Grand Bend home is more traditional because it?s a cottage. It also has a great view ? through trees to a tennis court in the summer, and of the lake when the leaves are off the trees.?
The Southcott Pines house is timber frame with wood floors throughout. Curved beams show off against a creamy white ceiling in the living room.
?One wall is all stone and the fireplace mantel and kitchen hood are the same stone,? Ladouceur said. ?So there is a lot of texture in the house.
In the kitchen, a raised bar offers a place to sit and have a coffee with the morning paper or converse with the cook.
An office, accessible through double doors, provides a place to catch up on work and correspondence. Downstairs, a yoga/meditation room is divided from the family room by shoji screens. Two bedrooms are upstairs, two down, making the house a good site for gathering friends and family. Each is outfitted with a king-size bed.
?It?s a cottage, but when big families come there is plenty of room,? Ladouceur said. ?The poker table doubles as games and dining table. There are lots of big walls, so there are some large art pieces to make a statement.?
This house also features a walkout basement to a deck with firepit.
Janis Wallace is a London writer.
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HOME TOURS
870 Thistleridge Cres., London
Open: 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday to Sunday plus holidays
Grand Bend in Southcott Pines
Open: 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday, Sunday
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ABOUT THE LOTTERY
Dream Lottery proceeds support patient care, equipment, education and research at London Health Sciences Centre, Children?s Hospital at London Health Sciences Centre and St. Joseph?s Health Care London. These hospitals receive more than 1.5 million patient visits each year from across Southwestern Ontario and beyond.
Dream Lottery's ultimate grand prize winner selected in the final draw on Jan. 10, 2013, will choose either the home in London with $500,000 and an Infiniti G37x; or the home in Grand Bend with $100,000; or $1 million.
Check the website for ticket information, draw times and prize details: www.dreamitwinit.ca
| 0% 0 votes | Yes  |
| 0% 0 votes | Not yet....but I will |
| 0% 0 votes | I won't be buying one |
Source: http://www.lfpress.com/2012/10/25/family-hub-or-beach-retreat
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