A Tribute to My Father: For the Love of Wood

Bolier's Rosenau Stateside Chair

Dear readers, it is my sincere hope you are enjoying time with family and friends during these holidays!

It is with great sadness I must tell you - a very special part of my life, my beloved father, has passed away during this holiday. He was a truly wonderful man who had keen interest and skill in fine woodworking, and his attention to detail and dedication to his hobby made him a master. Therefore, I am compelled to discuss one of his favourite materials: wood. No space should be without the beauty and warmth of wood!

Zebrano wood has been one of the popular exotic woods used in the past decade for modern applications, as shown in this kitchen by Beeleigh Interiors from the UK.

Here are some of the exotic and domestic varieties of wood used for furniture and inlays. Chart courtesy of Evoke Woodcraft.

Dark Maple wideplank flooring by Carlisle.

The hottest wood flooring is hand-scraped, reclaimed, recycled, or distressed and is available in a variety of widths and finishes, making it wonderful for hiding wear and tear. Some companies even burn the wood slightly to give it an ashy, grayed appearance.

Country Floors' teak flooring

The natural beauty of wood adds warmth and richness to a space. The rustic beams, oversized clock, gleaming floor and turned legs on the island of this kitchen make this stark white scheme very cozy and inviting. Interior by Amy D Morris.

Going green is important these days.Global Views' Washboard Media Console is made of recycled wood.

Siematic's new Beaux Arts Collection mixes styles and wood finishes in cabinetry to create dramatic, outstanding kitchens.

Often, clients are concerned about ' mixing woods'. Mixing it up a bit is good! A room with all one colour or type of wood can be boring, especially with all of the basic 'espresso' furniture that is available anywhere, even at the grocery store! Some consideration should be made with the wood's colour and the style of furniture. A rustic yellow pine cabinet may not work well when paired with a refined mahogany dining room table.

I have a fondness for dark furniture, especially when it has an interesting shape. Barbara Barry's Facets pedestal table for Henredon is timeless beauty.Photo from Detroit Home Magazine.

Housewears works with any wood, but custom built applications other than kitchens are often maple, walnut or quarter sawn oak.This wall unit we designed is dark espresso maple, and is actually 11 feet tall, but in a room with 18' ceilings, the scale was absolutely perfect.

Another project from Housewears, using quarter sawn oak in a natural finish. The look was clean, interesting, yet simple in this small media room.

A clever black walnut pocket bar from Interior Design Magazine. Photo by Eric Laignel.

Oly's hot Isa wooden chandelier is a modern take on an old-world style.

Photo via The Contemporist. Dutch designer Frans Schrofer's Mobius Chair

Oly Studio's Ivan Tall Chest is ornate yet restrained.

The sun-bleached, relaxed traditional look is cropping up everywhere...this is the St. James Collection in weathered oak from Restoration Hardware.

Global Views is also introducing its Light Limed Wood collection, with this French Key Console.

Rustic modern - Interior Design Magazine's Best of the Year 2009 winner in residential tables is the Duette table by Altura Furniture.

Another Interior Design Magazine award winner for 2009 in residential seating is the Pasadena Rocker by Thos. Moser.

Yes, I know you've seen this photo before, but I must post it again because it is my father's handiwork.

We worked together on this project: I designed, and he built the cabinetry, carefully matching the grain of the gorgeous black walnut. The workmanship is superb, and we both loved it!

My Father, John

                                                                         1939-2009

Today, I honour my dad, an outstanding father and grandfather. He taught me so many wonderful values, and he was a friend to all who knew him. We will miss him tremendously! A retired engineer and devoted family man, he also loved to golf and to work in his woodshop. He enjoyed assisting us at Housewears, setting up and delivering furniture in a pinch, or completing small projects we specified for our clients...there was nothing he couldn't fix. The outpouring of support has been very comforting to our family during this holiday, and he would want us all to toast to his life rather than shed tears for his passing. This New Year's Eve, please hug your loved ones a bit tighter and enjoy your time with them, and raise a glass to those special people who are no longer with you! Wishing you joy, peace, love and good health for 2010! 

Housewears Interviews HGTV's Emmanuel Belliveau

In light of the fact that Earth Day is quickly approaching, I thought I'd share with you my interview with a "green" TV designer in my 'Design by 5' series of interviews, Emmanuel Belliveau. He's the humourous and creative designer from HGTV's 'My Parents' House',where together with co-host Andrika Lauren, he transforms bland and dated homes caught in a timewarp into updated, functional, beautiful spaces.

He is also the host of a show on the Discovery Channel, (Planet Green) called 'World's Greenest Homes', where he travels the world to report on homes that are innovative and completely environmentally friendly.

A native of New Brunswick, Emmanuel began his career in design with FNDA Architecture Inc. in Vancouver, where he travelled extensively doing design projects in exotic places such as Dubai and Umbassa.
When I met him, he had just returned from a trip to Africa. He was very friendly and sincere, and very happy to chat with me about his recent endeavours.

Now, for the interview:

Housewears: As you know, for 2009, Revenue Canada is providing incentives to Canadian homeowners by offering a 15% tax credit for home renovations from $1000 to $10,000. What, in terms of renos, should homeowners be doing to give their homes a 'wow' factor?

Emmanuel: Honestly, Jill, since I've been hosting "World's Greenest Homes", my perspective on design has changed significantly. I've just come back from Africa, and I've always been someone who has wanted to help others and improve things, but after seeing what I've seen in various parts of the world, I'm more concerned about improvement in a broader sense. We have so much here, and I guess the focus for me is more about conserving and using the 4 R's: Reduce, Reuse, Recycle, Reclaim. It would be great if homeowners could maximize their home's efficiency and maybe incorporate the 4 R's in some way.

Housewears: What specifically would you recommend they do?

Emmanuel: Have their heating and cooling systems checked, upgrade the energy efficiency if needed, replace drafty windows, leaky taps and toilets, improve insulation, purchase high efficiency appliances. In terms of decor, I'd recommend homeowners install recycled and renewable products in their homes, such as bamboo or reclaimed wood, choose recycled glass for tile backsplashes and light fixtures, install carpeting with natural materials such as wool or hemp, reinvent some of their existing furniture, and use paint with low emissions to protect their air quality.

Photo courtesy Peerless Bamboo Flooring
Housewears: Great ideas!I guess little things like using energy efficient lightbulbs in all fixtures can be done. And speaking of paint, can you tell me a paint colour you're a fan of these days?

Emmanuel: Exactly- change your lightbulbs, put in a water filtration system instead of drinking bottled water, have a recycling center in your kitchen, it's all good! And as far as paint, I've always really liked gray, a rich charcoal gray looks great in so many applications.

Thanks so much, Emmanuel, for your ideas! Fortunately, environmentally friendly products are becoming regularly more available, so fear not, to be green does not mean sacrificing style! Here are some great products you can incorporate into a "green" renovation:

Natural pebble tile photo courtesy of Modrocks.com

Plantation bamboo flooring photo courtesy of spec-net.com.au

Hip furniture! photo courtesy Iannone Design

Zac Ridgely's 'Crushed' recycled glass wall sconce, Photo courtesy Mocoloco

Zac Ridgely's Stainless weave lighting, photo courtesy Mocoloco


A Housewears recycling project! Here is the result of a makeover we did for a client on a pair of dated pickled oak chairs with pink and green floral print upholstery. We added gridding to the wall, had the chairs sprayed in high gloss finish, reupholstered them, added statement pillows, and voila, tres chic! Her friends couldn't believe these chairs weren't hot off the showroom floor!

One can still be environmentally conscious and fashionable as well, hence, the term 'eco-chic chick!!'

Bamboo shrug and organic cotton dress by Kelly Lane at Jute and Jackfruit

Matt&Nat eco-chic Kali bag, available at Neiman Marcus, photo via BagSnob
Stella Maccartney's eco-chic raffia platform sandal

I'm hooked on eco-chic products! Don't forget to visit Hooked on Houses for Hooked on Friday, and Fifi Flowers for Fashionable Friday!
How are you being "green"? Stay tuned for my next designer interview in my 'Design by 5' series, or better yet, subscribe to my blog so you don't miss it!