Sitting area with orange leather swivel chairs and a marble-topped coffee counter beneath cluster pendants, facing a wall of windows onto the wooded ravine.

SWANSEA

Quiet Oasis

White oak servery peninsula with a coffee station and stone counter beneath a woven pendant, opening onto the kitchen run and the stone fireplace beyond.

Client Goals & Needs:The family fell for the view before anything else, a wall of forest along the back of the property. They wanted a home that turned toward it, so morning coffee could be taken with the trees in sight, and a room made for music, framed by the forest behind it.

Project Type:Interior Renovation and Addition

Square Footage:3,500 sq. ft.

Location:Swansea

Services rendered:

Architectural design
Interior design
Construction

Brick and stone exterior with landscaped stone steps, an iron railing, and a sage front door set among mature greenery. — Exterior

Galley kitchen in white oak with a stainless french-door refrigerator, stone counters, and a gas cooktop. — Kitchen

Kitchen run with a gas cooktop, a stone slab backsplash and floating shelf, and a glass door opening to the ravine. — Kitchen

White oak kitchen run with stone counters, an open display shelf, and a stone slab backsplash beside a window. — Kitchen

Kitchen with white oak cabinetry and an orange leather swivel chair set against floor-to-ceiling windows onto the ravine. — Kitchen

White oak servery peninsula with a coffee station beneath a woven pendant, looking through to the kitchen run and the stone fireplace beyond. — Kitchen

Sitting area with two orange leather swivel chairs and a stone side table beneath cluster pendants, beside a wall of windows onto the wooded ravine. — Sitting room

Dining room with an oak table under a slatted pendant, backed by a servery of glass-front upper cabinets over white oak drawers. — Dining room

Dining and servery area with glass-front upper cabinets, a wood table, and a sculptural pendant. — Dining room

Dining room with a wood table and white upholstered chairs beside a natural stone fireplace with integrated oak shelving. — Dining room

Dining area anchored by a natural stone fireplace with integrated shelving, a wood table, and white upholstered chairs. — Dining room

Dining room with a wood table, white upholstered chairs, a sculptural pendant, and a glass door to the garden. — Dining room

Living room with a sectional sofa facing a floor-to-ceiling natural stone fireplace with a wall-mounted television and oak shelving. — Living room

Living room with an L-shaped sofa facing a natural stone fireplace and a wall-mounted television. — Living room

Living room with a sectional sofa, a compact dining nook, framed art, and a potted tree by the window. — Living room

Great room with white upholstered chairs and a wood table set beside a floor-to-ceiling natural stone fireplace. — Great room

Light oak hallway lined with built-in cabinetry, leading toward the back of the home. — Hallway

Staircase detail where natural oak treads meet a floor-to-ceiling natural stone column and a black steel stringer. — Staircase

Powder room with a fluted white oak floating vanity, a stone counter and backsplash, a full-width mirror cabinet, and an olive wall sconce. — Powder room

Bathroom with a frameless glass walk-in shower, a white oak storage tower, and a long white trough sink on a floating vanity. — Bathroom

Bathroom with a frameless glass shower in large-format tile, a white oak storage tower, and a mosaic-tiled shower floor. — Bathroom

Walk-in shower clad in wood-look tile with a mosaic-tiled floor behind a frameless glass panel. — Shower

Design inspiration

The backyard forest set the entire design. We planned the addition and the interior around the light and the sightlines to the ravine, opening the main living spaces toward the trees so the outdoors stays part of the room.

Natural stone feature wall with floating white oak shelves styled with sculptures and greenery.

The result

The reconstruction and addition reach the home toward the forest and frame that view from the main floor. Upstairs, a dedicated music room was built around a grand piano for a world-renowned Canadian composer, placed to look out over the canopy. The finished home is calm and private, green at every window, a quiet oasis inside the city.

The finer details

Black gas cooktop set into a marble counter with white oak cabinetry below.

Prep sink with a matte black gooseneck faucet set into a white oak cabinet beneath a marble counter.

Lit display niche holding a metal pitcher and two wine glasses on oak shelving.

Built-in niche in the natural stone wall styled with a sculpture and potted greenery.

Glass-front upper cabinet with interior lighting displaying dishware and glassware.

Fluted white oak floating vanity with a marble counter, a wall sconce, and a vase of flowers.

Walk-in shower with a rainfall head, a handheld sprayer, and a built-in bench in wood-look and marble tile.

Marble counter and backsplash styled with ceramic vases beside white oak cabinetry.