Sommerville Park:
Textured Cosiness

This remodelling of a large split level apartment included working in eighteen different artisanal rugs and paintings. Several of the old power outlets were also reused as the owners loved their vintage look. A lot of asymmetry is employed due to the change in floor level and uncentered existing room layouts.

A clever device is used as a boundary between several spaces: the living and dining areas; the kitchen and game room; and the master bedroom and closet – double-faced cabinetry. A long bank of storage shelves behind the sofa in the living room doubles as the open back of bench seating in the dining room, with storage below. In the kitchen, the back of a cabinet with open shelves partitions it from the adjacent game room, under a glazed opening. Over at the master bedroom, a media console holding a mounted flat screen television is the back of the dressing table. In all cases, the employment of double duty means less space is taken up, as well as creating a very neat division.

The squarish kitchen is finished in mostly light colours, in contrast to the rest of the house. The maid's room beside it was converted into a game room, for mahjong sessions and more, with a glass window to the kitchen to let in light and sliding glass doors opening to the dining area.

The old black granite countertop of the kitchen was reused in parts of the master bath, which had its layout reworked to fit both a bathtub and a shower cubicle. All the other bathrooms were also fully redone.

Throughout the house, carpentry is detailed cleanly, with finger holds invisibly integrated, and grooves or framing that circumscribe open sections to highlight their contents and visually break up big expanses of single finishes. Along with the styling to include the many rugs and art pieces, the completed project is stylish and richly textured, and also very cosy despite its size.