Floors for urban living
CRAFT recently spent the day with Interior Designer Deborah Wilson at her personal lakeside home. Deborah generously welcomed us and shared the details on her 2015 labour-of-love ground-up rebuild.
The overall effect is an incredible intersection of timeless design appeal and heart. Every room embodies the old style energy of what a lake house is all about. And since a lake house is not a lake house without the lake, this house delivers Lake Simcoe within 20 short steps from back door to shore!
Q: The whole experience of walking through your gardens, lakeside, and home feels quite a bit like stepping back through time via a classic book! There are a whole lot of details all coming together here to make this happen but can you describe a few key elements?
A: Yes I wanted this to look like a cottage that has been from the early 1900 hence why I’ve done all the stone work, heritage siding, and leaded windows. I wanted to fit into the landscape of lake Simcoe, and I chose this property for the landscape. I also wanted to bring the outdoors inside, and that’s why I have used a lot of wash lighting and glass in the house.
Q: What are the purposes and goals of your living space?
A: It is a much loved gathering place for my three grown children to come home to, and they love it here! I wanted a home with a strong water presence, and the close proximity to the water made it a rare find within Ontario cottage country.
Q: Please tell us about your ‘first meeting’ with your floor to be.
A: I first purchased CRAFT Zamora Oak for a client in an old farmhouse with high traffic areas. I researched quite a bit. That floor has shown to be extremely durable. I like the fact that it has a satin-matte kind of finish to it, and the hand textured surface, this has helped it still look great.
Q: As a design professional, who’s worked with many CRAFT Floors, what do you love most about about the performance or workmanship of our wood?
A: The wide widths and long lengths are really great. Also, being by the lake I use engineered product, and radiant floor heating for a lot of my projects so CRAFT floors are a good match. I use it in bathrooms, kitchens, high traffic areas and it holds up!
Deborah’s deep cool blue walls have a cooling effect on Zamora’s medium brown tones.
