Words by Adrienne Dyer. Photos by Jody Beck.
A 1990s condo overlooking Victoria International Marina gets a bold new look by designer and builder Graham Frick and his team at Güte Renovations Ltd.
“The owners have renovated many properties, and love to design on the go, which enabled us to use every square inch of space,” says Frick. As they gutted the space, they were surprised to find extra space in some of the ceilings, which allowed them to push both the master bath and secondary bathroom ceilings to nine feet.
The showpiece of the home is the master ensuite bath, with its luxurious, painstakingly installed finishes, like the 5,000 plus hand-laid, mitred wall tiles, which took the tile setter five weeks to install. The entire en-suite was designed around a volcanic limestone clawfoot tub by Victoria + Albert from South Africa. Above it hangs an antique chandelier, one of many light fixtures brought from the owners’ childhood vacation home. All were locally rewired and CSA certified.
The heated, white-veined black tiles in both bathrooms extend into the front entry hallway, which is lit from above by another cherished chandelier recessed into a three-foot space reclaimed in the ceiling. In the great room, original cherry wood ceiling beams were sprayed black, while the cross-shaped mantle framing the Brazilian slate fireplace is made of Sooke timber that Frick torched black in his backyard.
The kitchen features the same tile as the bathrooms, but in a larger format. Black cabinet doors were custom made to match the home’s passage doors, with open shelving lit by antique sconces. The range hood is made of raw, fabricated steel with decorative bolts, while the deep countertops are a textured brushed black granite—one of the densest granites available—which had to be craned up through the windows. The kitchen island is made from an old steel grate found by the owners in Vancouver. “My friend who is a very talented conservator, restored the grate, and we turned it into a rolling kitchen island with shelves.
“The owners love secret compartments and reclaimed rustic artefacts, like the old door from France that slides across the pantry on a track we built,” says Frick. Behind the decorative door is secret storage—at the clients’ request, Frick extended the floating shelves all the way to the ceiling.
After thirteen years working with priceless artefacts as a cabinet maker for the Royal BC Museum, Frick felt right at home designing and building this condo, where the owners can showcase their love of antiques, collectibles, and reclaimed artefacts. His expert eye for lighting, exhibitry, and end-user focused design allowed him to reimagine this space and bring the owners’ unique ideas to life, with a touch of grandeur.
