Words by Adrienne Dyer. Photos by Jody Beck.
A ten-acre lavender farm in rural Saanich is the setting for this French-inspired farmhouse characterized by Gambrel roof lines and a crisp grey-and-white palette. Built by Phil Wilson of Philco Construction, with interior design by Lindsay Smart Interiors and millwork by AP Woodworks, the home brings a modest 3,000 square feet to life for an active family who wanted to balance hardworking function with high-impact design.
“We saved the foundation of the original home, but the home is new,” says Wilson, who explains that the building process began with an extensive steel structure that’s well hidden behind drywall and extensive woodwork. “Once we built the steel frame up to the roof, we had to weld as we placed the timbers round the brackets to the steel.” The rustic chandeliers were wired from the top down into the massive ridge beam before they added the roof.
The Philco team built an entire floor of scaffolding so that Andrew Philp and his team could access the twenty-two foot ceiling to install the shiplap and wall panels. “The inspiration to build a farmhouse was a natural choice for the owners—they had a big existing barn with impressive Gambrel roof lines, which drove part of the design of the newly built house,” says Philp, who crafted intricate finishing carpentry on a grand scale in this home.
“Lindsay Smart took an old-world French farmhouse theme and came up with some amazing interior concepts. There were a lot of beams, oversized newel posts and wood tongue and groove ceilings mixed with some traditional lines in the trim and wainscotting throughout—all of which were fun to produce.”
The grand staircase, which took some of its design cues from the rear staircase in the Empress Hotel, particularly showcases the ingenious problem-solving employed by the entire design/build trio throughout the project in order to create the intricate level of detail evident everywhere in this home.
“Every spindle is custom made,” says Wilson, who adds that they started with a styrofoam template to show the clients before crafting each routered spindle. “Each newel post is made of twenty-two pieces, and there are seventeen posts in total.” He and Philp began to plan the staircase nearly a year before construction began, with multiple site visits with the framing crew to ensure precision as the stairs descend from the top floor to the landing and then down to the living room.
“As you walk into this home through the giant hand-crafted torched cypress gothic arch entry door, the first glimpse of the interior is this massive staircase up to an impressive cantilevered landing, some of which looks like it could have been crafted in the twentieth century,” says Philp. “Aspects of this home have detail and woodwork proportions not often seen in residential homes these days.”
Lindsay Smart, who was involved from the architectural drawings right up to the finishing, says the level of detail and layering in this home draws out its character. Her paneling and lighting drawings involved multiple changes as the project evolved, given the number of transitions between trim, tile, and wainscotting in places like the master bathroom shower. “In the shower, there’s a full marble surround with a marble chair rail to tie into the wainscotting,” says Smart. The homeowner sourced tiles in a colour she liked, but the scale was too large, which meant Wilson had to cut each and polish every edge before installation.
“Before drywalling, Lindsay and I were sitting on the bathroom floor, drawing ideas to get the tiles to line up on the outside of the shower,” says Wilson, who adds that they placed the freestanding bathroom tub many times before settling on its final position tucked under the eaves beside a window. The bathrooms are finished with marble bathroom countertops atop vintage vanities; accented by chandeliers, wall sconces, and mirrors the client found in French flea markets.
In the kitchen, marble countertops pair with a large butcher block island, with small-scale tile backsplash and oversized pendant lights also sourced by the client. Here, a row of tall, narrow windows overlook the wraparound porch with its diagonal cross railings and concrete decking stamped to resemble wide wood planks.
The floorplan is also designed to accommodate the family’s lifestyle, with both kids’ rooms on the lower floor with a large playroom, and the entire top floor dedicated to the master bedroom. The mudroom’s Dutch door opens onto the deck near an outdoor barbeque patio, which in turn, leads to the pool and hot tub. Because the home is in a fire zone, metal roofing and Hardi plank siding were a necessary but beautiful feature that harmonized with existing structures on the property.
The massive front door is, as Wilson puts it, a work of art in its own right. “The door was made to the homeowner’s specifications from worm-eaten wood so that it looks like it came out of the eighteenth century,” says Wilson. At about twelve feet high and three inches thick, the scale is also massive, and sets the tone for the grand entry inside.
Another unique feature in the main living room is the wood-burning Rumford fireplace, which is supported by a suspended slab on a footing that went in right at the start of construction. “The client had a vision for the mantle—she wanted it to look antique but not too antique,” says Smart. “We found Artisan Kraft, a company that custom made a limestone mantle with a perfect rustic, antique look that the client wanted.
Select art pieces give the home a sense of history uninterrupted by modern technology like the television, which is cleverly hidden inside a half wall that separates the living area from the staircase leading to the lower floor.
The entire home is washed in perfect coats of Simply White by Benjamin Moore, except for a striking wall of nautical blue in the powder room. “Having the same colour on every surface—walls, trim, ceilings and cabinetry—allows you to see how the colour looks on every surface,” says Smart. “It gives a layering effect, as it’s the texture that brings out the difference.” This also meant that every finishing detail needed to be perfect.
“Almost every room in the home had either paneled walls or cabinetry with a high sheen paint, which tends to really magnify every little seam,” says Philp. “It was so important to employ the best joinery techniques in every aspect of the woodworking to ensure each joint or seam in the wood will look good for years to come.”
Looking back, Wilson, Smart, and Philp say the project’s grand scale and level of detail put their craft and skill on full display. It’s a collaboration of expertise that embraces the owners every time they come home and well into the future.
