I’m mixing it up a bit with this month’s Hello! Neighbor post. We’re taking a little road trip out to Vancouver to peak in on Kim and Morgan’s townhouse in the South Granville neighborhood of that city. Before I moved to Toronto, nine or ten years ago now, I actually lived in this very same part of Vancouver. I have to say I miss being able to walk down to Granville Island to buy my groceries and walk along the sea wall. I hope you enjoy seeing a different part of Canada. A big thanks to designer, Natalie Cutler, for bringing this project to my attention and photographer Janis Nicolay for taking the beautiful photographs.
Enjoy the tour!
Names
Kim McGarrity and Morgan Maguire
Occupations
Tax Lawyer ,CEO of Investor-State Law Guide (ISLG)
Any kids or pets?
One cat. Her name is Raven, but we call her Kittums.
Year Home was Built
1981
How long have you lived in your home?
5 months
What’s your favorite room and why?
Our kitchen. It functions as well as it looks.
How did you find your home?
Our search began on August long weekend when our landlords at the time notified us that they were planning to sell the Yaletown condo we were renting. Four days later, we reengaged in a 3-way bidding war for the condo—which we lost. At the time, we were really disappointed; however, once we started looking at other places with our amazing realtor (and great friend), Ania Balicki, we quickly realized that we really wanted a townhouse that we could put our mark on. We found our townhouse in the Fairview/South Granville neighbourhood in September. While it needed some work, it had great elements: on a quiet tree-lined street; a 500 square foot rooftop deck; and just minutes from Granville Island, the seawall and downtown. After another nail-biting bidding war and due diligence period (we’re both lawyers after all!), the townhouse was ours!
Where do you get your inspiration from?
Kim: Throughout our house search, I collected images of different interiors that I loved (mostly from Remodelista, House & Home and of course, The Marion House Book). I’ve always loved simple, clean interiors, and Nordic design. We hired Natalie and Jeff Cutler of Cutler Design + Construction and Natalie came up with our “Scandinavian Modern” theme. For our kitchen in particular, I was really set on having white painted cabinets with honed black stone counters. I wanted it to be modern, but with nod to more traditional, country kitchens like Martha Stewart’s kitchen set in the 1990s.
How did you end up living in your neighbourhood?
We’ve always liked the Fairview/ South Granville neighbourhood, and have both lived here or very nearby in the past. At first we were hesitant to leave the downtown core, but once we moved in we felt right at home. We still get to enjoy the amenities and conveniences of living in the city, but we also get to enjoy the quiet and calm of living in an established residential neighbourhood.
What did your home look like when you first saw it?
It was in desperate need of an update from the blinds to bathrooms, to the awful stone fireplace. Every room was a different colour—mint green kitchen, mustard living room and a dark green bedroom. There were at least four types of flooring just on the first floor! The previous owner had renovated the kitchen and replaced the appliances. While the bones of the kitchen were great, it just wasn’t our taste.
What work have you done on it to make it your own?
Before we moved in, we hired Cutler Design + Construction to renovate the townhouse. The kitchen got a serious facelift: new countertops, backsplash and fantastic brass hardware; sprayed the cabinets; added a display shelf, etc. We gutted the main bathroom and replaced some of the fixtures in the powder room. We painted throughout and replaced the all flooring, doors and trim. The renovation went really smoothly thanks to Natalie and Jeff!
We purchased some furniture including the custom dining bench and some accent chairs from Craigslist. We’re still figuring out how to freshen up the chairs.
What would your dream house look like?
It would have an ocean view, a sauna and let in tons of light. Something between Suzanne Dimma’s cottage and the Fredensborg House by Norm Architects.
We really love clean, bright spaces. That said, Morgan loves a patterned textile, so our dream house would have to have one or two pieces from Svenskt Tenn, which we discovered on a recent trip to Stockholm.
Thanks Kim and Morgan for inviting us into your West Coast home. And thanks again to Natalie and Janis!
I’ll be back here later in the week with the before shots of this townhome and some insight into Natalie’s design process. You won’t believe what this space use to look like!
All photos Janis Nicolay.
41 Comments
you do such a wonderful job with this series
The house looks great! Love the windows in the master bedroom!
Is this the one that was featured in the Globe recently? I love this space – I love the idea of you expanding this series. I love your original tours.
Well now I know a little more about them! They were a great couple to work with, and so photogenic. Natalie is such a talented designer – loved seeing her work in person!
Morgan and Kim!
What a wonderful home! I love the Marremkko fabric bed spread, they are one of my favorate things about Finland. It all looks so beautiful, Congrats!
Beth
wow! what a gorgeous home!!!
Lovely photos Janis (as usual) and thanks Emma for coming out to the west coast for your series!
I didn’t know that you used to live out here as well. I miss Toronto but am settling into Vancouver – nesting and working through our little house room by room. And learning of local sources for furniture and design – after ten years in Toronto I had my sources “down”.
LOVELY PICS:) I really like your blog and I will happily follow.
If you want some swedish decor inspiration, you can check out my blog:)
Have a great week.
LOVE Maria at inredningsvis.se
(Sweden)
Love this space Emma! And love this idea of taking Hello Neighbour to other cities.
I love this tour! And I’m also pretty jealous of its proximity to Granville Island… I was in Vancouver this past year and that market was soooo amazing. A food lover’s dream.
One question though… does anybody know where that settee is from?
Hello Cate:
The settee is from Van Gogh Designs http://www.vangoghdesigns.com/
We customized the length to fit our dining space and sourced the Ikat fabric from Arlene’s Fabrics here in Vancouver. The fabric was a bold choice for me (I’m usually a solids girl) but it really makes the space. The pillows covers are from Ikea.
Kim
Looooove your kitchen!!!Great work!!! Could you please tell me the color of your lower cabinets!!!! They are just the perfect balance between grey and blue
Thanks Julie! The paint colour is Benjamin Moore Witching Hour. We’ve been really happy with it.
Kim
Hi Kim, thanks for posting the base cabinets color. Your kitchen is absolutely gorgeous! I’d love to paint mine that color rather than pure black. Much softer but still has that great contrast with the white. Would you mind sharing the color that was used for the white upper cabinets? There are so many different whites out there I’m not sure which one to choose. Any chance you could also tell me the size of the subway tile backsplash? They don’t look like the regular size; a very nice surprise. Thank you!
-Heather
Where did you get the gold hardware. We are building a home soon and this is our model kitchen. It’s great.
I am remodeling my bathroom which is very small. I love the floor tiles you used. Where are these from and what is the name called? Also what color grout did you use in between the shower tiles? Thanks!!
Hi Whitney, pulls in the kitchen are Top Knob 5-3/4″ in Brushed Bronze finish. We really love them and easy to keep clean.
Have you ever seen the Plain English website. http://www.plainenglishdesign.co.uk/ Great inspiation for painted cupboard kitchens. Good luck on building your home!
Kim
Hello Lauren, the tiles are from Olympia Tile in or near Vancouver BC. You may wish to contact my designer Natalie directly for specifics. info@cutlerdc.com
I love the grout between the shower tiles. Still looks new, unlike white grout that can sometimes go yellow. Good luck!
Kim
Love the kitchen!!!! Would you mind sharing the color name of the white upper cabinets… the color is perfect! Also what is the kitchen countertop? It looks as though its stainless steel. Love! Thanks so much
Hello Vanessa:
The upper cabinets were sprayed in Benjamin Moore Oxford White, which is a bit of a contrast with the slightly grayer colour on the walls, Benjamin Moore – Cloud Cover.
On the counter in the photo we have stainless steel; on the other side honed black granite. I like the look of the stainless, but you have to be OK with the occasional scratch and polishing it.
Kim
Great Bathroom. What color is the grout between the shower tiles? Is it a grey or a tan? Please let me know because my Husband is remodeling out bathroom as I type.
Fab job on the bathroom. Its lovely. Quick question: Where the shower tiles stop on the wall did you use a bullnose tile or just caulk the edge. You have a nice clean finished edge and was wondering how you achieved that. Any chance for some closeup shots.
Awe, thank you so much for all the awesome info!!! I really appreciate it!
Carol– the groat is a gray-taupe like the wall colour.
Terrance– Thanks. There is a plastic, very thin strip that runs along the edge of the tile.
Kim
Hi Kim! I absolutely love your style!! I was wondering where you found the vanity for the washroom- such a great piece!
Thanks Nicole! The vanity and mirror were designed by Natalie Cutler and custom made. We love the grey stain and the shelf built into the mirror for display and small container storage.
Beautiful design. We’re redoing our upstairs bathroom. What is the color of your bathroom wall?
Sorry Jessica, I can’t seem to track in down. When we started we were thinking Ben. Moore Pigeon Gray (which is pretty gray) but then–in part to convince Morgan to go with the gray stain on the vanity–I recall we went with a warmer Ben. Moore shade. The colour is a gray taupe. Very easy to live with… although sometimes I imagine repaiting a darker gray.
Kim
What a lovely kitchen! The hardware really is a beautiful touch. I have two questions… What type of light fixtures do you have over the island and/or kitchen table? Also, Were you able to incorporate the brushed bronze anywhere else in the kitchen? I love that you’ve combined so many different finishes – stainless, bronze and black.
Jessica, Natalie reminded me that the paint colour was Ben Moore Revere Pewter.
Thanks Ceile!
The light above the dining table is the Original BTC England – Titan Pendant. This was a bit of a splurge for us and we purchased it from one of my fav stores, Orling & Wu in Gastown (a neighbourhood in Vancouver). Really great for accessories and beautiful fabrics. The track lighting was a steal from Ikea.
I would describe the hardware as a more of a brushed brass. We used it in part because our fireplace surround has brass. The kitchen is a total mix of metals–stainless,nickel, brass–and I think it works.
Love your kitchen! What color is the island? I love it!
Thank you Kim
Thanks Teylor! We used Ben Moore Witching Hour on the lower cabinets.
It reads a bit bluer in the photos then in real life. We have it throughout our home on all the interior doors and on our patio. Perfect colour for us.
The bathroom is absolutely what we’ve hunted for. Questions: if the wall iss a taupe/gray, what color is the shower curtain? the tiles? Our vanity will be more traditional in styling, but the rest will be replicated exactly (in Kansas!). Our contractor is ready to start. Thank you for sharing!
Hello Vici:
Natalie and I were pretty keen on finding a long shower curtain that would hit the floor. Actually pretty hard to find “off the shelf”! Initially I was going to order a linen shower curtain from Restoration Hardware (RH has various lengths and colours), but I came across the perfect linen fabric at Chintz and Co. that was double wide (so we don’t need a seam in the middle of the curtain) and in a very similar shade as the wall colour. Plus since we were already getting our bedroom drapes made, it was faster to add the curtain to our drapery order than to order from RH. Our curtain liner is standard length, clear plastic.
The subway tiles are white; the floor tiles are porcelain (I think) and intended to mimic slate. I’ve described the groat in the comments above.
Good luck on your bathroom!
Kim
What was the material used for the vanity top in the bathroom?
Hi Mike. Not sure. Some type of man-made solid surface material. Very similar to Raven by Caesar Stone.
Kim
What a lovely home! It is all so pretty! Very curious where the bird in the window of the bedroom is from. I kind of adore it.
In the beautiful two toned kitchen I’m wondering what your countertops are and what colour they are? It looks like a grey? I’m replacing my countertops this month and love those ones. Please let me know.
Wrenaria – The bird is a knock-off (I think) that I purchased from Nood, which has since closed in Vancouver.
Sarah – The stone counters are black, honed granite.
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