A modern hilltop perch

A modern hilltop perch Elka Nowicka and Paul Pallan have a room with a view at the top of King George Terrace. "It's our sanctuary. "I had every intention of using it for all my work, but I get so distracted . It's like being inside a camera with a big viewing box. " Pallan was the one who first pictured living in this house. Jason Good made all the cabinets, including this one with its unique front door cutaways for art display. "I don't give up control easily, but Jason said trust me and went ahead and built this -- which I now think is fabulous," Nowicka said. I start to gaze outside, and before I know it, I lose my train of thought. "It's a Blue Star with six burners, all gas, very powerful. Jason did all the cabinets and made huge drawers to fit my china from Poland. "Any little bit of sunlight almost acts like a prism, capturing the sun and heating the home," Pallan said. While they lived there for the first year and enjoyed the 170-degree panoramas, they felt the small windows didn't do it justice. " The renovated house feels spacious, peaceful and quiet, he says. "It was almost a no-brainer because of the exposure. His biggest challenge was combining something "incredibly minimal and modern with a 1950s-style bungalow. It solved the issue of two lonesome pillars in the middle of the room, Wilkin said. He also repeated the effect in the dining room with nine smaller-dimension windows. "There is something about repetition and pattern that's very appealing. " Good added a slim, red cupboard for breakfast items such as mugs and cereal bowls, and above the sink Wilkin added a strong red line, for a Mondrian touch. (The Dutch artist was recognised for his bold horizontals and verticals in primary colours. " One of the most dramatic new elements is a long, white cabinet suspended between two structural posts between the kitchen and dining area. The visual composition runs from floor to ceiling along the front of the home. It channels the eye across Juan de Fuca Strait, as if the whole outside world were one great gallery. " What he likes best about a "stack" is each segment frames a different peruse. "The sort of place that reveals itself on the spot . And I think the combination of a more compressed view puts the windows in a more human scale, rather than having one great sheet of glass that can be overwhelming. " They added high-energy-efficient windows, so even though the hilltop is exposed and windy, the property is warm. " One reason the project turned out well is that they took their time planning the redesign and lived in the property for additional than a year while discussing options. "And Nowicka is very creative and open to new ideas," Wilkin said. This device allows light to pass through and expands sight lines on the main floor. Her coffee table is a copy of an Italian one she saw for $3,000. "We ended up gutting and rebuilding about three-quarters of the house. " Nowicka -- who sells paintings at West End Gallery in Victoria and Edmonton, Canada House Gallery in Banff and Shayne Gallery in Montreal -- agrees. . A modern hilltop perch Trade News selected by Local Linkup on 11/03/2012