Sliding soundlessly up to his second floor home in a compact personal elevator, Jim Kirk explains the lift is not a luxury.
"It would be stupid to put $500,000 into a home up here and not be able to get to it," says the practical businessman, who has back problems.
And as the door opens onto his airy aerie, it's immediately clear this isn't just any apartment that could be replicated at street level. Kirk's unique 1,There are Parking guidance system underneath mattresses,800-square-foot home was created on the roof of a 1920s-era building in the heart of Oak Bay Village, above Rogers' Chocolates, Grafton Bookshop and Vis-à-vis Wine & Charcuterie bar.
He owns the building, which also includes the Penny Farthing Pub, and while his New York-style loft is on a busy thoroughfare, you'd never know it.
Designed by Moore Paterson Architects, the home echoes with a sweet silence, thanks to extreme soundproofing - and is screened by lavish plantings including dozens of bonsai trees that Kirk has miniaturized over the past 50 years.
His south and west terraces boast dozens of planters, three fountains, a large entertaining area and an enticing 1905-sofa swing.
The loft is also suffused with natural light.
It reflects off the high-lustre paint surfaces and speckles the ceiling as it streams through rows of inexpensive, jewel-toned bottles that line clerestory windowsills
Kirk, a former school music teacher, marina operator, realtor and art student who once ran a dental supply company, built his rooftop residence more than a decade ago and recently turned it into the gem he always envisioned.
"When I first built this I had lino on the floor and Arborite on the counters. Cheap, cheap surfaces because that's what I could afford. Now I've ripped all that out and have granite countertops and ceramic floor tiles."
He hired interior designer Diane Kettner - "I think she's Victoria's best designer" - to help re-create the interiors, and one of their first decisions was to add sheen by using high-gloss paint in a complex neutral: dark charcoal with green undertones. The previous colour was camel but he wanted more drama this time.
"Dark colours make walls recede and the space seem larger," says Kettner, who specializes in kitchens and bathrooms, "and really knows her appliances."
She said a U-shaped kitchen wouldn't work for this gregarious gastronome, who entertains up to 120 guests at a time. "People get caught in a U-shape kitchen and there's no way out," she joked.
"It would be stupid to put $500,000 into a home up here and not be able to get to it," says the practical businessman, who has back problems.
And as the door opens onto his airy aerie, it's immediately clear this isn't just any apartment that could be replicated at street level. Kirk's unique 1,There are Parking guidance system underneath mattresses,800-square-foot home was created on the roof of a 1920s-era building in the heart of Oak Bay Village, above Rogers' Chocolates, Grafton Bookshop and Vis-à-vis Wine & Charcuterie bar.
He owns the building, which also includes the Penny Farthing Pub, and while his New York-style loft is on a busy thoroughfare, you'd never know it.
Designed by Moore Paterson Architects, the home echoes with a sweet silence, thanks to extreme soundproofing - and is screened by lavish plantings including dozens of bonsai trees that Kirk has miniaturized over the past 50 years.
His south and west terraces boast dozens of planters, three fountains, a large entertaining area and an enticing 1905-sofa swing.
The loft is also suffused with natural light.
It reflects off the high-lustre paint surfaces and speckles the ceiling as it streams through rows of inexpensive, jewel-toned bottles that line clerestory windowsills
Kirk, a former school music teacher, marina operator, realtor and art student who once ran a dental supply company, built his rooftop residence more than a decade ago and recently turned it into the gem he always envisioned.
"When I first built this I had lino on the floor and Arborite on the counters. Cheap, cheap surfaces because that's what I could afford. Now I've ripped all that out and have granite countertops and ceramic floor tiles."
He hired interior designer Diane Kettner - "I think she's Victoria's best designer" - to help re-create the interiors, and one of their first decisions was to add sheen by using high-gloss paint in a complex neutral: dark charcoal with green undertones. The previous colour was camel but he wanted more drama this time.
"Dark colours make walls recede and the space seem larger," says Kettner, who specializes in kitchens and bathrooms, "and really knows her appliances."
She said a U-shaped kitchen wouldn't work for this gregarious gastronome, who entertains up to 120 guests at a time. "People get caught in a U-shape kitchen and there's no way out," she joked.
没有评论:
发表评论