For this Stratford home, the flow's the thing
Stratford, Ont. home of Rick White and Sandy Bourque; renovation by architect Luc Bouliane. Kitchen. ‘We really liked him,’ says Ms. Bourque of the architect. ‘And he had great ideas for everything; the other guys that walked through had nothing to say and Luc was saying ‘Oh, we could do this, we could do that.”Scott Norsworthy
A detail shot of the cedar-wrapped window wall.Scott Norsworthy
Mr. White, the cook of this family, says he ‘always wanted a stove that faced outside, and I’ve never been able to achieve it in any house’Scott Norsworthy
Luc Bouliane’s commercial experience and attention to detail really shine in the kitchen. The island, in particular, is beautifully curved, with a wide granite top that wouldn’t be out of place in a trendy café.photos by Scott Norsworthy
‘I really like residential and I always want to have something residential on the boards, because I like working closely with people,’ says Mr. Bouliane.’It’s a much different type of relationship than working with an institutional client where it’s someone’s job that you’re talking about the money.’Scott Norsworthy
Exterior rear detail.Scott Norsworthy
The formal living room, a half flight of stairs up from the kitchen.Scott Norsworthy
The second floor corridor with exterior of Mr. White’s officeScott Norsworthy
A view down the second floor corridor toward the window in master bedroom.Scott Norsworthy
A view from landing.Scott Norsworthy
The living room, with foyer at left. ‘It wasn’t modern, it wasn’t contemporary, it didn’t sit in any kind of genre,’ says Mr. Bouliane of his first impressions of the home. ‘By opening everything up in the house it started to really feel and be used differently’Scott Norsworthy
The kitchen.Scott Norsworthy
The house has been reworked to open up the main floor, and to provide views to the lush outside via an enormous wall of glass. Ms. Bourque says: “Once you’re here it immediately feels like you’re in the country”Scott Norsworthy
Exterior rear detail. ‘In the summer and the spring the gardens are everywhere, and it’s really insane,’ says the architect. Adds Mr. White with a laugh: ‘It’s the botanical gardens here.’Scott Norsworthy
‘At the end of [nearly] every renovation you end up wanting to strangle the contractor,’ says Ms. Bourque. ‘At the end [of this one], I just could’ve hugged Bill [Donaldson]. He never said no, he never said something was too much or a problem.’ Mr. Bouliane says this project was ‘one of the best client relationship ones, and one of the best contractor relationship ones; as a team of three, it was, like, ‘This is the goal, we’re all on board, we’re all keen on doing it in a really great way’ and everyone listened to everyone’s suggestions.’ Left to right, Rick White, Sandy Bourque and Luc Bouliane.Dave LeBlanc/The Globe and Mail