When Suzanne Tetrault’s clients came to her with a dated foreclosure near downtown Calgary, Alberta, they were hoping for design miracles. “It had actually been empty for quite a while, and before then it was owned by a very senior citizen,” recalls Tetrault, owner and principal interior designer of Calgary-based Studio Felix. “It was super outdated and really closed off . . . . They had their first baby on the way at the time and wanted to make [the house] something that was super family friendly, but also really cozy.”
That’s not exactly effortless without a pinch of decorating wizardry, which Tetrault was happy to supply. Their goal from the beginning was also to infuse the home with modern, clean lines and a smattering of midcentury inspiration—not always easy in a two-bedroom, 1,400-square-foot home (not including the basement). “We knew from the very beginning that that’s the direction we wanted to go, and we just really wanted to open up the whole space,” says the designer.
The kitchen, especially, was a sore spot; they hoped to add a large island and lots of places to tuck away tableware, among other things. “There were so many things we needed to fit in such a small area!”
For Tetrault’s clients, one of their biggest dreams as parents was to maximize storage—a tall order in the existing property. The main challenge of the project, recalls Tetrault, was finding a way to fit all of the storage they wanted without making the space as claustrophobic as it was before.
“We knew that they wanted a powder room,” she says “which was a pretty big struggle to fit in there while also getting a coat closet and shoe storage and pantry storage and record storage and toy storage and kitchen storage and all of these things, plus all the appliances that they wanted.” The solution was to erect a center block on the main floor, surrounding the powder room, that includes pretty much everything they could have dreamt of, such as a coat closet, coffee station, pantry, cleaning storage, vacuum, records, and books—all of it in a carefully curated color palette. “It’s clad on all four sides with millwork, and that’s how we tied that all in together in a really cohesive way and tried not to block off the space too much.” From foreclosure to fabulous, indeed.
Modernizing Through Color & Texture
Studio Felix brought a timeless warmth to the formerly ho-hum interior with a few key tricks.
Keep It Natural. In the kitchen, walnut drawer pulls inspired the entire walnut cabinetry design for a cohesive look. “We let the beauty of the grain of the walnut speak for itself,” says Tetrault, adding that it juxtaposes beautifully with the white-oak floors.
Go Green. Myriad rich greens in the color palette feel a bit like the native forests of Alberta. “They love green, and they were very open to color in the kitchen from the beginning, which I love,” says the designer. “Sometimes it’s hard to sell people on that.”
Embrace Earthiness. Bringing in a handcrafted, earthy look was important to inject the space with warmth. “They actually collect beautiful handmade pottery, so I wanted to kind of play with that with the backsplash,” says Tetrault. Adding in the clients’ collection of lush and leafy plants added to the organic quality. “Above the entryway, we added a midcentury-inspired, built-in planter into that wall,” she says. “I always liked that detail.”
