UBC-AREA DEVELOPMENT: Neutral interiors provide backdrop to Virtuoso?s surroundings
Mary Frances Hill
The Province
Virtuoso
What: 106 one- to three-bedroom homes
Where: 3581 Ross Drive, Vancouver
Residence sizes and prices: 775 — 1,591 sq. ft., from the mid-$700,000 range
Developer and builder: Adera Development Corporation
Sales centre: 118 – 6033 Gray Avenue, Vancouver
Hours: noon — 5 p.m., daily
Out-of-the ordinary style in otherwise ordinary rooms can create extraordinary interiors, as designer Lisa Hansen shows in the display space at Virtuoso, Adera’s new community in the UBC area.
At Virtuoso’s display homes, every space includes a conversation piece to attract the visitor’s gaze, against a backdrop of neutral furnishings.
Hansen, the principal at Area 3 Design, embraces the idea of décor as artwork in everything from a huge vase on a dining table and a futuristic cone-shaped light pendant, to dynamic asymmetry in décor and millwork in a bedroom.
That unique pendant light is one of the first things that will capture homebuyers’ attentions. “We believe the dining pendant is very much like a piece of art and can be an expression of the client and define the space,” she says.
Hansen knows that buyers visit for the community itself, so the interiors play on the coveted UBC location by way of their own simplicity.
“We wanted to create a clean modern interior that created a neutral backdrop, to not compete with the surroundings.”
Where Hansen doesn’t want the design to distract from the beauty of the surrounding neigbourhood, she still adds some reflections of the outside world.
Area 3 Design graces one bedroom with a long headboard made of natural wood, which spans the wall. Hansen adds touches of green on the surrounding textures such as pillows and the throw, paired with bedding in brown hues—all natural colours found in this community bordering Pacific Spirit park—but with a subtlety so that it doesn’t scream ‘west coast.’
Indeed, a mutual taste for decorating with subtlety and restraint defines the working relationship between Area 3 Designs and Adera Development, Hansen says.
“Adera loves this west coast influence. By only adding theses colours in small accents, it is very neutral yet welcoming.”
In another bedroom, three varied shades of brown envelop the visitor with warmth; a long bench is a standout piece lining the wall under a large window, meeting a tall plush panel in the corner of the room. The combination creates an interesting angle that defines the entire space. It’s a conversation piece in itself.
“We like to play with asymmetrical pieces to create the unexpected and create interest,” Hansen says of this unique design. “Millwork is another great way to utilize every square inch and visually create the illusion of a larger space.”
In one kitchen, cabinets are narrow and tall, unlike the standard cabinetry seen in most developments. Hansen says the narrowness and height of this custom cabinetry emphasizes the sense of elegance she wants to create.
“By bringing the cabinets up to the ceiling you create a sense of luxury and enlarge the space by elongating the cabinetry.”
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