The rooms boast dramatic uses of space, but don’t overpower. “Although it is a big house, none of our floors are super-vast,” says Erin. “We wanted to keep it cozy.” This is especially evident in the modestly sized children’s rooms – designed with a jungle theme for their son and crafted around a dainty little chandelier for their daughter. With some walls set at angles that create nooks and crannies perfect for play, these places allow the junior members of the household to feel comfy and in control.
Kevin Birkholz, owner of Birkholz Homes, helped the Holowaches achieve pleasing scale by taking drawings they had created from the best features of many show homes and merging them with reality. “Even though the house is large, there is a lot of practical space and they use every room in the house,” he says.
This knack for mixing fine living with function can be seen in the kitchen, a splendidly crafted blend of hard-working components and family-friendly touches. Staking out the walls are a side-by-side stainless steel fridge and wine bar, two stainless steel wall ovens and a dramatic stove and steel hood fan. Past the brown granite counters, there is a vast, harvest-style table that invites family and guests to relax before a two-sided stone fireplace. Behind the fireplace, and a couple of steps up, is a six-sided room with light streaming through its many windows. This is where the children often play, safely within view of those caring for them, yet in a zone where they can feel independent. As the family ages, the room will become a formal dining room.
Drawing all of these spaces together in grand style is the open-tread maple staircase that winds from the centre of the home to the second floor in a graceful, oversized curve. It was challenging to build, says Birkholz, because of its atypical width.
After a busy week, the family enjoys socializing in the lower level, which opens onto the backyard. Its backlit bar abuts the pool table area and media room. In keeping with the family-oriented flavour of the home, the theatre area is not a dark, sealed-off space. “More than movies, we are often watching the Oilers game,” says Erin, explaining a design that welcomes socializing.
Yin and yang, dark and light, solid and transparent. Rather than assert itself as modern or contemporary, this home derives its individual look from how very well it balances luxury with real family life.
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