Room of the Day: A World Traveler’s Eclectic Loft
His favorite things from Asia, Africa and South America fill this designer’s colorful Vancouver home
“Some people say my house is cluttered and crazy, and I don’t care. I love it,” Ben Leavitt says. “People get too stressed about what other people think. They need to have more fun when they’re decorating.” The interior designer has traveled to so many countries that he’s lost count, and loves to keep what he’s collected around him. He’s also constantly switching things up; by the time this story posts, his Vancouver loft will probably have been transformed again.
Leavitt has traveled to Asia often for his career and always added on trips to different countries when the work was done. He had a goal of hitting 30 countries by the time he was 30, a goal he’s now surpassed. He had the terra-cotta soldier seen here shipped from a museum in Xian, China. “It arrived in a crate that looked straight out of Indiana Jones,” he says. “He weighs about 800 pounds, and he’s the main reason I don’t move very often!”
When a friend bought a 1950s bungalow, this concrete deer was serving as a lawn ornament in the front yard. Leavitt picked it up and painted it black with white polka dots. “He and the terra-cotta soldier make the perfect family,” he says.
The prints are old Communist propaganda posters from Vietnam. “They are hilarious. They say things like, “Vietnam was the first country in space,” Leavitt says. The designer’s sense of humor plays a huge role in his home.
The prints are old Communist propaganda posters from Vietnam. “They are hilarious. They say things like, “Vietnam was the first country in space,” Leavitt says. The designer’s sense of humor plays a huge role in his home.
For those unfamiliar, poutine is a ubiquitous French-Canadian treat — fries topped with cheese curds and gravy. The graphic is printed on a towel, made by artist and author Douglas Coupland. The Saturday Evening Post cover is Leavitt’s favorite Norman Rockwell painting. The black-and-white ski-area aerial photograph is by Gray Malin, and Leavitt picked up the poster on the right in China. It’s an assemblage of Chairman Mao portraits from throughout his reign.
“If you have a lot of stuff, use a lot of white,” he says. “I wanted walls I could use as a gallery … white grounds everything and is the key to tying everything together.” He even painted the vintage hydrant, snagged when a city was replacing the bright blue fixtures, white. It’s another very heavy piece that convinces him to stay put here.
Poutine piece: Vancouver Artgallery
“If you have a lot of stuff, use a lot of white,” he says. “I wanted walls I could use as a gallery … white grounds everything and is the key to tying everything together.” He even painted the vintage hydrant, snagged when a city was replacing the bright blue fixtures, white. It’s another very heavy piece that convinces him to stay put here.
Poutine piece: Vancouver Artgallery
But nothing is more convincing for staying put than the unobstructed view out to Vancouver Harbor, which was Leavitt’s No. 1 criteria when searching for a place to live. There are only railroad tracks between the former cannery and the harbor.
“It rains all the time here. I wanted anyone inside my apartment to forget they were in Vancouver — there’s lots of bright color, white … it’s a little bit of Asia, with some Palm Springs and everything else thrown in,” he says.
Drapery fabric: Swaying Palms, Tommy Bahama
“It rains all the time here. I wanted anyone inside my apartment to forget they were in Vancouver — there’s lots of bright color, white … it’s a little bit of Asia, with some Palm Springs and everything else thrown in,” he says.
Drapery fabric: Swaying Palms, Tommy Bahama
Baby-blue low-pile Greek key rugs set a soft, neutral base. The designer layered in bold colors from there, like with the cobalt armchairs, patterned pillows and tropical drapery panels. At the same time, he brought in lots of white for balance, painting the coffee table and the console white.
Sofa and chairs: custom, via PlaidFox
Sofa and chairs: custom, via PlaidFox
“I’ve been fascinated by masks since I was a kid and have picked them up wherever I go,” the world traveler says. The masks seen here come from Kenya, Mexico, Thailand, Borneo, New Guinea, Peru, Cambodia, Nepal, Burkina Faso, Zambia, Hong Kong, the Philippines, Vietnam and Mongolia. “I have so many masks that I have more stored in my kitchen drawers,” he says.
He bought the Buddha in India and the console table from a sale at an airport (it is 1950s office furniture). He upholstered the bench himself, noting that it can seat three people when he entertains.
Grass cloth wallcovering: PlaidFox
He bought the Buddha in India and the console table from a sale at an airport (it is 1950s office furniture). He upholstered the bench himself, noting that it can seat three people when he entertains.
Grass cloth wallcovering: PlaidFox
Kitchen drawers full of masks are not a big deal for the designer. “I have all of these fun, colorful dishes from Anthropologie, and I like to leave them on display in vintage Coca-Cola crates on the counter,” he says.
“I don’t really edit … well I guess I do, because I have 20 masks in my kitchen drawers,” Leavitt says with a laugh. But when it comes to mixing colors and patterns, it was really no-holds-barred. “It just takes practice of finding things that complement each other rather than match,” he says of the throw pillow mix.
Hippo: Jonathan Adler
Hippo: Jonathan Adler
A vintage chest found in Jaipur, India, holds favorite books, magazines and objects picked up on travels, like Day of the Dead sculptures from a Mexican road trip and a green ginger jar from China. The maritime object on the right was a gift from Leavitt’s mother, who lives in Newfoundland and Labrador.
Lamp: PlaidFox
Lamp: PlaidFox
The other end of the room holds the kitchen table (the kitchen is along the wall to the right). Leavitt added the wall behind it to create a separate space for the bedroom. It’s easy-to-remove oriented strand board attached with four screws along the top and four screws along the bottom. He then painted the zigzag pattern himself.
The spartan picnic table, scooped up on Craigslist for $100, and the ornate chandelier overhead are a study in contrast. “For the light fixture I wanted something ridiculous that wasn’t my usual style,” he says. “This thing is huge and has 26 lightbulbs.” The crystal chandelier brings down the high ceilings and is one of two big design moves in the kitchen table part of the room.
The monkeys move around. Leavitt gets a kick out of how much they freak out his friends. But don’t worry, they are made of coconuts and papier-mâché. He tried to pay for them with cash in Zambia, but the sellers wanted his American clothing instead. “The monkeys cost me a pair of shorts and two T-shirts,” he says.
The spartan picnic table, scooped up on Craigslist for $100, and the ornate chandelier overhead are a study in contrast. “For the light fixture I wanted something ridiculous that wasn’t my usual style,” he says. “This thing is huge and has 26 lightbulbs.” The crystal chandelier brings down the high ceilings and is one of two big design moves in the kitchen table part of the room.
The monkeys move around. Leavitt gets a kick out of how much they freak out his friends. But don’t worry, they are made of coconuts and papier-mâché. He tried to pay for them with cash in Zambia, but the sellers wanted his American clothing instead. “The monkeys cost me a pair of shorts and two T-shirts,” he says.
Leavitt opted for a picnic table for several reasons. One, because he can cram in 10 friends for dinner but never could have fit in 10 chairs. For another, he’s always working on different projects for which he needs to spread out.
“I don’t really consider myself a painter, but I can paint,” he says. “I usually wind up painting crazy-looking animals.”
Speaking of crazy-looking animals, let’s address the goat in the room. It started with the huge ornate frame, which was once gold. “I had it in storage for, like, six years — it was hideous, but I knew if I painted it, it could be amazing someday,” he says. He Photoshopped a goat onto the body from an old portrait and then had an artist make a painting of it for him.
“What often stops people from having a fun, cool house is practice,” Leavitt says. “My house was a disaster for a long time; I just kept moving things around until they landed in the right spots.” And while the 800-pound soldier may keep him from moving, he’ll probably never stop moving things around.
Browse more Rooms of the Day
Speaking of crazy-looking animals, let’s address the goat in the room. It started with the huge ornate frame, which was once gold. “I had it in storage for, like, six years — it was hideous, but I knew if I painted it, it could be amazing someday,” he says. He Photoshopped a goat onto the body from an old portrait and then had an artist make a painting of it for him.
“What often stops people from having a fun, cool house is practice,” Leavitt says. “My house was a disaster for a long time; I just kept moving things around until they landed in the right spots.” And while the 800-pound soldier may keep him from moving, he’ll probably never stop moving things around.
Browse more Rooms of the Day
Houzz at a Glance
Who lives here: World traveler and Ben Leavitt, head designer at PlaidFox Studio
Location: Vancouver
Size: 500 square feet (46.4 square meters)
The apartment, in a former cannery, is one long space. Leavitt blocked out a bedroom on the left, while the long hallway serves as a gallery for art picked up in China. The loft is in the design-centric historic Gastown District, and the large windows look out on Vancouver Harbor.