Houzz Tours
Houzz Tour: Designers Get Creative With Their Island Getaway
Playfulness and practicality combine in a British Columbia vacation house with views of the water
When it comes to renovating their British Columbia vacation home, Kerry Johnson and Ian McLeod are never done. Art projects, construction work and meticulous DIY jobs are part of what they enjoy spending time on at the Mayne Island home. Houzzers embraced this home when we profiled it 3½ years ago. Johnson and McLeod have been so busy working on it that we decided it was time to hop a virtual seaplane and return to the island. Come see all they’ve accomplished since our last visit.
These trees had been topped badly and needed to be taken down. Instead, the couple had their next-door neighbor leave some height and carve the tops into points with his chain saw. They then created pencil tips with black paint. “It’s become a local landmark where people like to stop and take photos,” McLeod says.
The entry porch welcomes with the name of the house, Crow Crag, painted black to match the home’s siding. This part of the house is the best deer-watching spot and is sunny for most of the day.
“The house is named after our favorite English comedy film, Withnail and I,” McLeod says. “Two out-of-work actors in London borrow their eccentric gay Uncle Monty’s remote cottage for a getaway. The cottage is called ‘Crow Crag.’ They aren’t prepared for the hardships. And they aren’t prepared when Monty arrives in the middle of the night. A must-see!”
“The house is named after our favorite English comedy film, Withnail and I,” McLeod says. “Two out-of-work actors in London borrow their eccentric gay Uncle Monty’s remote cottage for a getaway. The cottage is called ‘Crow Crag.’ They aren’t prepared for the hardships. And they aren’t prepared when Monty arrives in the middle of the night. A must-see!”
“We kept the deck relatively narrow to preserve the views of the water from inside the house,” McLeod says. “With views like that, we can enjoy them just as much from inside.” The house overlooks the Georgia Strait and Mount Baker in Washington state, which appears to float on the horizon from the house.
A new coat rack outfitted with cheery orange umbrellas welcomes inside the main entrance. This foreshadows colorful graphic touches that await inside.
Just past the entryway is this pantry, backed by rabbit hutch wire. “This allows the light to come through from the sunny side of the house,” McLeod says. Because they tend to shop fresh for food each day, there is plenty of space to display bright glassware and ceramics here.
Four still lifes by artist Jeff Mahorney occupy the space over the main opening to the kitchen. They repeat the square theme, punctuating the white wall like colorful little windows.
Four still lifes by artist Jeff Mahorney occupy the space over the main opening to the kitchen. They repeat the square theme, punctuating the white wall like colorful little windows.
One of the major changes in the kitchen was the new 16-foot-long panoramic window, something they had wanted to do from the beginning but didn’t want to order until they had the money. The square on the right end of the photo is a mirror.
Another new addition is the cabinet hardware. “It’s very plain so that we won’t get sick of it, and each handle is attached with two very sturdy screws. We have very wide drawers, and we need to be able to whale on it,” McLeod says.
Another new addition is the cabinet hardware. “It’s very plain so that we won’t get sick of it, and each handle is attached with two very sturdy screws. We have very wide drawers, and we need to be able to whale on it,” McLeod says.
Another big change in the kitchen is the new island, designed by Johnson, put together by local welder Peter Larsen and painted by McLeod with old-fashioned-looking green enamel. Before, they had a blocky permanent island. “We’re finding we are steering clear of big bulky islands for our clients lately, and we like the idea of making them removable,” McLeod says. They can move it away when they need to and lock the casters when they want it to stay in place. “It’s so leggy and shows a lot of the floor underneath it. It’s got a sort-of farmhouse tool room look.”
The overall aesthetic of the kitchen represents the couple very well. McLeod works on his paintings in a studio downstairs while Johnson is working on building a serious workshop. The look of both are present via the workbench-like new island, the plywood cabinets and the industrial-style lamps.
Johnson cut out a perfect circle in the new island to fit their favorite stainless steel bowl — they can pull it out to clean it or drain it. They can use it for discards when chopping and peeling, or to chill a bottle of wine on ice. They scooped up the made-on-Mayne Island steampunk lamp at a local fair for $80.
A dining table and smaller game table occupy the area between the kitchen and living room in the wide open space. The large “opening” you see to the right is actually a very large mirror. “We placed it there to double the view, so everyone at the dining table can enjoy it,” McLeod says.
The fisherman float-like spheres on the coffee table are by Kitchener, Ontario, artist Tara Marsh. “She came for dinner and brought us one as a gift, and of course, we bought dozens from her immediately,” McLeod says. She custom designed them to incorporate the blues and greens the couple loves. The pieces are flat on the bottom, so they stay in place.
The Douglas fir tree stump side table is one of the first trees they had to cut down on the property. Johnson put it on casters so that it can be rolled around.
The Douglas fir tree stump side table is one of the first trees they had to cut down on the property. Johnson put it on casters so that it can be rolled around.
A large part of this renovation phase was replacing all of the main-level flooring. “Before, they were harvest gold and hot-dog rust,” McLeod says. Instead, they chose a soapstone-like 12-by-24-inch porcelain tile that’s a deep charcoal gray, with very thin matching grout lines between them. They were inspired by the soapstone Inuit carvings that McLeod collects.
This was no easy feat for the tiler as they wanted to level the floor and eliminate all thresholds to make it one continuous surface. “It was worth it — the new floor underpins and contemporizes the whole thing with charcoal gray, and our little hits of color look fantastic against it,” McLeod says.
This was no easy feat for the tiler as they wanted to level the floor and eliminate all thresholds to make it one continuous surface. “It was worth it — the new floor underpins and contemporizes the whole thing with charcoal gray, and our little hits of color look fantastic against it,” McLeod says.
Around the corner, the couple took out a closet and gave it a cedar lining to create a little library vestibule. “We tend to remove closets as often as we can get away with it,” McLeod says. They can keep what they need to store down to a minimum, and they’d rather use this valuable real estate for drawers and display than coats. They also keep their book collection culled to save space. “We did a book purge once and realized we were gaining about 20 linear square feet of space,” McLeod says. “If we’ve already read it and aren’t going to again, we donate it to the Mayne Island library for them to lend or sell.”
The couple’s master bedroom remains on the main floor. The soapstone-like tile flooring and window are new additions. The 7-by-7-foot picture window makes the most of the sunny side of the house. “The sun really heats up the floor, which retains that heat,” McLeod says.
The former guest room is a comfortable private lounge that looks out at the sunny backyard and deer-facing side. The couple refers to this as the “Deerquarium” because the new 7-by-7-foot triple-glazed picture window looks out at an area where the deer play and sleep. Note how the white walls, graphic black trim and charcoal flooring put the focus out the window.
“It’s nice to retreat to a small room, away from the thundering sea, to do work and read,” McLeod says. “It also eliminated the problem of too many guests coming,” he says with a laugh.
“It’s nice to retreat to a small room, away from the thundering sea, to do work and read,” McLeod says. “It also eliminated the problem of too many guests coming,” he says with a laugh.
Adding personality to the staircase is another recent project completed by McLeod, who is an artist. “I wanted it to look like a series of sturdy boxes with beautiful illustrated lids,” he says. “The existing plywood was like a gift I could play with, and I had a lot of fun with it.” He used a very strong boat varnish to finish them. Varnishing was the last thing the couple would do before leaving for their home in the city of Vancouver so that they didn’t have to live with the fumes.
Tip: Paint every other stair so that you can still get up and down during the project.
Tip: Paint every other stair so that you can still get up and down during the project.
“The CAUTION step beneath the maple leaf is a ‘mind the step’ message and a comment on Canadian caution,” McLeod says. “We’re known for being cautious about safety, design and money.” The big salmon is a fish found in the Georgia Strait.
“The downstairs is becoming beautiful,” McLeod says. A guest room was the only room they’d completed the last time we saw their home. But now the space provides a private apartment-like space for guests because of the addition of this living room and a smaller morning kitchen area.
The chimney is made of a natural stone from the island, but unfortunately, years of former residents smoking had coated it in nicotine and changed the color to orange. McLeod primed it thoroughly and added several coats of paint, being sure to really jam the brush into the grout. He then added a retail store-style security mirror that he found online.
The chimney is made of a natural stone from the island, but unfortunately, years of former residents smoking had coated it in nicotine and changed the color to orange. McLeod primed it thoroughly and added several coats of paint, being sure to really jam the brush into the grout. He then added a retail store-style security mirror that he found online.
The original windows remain. “In spite of all the renovations, what we’ve always loved about this house is its late midcentury modern bones and long, low lines,” McLeod says.
A sectional matches the color of the sandstone outside and is comfy enough for long naps. The couple had side tables like the ones you see here in their home in Vancouver — vintage tables they had found in Palm Springs. They photographed them and measured them, then sent the information to local Mayne Island craftsperson Bob Baldwin, who made beautiful copies in white oak. The wide drawers are large enough to house board games. “It’s so wonderful to be able to hire local people, and we try to do that whenever we can,” McLeod says.
The couple picks up burlap lampshades at yard sales and flea markets whenever they spy them and use them throughout the house. “They give off a really warm amber light at night. These kinds of things really make it a home,” McLeod says.
A sectional matches the color of the sandstone outside and is comfy enough for long naps. The couple had side tables like the ones you see here in their home in Vancouver — vintage tables they had found in Palm Springs. They photographed them and measured them, then sent the information to local Mayne Island craftsperson Bob Baldwin, who made beautiful copies in white oak. The wide drawers are large enough to house board games. “It’s so wonderful to be able to hire local people, and we try to do that whenever we can,” McLeod says.
The couple picks up burlap lampshades at yard sales and flea markets whenever they spy them and use them throughout the house. “They give off a really warm amber light at night. These kinds of things really make it a home,” McLeod says.
The lower-level guest bedroom was complete the last time we visited Crow Crag, but here’s a recent photo to show the beadboard, and the bleached plywood and white strapping they used to create a coffered ceiling.
The new laundry room was one of the trickiest projects the couple took on, and it was a real collaboration. While it has a casual look, it was planned out elaborately and installed meticulously. McLeod figured out the exact color pattern for the boards, drew it out and then painted them to look salvaged. “I used all the dregs — the leftover paints and stains from all the other projects we’d done,” he says. Johnson installed them very carefully, following the pattern. Note the way the colors continue around the corners of the room.
It was Johnson’s idea to wrap the external ends of the boards in color and use them to give the design another dimension.
Johnson crafted the 16-foot-long table for McLeod’s art studio. Originally, the splatters were incidental, but now they’ve become something beautiful. He’s coated the table with boat varnish many times to give it a beautiful finish and now uses a drop cloth over it when he’s working. He painted the interior of the cabinet to match the turquoise paint.
The concrete walls are practical for dripping paint, while the white tongue-and-groove walls add a crisp, more finished touch. The bench is for holding supplies, and the window over it provides views out to the water.
The couple are lining Johnson’s lower-level workshop in balsam wood ply for their next project.
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The concrete walls are practical for dripping paint, while the white tongue-and-groove walls add a crisp, more finished touch. The bench is for holding supplies, and the window over it provides views out to the water.
The couple are lining Johnson’s lower-level workshop in balsam wood ply for their next project.
Browse more homes by style: Apartments | Barn Homes | Colorful Homes | Contemporary Homes | Eclectic Homes | Farmhouses | Floating Homes | Guesthouses | Homes Around the World | Lofts | Midcentury Homes | Modern Homes | Ranch Homes | Small Homes | Townhouses | Traditional Homes | Transitional Homes | Vacation Homes
Houzz at a Glance
Who lives here: Designers Ian McLeod and Kerry Johnson
Location: Mayne Island, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
Size: 1,400 square feet (130 square meters); three bedrooms, two bathrooms
Designers: Kerry Johnson and Ian McLeod of Johnson McLeod Design Consultants
Since our last visit, the couple has added a new wraparound deck with stout cedar posts and unpainted natural aluminum railings. “This material will dull down to resemble the back of tinfoil,” McLeod says. “It takes on the color of the sky, from gold in the morning to cobalt in the evening.”
They painted the house a black semigloss that they call “Superman’s hair,” as it can take on a blue sheen from the sky. “It relates to the interiors, it’s good for harsh weather, and you can just hose it off,” McLeod says. “There’s a growing fashion on Mayne Island for black houses now.”