City Homes
October 11, 2023
Christi Rivard Of Bidgood Brings Warm, Minimalist Style To A Newly Built Home In Victoria
New Zealander Dianne Armstrong moved to Canada in 1988 and has never looked back. After stints in Whitehorse and then Yellowknife (where she met husband and fellow Kiwi Roger Armstrong), Dianne left the coldest capital in Canada for milder Victoria in 2013. Here, their kids would have more options for school and the weather would remind her of New Zealand. Between them, Dianne and Roger have four children. After the three older kids moved out on their own, the couple commissioned local company Aryze to build them a custom home. The builder partnered with architect Chris Foyd of BoForm and design firm Bidgood for the interiors. In late 2019, the team got to work.
The 3,500-square-foot, three-level house would need to be equal parts light and contemporary, with a footprint that would comfortably fit the whole family when they visited. But Dianne still wanted it to feel cozy when Roger was away in Yellowknife working at his dentistry practice and it was just her, their son, 15-year-old Kaleb, and their two Australian shepherds. “They live in two places, so she was really creating anchor points,” says lead designer Christi Rivard of Bidgood. “Dianne wanted a landing pad for the family, so they’d all want to come to the Victoria house, celebrate holidays together and be here with their spouses.”
Chris’s modern riff on a classic West Coast farmhouse yielded the perfect envelope for the brief. The pandemic threw up a few roadblocks, but because the team had the approved plans and design locked, their delays were short- lived — especially when construction was deemed an essential service. The project was finished in 2021. For the decorating, Dianne envisioned a minimalist aesthetic, without it feeling cold. “She wanted warm, inviting and timeless,” says Christi. The design team opted for a subdued overall color palette that favored texture, warmth and softness, with bolder hits coming from mid-tone furniture, colorful abstract rugs, ochre accents and locally commissioned art.
“It feels like a family abode with the scale of a classic and cozy 1950s home,” adds Kyla. This house has a balance and proportion that expands and contracts to accommodate everyone. A rock formation left intact creates a striking landscaping moment while reducing the need for irrigation and mowing.
Dianne and son Kaleb enjoy hang-out time in the kitchen. A square island accommodates a seating arrangement of three and three, and feels intimate with just two on the corner. “The shape allows the dining table more breathing room,” says Christi. It also avoids the need for a counter seam that a longer island would require. “Seaming can be so unfortunate, especially when you splurge on natural stone,” says creative director Kyla Bidgood of the singular marble slab flecked with blue, green and grey.
The kitchen has V-groove, black-stained oak lowers and flat-cut white oak uppers. The counters are Breccia Capraia marble; custom hardware ensures a continuous effect.
Bi-Part sliders off the dining space create a 10-foot-long entrance to the backyard, where a lap pool and pool house with wall bed are perfect for visiting kids. Walls in Benjamin Moore’s Chantilly Lace and polished concrete floors complement the white oak throughout, which infuses the home with warmth via millwork and a unique ceiling treatment in the double-height living room.
In the dining room, there’s plenty of room to pull up extra seats when family visits.
The tiled fireplace wall is a focal point in the living room; a commissioned painting by Vancouver artist Rubeena Ratcliffe adds texture and color in the otherwise neutral scheme.
Maeby, one of the Australian shepherds, in the living room.
The great room feels simultaneously expansive and compact — every corner gets used.
“We wanted the spaces to speak to each other and connect,” says designer Christi Rivard. “The black metal railing riffs off the black-framed windows.”
The white beadboard wall panelling has a surf-cottage vibe in the principal bedroom.
Hits of ochre pop in a soothing, spa-like principal bathroom.
Black-stained, tongue-and-groove cedar siding and clear cedar soffits create dramatic contrast on the exterior.
“Diane loves the indoor-outdoor spaces of New Zealand, so we wanted to bring that feeling to her home in Canada,” says Christi.
James Jones
Bidgood, Architecture: BoForm