“The biggest challenge in designing our own home was trying to create a design that was going to be different that we had never done before or seen,” shares Tomlenovich. “As a designer, I am overexposed to so many new products, and the project really required me to do some deep soul-searching as to what aesthetic I truly loved, and how I wanted this house to feel.”

“It’s much easier to make final decisions when it’s not your own home,” she adds with a laugh. “When it’s your own home you contemplate everything, and you are your worst client!”

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For the couple in their 40s, whose careers require them to be in many different houses on a daily basis, they finally settled for a curated mix of design styles that feel “very grand, but simple and without being cold at the same time,” drawing inspiration from her Italian origin.

“Both my parents were born in Italy, and I was raised and worked at my father’s Italian furniture store,” she elaborates. “That is where my obsession with Italian architecture and style began, as well as where I began my career decorating and designing homes.”

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With the entire home awash in a warm, creamy hue, the majority of the walls feature a micro-concrete finish that is akin to plaster, providing a lot of depth and texture to the space.

“We had an Italian company called Panigai Italian Interiors to create a custom colour that really makes the home feel ‘old-world European’–very soothing and tranquil,” the interior designer says.

Meanwhile, large 10-inch plank oak hardwood flooring, custom-stained sawn cut oak millwork and oak wood handles complement the monochrome theme with layered cohesiveness.

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In the entry hall, a custom Alabaster chandelier, designed by renowned Vancouver lighting artist Randy Zieber, highlights the high-ceilinged space; whereas a curved micro-concrete staircase with oak flooring and a custom-made limestone table adds character.

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The soft, overarching contours in design persist in the main floor, comprising the living room, and the dining and kitchen area.

The living room features a micro-concrete back wall with scalloped moulding, and arched shelves lined with vintage pieces and books; while custom-made oak wood chairs with rounded backrests and shearling fur surround a custom micro-concrete table underneath an Arteriors chandelier made of white beach wood hand carved rings.

In between, a uniquely designed fireplace separates the living room from the dining and kitchen area in the open-plan layout.

“In our previous home, everything was one big, great room, and as much as I loved the open concept design, I wanted something different this time–some separation between the two rooms for a more intimate feel,” muses Tomlenovich of the favourite room she enjoyed designing.

The three-sided glass fireplace, while dividing the spaces, also connects them through its wide, see-through opening; while a cream-coloured micro-concrete scalloped wall correlates with the living room back wall for architectural unison.

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“We also added large floor-to-ceiling glass doors with a view of the backyard pool through the arched frame, connecting the luxurious yet comfortable living room to the outside,” says the interior designer.

“While we wanted something different than the usual black or white window trim colours, the burnished brass colour finish was a big risk, because we had never seen this colour done before on a home,” she explains further. “But, this finish pairs perfectly with the creamy walls and complements the soft palette of the modern furniture.”

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Further breaking the neutral-toned design narrative are natural stones that serve its functional and aesthetic purposes.

Alongside Tuscan bronze finished plumbing fixtures and hardware, the curved wood kitchen island is topped with a combination of Cristallo quartzite for its durability and ease of maintenance, and Calacatta Viola Oro marble for its contrasting aesthetic. 

“This Viola marble does not have your typical Viola veining, but  a lot of different colours, especially gold, that creates a beautiful contrast against the silky walls,” Tomlenovich divulges.

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Upstairs, the main bathroom with tumbled edge marble flooring exudes the sensation of being in a spa, especially in the 13-foot shower wrapped in limestone that is “very luxurious and soft silk-like on the feet.”

The principal bathroom also consists of a double vanity and bathtub of Taj Mahal quartzite, connecting to the spacious dressing room with top-to-bottom full millwork.

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Decked with a custom velvet daybed by Canadian furniture store FFABB, and chandeliers handcrafted by Palchek, the room is fitted with an open shelving on one wall to display favourite art and decorative pieces.

Everything else is organised behind closed wooden doors, to which Tomlenovich concludes: “feel like a dressing room in a store.”

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