Home By Design

After all, Pararo and Atlanta-based Pineapple House had worked with the couple, major Canadian retailers, on three previous residences (one in Florida, a primary residence in suburban Toronto, and a ski chalet in northern Ontario), so they were comfortable dealing with the couple. “It was a great collaboration the whole way,” says Pararo of designing the five-bedroom, five-and-a-half bath home. “The clients were a great part of the process and understood their role, which was to inspire and drive the overall feel but leave the details to the professionals.”

In spite of the strong relationship and respect both parties had for one another, there was one obstacle Pararo and his team had to overcome. The gorgeous wooded lot, though very private, was on a remote island accessible only by boat. For Pararo, this was only a minor setback. The real problem: the five or so months of Canada’s winter when the lake was inaccessible due to freezing over. “Our site visits were always by boat,” says Pararo, “except in the winter. Then we had to wait until the ice froze solid and deep, and we rode snow mobiles across the open lake. It was the most exciting site visit I have ever done.”

Once the design team got past the obstacles of the setting, they were fast at work creating an aesthetic that truly mimicked the property’s impressive surroundings. Initially a 9,000-square-foot home, Pararo convinced the homeowners to shave back the square footage to just 5,500 square feet. “It wasn’t a matter of size,” he says of the home, which boasts a style more akin to New England coastal dwellings than the heavy, wooden Canadian lodge look. “It was about scale and warmth. I always say good interior design elicits a positive, emotional feeling. That’s all people really know. They can’t explain why something feels good or why it works; it just does.”

Charged with overseeing and installing the home’s interior architectural elements, Pararo “wanted to introduce a new way of experiencing this environment that moved away from the more masculine, woodsy approach,” he says, “and toward a light-filled, painted interior that has more air and freshness.” In order to achieve this, Pararo took advantage of the impressive natural setting. He brought the outdoors inside in terms of light and views, while the selected color palette complements the summer months, the only time of year the home is in use.

The first place the design team concentrated their efforts was the kitchen, which was high on the homeowners’ priority list. “Being on an island, even with a country club, you must cook,” explains Pararo. “So they wanted to be able to entertain and have the right facilities to do it right.” A Wolf range coupled with the large center island transformed the functional prep area into a great place for entertaining. Pararo took the primarily crisp-white color palette of the home as seen in the kitchen cabinetry, which he designed, and juxtaposed it with selections of dark, rich walnut trim and finishes such as the soapstone countertops and black walnut hardwood floors.

The open kitchen and adjacent dining room boast two large, matching simple iron chandeliers by SESCO Lighting. Adding to the light-versus-dark color palette in the dining room, a mahogany-stained dining table by Hickory White and mahogany-finished server by Henredon Acquisitions are paired with smooth, cream-colored dining chairs by Marvic Textiles, soft-white Duralee draperies, and a natural woven rug from Design Materials. Finishing the aesthetic are simple white-painted beams and wainscoting, strategic recessed lighting, and eight-feet-tall doors leading out to the screened porch, which features a tall granite fireplace made from local material and cedar shake shingles.

Upstairs, the impressive master bedroom features a half-moon window and door unit and a balcony overlooking the lake and forest vistas. Here, though, the juxtaposition of light versus dark is more subtle, with dark Hickory Chair bedside tables coupled with a neutral coverlet by Beacon Hill and draperies by Carolyn Ray and Fabricut.

Throughout the home, Pararo’s team commissioned several pieces of art, including the oil paintings by local artist Michael Scott hanging above the Hinson-upholstered bed.

Overall, the home exudes a comfortable and cozy feel, exactly what the homeowners wanted for their summer home. So impressed are the homeowners with Pineapple House’s work that they recently teamed up again to collaborate on a historic landmark residence in downtown Toronto. With this summer home and their latest endeavor, it’s clear it was a perfect match in spite of the locale’s obstacles. Says Pararo, “It was a great collaboration the whole way.” Written by Blake Miller