Ryan Townsend broke every rule about design and yet managed to win over judges in a national design contest. The 30-year-old's chic apartment in Esquimalt, B.C. won Best Small Space honours in an annual contest held by Canadian House & Home magazine.
The tiny 550-square-foot, one-bedroom apartment was chosen from of entries submitted across Canada. It was one of only six winners nationally and the only winner from Western Canada.
"Ryan's fearless more-is-more approach brought a luxe and layered old-world energy to his tiny space," said Kendra Jackson, associate editor of the magazine.
Despite the win, Townsend doesn't see himself as an interior designer, nor has he taken any formal training in the field.
"I just like to make beautiful things happen," says Townsend, who advertises his services on the website timothytownsend.com (Timothy is his middle name).
"Calling me a designer doesn't properly explain what I do. I like the ability to create. I like to find something that can challenge me to push my limit, to create something slightly over-the-top."
Over-the-top would be an accurate characterization of his tiny bachelor pad.
One rule of decorating is to maintain a sense of proportion and space. Experts always advise clients to pick smaller items so as not to overpower a small space. So stuffing large-scale furniture from the 17th and 18th century with a contemporary Ralph Lauren sofa and a well-preserved baby grand piano into the minuscule living room breaks every rule in the book.
But somehow it all works. The space looks like something one would find in Paris or any other European city.
"When we first saw the place my friends said: 'What a dump.'
"I countered with: 'Can't you see the potential?' " says Townsend, originally from Edmonton. "Its all about taking time. There is no rush. After a while, I have developed an eye for certain items -- to know the genuine item when I see it.
"Even with so many knock-offs on the market, I can generally spot the real thing from 30 feet away."
His collection of genuine copper pots that flank his stove is a testament to his sharp eye. His apartment is furnished primarily from auctions, the classifieds and sometimes from antique dealers. He has never been to a garage sale.
Townsend found his stove, a magnificent, made-in-France, 60-inch La Cornue that costs $65,000 new (plus $10,000 for the range hood), just browsing on a used-item website. A well-off homeowner who was renovating her kitchen wanted to dispose of the high-end stove. But she found few takers. While he paid a fraction of the new price, it still took a year of negotiations to get it down to a price he could pay.
Another bargain find was a Sub-Zero refrigerator from another kitchen renovation that he bought for only $500.
What he doesn't find, he makes himself. He designed and created a custom backsplash and constructed a faux overlay for the fireplace that makes it looks like it came from a 16th-century French chateau. He replaced the tired linoleum on the kitchen floor with handmade marble-look tiles and cast his own concrete countertops.
Townsend is wary about home ownership as he knows friends and associates in his age bracket who struggle with hefty mortgages in a market where the median price of a modest house is close to $500,000. He demurred to reveal his rent, just to say it is "modest."
He finds inspiration whenever he travels, especially to Europe. He has toured England and one day wants to replicate the staircase at Buckingham Palace. "Travel makes you look at things differently," he says.
But why he would spend so much and go to such lengths to improve his apartment? Why not channel his energy into a place that he could call his own?
"Where better to practise than a rental?" he replies. "Anything you do is an improvement. I guarantee when I move out there certainly will be no doubt of getting my damage deposit back."
-- Postmedia News
