Renovating Our Lives

A relocation from Northern Ireland to Sidney has one couple starting their next chapter with a major condo makeover.

By Danielle Pope | Photos by Jeffrey Bosdet

Renovating our lives' - YAM Magazine Jan/Feb 2024 — *The dining area, with its Lykke oval table and Jerreau chairs in grey, offers an intimate space for hosting. The Inuvik pendant above modernizes this space.*

Gail Malmo and Jack Foster had a straightforward wish list when they moved to the Island.

They’d spent over a decade in Northern Ireland — Foster, a local; Malmo, a Canadian expat — in a three-storey home on the water. They were ready to downsize and wanted to be closer to family.

“I promised folks we’d be back in a year. We were there for 13 years,” says Malmo. “I never intended to move back permanently, but COVID was the instigating factor. I was separated from my kids and parents. If something happened, I couldn’t get to them.”

They weren’t committed to a location, but an online conversation drew them to their destination.

“We were living in a village of 4,000 people and we didn’t need a big city any more,” says Malmo. “We were chatting with an agent and said, ‘By the way, where are you?’ and she said Sidney, listing all the things she loved. When we hung up I said, ‘I think Sidney.’ It checked all the boxes and looked like New York compared to our little town.”

A Leap of Faith

Back to that wish list. Foster wanted a place in a smaller town, close to water. Malmo craved a newer home with a modern feel, close to the city.

“Life consists of chapters, and our chapter of Northern Ireland was over and it was time to start a new one,” says Foster. “We’d both been to Vancouver Island. I’d never thought of it as a place to live, but we could have a new start.”

Uprooting their lives mid-pandemic, the couple hoped to find something quickly. Friends hosted them to start, and Malmo thought they’d be there a couple of days — which turned into six months. When they heard about a little condo coming available on the water’s edge, it was time to leap.

It didn’t have that modern feel Malmo wanted — the space was uninspired. But the view was spectacular, it was close to town, and it would position them permanently close to their Canadian family. With few other options, they took a chance.

“I had a vision,” says Malmo. “As soon as I walked in, I wanted to knock out a wall — the kitchen was an enclosed galley. But we had no idea if strata would approve, and I knew we needed help.”

Foster, who’d hoped for a private study for his writing and books, put it eloquently.

“We liked the condo and the area, but this place would need work,” he says. “Really, we started with dissatisfaction, but it was like the grit that started the pearl.”

A GRAND EXPERIENCE

To help them find their sea legs, the couple hired Josée Lalonde and Melanie Henson, interior designers and co-owners of JŌMEL Interior Design Firm.

“They’re such a cute couple, and they wanted to love this space,” says Henson. “They needed it to be relaxed, though, with room to entertain and have their G+T hour. We needed to update the ’80s façade, open the kitchen and create a new space to do that.”

With strata restrictions and limited space, the pair assumed there was only so much that could change. They were, as Foster put it, wowed.

“Once we connected with Josée and Melanie, this became a project with craftsmanship and artistry,” says Foster. “In a way, we were renovating our lives. Discovering Sidney, and the condo, was inextricably linked to our delight — it exceeded our expectations.”

To renew the kitchen, the team demoed the enclosed galley, the ’80s-style cabinetry and orange laminate flooring and replaced it with engineered hardwood floors, white cabinets, oversized quartz counters with seating and stainless steel appliances. An artistic archway was added from the entry to the kitchen for a grand experience that frames the picturesque view, and a closet/pantry brings in more function.

“We took inspiration from their Ireland home, and made space for things from their travels,” says Henson. “We wanted to update that vision with a black-and-white theme and add art for these colourful people.”

Ready for Change

The location of the fireplace was another shift, changing from an angled wall to the centre of the living room. A feature of vertical poplar panels was added to the angled wall for intrigue.

The team even figured out how to create additional living quarters by transforming the closed-in patio with drywall and plank flooring. It would become a space for Foster to write and showcase his collection of books, complete with a niche bar so the couple could enjoy sunsets with a view of the water.

“When we removed the floor, there were two layers of linoleum so you could see how many times it had changed,” says Lalonde. “The sunroom was the biggest transformation, however. People don’t expect it. You think you’re going out to a patio and it’s a good surprise —
a wow factor. Once you create areas like that, you can see how a place becomes special.”

Foster acknowledges it as his favourite room in their home. For Malmo, it’s sitting in the blue chairs by the fireplace, with artistic reminders of Ireland everywhere.

“I always thought of a reno as moving stuff around, and I was amazed how people could look at a small apartment and see a new space,” she says. “There’s nostalgia for where we lived all around us and, for me, there was a breakthrough during this reno. I had to trust the process and be prepared for something new.”