Creative, Art and Travel Layering Mix at Vancouver

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When couples join their possessions and lives under one roof, their personalities don’t necessarily match up. Compromises occur; sometimes arguments ensue and somebody is forced to sell their beloved items or infect them in storage. This was not true for Randy and Heather Zieber, nevertheless, who met while traveling through London in 2005 and later married and settled in Vancouver following a three-year long-distance relationship.

Their possessions had just as much in common as they did. Even before they met, they both collected crosses, and they both had a knack for sourcing similar artsy found objects. Their mixed style combines various artwork — Randy is a artist — with interesting light pieces for a layered, diverse look. “It was astonishing how well it all came together,” says Heather, a stay-at-home mom and part-time masseuse.

at a Glance
Who lives here: Heather and Randy Zieber and their 2-year-old daughter, Zoe
Location: False Creek area of Vancouver
Size: 1,590 square feet; 3 bedrooms, 1 1/2 baths and also a solarium

Heather Merenda

Randy, Heather and Zoe unwind in their living area. Currently Heather is contemplating purchasing a massive ball with the term “love” on it, by Wendy Williams-Watt for Grace Studios in Vancouver, to add to their own home.

“Love is what attracted me to Vancouver,” Heather says.

Figurative painting: Eve Leader, purchased at the Eastside Culture Crawl

Heather Merenda

A number of the couple’s collected crosses are sprinkled throughout the bedroom.

The large white cross is by New Zealand designer Catherine David. The timber bench was brought back from a visit to France, and the timber columns on both sides of the mattress are from India. Wood-framed mirrors from Paris lean against the wall. The largest piece is an antique, hand-carved Indian pub frame.

Painting: Sam Lam

Heather Merenda

The bright, open-concept living area is decorated in neutral tones. The swivel base chair is a streetside treasure Randy found one day while driving. He replaced the legs together with the swivel base and changed the cushion for a sheepskin throw.

The 1950s classic couch is from Heather’s massage practice. “It used to be the reception chair,” she states.

The floor mirror is from the late 1800s. “The gold gilding used to be ideal; it has moved three continents and stayed in remarkable condition for almost two centuries. Now, my child, that has been in the world for two years, has picked lots of the gilding off,” Heather says.

White side table: Alessi

Heather Merenda

The couple draws inspiration from their extensive travels, which place them in touch with other civilizations. “We love layout, notably architectural furniture and lighting, and we have built an art set to customize our room,” Heather says.

A Philippe Starck clear acrylic Louis Ghost Chair commands attention from the living area, but the set of first 1960s Casalino children’s seats take center stage. The couple bought them at Pacific Galleries at Seattle; they had been Heather’s first buy when she discovered she was pregnant.

Storage unit: Expedit, Ikea; pendant: Midsummer, Tord Boontje; artwork above television: Ryland Fortie; black artwork: Yuriko Goon

Heather Merenda

The atomic-era Sputnik floor lamp near the terrace entry was an eBay locate for $75 Canadian (roughly U.S.$73).

Heather Merenda

Randy, who regularly travels the world in search of odd stone for everyone from famous sculptors to elementary school kids learning to split with soapstone, purchased the trio of living room coffee tables at India. They were used as mortars for crushing grains.

Heather found the 7-foot-tall molded polyethylene floor lamp whilst walking the Vancouver seawall, in what was her first “Dumpster dive,” she states. “I saw it at the bin outside a restaurant. It had melted a bit on one side, since I guess it was too close to the outdoor gas heaters. I went and asked the supervisor if could have it”

She later found that the lamp, known as the Inout Outside, is by Spanish designers Ramón Ubeda and Otto Canalda for Metalarte; it retails for around $2,900 Canadian.

Heather Merenda

Randy functions in a building with over 100 artist studios, and according to Heather, “he is always discovering random, odd things.” For example, from the dining area, Randy additional antlers to a fake head as a lively spin on taxidermy.

Surrounding the repurposed sewing table from France is a chair set from Versailles. The seats have the first stamp ‘CFV’ from Versailles Railway Station and cost $400 Canadian each (roughly U.S.$393). Randy produced the ambient and decorative lighting fixtures. The corner floor lamp is made of piled lampshades, illuminated by low-watt bulbs for a soft glow.

The texture from the wall painting, by Wayne Coryell, is meant to look like the skin of a drum.

Heather Merenda

The exceptional mice figurine celebrity was bought in Vancouver and is by the set of the film Cats and Dogs.

Heather Merenda

Historical Chinese household portrait wall hangings bought on eBay line a hallway that leads to the solarium.

Heather Merenda

The Ziebers utilize the solarium as their art gallery. A zinc table located at an old candle mill in Vancouver shows a set of ephemera, such as skulls and scupltures. “It has a wonderful patina from all the wax drippings, and it is interesting the way the term “salvage” is stamped on the front,” Heather says.

LED rope light has been bent to form the word “love” “We just bought it from the meter at Canadian Tire and used great old sticky tape and a couple of nails to hold it up,” Heather says. Randy’s sculptures and paintings, plus artwork by friend and favourite local artist Sarah Gee Miler, also fill out the space.

Heather Merenda

The couple’s two-year-old daughter, Zoe, investigates the solarium on a birthday gift from Mom and Dad: a Vespa-inspired bike from Chapters.

The large black armchair to the right was bought in town but after was utilized on the set of the film Fantastic Four.

The blue and black printing is a 1960s Marimekko fabric stretched on canvas. Randy, who formerly lived and studied in Japan, painted the framed Japanese-style brush paintings.

Heather Merenda

More collections are displayed on top of the staircase. A credenza from India displays various 1960s glass bits. Randy painted the portrait of Heather based on her passport photograph.

The stairwell gallery wall includes the work of Australian artist Emma Magenta, whose beginnings tell a enjoyable tale. “The artist employed to doodle on bits of paper while working at a bookstore in Sydney,” Heather says. “The owners thought the drawings were magical and let her hang them on the walls of their shop. To their surprise, most people kept asking to purchase them. She became rather famous, and the doodles quite pricey.”

Heather Merenda

Zoe’s bedroom is the very first area the couple worked. “Getting ready for her to arrive at the world, we wanted her to be surrounded by a collection of fairly yet quirky matters,” Heather says. Disco balls with the mattress in assorted sizes add sparkle and a sense of whimsy alongside the white mattress canopy.

The headboard was found at a metal recycling yard, where Randy generally finds bits for his light designs.

Bed duvet: Ozzie Mozzie; floor lamp: Pacific Galleries

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