“Projects I like the best are ones where clients are willing to be a little more adventurous, be conscious of the environment, open to using reclaimed or vintage materials, and willing to push boundaries a little.”
For designer Tania Kratt, being environmentally conscious with her design projects is more than just a conscientious philosophy. It embodies her personal style and has influenced the choices her family makes as well.
Her young children recognize that by choosing recycled materials they may also be saving a tree. Their bedroom closet doors were replaced with aged doors to execute a vintage look. Throughout the home, Tania has incorporated family heirlooms and treasured finds from world travels to create an environment that feels lived in, yet maintains an impressive design style that falls into a mid-century modern look with hints of rustic.
The home that Tania shares with her husband Chris and their two boys in Stittsville showcases many elements of reuse and reclaim, starting with the front entryway. Old-world, library-style doors found in Merrickville replaced classic new-home construction bifolds on the front hall closet. An old apothecary-style cabinet that once housed parts in her father-in-law’s New Jersey harmonica factor helps to also set the tone for a home with global and vintage inspirations.
Moving from Vermont to Ottawa seven years ago, the family was drawn to the country-like setting and community of Stittsville. Tania divides her time between Stittsville and Vermont, commuting twice a month for work in the Green Mountain State. Her work in Vermont has included designing the new headquarters for Eating Well magazine, and Plate restaurant, as well as a local coffee shop and a host of new construction and renovation projects.
Tania studied urban planning at Concordia University, then interior architecture and design in Montreal. She has worked on numerous design projects across Canada and throughout the United States, often relying on Skype and e-mail to communicate with clients. Her award-winning work is meticulous, with an adventuresome touch thrown in for intrigue.
“Projects I like the best are ones where clients are willing to be a little more adventurous, be conscious of the environment, open to using reclaimed or vintage materials, and willing to push boundaries a little,” she says.
Tania’s own home pushes some boundaries in a variety of ways. Opting for white furnishings is not a choice that most parents with two young boys would make, but Tania maintains a need for beauty and function within her décor. The family refuses to succumb to an off-limits approach to their home and the result is a comfortable, lived-in, eco-conscious style that embraces buying what you love, living in it and enjoying it!
Mary Taggart
