Story Of My Life

By Amanda Moore | Photography Sandy MacKay

Christina Schaden Herauf and husband Tom Herauf knew exactly how they wanted their ski chalet in The Blue Mountains to feel. They wanted a warm place to cozy up by the fire after a long day on the slopes. 

They weren’t sure how to showcase a vast and eclectic collection of antiques Christina inherited from her Austrian parents while telling their authentic story.

With expert design and styling advice from Elaine Kettlewell of Kettlewells, the Heraufs’ chalet has been transformed into an iconic and unique château. Dark colours, rich textures and curated gallery walls are dramatic yet comfortable. Each hand-selected piece tells a story or holds a memory.

“We wanted a château look that was cozy, warm and that worked with my Mom’s collections,” says Christina as she prepares cocktails in her Nest, coined by her girlfriends after a recent girls’ weekend at the home. Over many, many years and at several antique stores here and abroad, Christina’s mother carefully selected artwork, books, copper, iron, rugs and several taxidermied pieces. “Her passion was collecting, and she didn’t collect junk,” says Christina. “My mother chose everything with care and knew exactly where it would go.”

While her mother knew where to put each piece in the family’s homes – the farm in Haliburton, the family home in Toronto and one back in Austria – it was difficult for Christina to incorporate decades of antiques into a more modern family home.

“When my Mom purchased these items, she would buy for her space,” says Christina. “I knew what I wanted, but I didn’t know how to bring it all together into a new space and make it seamless. 

With Elaine’s guidance, Christina and Tom went through boxes and bags to find the right pieces to bring their château dreams to life, each with a story or memory. 

The great room – with its high ceilings with dark beams from Hollow Timber Co., stone fireplace and rich textiles – reflects Christina’s heritage. The bear skin rug on the wall is from her father and uncle’s infamous first hunting trip after purchasing a country property up north. The throw pillows are made from her mother’s traditional Austrian clothing. Her father’s traditional hat is carefully hung next to an 1800s-era gun from the Boer War. There’s a framed newspaper article on a hunting prohibition in Oakville, where they live. Christina, with the help of Lara Kalins, principal designer of Breathe Interiors, and whose family winters with the Heraufs, chose Benjamin Moore’s Dark Pewter, a deep metallic tone, to add drama to the room. Laura also chose the exterior colour as Christina wanted somehting light and bright. 

One piece sparked the whole vision for this room - the home’s gathering space – and Christina found it wrapped in a garbage bag in her parents’ basement.

“I opened up this bag that Christina and Tom brought up from Oakville and out comes this ginormous vintage, burgundy Persian rug, and it’s real silk,” says Elaine, an interior stylist whose store is full of vintiques. “That was the biggest ah-ha moment for me.”

After Elaine talked Christina into taking a dive and displaying this beautiful piece, the room just came together. 

“It made the room,” says Elaine, whose main piece of decorating advice is to take those heirlooms out of storage and enjoy them. 

Elaine supported the owners’ desire to to go bold and dramatic. Christina and Tom embraced her Ralph-Lauren-inspired vision of white walls and dark trim for their cozy weekend getaway.

Elaine picked Benjamin Moore’s Cloud White as the main colour in the home to best showcase their art. 

Family heirlooms are displayed throughout the home. The suitcase Christina’s parents came to Canada with sits in one of three bedrooms on the lower level. The sleigh from her own childhood adorns a wall in her son’s room.  

The couple’s son, Eric, spends many weekends at the Nest, often with friends from university in tow. The house sleeps 15 in its five bedrooms. It also features four full bathrooms and a powder room just off the front entryway.

For Christina and Tom, having their son, as well as many others, spend  weekends at the Nest means they were able to accomplish what they set out to do in renovating the family’s chalet.

“It’s exactly what I wanted it to be,” she says, standing at the head of an antique dining table purchased at Of Things Past. The table was purchased on Elaine’s advice to showcase two sets of vintage chairs, one a trip souvenir from Christina’s parents. They were purchased on a family trip to La Jolla, California, and shipped back to Ontario. 

Elaine advises everyone to display what you have. Christina now uses her mother’s good China and silverware. She picked up brass labels for her mother’s decanter set from an antique vendor who fondly remembers her mother from her collecting days. The set is now on display in the bar area behind antique doors from Elaine’s shop.

Tom has his own inherited collection in the heated garage – a hangout place for Eric and his friends as it features a ski tuning area. Christina’s father managed to amass his own collection of tools, which were passed on to Tom. 

The home reflects the family’s authenticity, which is Elaine’s design mantra. She refuses to be pinned down to any one style and encourages clients to follow their instincts and choose pieces that speak to them. 

The Heraufs’ château is a song composed of lyrics from the past.