It is no surprise that Phil and Wendy Warren seem so utterly at ease in their Cordova Bay home. Designed by their son, filled with artwork that Wendy has been collecting since childhood, and surrounded by gardens created and lovingly tended by Phil, this house is a perfect reflection of their tastes and lifestyle.

Patrick Warren, the youngest of Phil and Wendy’s three sons, was only 21 when he designed the 3,200-square-foot house as a co-op project in his second year of the University of Waterloo’s architecture program. It features immaculate, contemporary lines, an open layout on the main floor and floor-to-ceiling windows that look onto the green spaces of the back and side yards. The lack of windows facing the street produces a strong sense of privacy within the house, so much so that more than a year after moving in, the Warrens still haven’t felt motivated to put up curtains or blinds downstairs. Nevertheless, the front windows are barely noticeable in their absence. “He thought very carefully about the light,” says Wendy, pointing out the skylights that illuminate the front foyer and one end of the living room.

Patrick also responded to his parents’ affinity for strong architectural lines. One of the best examples of his achievements in this regard is the fireplace mantle in the living room: a simple, yet arresting “L” turned on one side. Echoing its shape and tone are a pair of beams that run across the skylit end of the living room and frame an elongated view down the hall toward the stairs.

Although nothing about the house is suggestive of a gallery, the Warren’s sizable collection of art was also an important design consideration. “Art is so much a part of us,” Wendy explains. “The clean lines of the house allow us to display it without looking cluttered.” As the niece of sculptor Elza Mayhew, Wendy grew up surrounded by visual artists. She was given her first piece of original art when she was nine years old and has been acquiring new works ever since. Many are by members of the Limners, a group of Victoria painters, collagists, printmakers, ceramists and sculptors – including Mayhew – who banded together in 1971 and have been a vital force in the local art scene ever since. The walls of the Warren’s living room and dining room are graced by a fine selection of prints and paintings by various Limners, and exquisite examples of Mayhew’s work – small, geometrical pieces reminiscent of her monumental totemic bronze sculptures – turn up here and there throughout the house.

Early exposure to high-quality art has made Wendy a careful collector who is more interested in the pleasures of discovery than in quickly filling all her available display space. “As time goes on,” she says, passing an empty wall, “there will be more paintings, but I don’t want to run out and buy things just to decorate. When we see something, we’ll have a place to put it.” Shelf space, on the other hand, is at a premium due to Wendy’s great love of sculpture and pottery. Her collection of the latter includes such diverse pieces as a Kinichi Shigeno teapot, a Sandra Maillot vase and a Walter Dexter pot.

Most of the artists in the Warren’s collection are Canadians and, with the notable exception of Peter Shostak, a favourite of Phil’s because of their shared prairie roots, British Columbians predominate. Wendy has ceased collecting from other countries because she finds more than enough to choose from within Canada. One of the last non-Canadian pieces she purchased was a lithograph by Navajo artist R.C. Gorman which depicts a woman in brightly coloured robes seated by a hogan with a blue door. This painting was the inspiration for the Warren’s own blue-painted front door and is the first thing one sees upon entering the house.

“We love blue,” Wendy admits, and sure enough, the colour reappears in every room in the house. While never overpowering, it provides a welcome note of assertiveness that complements the soothing taupe, ash and cream shades selected for most of the wall and floor coverings, woodwork and furnishings. Some of the manifestations of the Warren’s favourite colour are subtle, like the navy stain on the kitchen’s oak cabinets. Others are striking, like the cobalt blue mirror that tops a large, round coffee table in one corner of the living room.

Both the glass-topped table and a elegant sideboard were inherited from Wendy’s grandmother. Like the nineteenth-century, walnut dining table passed down to Phil from his Scottish ancestors, they blend well with the otherwise modern decor of the living and dining rooms. The shift away from contemporary style is taken a step further in the kitchen and family room, where Wendy’s appreciation of folk art and rural traditions has been given free reign. Details such as the country-kitchen dining set, wicker armchairs, woven wooden baskets, ceramic jugs and a whimsical bird-house-style wine rack create a casual, homey atmosphere, suitable for the many family functions the Warrens host.

Country style decor also shows up in one of the two spare bedrooms upstairs, where cheerful sunflowers and bright-eyed daisies create a welcoming atmosphere for the room’s most frequent occupant, the Warren’s four-year-old grandson, Austin. Between visits, his picture books are neatly stored in a replica of an old-fashioned butterbox and an assemblage of plush pets snuggle together on a wooden settee.

Next door to Austin’s room, in Wendy’s office, there are more stuffed toys, but these are not for the benefit of any children. This, Wendy declares, is her “girl space,” a playful, eclectic room where she can display her dolls and teddy bears – a feminine refuge she needed to create for herself after years of living in a family of boys and men. It also has its serious side as operation central for her two business enterprises: The Country Goose at Mattick’s Farm and the Gallery at Mattick’s Farm.

While Phil shares Wendy’s interest in art and her taste in interior design, his real passion is for bringing beauty and order to the outdoor spaces surrounding the house. Phil’s office and the family room each have sliding glass doors that open onto patios. “We wanted these ground-level entries,” he says, “so the garden could become part of the house.”

Soon to embark upon a ten-month University of British Columbia garden design course, Phil is already a talented and adventurous gardener. As he leads visitors through the California-inspired garden that wraps around the front and west side of the house, he pauses to comment on a potted Japanese orange he has tended for twenty-five years, a banana tree and a red-flowered Grevillea. In the west coast woodland garden that fills the east side and back half of the 13,000-square-foot lot, he points out dogwoods, rhododendrons, ferns and hostas. Over the past few years he has laid winding, woodchip paths, installed accent lighting and rehabilitated an old pond, bringing it back to life with the sound of trickling water. “Some nights when I’m sitting out here,” he says, “it’s hard to leave this and go to bed.”

This is a home that encourages such quiet moments of relaxation. “Our lives are so busy,” Wendy says, “that the biggest thing we went for was simplicity.” It is, however, a sophisticated simplicity that makes it a worthy setting for the Warren’s artwork and an eminently livable space, both inside and out.