Designer transforms mid-century Westwood home

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This article was published 16/02/2022 (1509 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

A 1963 mid-century modern home in St. James’ Westwood neighbourhood is the most recent canvas of a local interior design maven with an eye for the era.

Stefanie Zielke is an executive assistant to a realtor, but she’s also a writer, designer, traveller and former co-owner of the Exchange District shop Rhymes with Orange.

Right now, the 34-year-old has her sights set on the RBC Convention Centre’s Winnipeg Renovation Show, which has been rescheduled to Feb. 18 to 20.

Here, Zielke will give tips on how to implement mid-century modern design elements into the home and will discuss the renovations underway on her new Westwood bungalow — a journey she’s been sharing with her 41,000 Instagram followers.

As Zielke explains it, creating a home curated with eclectic yet aesthetically harmonious design elements was a gradual process, one she wants to help others embark upon. Zielke’s presentation at the renovation show will dig into styling, layout, furniture sources, and colour palettes, among other things.

These tips are fresh in Zielke’s mind — she moved into her new bungalow in mid-November and has already begun making it her own. The house was designed by Winnipeg-born architect Gordon McGarva.

Apart from private residences, McGarva worked on large-scale projects such as Westwood Shopping Centre and the Canadian Consulate in Islamabad, Pakistan.

“Our previous house was a 1961 bungalow in St. Vital, and we really enjoyed fixing it up because it had a lot of original features we were able to restore,” Zielke said.

“We don’t like to compromise the integrity of these mid-century homes, so we wanted to have something we could work with without having to completely gut.”

A few of her new home’s main draws include wood-paneled ceilings and accents, an outdoor pool, and floor-to-ceiling windows.

“There’s a lot of natural elements that shine through from the outside in,” she said. “I haven’t seen anything like this one.”

Zielke describes the bungalow as “Palm Springs-style”. She said this type of mid-century modern architecture is a relatively rare find, although Winnipeg is home to a great deal of mid-century bungalows, in general.

The designer’s personal brand of mid-century modern includes boho and bohemian accents — two looks she incorporates to modernize the 1950s-60s style. Zielke muses about her design preferences and day-to-day inspiration on her blog, 1000 Miles From Nowhere.

A gallery of warm vignettes of Morocco’s Marrakech, taken by the writer herself, is accompanied by an exploration of the region as an epicentre of bohemian style. Then, Zielke writes about the fine details of domestic design in the blog post An Ode To Open Shelving. Here, she breaks down the misconceptions behind displaying one’s items en plein air.

Zielke recently penned the article “Mad Men Meets the Jungalow: How to Merge MCM + Boho Design” published by Mapiful in its free downloadable e-book How to Make Your Home More You.

More of Zielke’s content can be found on her website at 1000milesfromnowhere.blog or on Instagram @stefanie.zielke