Photos: Todd Talbot's Master Bedroom Is a Lesson in Mixing Textures

Todd Talbot gives us a tour of the newly renovated master bedroom in his soon-to-be-on-the-market Lions Bay home.

Todd Talbot, HGTV host and real estate entrepreneur, is trading in his Lions Bay home for small space living in East Vancouver. What will he miss most? The bright and airy master bedroom, a project seven years in the making, ranks high on the list—especially since the Talbots won’t be taking any of the furnishings with them when they move. “One of the first things the buyers negotiated was keeping everything in the master bedroom. They wanted it left exactly the way it is,” Talbot says.

Small wonder. Mixing multiple metals and woods, Talbot’s master bedroom is a contemporary retreat with a few surprising touches. Case in point: the Idanna Pendant chandelier from CF Interiors. “I brought it home, held it up and thought, ‘this is perfect,’” says Talbot. The stark black metal provides “a little punch of drama,” while the geometric cutouts keep sightlines open, maintaining the room’s light, airy feel. “Sometimes if you don’t get different colours and different tones, everything blends together,” Talbot says, which is why he incorporated other metals in the room as well—like the two copper side lamps, also from CF Interiors. “They’re low profile and sleek with a little retro spin.”Natural wood finishings keep things from looking too industrial and play up the bedroom’s striking view of Lions Bay. Overhead, solid fir beams and dark grey cedar siding create a coffered ceiling effect, adding height, dimension and drama to the room. “Hard finishes sometimes get forgotten about in terms of texture,” Talbot explains. “Here, we’re using all the surfaces in the room to add that interest.”

Another statement piece? The custom headboard, which Talbot sanded down and stained himself. The solid slab of acacia, courtesy of Spalt, weighs more than two hundred pounds and is screwed directly into the studs. “That thing is not going anywhere,” Talbot laughs, remembering the installation process. “It’s in for life—like a piano.” A good thing too, since the rest of the room, from the wall colour (“Subtle Touch” by Behr) to the floor (a Scandinavian maple hardwood) was inspired by the headboard’s clean, simple lines.

For Talbot, the most unexpected touch is the centre throw pillow, which adds a little whimsy to the master bedroom. “I’m anti-writing on pillows or walls,” he admits, “but something about that one made us laugh. I was like, ‘I’m breaking my rule!’” Now, he can’t imagine the room without its signature piece of Canadiana—“it’s like the period at the end of the sentence!”Like everything else in the master bedroom, that pillow will be passed onto the home’s new owners once the Talbots move into their downtown digs. “It’s a whole new adventure, a new style of living,” says Talbot, so it makes sense to start fresh with the decor, too. We can’t wait to see the results of that renovation—although hopefully it won’t take another seven years.