Herschel Supply Co.’s Cofounder Really Loves Overhead Art

Welcome to Different Strokes, a look at unique home design choices that beg for further explanation.

Herschel Supply Co. cofounder Lyndon Cormack’s British Columbia home already had a long history when he bought it. The four-acre oceanfront North Vancouver property and its 1,600-square-foot dock have been the site of the century-old neighborhood regatta since long before Cormack lived there. Naturally, Cormack went big with an ode to the home’s nautical background—during a 12-month renovation, he installed a giant cedar canoe that came with his purchase in its 25-foot-high kitchen ceiling.

The 7,000-square-foot home also "had a very unique style to it," says Cormack, noting that the prior owner, artist, goldsmith, and jewelry designer Susan Macdonald, had renovated the property after taking it over from her grandfather who’d owned it for 70 years. "Some of the elements I inherited, and other elements, I was like, how do I make them my own?"

Lighting was one of Cormack’s entry points to doing so. He incorporated a range of sculptural fixtures from Vancouver-based design studio Bocci, starting with a dynamic 61-piece pendant in front of the fireplace, and another collection of suspended glass globes that hang just outside a repurposed garage door that opens the living room to the ocean vista.

The home’s legacy as a long-standing hub for the Deep Cove neighborhood didn’t stop Cormack from following his bliss, decorating with a mix of contrasting textures like thick shag rugs next to vintage wool ones and creations by artists and designers whose names you might not know, like Joel S. Allen, next to ones you do, like Charles and Ray Eames and Andy Warhol. He also added wooden paneling made from Douglas firs and other locally sourced materials, and a total of 369 Bocci light fixtures to make the space true to his vision. Although, as Cormack sees it, it wasn’t exactly a vision; it’s just stuff he likes. "I love the layering of all the things and collected objects and art," Cormack says. "The whole experience of visiting the house, whether it’s for your first time or you live here, is very wrapped in and encapsulated."

For Cormack, who also recently updated a log cabin weekend getaway in Whistler and is currently working on a renovation in Hawaii, the quirkiness adds to the appeal. We spoke to him about how he indulged in his whims to shape his freewheeling design choices. Our conversation has been edited and condensed for clarity.

Dwell: Can you talk a little bit about the glass pendant lights you have installed throughout the house? How did you choose them and why?

Lyndon Cormack: I definitely went to town and put them everywhere. Beyond the fact that I love the company, Bocci, and the creative director and part-owner Omer Arbel, I love the fact that their actual studio where all those glass pendants were made is literally a two-minute walk from my office in Vancouver, so you can go see the process of them all being manufactured.

The style of light fixtures repeats throughout the house. Did you start in one room and then gradually add similar fixtures elsewhere? Or did you incorporate all the Bocci lights at once?

The house was done in stages. The living area was the starting point. This is the main room that we spend a ton of time in—the fire is always roaring, so it’s a really comfy, beautiful room. When I first bought the house and before I moved in, I had Arbel over and he actually sketched out what he thought we should put in the room. He wanted to have this large lighting fixture and then as it continues outside, it brings inside and outside together. Bocci has all different styles of lights, but I really stuck to this one called the 28 Series.

What can you tell me about the canoe that’s installed in the kitchen ceiling?

It’s an old cedar strip canoe that has integrated lighting in it. It’s paying homage to what’s right in front of the house: the Pacific Ocean. The canoe was a fun inheritance that came with the house. It’s a 25-foot-high ceiling in the kitchen, so I love having the depths of layers, including straight in front of it, where I have some really nice fiber artworks that are dangling from the ceiling. Some people love open living spaces. I like spaces that are somewhat more—whether it’s through art or objects—just enclosed, intimate.

Was it complicated to install?

No. It just sort of sits on top of two beams. I should make a better story about it.