The pungent aroma of Colombian coffee fills the sunlit rooms of this Rockcliffe home, a comfortable, airy, modern residence that bears little resemblance to its actual age. Inside this seven-bedroom diplomatic residence, it’s hard to imagine that the house was actually built in 1934 with a stucco and stone exterior that fits in perfectly with its Park Road neighbours, including the Belgian and Irish ambassadors’ residences.
When you visit the newly renovated home of Colombian Ambassador Nicolas Lloreda-Ricaurte and his wife, Alessandra Tassara, they want you to feel you are in a space as warm and as bright as their home in Colombia, without having travelled thousands of kilometres to South America. They have recently moved in after a two-year renovation that began when they arrived with their two young children, Lorenzo, now 11, and Daniella, now 7, from Washington. What they discovered was a house they felt was unhealthy for themselves and their children and for future diplomats who would live there.
The old house was purchased for $68,000, a considerable sum at the time, from Elizabeth Helen Prodrick in 1957, three years after Colombia established diplomatic relations with Canada, but its newest residents learned in Washington about the dangers of lead and asbestos and “this house was full of both,” the ambassador says. “Of course, Colombia is a developing country and there is no money for improving embassies, but when we proved to them the house was a health hazard, they agreed and the house was gutted; new pipes, new insulation, new paint, everything.”
During the renovation, the family lived happily in a large family home in Manor Park and planned the design for the residence.
“Everyone told us to leave the oak floors, but because we come from the tropics, we like the light,” he says, “so we changed to maple floors.” The staircase is now also maple, adding to the sense of lightness.
The effect is dramatic and the ambassador admits he learned a few things along the way. In fact, he stole a page from the redesign of the Irish residence down the road and built a large, multi-windowed foyer at the front door to accommodate Canadian guests who arrive at winter parties carrying their party shoes in a bag, a practice unheard of at many diplomatic posts.
A library at the back of the house was also torn out and the hallway was extended to the back of the house where French doors lead outside to a large patio, creating a view of the garden from the front door.
“We are very proud and happy about the renovation,” he says.
In keeping with the light theme, the colour palette of the furnishings and walls is cream with splashes of red, including a red love seat, with some leather furniture in the sunroom, which opens off the back of the main reception room.
Colourful and interesting Colombian art is featured on most of the walls, with the main piece being a great discovery the ambassador made when he arrived in Ottawa. It is the work of Fernando Botero, one of Colombia’s best known artists. Renowned for his “fat” characters, this piece is of a very thin man, the ambassador points out, making it an exception and an early work from the 1950s. Another striking work of importance, this one by Colombia’s Grau Enrique, is of a woman holding her head in her hands.
Yet the brightest stars in the house are the magnificent bouquets of roses — red, yellow and orange — that can be found on tables throughout and in small vases on the dining room table. They represent one of Colombia’s major exports. Colombia is, in fact, one of the world’s major flower producers, with birds of paradise, gerberas, anthuriums and orchids among the major blooms that are exported around the world. With an almost perfect climate for flowers, Medellin has become a major production centre.
The house runs with two live-in staff — a housekeeper and a driver — but there is no full-time cook, says Tassara. Instead, she relies on top-notch chefs from several restaurants to come and cook in her up-to-date kitchen for embassy dinners and cocktail parties, but smartly refuses to name her favourites. But the food is great, she says. Once a year, however, the Colombian government sends a chef to Ottawa for one week to give the diplomatic couple a chance to introduce Canadians, if briefly, to the cuisine of their country. And they often open up their home to charitable groups for events and dinners in order to promote their culture and country and meet Canadians they might not get to know otherwise.
The lovely old house may be in central Ottawa, but the brilliant colours of Colombian roses and the aroma of Colombian coffee, called Amor Perfecto, whet a visitor’s appetite to travel to Colombia.
Margo Roston is Diplomat’s culture editor.
