September 15, 2018
Another great Modern Homes Tour in Vancouver, B.C. recently. Well worth the wait at the border from Seattle and the last MHT of 2018 in our Pacific Northwest back yard.
As with every house on each of these amazing self-guided tours (I think this is the fourth year I’ve attended at least one), there are many cool things to see, many designers to feature, many builders to talk to. For me, as a homeowner, furniture maker, home renovator, and modern architecture enthusiast, it’s usually the small details I remember. I like talking to the professionals, but it’s often a color, a personal detail, a feeling I get that makes something work - which is what design is about to me.
Besides, that ONE THING also makes good short hand for my wife and me to say, “Yeah, you remember – the Back-Painted Glass House.” Below are a few of my favorite things from the Vancouver trip with my special name for each residence.
#1. “Triangulum House,” 333 E. 18th Ave, Vancouver
The triangular clerestory window here reminded me of the constellation Triangulum, a rather unpretentious constellation that looks exactly as its named. Triangulum sits logically in the sky like a pictograph from a geometry chalkboard among fancier constellations. I never thought of it as “picture onto” anything except other stars. But then I’d never looked through a triangular clerestory window and thought of seeing stars, but of course, that’s EXACTLY what these windows allow you to do.
In fact, as I talked to the builder from Lanefab Design/Build, who is doing really good work in Vancouver, about how I could install one of these in my own house, I figured you might be able to see the constellation Triangulum THROUGH this window, like an infinity mirror. (If only the pesky tree and roof weren’t there.) Even the lights near the window look like stars.
#1 Triangulum House
Triangulum
The one thing every single house on every single Modern Homes Tour has is tons of WINDOWS. You have to in the PNW. It’s a requirement. In every nook and cranny builders look to maximize the light to account for the cloudy days. So in Triangulum House, you get more light coming in and can gaze out at the stars at night. Perfect.
#2. “Back-painted Glass House,” 3234 W. 21st Ave, Vancouver
Yes, the commitment to green building was impressive. Sure, the Baltic birch plywood stairwell featured excellent millwork. But notable were the sherbet-colored back-painted glass walls in each shower stall, adding the right amount of diffuse light to otherwise plain bathrooms. The builder told me these panels are ½” tempered glass, adhered with massive amount of silicone, and take 3-4 people to install. Worth it.
#3. “Lake House,” 4644 Eastridge Residence, North Vancouver/Deep Cove
Lake House is one of those Modern Homes Tour stops where location is half the glory. Shrouded in the low clouds and wide lake of Deep Cove, this house and its environs made it one of those aspirational, wow houses that gets visitors kind of giggly and giddy. So what did we remember? First, a long conversation with the landscaper, who did a yeoman’s job on such a steep hillside. It takes a lot of working men and women doing the dirt work to make modern design look so clean and effortless. Second, definitely the funicular, which transported you from the parking area to the actual house. (Yes, a funicular.)
But a detail that really stood out was the homeowner’s metal work throughout the property, notably a 20-foot high metal watchtower on the hillside upon which sat an eager watcher with his binoculars, forever gazing into the mist. A lesson to other homeowners on these tours: make the house personal. You’re not living in a hotel or a studio. It’s a house - make it yours.
#4. “Erickson A-Frame Renovation/Addition,” 3623 Sunnycrest Dr., North Van/Capilano Highlands/Edgemont
Probably our favorite of the day (probably because it’s so close to our own eclectic-modern style) was the remodeled Erickson A-frame. Many ideas to steal from in this family home: the birch laundry room counter, the additional room with corner L-window, even the family’s excellent taste in art. (One of their children had a poster of Jean Cocteau’s film La Belle et La Bette on the wall. A TEENAGER. This is already the coolest kid ever.)
What jumped out at us were the kitchen tiles, which the super-nice homeowner explained were from a company called Azulej.
As a renovator, I love getting new ideas on the MADS tours, and the big one here was: consider buying a neglected house by a notable architect (in this case, the Canadian modernist Arthur Erickson) and fix ‘er up. Lanefab did another great job, and the homeowners have really made it distinctly their own. Gold Star award for today’s winner: the Erickson A-frame. (The only con was that we just missed meeting and talking to Modern Homes Tour co-founder James Leasure!)
#4.5. BONUS HOUSE! Open House MCM by Donald Manning
There’s always some bit of serendipity on MADS tours, and today’s was when we ambled a half-block up the street from the A-frame to an open house that turned out to be a mid-century post-and-beam gem by modernist architect Donald Manning. Gorgeous windows and skylights and only two owners for the life of the house. We ended up talking for an hour to the friendly realtor about Vancouver mid-century modern architecture and Canadian mortgages. Thank you, Bonus House!
#5. Cool Retirement Apartment, 1485 Duchess Ave., West Van
Approaching this plain, concrete skyscraper in a middle-class waterfront neighborhood on a rainy day, I didn’t expect to enjoy the residence as much as I did. Awesome two-story designer remod of an apartment that the owner told us had been completely flooded before she purchased. Were we in New York City or Vancouver? Perfect retirement apartment. The one thing stood out? Something I love every time I see it: using large pieces of furniture to naturally divide a room – in this case, she placed a large set of clothing drawers to face toward the closet which also serves as the headboard on the other side. Also loved the simple inset metallic door hardware. Clever, light, and airy. And most importantly, the owner was happy as a lark.
Our Faves in Order
4, 3, 5, 2, 1