Before and After: A Westside Split-Level Gets a Dramatic Makeover

Photos by Sama Jim Canzian

Some renovation stories start with “it had good bones.” This one starts with “it had a good footprint.”

The family had lived in their 3,200-square-foot home on Vancouver’s westside happily as they raised their daughters, but as the kids got into their teens, the family realized they needed a little more room to breathe. Plus, the 1950s-era home didn’t quite fit with the rest of the more modernist neighbourhood—this could be a chance to reinvent the house with a more pacific northwest vibe.

Before

So in came Allison Holden-Pope of One Seed Architecture and Interiors to build a whole new home on the same foundation. “We wanted to echo the house they raised their kids in because there were a lot of things they liked, but they also wanted to find the present in the new version,” says Holden-Pope.

Reusing the foundation was also a clever permitting play: the footprint of the house was wider than would be allowed on a new property, so by building right on top, One Seed could create something that was still quite spacious.

Both the interior and the exterior got a makeover, and another storey was added to the split-level home to bring the square footage up to 4,350 square feet (plus a 500-square-foot new garage).

While the home was once defined by chaotic, colourful brickwork, it now features artisanal glazed brick that’s dark and moody. “The main cohesive throughline for the house is bringing the outside materials in,” explains Holden-Pope—now, you’ll find white-blonde woods accented by dark bricks and dark beams.

The clerestory window is an iconic feature of midcentury modernism and west coast modernism, letting light trickle in from the top. Holden-Pope named the project ‘Clerestory’ after this architectural feature, and incorporated evocative views to the sky and delightful cutouts throughout.

As in all of One Seed’s project, sustainability was front of mind. The beams here are PSL, proudly on full display; FSC-certified plywood is used for the kitchen; marble for the kitchen was sourced from Vancouver Island. The envelope is also airtight, with triple-pane windows from Cascadia. “It’s very comfortable in here,” says Holden-Pope. The dining room features a special green light fixture from Luceplan Illan: thin, flexible, FSC-certified plywood has been laser cut to fold open to a beautiful ethereal form.

Black-stained, matte, wire-brushed millwork runs from the kitchen to the dining room. “We tried to play with a simple palette and textural elements that will pop as light hits them at different. times of day,” says Holden-Pope. The house features plenty of storage elsewhere, too, like the teen-hangout room where the girls love to read, and the mudroom.

In each daughter’s room, One Seed created a moment that “felt special,” says Holden-Pope, like a walk-in closet with a reading space for one kid, and a custom wood-panelled desk area for the other. The washroom they share has a “New York vibe” to it, with black hardware and subway tiles.

After a two year renovation, the family is feeling happily at home. “We’re loving our new (old) house,” wrote one of the homeowners to Holden-Pope. Looks like One Seed made the most of that footprint on the westside, step by step.

More After Photos From This Westside Renovation

 

Sources

Architecture and Interiors: ONE SEED Architecture + Interiors @oneseed_arch
Builder: Naikoon Contracting
Landscape: CYAN Horticulture
CEA: Capture Energy
Windows: Cascadia Windows and Doors
Millwork: Valkyrie Millwork
Furnishings: Livingspace Vancouver