Photographers love their light€”so when the shutterbug couple behind Provoke Studios approached architect Chris Hunter (principal of Hunter Office Architecture) about designing their Squamish work-live space, he set about creating a 3,500-square-foot home that took a holistic approach to optimizing natural light.

On the second level, sunlight trickles down through a roof deck hatch and past fir beams to pour over the not-quite-ceiling-height bedroom wall and through the glass bannister to the kitchen below. (Said bannister also offers optimal sightlines for Rufus to watch over proceedings from the mezzanine.) A sliding glass door and oversized clerestory window to the courtyard brings in light from the south. Materials like white and oak cabinetry (by Generation Woodworks) and crisp white walls were selected to further amplify the natural light. And yet, despite all the windows at work here, Hunter has ultimately managed to create a cozy hideaway in a West Coast paradise. €œAs much glass as there is, It's still so private,€ he says.

Stacey McLachlan

Stacey McLachlan

Stacey is a senior editor at Western Living magazine, as well as editor-in-chief of sister publication Vancouver magazine. She loves window shopping on the job: send your home accessories and furniture recommendations over to [email protected]