Homes

Whistler Home Renovation: A Cozy Christmas Makeover

When a flood forced a renovation, Ami McKay and the Pure Design team preserved this family’s beloved Whistler retreat and gave it a warm, handmade holiday glow.

By Alyssa Hirose /
Janis Nicolay

For 25 years, the only items on the to-do list in this Whistler retreat were family ski trips, cozy game nights and building holiday traditions. “It’s very easy to fall into a comfort level with a ski home,” says the homeowner. “People want to go out and play, come back and relax—they aren’t too concerned with appearances.” After two and a half decades, the family was beginning to contemplate some light home improvement when not-so-festive disaster struck: a flood throughout the main floor and basement turned their refresh ideas into a renovation plan.

Designer Ami McKay lights candles at a large wooden dining table decorated for the holidays in a Whistler home.
TALL ORDER: Designer Ami McKay of Pure Design lights a candle in the dining room, where a sizable table from the Table Factory sits below a woven Forestier pendant light. The chairs, from Four Hands, were chosen for their aesthetic and for their height (the homeowners are tall). Photo by Janis Nicolay.

Keeping the Whistler Character

Ami McKay, founder and creative director of Vancouver’s Pure Design Inc., was brought on to transform the space (once it had dried out, of course). She and her team, including senior designer Anna Astren, first focused on preserving the home’s 25-year Whistler legacy. That meant keeping the substantial cedar beams that framed the main living spaces and allowing that warmth and grand geometry to guide the rest of the design. “Instead of a typical Whistler reno, instead of whitewashing any of the wood, we really wanted to maintain it,” says Astren. Other modern updates, like splashing the walls with a limewash paint to bring in texture and movement, gave the space a more contemporary feel.

A round wood-framed mirror, evergreen branches and a glowing lamp style the Whistler home's entry.
WARM WELCOME: McKay tied ribbons around the tree branches in the entryway vase (another easy holiday DIY). The natural festive decor matches furnishings such as the woodsy CB2 mirror. Photo by Janis Nicolay.

The kitchen was entirely renovated—shaker-style cabinets were traded in for solid fir, with integrated appliances and lower cabinets that have handles carved directly into them. “To bring in another layer of architectural interest, we did a metal-clad upper cabinet,” Astren explains. The previous space was quite small, so the team extended the countertop into the dining area and added open wraparound shelving. It’s a cute spot to store woven baskets, ceramics and other bits and bobs from the family’s travels. And, during the holiday season, it’s an opportunity for festive decor.

Renovated Whistler kitchen with fir lower cabinets, dark oxidized-steel upper cabinets and a long counter beside wood-framed windows.
SO METAL: Instead of an all-fir kitchen, senior designer Anna Astren chose oxidized steel upper cabinetry to balance out the softness of the wood. “It’s very West Coast, very solid and grounding,” she says. Photo by Janis Nicolay.
A stone fireplace with a substantial cedar mantel, lit fire and simple evergreen Christmas decorations.
BEAM ME UP: From the start, the clients and design team agreed that the timber posts and beams would be preserved—and the fireplace, too. “The property itself is really special; we didn’t need to mess with any of that,” says McKay. Photo by Janis Nicolay.

READ MORE: Homes for the Holidays: A Whistler Holiday Home That Redefines Mountain Elegance

A Handmade Christmas

“We got crafty, us girls,” McKay says with a laugh. Instead of using typical ornaments, the team embraced DIY decorations. Dried limes purchased from the grocery store were threaded with string to create garlands; presents were wrapped in wallpaper left over from previous Pure Design projects. Instead of a full holiday makeover, there are small, playful touches, like pinstriped linen bows plump with stuffing.

Small Christmas gifts wrapped in patterned wallpaper and textured cloth ribbons rest on cedar greenery.
END OF THE ROLL: The gifts under the tree are wrapped in scrap wallpaper, which McKay collects (for holidays and beyond). “I always hold on to it for the potential; it’s for anything,” she says. “Anybody can use wallpaper for any event.” Photo by Janis Nicolay.

Keeping the Whistler Character

Ami McKay, founder and creative director of Vancouver’s Pure Design Inc., was brought on to transform the space (once it had dried out, of course). She and her team, including senior designer Anna Astren, first focused on preserving the home’s 25-year Whistler legacy. That meant keeping the substantial cedar beams that framed the main living spaces and allowing that warmth and grand geometry to guide the rest of the design. “Instead of a typical Whistler reno, instead of whitewashing any of the wood, we really wanted to maintain it,” says Astren. Other modern updates, like splashing the walls with a limewash paint to bring in texture and movement, gave the space a more contemporary feel.

A white dried flower ornament hangs from a fir Christmas tree alongside dried citrus garlands and golden bells.
FLOWERS FOREVER: The bells, the baubles, the hanging bark and even the dried florals on the Christmas tree can be removed and stored for next year. Photo by Janis Nicolay.

A Handmade Christmas

“We got crafty, us girls,” McKay says with a laugh. Instead of using typical ornaments, the team embraced DIY decorations. Dried limes purchased from the grocery store were threaded with string to create garlands; presents were wrapped in wallpaper left over from previous Pure Design projects. Instead of a full holiday makeover, there are small, playful touches, like pinstriped linen bows plump with stuffing.Over her eight years as a florist and 25-plus years owning her own interior design firm, McKay has built an extensive history with holiday homes—in fact, it would probably rival a certain bearded Christmas icon. “I’ve done so many Christmases,” she says, “but I tend to always go back to those natural aspects.” The tree in this Whistler home is a prime example: it’s a natural fir—not a typical lush evergreen, but not quite a sparse Charlie Brown tree, either. Branches are hung with dried florals and long pieces of birch bark (the latter also handcrafted by the interior design team). It looks right at home with the year-round furnishings, especially the stunning driftwood chandelier, made by Cameron Mathieson of Nelson-based Lightness. The original sofa was reupholstered; at family gatherings, it’s still a great place for the homeowners to sit and listen to their son play the piano.

Modern Comforts, Mountain Mood

Because the home had served the clients so well for so long, they weren’t determined to renovate everything: the primary bedroom, for example, just got some new linens and replacement lighting. “It was already this beautiful, terracotta-y deep paint finish from a decade ago,” McKay says. “It looked so good.”

Ami McKay sits on a reupholstered sofa beside a Christmas tree decorated with dried flowers and natural ornaments.
McKay relaxes beside the Christmas tree, where natural ornaments complement the home’s warm wood finishes. Photo by Janis Nicolay.

READ MORE: Designer Kelly Deck Creates a Cozy, Light-Filled Whistler Retreat for Après-Ski Living

Modern Comforts, Mountain Mood

Because the home had served the clients so well for so long, they weren’t determined to renovate everything: the primary bedroom, for example, just got some new linens and replacement lighting. “It was already this beautiful, terracotta-y deep paint finish from a decade ago,” McKay says. “It looked so good.”

A Whistler bedroom with terracotta walls, a timber ceiling, a wood bed frame and fresh grey linens.
In the primary bedroom, new linens and lighting refresh the existing warm terracotta walls and wood finishes. Photo by Janis Nicolay.

That richness of colour inspired the team for the ensuite bathroom, so they opted for a forest green Venetian plaster for the walls. “We wanted to go for a spa-like feeling, but not in the traditional sense… we really wanted to lean into the moodiness,” says Astren. Marble countertops and French brass fixtures were chosen for the patina they would develop with time.

Whistler ensuite bathroom with dark green Venetian plaster walls, a freestanding white bathtub and a glass shower beneath a timber ceiling.
SERENE SCREEN: The ensuite bathroom didn’t quite have enough room for a water closet, but the homeowners requested some separation between the toilet and the rest of the space. A Japanese-inspired wood screen offers some extra privacy. Photo by Janis Nicolay.

McKay herself got a chance to try out the serene ensuite post-holiday decorating. Making paper chains, dried citrus garlands and birch tree ornaments and wrapping gifts with scrap paper was serious labour: “We were like little elves working away,” she says. After washing the glue and glitter away, the designer immediately noticed the shower’s no-spot glass: “I was like, how is this so sparkly clean? It’s remarkable,” she recalls. The true magic is felt in the functional updates—a kitchen big enough for communal cooking, comfy living room seating around the piano, shower glass that always looks pristine. It’s a Christmas miracle.

READ MORE: A Whistler Cabin Designed for Real Mountain Life

This story originally appeared in the November/December 2026 issue of Western Living.

Alyssa Hirose

Alyssa Hirose

Alyssa Hirose is a Vancouver-based writer, editor, illustrator and comic artist. Her work has been featured in Vancouver magazine, Western Living, BCBusiness, Avenue, Serviette, Geist, BCLiving, Nuvo, Montecristo, The Georgia Straight and more. Her beats are food, travel, arts and culture, style, interior design and anything dog-related. She publishes a daily autobiographical comic on Instagram at @hialyssacomics.