Stores

Design Crush: Camp Lifestyle & Coffee Co.’s Very West Coast Space

Whistler's best design shop gives us another reason to hit the slopes this weekend.

By Anicka Quin /

Whistler’s best design shop gives us another reason to hit the slopes this weekend.

The brainchild of designer Lynn Gentile of Cabin Fever Interiors (you may remember the gorgeous Whistler home she designed in our December issue), Camp Lifestyle & Coffee Co. opened in August last year and quickly built a loyal local—and not so local—following. Alongside the hopping coffee bar (stay for an order of fresh-roasted s’mores), the store is stocked with mainly Canadian-made designs, which regular readers of WL will recognize: MTH Woodworks, Wood Stone Design, We Are Stories (formerly known as Dear Pony), Loyal Loot, Woodlot and more.Click on the slide show below for a tour through the space (or better yet, go skiing this weekend, and start your morning here).

The store is in Whistler’s Function Junction€”often compared to Vancouver’s east side as the local’s community. (Photo: Kristen McGaughey.)

Camp is both a design store, and a coffee bar. Locally roasted 49th Parallel coffee and Namasthé teas (based in Whistler) are served. (Photo: Kristen McGaughey.)

The store offers individual roasting stations at their seating table for homemade s’mores. (Photo: Kristen McGaughey.)

Owner Lynn Gentile makes an effort to stock only North American products, with a particular emphasis on Canadian designs. Nicole Tarasick from Kingston, Ontario, designs these Canadiana pillows. (Photo: Kristen McGaughey.)

There are several local clothing brands stocked, including Sitka clothing from Vancouver island. (Photo: Kristen McGaughey.)

Woodcuts line the wall of the “guy’s” section of the store. (Photo: Kristen McGaughey.)

An oversize mural of a woman paddling lines another wall. (Photo: Kristen McGaughey.)

With a cheeky take on the great outdoors, the store’s bathroom is designed as a faux outhouse. (Photo: Kristen McGaughey.)

Charcoal walls pair with a reclaimed wood feature in the “outhouse.” The store’s owner, Lynn Gentile, has lived in Whistler for nearly 20 years. Before moving from Toronto, she was the senior designer at Yabu Pushelberg. (Photo: Kristen McGaughey.)

The back deck features a fire pit and a waterfall, and brightly coloured, Canadian-made Adirondack chairs (made from 100-percent recycled plastic). (Photo: Kristen McGaughey.)

Upstairs, Gentile’s design centre is also surrounded by locally made products, including stools from MTH Woodworks. (Photo: Kristen McGaughey.)

The store is filled with quirky accessories, like these Canadian Mint bags from Nelson, B.C.’s We Are Stories. (Photo: Kristen McGaughey.)

Anicka Quin

Anicka Quin

Anicka Quin is the editor-in-chief of Western Living magazine and the VP of Content for Canada Wide Media. If you've got a home design you'd like to share with Western Living, drop her a line at [email protected]