a major renovation of a non-descript house in north vancouver with some excellent design elements. take a look at the realty listing here.

as you can see from the image above, the front yard is quite something to behold. even though the landscaping is mostly rocks which i actually quite like. this means less gardening to do. it is very ‘zen’ dare i say. a large level patio with openings from both sides of the house will definitely get lots of use in the summer time. those overhangs are rockin! not only are they really cool to look at, they will function very well in this climate by keeping the rain off the house and letting the owners enjoy those upper decks all year long. very well thought out i must say to have provided this bonus outdoor living space.

upon entry into the house, you are greeted by an open riser stair leading to the living and entertaining spaces upstairs. this house being on a slope with the view to the lower sloped side, the architect decided that the best view will be received by the living spaces on the second floor. i like the use of exposed aggregate flooring in the entry foyer which brings the outdoors in and makes the ground floor feel more in touch with the site. nice elements on the stairs are those led lights that will keep the treads illuminated when going up for a midnight snack. i am not sure but i will take a guess that the door to the right at the top of the stairs leads into the master bedroom. this would make the house great for aging in place as there is at least one bedroom on the floor with the kitchen/living space.

once reaching the top of the stairs, you come into a large open concept living – dining – kitchen area. you can see the generous overhangs with heavy timber beams just outside the central window (on the left in the above image). notice the slightly vaulted ceilings and the built-in sound system. the offset glass guards are a really nice contemporary touch which allow vision through them to the other side of the space. nice dark wood flooring ground the space quite elegantly.

in the kitchen looking towards the living room. the layout of the kitchen is interesting: reading it from the left to the right, we have a wall of pantry closets and a refrigerator which would be the storage area. in the middle is a generous island for food prep and cleanup and on the right we have a counter with a cooktop and a microwave , which would indicate the cooking area of the kitchen. a very formal and organized way of laying out the kitchen. i wonder if the fridge is not too far from the other areas of the kitchen? Once again the flooring is continuous throughout the kitchen and living spaces in order to create a seamless connection between the areas of the house.

the kitchen looking towards the back of the house. you can see a nice work desk at the corner of the kitchen, where people can catch up on their email and stay and chat while someone is cooking preparing a delicious meal for all to enjoy. looking through the sliding doors to the back yard, a raised garage building is accessed via small sets of stairs. most commonly this may be the way to enter the house when arriving to the house by car.

the ensuite is decked out with some stunning tile work. a freestanding tub for those long soaks after a hard day at work and a big shower stall with frameless glass as well. once again a dark floor is used to tie the colour scheme together throughout the house.