Towering over the beach district of Downtown Vancouver, this three-bedroom penthouse felt dark and awkward as it had not been updated in over 20 years, leaving a complete rebuild as the only logical way forward. The clients are hoping to welcome a child in the years to come, however they love to entertain so also wanted a modern and sophisticated space. Therefore, the task became marrying functional indestructability with clean, elevated design, resulting in a timeless, architecturally forward home with sensible storage and innovated finishes.

Creatively, I was inspired by the idea of injecting dimension, by way of juxtaposing materials that wouldn’t necessarily be found together in nature, yet worked harmonious when combined. As such the use of metal, wood, stone and textiles are a cohesive vein running throughout the home.

You’ll notice the kitchen cabinet fronts are all made of solid Dekton – a manmade stone that while costly, is nearly indestructible. This created the base in which we inset the countertop, backsplash and surround, all made in a custom engineered wood-like laminate.
As if a huge ice-cream scoop glided into a slab of solid stone, uncovering beautiful layered depths of wood. I worked with a local company to custom manufacture this is a high impact, one-of-a-kind laminate specifically for this project. It’s nonporous, fingerprint resistant and antimicrobial; a powerhouse as far as kitchen materials go. It offers a matte finish which has a beautiful hand-feel resembling real wood but because it’s manmade, it’s not subjected to the same expansion and contraction of natural wood, making it an exception choice for this application.

This combination of high-level functionality married with an elevated aesthetic flowed seamlessly into the rest of the home including the living area where we created a three-sided fireplace clad with Italian marble. We flanked this feature with a channel tufted banquette that dualled as additional seating and hidden storage. Floating metal shelving backed with an oversized mirror reflected the depth of the shelving to create the illusion of additional depth in the room.

Two bathrooms, including the primary ensuite that we renovated to allow for a new massive walk-in shower, lined entirely in lilac marble laid in a custom mosaic pattern. The beautiful pattern and rich tone of the marble was complimented perfectly with the hand build and custom designed vanity featuring solid white oak fluting and mixed metal hardware.

A newly defined entryway and impeccable custom makeup vanity in the primary bedroom are just a few of the additional standouts of this spectacular renovation.