BY CARLA SORRELL | PHOTOS BY JODY BECK
The doctor’s office isn’t the place you’d expect to find inspiration for a major home renovation. But that’s exactly what happened when one of the owners of a Cadboro Bay house picked up the Summer 2020 issue of Spruce, YAM’s sister publication, in the waiting room.

It featured architectural firm One Seed’s Geometric House on its cover. Inspired, she took it home, photocopied it and returned it to the office — then carefully and aspirationally stored the copies until her family was ready to pursue the strategic renovation that would slice through and open up their beloved 1950s bungalow.
What drew this homeowner to the Geometric House was its outdoor lounge and kitchen, thoughtfully located adjacent to an open-plan kitchen. The traditional post and beam architecture was reminiscent of her childhood home which, like the Geometric House, was also on Vancouver’s North Shore. In the article, Allison Holden-Pope, principal of One Seed Architecture + Interiors, explained her love for the complexities of a home renovation and how her process is deeply rooted in the way clients use their homes.
A few months later, when the couple were ready to renovate, Holden-Pope was thrilled to meet her new clients. And the feeling was mutual.

“They had interesting art pieces and they were doing the most with what they had, which is always a good sign for a client who’s going to be fun to work with and value design,” says Holden-Pope of their first meeting. “They were super into the design process, collaborative and had strong opinions. [The final renovation] reflects them, their personal taste and their love for that mid-century era and West Coast modernism.”

Three Objectives
The home already held warm memories for the couple when they bought it in 2018; years earlier, the aunt of one of the owners had owned it, while her own parents still owned the house next door. The couple had always loved the Cadboro Bay neighbourhood, and the proximity to her parents meant it would be easier for them to age in place.

The families combined their two yards to create one large garden and open flow between the two houses. Prior to the renovation, the small patio doors that led from the dining room and kitchen to the backyard would be wide open from May to September, the whole family spending much of their time outside, gardening and spending time together.
But the expansive space outside was a stark contrast to the home’s cramped interior. A small L-shaped kitchen was separated from the dining and living rooms. The sparse entrance offered no storage. And the home lacked direct access into the adjacent garage.
The homeowners came to Holden-Pope with three objectives: to expand the main floor plan; to create architectural interest while adding storage; and to open the home up to the large, south-facing backyard where they spend so much time.
“There are some layers of narratives to the story; we decided to really focus on the line so it connected the old to the new,” says Holden-Pope.
To maintain scope and make the most impact in the desired spaces, the renovation literally drew a line through the house, maintaining focus on the main floor and back patio despite temptations to extend into the basement or upstairs bedrooms.

“Ultimately, we came up with a design that optimized the bang for the buck, trying to get the largest scale changes with the smallest impacted area,” says Holden-Pope.
The resulting split-level main floor finds its alignment in a poetic symmetry: A sightline was created from the windows flanking the front door through to the backyard and an exit to the family’s hot tub, where a nightly dip is a longstanding ritual. Inside, a concrete fireplace meets the main floorline to carry the level through a 545-square-foot extension comprising an open-plan lounge and kitchen.
Holden-Pope thought tactically about how to make this space as impressive as possible. Twelve-foot ceilings were achieved by dropping the room down three steps, creating another split level and keeping it in character with the rest of the home, a quality that the homeowners loved.
“The hardest thing to accomplish was to build an addition that felt like it belonged to the original house, especially where the original roof had its higher sloped ceiling,” Holden-Pope says.
Ocean and Art
Wood, concrete and black accents — qualities and materials typical of West Coast modernism — tie this renovation together. For the homeowners, these materials remind them of the neighbourhood’s beaches, a theme they explored further when choosing ocean-blue tiles for the kitchen.

While the home’s exterior was largely untouched, a lick of black paint and finely crafted features like the shou sugi ban burnt cedar siding at the front raised its profile and curb appeal. Inside, a monumental black-stained wooden Accoya entry closet carries the colour palette through the house (and adds a welcome depth of storage, too). The closet also matches a dividing wall and a block of kitchen cupboards in the extension.
Both homeowners like to cook, so a lot of detail went into the chef-grade kitchen. A closed cupboard for the bakers, for instance, and some very well-considered millwork for the chef of the family, who spent a lot of time figuring out the details of drawer heights and the gas stovetop, which is set in the middle of a generous central bar counter. A downdraft was installed to keep the space open and maintain views, while multiple pot lights were preferred over pendants for their quality of light.
When choosing the lighting, the homeowners were inspired by an old friend who worked in film, remembering his home to always be perfectly lit. They opted to run pot lights on multiple sockets, a cluster of three above the cooking space spotlighting the action, as does another cluster above the fireplace. The lighting also illuminates artwork by an uncle and several pieces by local artist Dylan Thomas.
The stunning space has become a backdrop for the daily creative production that takes place in the family.
“Our client calls it an art gallery cooking show,” says Holden-Pope. “He feels like he lives in an art gallery and is also on a cooking show, which is exactly what he was asking for.”

Planning for Tomorrow
The homeowners also wanted to renovate with longevity and changing climate conditions in mind, and in this they found a perfect ally in Holden-Pope. Sustainability is at the forefront of her design ethos; in fact, Holden-Pope was the first LEEDS-certified professional in Quebec, where she started out working in commercial architecture.
With the extension, she created a high-performing, future-proofed space that is prepared for upgrades like new windows and better air barriers to create a “super-tight system.”
Among its features are the electric-heated concrete floor that holds thermal mass so the home doesn’t lose heat even when the back doors are wide open. The homeowners hardly have to heat the main floor. In fact, they both have offices in the house, but often migrate to the main floor for their working day, drawn by its comfort, esthetic and the familial views.

But the most important considerations for these homeowners were unobstructed views into their garden and a seamless indoor-outdoor experience. Holden-Pope delivered with a bank of grand fold-away doors. “One thing that we worked really hard on was creating this open-corner, fold-away effect,” she says. “It ended up being something that they felt would be worth [the expense].”
Out back, the skewed geometry of a generous, triangular 530-square-foot deck is angled due south to hold the focus to the exceptional quality of light while creating varied sized spaces for different kinds of gatherings. Out front, an elevated concrete catwalk of a walkway creates a staggered landscape for planting while adding drama, meeting the door under a new canopy.
In passing, you can glimpse the backyard through the house, a view that has undoubtedly become a backdrop to beautifully renovated and opened-up interior spaces. The seamless transition they were looking for achieved, the family can now bring the outdoors in.

RESOURCES
Architecture and interior design: One SEED Architecture + Interiors
Builder: Interactive Construction
Millwork: David H Moore Cabinetry
Shou sugi ban: Barker Textured Woodcraft
Structural: GC Engineering
Electrical: EM Electrical
Landscape: Homeowners