BEACHSIDE
retreat
Text
Zakiya Kassam
Photography
Tracey Ayton
Holly and her husband weren’t in the market for a full-scale home
renovation when they first encountered Lori Steeves of Simply
Home Decorating. In fact, all they wanted was a new kitchen.
The couple and their two children, now 12 and 14, have lived
in the home for over a decade, but it was only in 2014 that
their vision for the cozy Kitsilano property came to fruition.
Steeves originally met the homeowners roughly a year before the
project commenced. “At that time, we talked about the bigger
picture of their main floor, and how to make better use of their
space. Their home was very dark and closed in and they were not
happy with it. Their budget at the time allowed for only a kitchen
renovation,” says Steeves. After consulting with the designer, the
couple made the decision to hold off on their kitchen in lieu of a
larger-scale renovation down the road.
Prior to purchasing the property, the homeowners were no
strangers to the famously trendy beachside community of Kitsilano.
Like many students attending the University of British Columbia’s
Vancouver campus, Holly lived in the area while she attended school,
and fell in love with the coveted location. “I never thought I could live
in this neighborhood because it’s a little on the pricey side, but we
managed to get in at the right time.”
Although the couple loved the neighborhood, the house itself
presented some challenges. The layout of the home, albeit sufficient
for the foursome in square footage, left much to be desired in
terms of light and air-flow, making it difficult to entertain or even to
convene as a family.
Determined to, quite literally, shed light on the potential-packed
property, Steeves approached the project with a beach-theme in