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When Lauren Webb and Josephina Serra toured a Yaletown condo created by merging two apartments, there were still obvious traces of the divide.

“When we did the walk-through, it was very obvious that it had been two units,” says Webb of the now-2,575-square-foot home.

One side felt under-planned; rushed through design and staging for sale. The other was a bit higher-end. But both lacked cohesion and character.

The new owners had hired Vancouver interior design studio Form Collective to pull the mismatched halves into alignment, redecorate and notch up the style — with touches inspired Las Vegas, where they have another residence.

Principals Webb and Serra realized quickly the place needed more than decor. The project grew into a deeper renovation, reworking parts of the floor plan while unifying the space in function and feel.

The owners’ first big ask was a backlit stone backsplash inspired by their Nevada home — rendered in translucent Cristallo Quartzite for “really wild pop factor.” Web says: “We were worried it would be too in-your-face, but we actually love it.”

For a secondary visual anchor, Webb and Serra extended an existing island with matching stone, adding a curved detail on one end to mimic curved lines of the condo’s outer wall. “We wanted it to be a statement piece and really welcoming to stand around it as well,” says Webb.

Overhead, a dropped wood ceiling panel with a backlit plate sets off a glittering linear light fixture. Stained shinnoki white oak millwork adds sleek storage and houses appliances.

Off to one side, a Samsung Frame TV poses as a painting when not entertaining the cook. This placement eliminated the need for a TV over a nearby fireplace, which backs onto windows.

Around the fireplace, they carved out a small family room. Working with bespoke furnituremaker WD Western Designers, they created a custom curved sofa. To maximize seating and sightlines without overwhelming the space, the company created a template on-site prior to fabrication.

Over the sofa, a print by photographer Gillian Lindsay grounds the space — a slightly gritty and less “Vegas” choice Serra fought for and the homeowner now loves, she says.

Throughout the home, original art and prints layer on character absent in the home’s past life, giving the feel of a collection gathered over time, adds Serra. One standout piece is “Generations” by Victor Goertz, an original acrylic depicting the mossy trunk of an evergreen tree in greens and pinks, hung between the entryway and kitchen. Another striking piece, “City in Pink and Green,” a print by David Tycho, picks up the same colour scheme the end of the main hall.

The homeowner had one other Vegas-inspired request: a home bar. “He kept joking that he wanted to charge cover like a nightclub,” says Webb.

By subsuming the footprint of a former home office, Webb and Serra obliged. The result feels like an intimate speakeasy, layered in leather-textured Black Negresco veined quartzite, against tan velvet stools and gold hardware. One unexpected detail here: millwork doors conceal two 24-inch-wide under-counter freezers where the homeowner, a sport fisherman, stores his catches.

The moody glam esthetic of the bar carries to an adjacent sitting area with leather loungers, and the home’s formal dining area around the corner.

Here, Art Deco-style bench seating complements an oval table and nature-inspired chandelier. The dining area opens to the home’s main living room, set into a corner of wall-to-wall windows. A custom metal fireplace by Vancouver’s New Format Studio adds a flash of brushed gold, against velvet and leather seating.

 

The home’s bedrooms each have their own spin on the Vegas theme. A guest room reserved for the wife’s mother channels a light motif, with a vibrant wall tapestry complementing colourful artwork. Another brings visual drama with a ceiling-high headboard in upholstered black Vant Panels, and punchy black-and-white bedside lamps from CB2. The primary bedroom veers mid-century, with a towering velvet-green headboard against dark metallic wallpaper. Burl nightstands, gold-disc light fixtures and a vintage Otto Bettmann photo of Tropicana showgirls round it out.

As the renovated space came together, a new duality took shape, says Webb. The kitchen side of the space reads “daytime” — light and airy — while a darker, nighttime vibe takes over on the bar-dining side.

Yet the whole space feels unified. “Anybody who walks in there now would never guess that it used to be two units, whereas when we first started, it was very obvious,” says Webb. “When the owner first saw it, she teared up, and that’s always a great feeling. She was so happy.”

So happy, in fact, that the homeowners rehired the duo to fly to Las Vegas for a week and decorate their home there — which they’d previously considered finished. Says Webb: “They didn’t realize what was missing until they saw how layered their space could really be.”

Project design: Form Collective

Project construction: Headland Construction

Project millwork: Sofo Kitchens

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Weekly roundup of three properties that recently sold in Metro Vancouver.

9231 Parksville Dr., Richmond

Type: Five-bedroom, three-bathroom detached

Size: 2,000 square feet

B.C. Assessment: $1,493,600

Listed for: $1,399,000

Sold for: $1,422,000

Sold on: March 2

Days on market in this listing: Seven

Listing agent: Adam Pospischil and Alex Wong at Engel & Volkers Vancouver

Buyers agent: Tracy Hu PREC at LeHomes Realty Premier

The big sell: Richmond’s Boyd Park is the venue for this five-bedroom family home that offers a number of reasons that attracted multiple offers when it was listed for sale. Namely, an air-conditioned interior that provides year-round comfort with a newly-installed heat pump, a floor plan that offers four bedrooms upstairs and a fifth on the main level for guests, elderly relatives, or home office use, 200 square feet of internal storage space, and upgrades that include hardwood floors, stainless-steel appliances, stone counters, and two gas fireplaces. The outside holds its own with a west-facing rear garden that backs directly onto the West Richmond Pitch & Putt Golf Course, a location just a few blocks from Hugh Boyd Secondary School and the West Richmond Community Centre, and covered parking as well as additional space on the driveway for larger vehicles.

2 — 275 West 17th Ave., Vancouver

Type: Four-bedroom, five-bathroom half duplex

Size: 1,969 square feet

B.C. Assessment: N/A

Listed for: $2,680,000

Sold for: $2,680,000

Sold on: Jan. 8

Days on market in this listing: 38

Listing agent: Jessica Chen PREC at Oakwyn Realty

Buyers agent: Val Brennan at Oakwyn Realty

The big sell: This newly-finished half duplex sold for bang on the listed price and features a larger layout than many with four bedrooms, five bathrooms and almost 2,000 square feet of internal living space. It forms part of a side-by-side duplex in Cambie Village just steps to shops, parks, restaurants, schools and the Canada Line subway route that connects downtown with Vancouver’s international airport. Built by Vandwell Developments, the home features floor-to-ceiling windows, a built-in sound system, sliding glass doors, front and back patios, air conditioning, radiant heat, and a stylish kitchen with waterfall countertops and sleek cabinetry. A staircase with seamless glass railings leads upstairs where there are two further levels with two bedrooms on each. There is a heated crawl space for extra storage but the piece de resistance is a rooftop deck with panoramic mountain and city skyline views.

201 — 39771 Government Rd., Squamish

Type: Two-bedroom, two-bathroom apartment

Size: 1,198 square feet

B.C. Assessment: $797,000

Listed for: $819,900

Sold for: $807,000

Sold on: Jan. 30

Days on market in this listing: 83

Listing agent: Rod Bahari PREC at Sutton Group — West Coast Realty

Buyers agent: Art Power at Stilhavn Real Estate Services

The big sell: Squamish is home to the five-year-old Breeze condominium complex that occupies a convenient location near the many amenities that the town offers. This particular unit is a two-level, south-facing, two-bedroom, two-bathroom end unit with the added bonus of having a 16-foot-long open loft space as well as a penthouse position. Boasting a layout close to 1,200 square feet, the interior features vaulted ceilings, a Scandinavian-inspired kitchen with a streamlined design incorporating an island, quartz countertops, stainless-steel appliances and ample cupboard space, a primary bedroom on the upper level with a custom-built walk-in closet and ensuite bathroom, and a private deck with engaging mountain and Chief views. The unit’s monthly maintenance fee is $583.09 and it comes with underground parking, and a strata that permits pets and rentals with restrictions.

These transactions were compiled by Nicola Way of BestHomesBC.com.

Realtors — send your recent sales to nicola@besthomesbc.com

Want more expert mortgage info? Robert McLister shares Canada’s best national insured and uninsured mortgage rates, updated daily.

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