Organic Gardening News

Lakefront living is not rare in B.C. There are numerous neighbourhoods scattered around lakes in places like the Okanagan, Fraser Valley, the Shuswap and Vancouver Island. But while those homeowners enjoy the views and activities on those lakes, they don’t actually own them. In an exclusive area of Langley they do, which is rare.

“Murchie Lake is private,” says Jonathan Turner, one of the realtors representing the listing in the Campbell Valley district of the city. “Six houses along the lakefront own everything in front of them: the portion that they can see, which extends beyond the lake on the other side, the shoreline around the other side of the lake and into the forest.”

At over 8,000 square feet, this house is the biggest and comes with the largest piece of the lake, he says.

And because the lake is private, there are no rules or restrictions — other than courtesy to your neighbours — around boating or jet skiing. So, you can buzz the waters in a motorboat or hoist a sail and float in solitude on a warm summer day. Come winter, if it’s cold enough, homeowners strap on their skates and glide around their own private rink. Some pack their sticks for a rousing game of ice hockey.

Besides the lake, this is Langley, which means horse country. “All the neighbours have horses,” says Turner. This home’s owners do not currently keep them but there’s a barn at the back of the six-acre property with two stalls to house them, along with a chicken coop. A raised veggie garden is primed to round out your meals. “There’s also a pretty good-sized pond in the backyard which could be home for koi fish,” says co-realtor Natalie Sheck.

What’s inside

Floor-to-ceiling windows capture panoramic views of the lake from every floor, and just about every room. Six bedrooms and six bathrooms sprawl over the 8,072 square feet, including a luxurious ensuite spa with soaker tub and extra-large rain shower in the main-floor primary bedroom.

The open floor plan’s hardwood flooring extends to the vaulted ceilings over the main living area and dining room, which melds with the wood beams and stonework pillars in the gourmet chef’s kitchen. Granite countertops, Thermador Professional Series 6 gas range, integrated Thermador refrigerator, as well as a separate spice kitchen with Samsung gas range and Bosch dishwasher complete the cook rooms.

The lower floor encompasses a gym, infrared sauna, games room, wet bar, as well as a stone and brick wine cellar.

Expansive patios, a barbecue terrace and a large rooftop deck are perfect for lakeside entertaining and al fresco dining.

The home is heated via four fireplaces — three natural gas and one wood-burning — geothermal and forced air. Some rooms have radiant heating. There’s even a small gas fireplace tucked into the shelving of the executive office to add warmth and coziness.

A detached 2,200 square-foot, two-storey coach house features two bedrooms and two bathrooms as well as kitchen on the upper floor, while the main floor features a large living space, kitchen, bathroom and laundry room. “The downstairs part could be used as a workshop or a studio. It could also be rented out, used as an in-law suite or a guest house,” says Sheck.

In the neighbourhood

In addition to the lake, the property and neighbourhood are surrounded by mature trees and lush gardens. Nearby Campbell Valley Regional Park encompasses a vast network of trails for walking, birdwatching and horseback riding, as well as a huge equestrian centre and speedway.

Hazelmere Golf & Tennis Club is also nearby, as are elementary and secondary schools, public and private. The area is also renowned for its wineries, many of them with their own boutique bistros.

The realtors note that while there is nothing within walking distance, grocery stores, restaurants and shops are a 10-minute drive away, and White Rock is 20 minutes away. “You feel like you’re in the suburbs but you’re not really that far away from the city,” says Turner.

Location: 23455 8th Avenue, Langley

Listed for: $4,200,000

Year built: 2008

Type: Six bedrooms, six bathrooms

Size: 8,072 sq ft

Realtor: Listed by Jonathan Turner and Natalie Sheck, RE/MAX Crest Realty

Stay up to date on Canada’s best mortgage rates with our guide to the lowest national insured and uninsured mortgage rates, updated daily. Related

• Property Watch: South Surrey with a touch of Beverly Hills
• Property Watch: Ultimate concrete retreat on the market in Whistler

When it comes to paint, white is rarely just white. Anyone who has stood in a paint store staring at sample cards knows this. Some whites glow, others feel cold and clinical, and some seem buttery soft and warm.

Pantone’s colour of the year for 2026, Cloud Dancer, is a shade of white that invites us to slow down. An interesting approach given it’s the beginning of a new year.

Like a blank canvas, Cloud Dancer signifies our desire for a fresh start, says Laurie Pressman, Pantone Color Institute vice-president.

“Peeling away layers of outmoded thinking, we open the door to new approaches,” she says.

After years of maximalism, statement colours and visual noise in home decor, Cloud Dancer suggests a quieter confidence and invitation to rest, says Pressman.

For interior designer Jocelyn Ross, of JRstudioworks , white is not a trend but a foundation.

She says she always starts with white because it offers the perfect backdrop for layered interiors and the art on the walls. Ross tends towards warmer whites, not yellow, but never stark.

Cloud Dancer sits slightly outside her personal comfort zone, being very clean and crisp, but she can see why it works in certain settings.

“If I were starting with Cloud Dancer, I would soften it with woods and textiles,” says Ross.

Choosing white as a defining colour surprised some in the design world.

“Committing to a white is a bold move. Interestingly, I often have to convince clients to go all white because their initial reaction is that it will feel cold or sterile.”

That fear often fades once the space comes together, she says. “When white is done properly with the right tone, texture and layering, it feels calm, intentional and anything but cold. While Cloud Dancer is not the white I would typically reach for, the thinking behind the choice makes sense. It reflects a desire for clarity and restraint rather than a big statement.”

Cloud Dancer works best as a foundational colour, says Ross: “On walls, millwork, and architectural elements where you want a clean backdrop that allows art, furniture and materials to take centre stage.”

As Cloud Dancer sits on the cooler side, it needs warmth, which Ross says she would achieve by layering wood, stone, textiles, and lighting to avoid feeling too stark.

Her advice for homeowners is simple and practical. “Whites change dramatically depending on light, and with cooler whites, the margin for error is even smaller. If it starts to feel flat or cold, it probably is.”

Property stylist Red Barrinuevo comes at Cloud Dancer from a different angle, shaped by staging homes to appeal quickly and emotionally.

“In my opinion, Cloud Dancer feels a little safe and predictable, almost like your first apartment colour,” says Barrinuevo. “It’s quite basic and not very forgiving; with the wrong finish, it can highlight wall imperfections and flaws rather than soften them.”

Still, Barrinuevo sees opportunity in its neutrality.

“I see this as an open invitation to explore and welcome a broader palette moving into 2026,” he says.

Like Ross, Barrinuevo sees Cloud Dancer working best layered with other colours, materials and textures: “As a designer who loves colours, I see it working best when it’s paired with richer, bolder colours like plum or aubergine, rather than standing on its own. Layering it with texture is key,” says Barrinuevo. “Think warm woods, tactile fabrics, stone and earthy finishes to add depth and balance.”

Neutral palettes are really resonating right now because people want their spaces to feel good, not just look good. “They create a sense of calm, balance and comfort. Something a lot of us are craving in everyday life,” he says.

Related

• Design-build brings gentle density to Burnaby’s Capitol Hill, in a stylish package
• Michael Geller: How B.C. real estate is shaping up for the year ahead

Wandering through cobbled lanes in Italian villages, getting lost in Istanbul and exploring the history of England’s manor houses are just a few of the travel experiences B.C.-based interior designers have merged with their own talents and insights to impact their creative decisions back home.

Two award-winning B.C. interior designers, Ami McKay founder of Pure Design , a business that includes a full-service interior design studio, retail shoppe and construction management firm; and Jim Toy, principal of False Creek Design Group and architecture firm Ratio , share their experiences and how encounters with different cultures, climates and colour palettes influence their work and perspectives.

Toy says travel has two major impacts on his work.

“It’s habit breaking. We’re so used to thinking a certain way and when you go to a setting that isn’t in your normal day to day experience, it will invigorate and force you to pause and rethink convention,” he says.

Secondly, the more one travels the more the topic of design becomes borderless, he adds.

“For me, it’s really about spotting universal needs. When you talk about shelter or belonging, community belonging and esthetics or beauty, it’s global. So, it’s everywhere in different iterations, but those basic human needs are pretty firmly entrenched everywhere. And once that’s in your field of thought, then the things that you spot will influence you in subtle ways as opposed to direct duplication in terms of design,” says Toy.

Travel has always been at the heart of McKay’s creative process . She says drawing inspiration from cultures, materials and lifestyles she encounters firsthand shapes her esthetic and approach to interior design and ensures she stays ahead of trends rather than follow them.

McKay recently returned from leading a design tour in the south of Italy.

“Every time I go to Italy — or anywhere in the world — I get so inspired and I bring it back,” she says adding she is always looking for unique work created by local artisans.

“I get so excited when I see somebody making something with love, seeing them put their energy and their life force into whatever it is that they’re creating. It’s pretty hard not to get excited about it,” says McKay.

During the tour, in addition to visiting many small villages in Apulia (Puglia), she explored Ostuni, the hilltop town known as ‘the White City,’ where all the buildings in the historic town centre are whitewashed.

In the Basilicata region, the group spent unforgettable days inside the ancient cave dwellings of the Sassi di Matera, one of the world’s oldest continuously occupied settlements and a UNESCO World Heritage site. McKay says the experience was a living reminder of how history and modern design can coexist in the most unexpected ways.

Travel always sharpens the senses and during this Italian journey McKay found inspiration everywhere and noted early indicators of emerging trends. In couture and homes, she spotted monochrome tones in rich layered shades of almond, oat, stone and tobacco while cashmere upholstery, Italian-made bouclé sofas, raw silk drapery and matte lime-plaster walls grabbed her attention.

“Local Italian designers are honouring place by reinventing history. Apulian stone carved into fluid sculptural tables, Sardinian textiles stretched as architectural panels and Venetian glass recast in bold, brutalist forms,” she recalls, also noting metals with depth — like pewter and smoked nickel — are seen in fashion (as accessories) and in homes paired with stone, parchment, walnut and chalky plaster.

While Spain and South America top his list of favourite destinations Toy has travelled extensively and oftentimes translates experiences into his work.

A visit to the Greek isles demonstrated just how much elements like climate, light and patterns influence design.

“Travelling to the Greek islands, you immediately see how the sun can render things so brilliantly light. And you start to think, ‘Well, how can I translate that into something in a West Coast context?’”

Getting lost in Istanbul and not being able to communicate in the local language started him thinking about design and how people move through spaces. That experience in the unfamiliar environment in Turkey’s largest city influenced his design of a wayfinding system for a large corporate office.

As part of his research for the interior design of Gryphon House , a luxury five-storey mixed-use development in Kerrisdale, Toy visited several neighbourhoods in London.

“The whole idea of a manor house was to be the beacon in a community. That was something that was subliminally captured in the design of the building and certainly it hearkened back to a time where there was a lot more elegance to interiors and I think that’s been captured in the interiors of Gryphon House,” he says.

Toy also recalls that a winery in B.C’s North Thompson Valley was influenced by visits to wine regions in Australia.

“When I realized the design of the winery was coinciding with [an already planned] trip to Australia I immediately changed the itinerary to include some of the major wine regions, particularly in South Australia,” he says. “It took me outside of the realm of design to encompass landscape and agriculture and what those two aspects could do to the winery building itself, not to mention the interior because we were inspired by the fact that the winery in B.C. was a former cattle ranch.”

Toy says he started seeing what sort of influences in Australia — related to ranching — also applied to a winery. “That turned into sheltering overhangs on the building, embracing the landscape so that the windows were oriented to everything around so that it became not an insular thing, but quite literally an object in the landscape,” he says.

Reflecting on her Italian adventure McKay says it reinforced that Europe, and Italy especially, remains a constant visual inspiration source for her and her interior-design direction .

“What always stands out for me is the deep commitment to timeless materiality, handcrafted details, and a slower, more deliberate rhythm of living, and that ethos is exactly what I’m excited to continue channelling into my designs and hopefully we will be able to add to our very own renovation in Italy,” says McKay, who hopes to one day buy a home in the country.

In addition to sourcing for her shoppe in North Vancouver where she curates finds from around the globe, unsurprisingly, Italian design has also found its way into her home.

“I already have limewashed walls, Italian plaster, an over grouted stone fireplace and layers of artisan-made decor throughout my home, so what’s next will probably be a carved limestone sink, definitely something that feels storied and grounded. I love pieces that carry a sense of place and time,” she says “I’m always scouring antique markets and shops on every trip, bringing home treasures along the way. I will always appreciate the Italian way of letting materials age beautifully.”

Related

• Gryphon House design a modern interpretation of an English manor house
• Why every room needs a statement piece — and how to choose yours