HEART-CENTRED HOME A homeowner is guided by her feelings when designing her new home

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1 HEART-CENTRED HOME A homeowner is guided by her feelings when designing her new home BY PHILLIPA RISPIN / PHOTOGRAPHY: EMA PETER 11

2 PEOPLE SEARCHING FOR A NEW HOME sometimes know exactly what they re looking for; some can even describe it down to the colour of the roof shingles. Other times they can t describe the look of a home; they don t have a particular style in mind in mind, but they feel what they want. Andrea Youck felt what she wanted. People had told us to drive around, look at places, find what I liked, but I was looking for a feeling, Youck says. I had an image in my heart. My mantra was a calm, clean organic feeling that s welcoming and inspires conversation and creativity. That was my heart message. As a stay-at-home mother with a busy husband, two little boys, and the intent to have a third child, Andrea also knew what she needed. I wanted something very functional, for a family, with no room that we wouldn t use, she says. Andrea and her husband, Jade Youck, were hoping to live in North Vancouver but couldn t find a four-bedroom home in the area they wanted. They eventually chose to buy a teardown in the Edgemont Village area and build because they didn t want to sacrif ice features they needed to the convenience of a pre-built home. Andrea and Jade had been warned by friends that building a home was a stressful undertaking, and to alleviate stress they should choose professionals (architect, builder, designer) with whom they connected well. They interviewed four builders recommended by their real estate agent, and they felt with Todd Best of Best Builders that personal connection so necessary between homeowners and builder. A good thing, too, because Andrea had something in mind, but she had a hard time expressing it, Best says. Todd figured out what style we were looking I was looking for a feeling, I had an image in my heart. for, and he connected us with architectural designer Khang Nguyen of Architrix Design Studio, Andrea recounts. Adds Best, A big part of the interview process was finding the right designer who could interpret her needs. The original design of the home Khang hit it pretty quick. The Youcks wanted something unique to the area that would speak out in the neighbourhood as something different but still take advantage of the back view. Best describes the process as asking How do you see the house being used? We don t care how crazy it seems. We focus on everyone s cool ideas, and it evolves into the outer shell of the home. The outer shell provided by Nguyen is certainly distinctive. The flat roof slopes with the lot, being higher in front than in the back and providing vaulted spaces on the top floor. The upstairs is narrower than the downstairs so there are ground-floor extensions on each side. Nguyen made the extensions particularly distinctive with butterfly roofs, in which the middle of the roof is lower than the edges. Seen from the side, the frame looks like an inversion of the classic peaked roof. This allows vaulted spaces at the back of the house to accommodate tall windows overlooking downtown Vancouver. Best calls it a hand-cut roof. It was lucky that we have skilled carpenters working for us, he says. We had top journeymen working on the roof, which took about six weeks. It took as long to frame the roof as the rest of the house. Andrea found her desires for the interior easier to explain. She calls the process building a nest, and she had inspiration pictures from magazines and ideas from previous homes as well as television programs. There are some things I always wanted, such as walnut doors, she says. And even before I knew that my third child would be a girl, I wanted a room with birds and butterflies on the walls. However, I knew that, (Preceding pages) The home s butterfly roofs are distinctive and, in the back, slope upwards to create vaulted spaces with tall windows that overlook Vancouver. Andrea is fond of the pumpkinorange front door. I loved that idea of something unexpected, she says

3 Andrea calls the light fixture above the dining table my little bit of Midcentury Modern that goes with the style of the table and chairs. The large table has plenty of room for guests, but for informal dining, the family often gathers at the island, which accommodates five people. (Above and bottom right) Andrea wanted the television to be hidden in the walnut cabinetry but had to keep it on display because of its size. She s happy with the result, however. The scale of it and the fireplace the asymmetry works, she says. The fireplace s chimney breast was plastered by a local artist to resemble concrete. I always wanted a concrete fireplace, wanted it to be a focal point, the homeowner adds. 14 being pregnant during the building process, I couldn t be really mobile to source fixtures and details, so I asked Todd for an interior designer. He recommended Reisa Pollard at Beyond Beige Interior Design, Andrea says. Reisa understood my design aesthetic perfectly. I almost felt sometimes that she knew it better than I did. If I had trouble articulating something, she knew how to do it for me. She would present me with options, and I d always find something I liked. Reisa was really good at taking my ideas and then pushing me outside my comfort zone slightly. I really enjoyed my creative collaboration with her. Under the supervision of project manager Matt Corbet, the teardown started in May 2014, and the family moved in in August They now have a home of 3,181 square feet on two floors with an additional 1,770 in the basement, and an attached garage. As the Youcks desired, all the bedrooms (each with ensuite bathroom) and the laundry room are on the upper floor. The main floor encompasses the open-plan living, dining and kitchen area, as well as an office, a powder room and a mudroom connecting to the garage. Andrea also has what she calls the mom cave, a room with plenty of storage and long counters running along two walls. It s just off the kitchen a creative space for myself and the children, she says. It s a 15

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5 Jade is often able to work at home in his office on the The tub area of the master ensuite bathroom features ceramic tile with a Grey grasscloth on a wall in the master bedroom main floor. faux wood effect. It combines stone with the warmth of wood, Andrea says. provides subtle texture. As in most of the house, the floor is unassuming (Andrea s term) white oak. Thank you to all who created my home for me. 18 future space for homework, and I can close the doors on any mess. The basement contains the guest room, a fitness room, and home theatre. Because the property is sloped and level ground outdoors is limited, it also has a large play area for the children. The home is still on its shakedown cruise, so to speak, and there are little glitches along the way, but over all Andrea is very happy. Lots of spaces excite me, she says. There are little things that are personal that I put in for instance, I love the big magnetic whiteboard in the mudroom. As with nearly any project, not all of Andrea s dreams were attainable. Building such a personal piece, and with cost a big factor, I learned to let go of some images I had in my head, or I pushed for things to be changed or adapted, she says. It taught me that there are always solutions, either creative or structural. Thank you to all who created my home for me. 19