Words by Adrienne Dyer. Photos by Jody Beck.
The homeowners’ love of sleek modern architecture and their enthusiasm for incorporating bold hues are the defining elements of this four bedroom, 4,400-square-foot dwelling, designed by residential designer Ian Roberts of Flashhouse, with interiors designed by Lorin Turner from the Zebra Group. It’s a family home, filled with natural light and splashes of vibrant colour, starting with a bright tangerine wall that greets guests at the front door.
“The addition of colours was entirely client-driven,” says Roberts, who adds that orange is one of the homeowner and her family’s favourite colours and has followed them around the world in their various homes. A feature wall in a quintessential mid-century shade of orange, plus touches of brighter shades, looks lively against an all-white kitchen, where Caesarstone countertops and a sizeable island creates a generous work surface. The turquoise glass backsplash in a grid pattern provides a welcome pop of colour against the white cabinetry.
One of the homeowner’s design guidelines was to harmonize the transition between indoor and outdoor living spaces, while keeping most of the primary rooms on one level. “The client really wanted a separate living room and kitchen/dining area, so there was a split in the entry condition,” says Roberts, who for continuity used wide-plank, white oak floors in a matte finish throughout the home.
To create division between the two spaces—while still allowing access to the back deck from both rooms—he placed a partial wall containing the fireplace and a built-in bookcase between the rooms, leaving doorway-sized openings on each side. A glass wall system opens the entire kitchen and dining area to the extensive deck, where a deep roof overhang provides year-round seasonal protection.
“The sleeping wing is very private to the rest of the house,” Roberts says, “and all the kid activities—music room and large media/games room—are on the lower level, along with a guest bedroom.” Four bathrooms, plus a powder room, completes the interior layout. At the exterior, the home’s flat-roofed, linear architecture features a fusion of vertical and horizontal rectangles, with glass, wood siding, and concrete making up the key material elements. Simple landscaping follows the minimalist aesthetic, with a bed of river stones along the concrete steps to soften the angles.
Like the back of the house, the front entry and the underground garage are protected by a deep roof overhang, with wood soffits that run perpendicular to the siding. The creamy tones come from cement panelling that has been painted clean white. “The panels that form the guard on the side of the driveway walls are weathering steel,” Roberts says. L-shaped path lighting lines the walkway, illuminating the steel panels and concrete steps like sculptures in a gallery. Like the house as a whole, its pure artistry in minimalist form.
