Out of the box

Scandinavian minimalism meets cosmopolitan beach house in this austere, four-bedroom home, built to house a young family and showcase the homeowners’ collection of art and cars. Designed by Danish registered architect Chris Foyd of 519 Design + Build, and built by Billy Thistle of Point Break Developments, the home illustrates one of the most important hallmarks of modern design: that true beauty lies in complex detail rendered so perfectly, the finished product translates as refined simplicity.

“The design is bold, with a black, grey and white palette accented by white marble,” says Thistle, who daringly installed marble on the exterior above the front door, and inlaid strips in the driveway.

“The house contains a lot of continual lines, like the reveals where the cabinetry meets the ceiling, that had to be kept the same throughout the house,” says Thistle.

Architectural elements, like the heated, furniture-grade concrete bench and steel-frame floating stairs, are key to the design and a testament to Thistle’s skill with complex finishing details.

Against the high contrast backdrop, polished concrete floors, a Venetian plaster fireplace, and white oak living room flooring add visual softness with subtle texture and sheen.

The long, linear window above the kitchen sink allows natural light to play off the quartzite countertops and bring out the wood grain in the ebonized ash cabinetry, built and installed by Douglas Grant Cabinetmakers.

One of the most striking features of the home is the stacking car elevator, which drops into the poker room beneath the garage.

From the adjacent entertainment room, everything is on display through a glass wall, including the homeowners’ wine collection. A marble backsplash with V-shaped veining turns the wet bar into a work of art.

Upstairs, marble is also a key element in the master ensuite, where solid slabs line the walls and shower, including the ceiling.

A floating vanity in ebonized ash defines the space with the same sophisticated simplicity found throughout the house.

Although the design was structurally demanding, Foyd says the finished product is a testament to Thistle’s technical ingenuity. “No matter what challenges I throw at him, Billy always finds a way to make it happen.”