Some people’s search for a new home begins with a list of needs and wants that stretches around the block. Brian and Karen James of Vancouver, British Columbia, were not so fussy. “Don’t worry about the house. Just find a spot,” was their mantra as they combed the city’s white-hot real estate market for a place to nest.

Karen, a psychotherapist, and Brian, a transportation planner, have lived in Vancouver since the late 1990s. Over the last two decades, they have watched as the city’s housing prices have ballooned into some of the most expensive in all of Canada, with their historically more affordable East Side neighborhood experiencing a steep rise in demand. So when they were expecting their first child in 2015, right at the height of the boom, they knew they would have to move quickly to lock down a home with more space for their family-to-be. “At that time, if we had waited even a few months, prices could have gone up a couple hundred thousand dollars,” Karen remembers.

Under such conditions, the couple were glad to secure a timeworn, one-bedroom bungalow located not far from their previous residence, even if it wasn’t really suited to their needs. Simply having a place of their own would give them the opportunity to replace it later with something more tailored.

“Some homes create an authoritarian weight. Everyone has to pull up their knickers when they come inside. This house indicates you can relax.”
—Clinton Cuddington, architect

And what Brian and Karen had in mind was a welcoming loft-like space with lots of room for kids to run around and unpretentious materials to absorb their inevitable scuffs and blows. What they did not want was an austere, vacuum-sealed box that looked like no one had ever lived in it. “We put playfulness in every corner of the house,” says Karen.

After interviewing a few local firms, the couple were won over by Measured Architecture for its “warm but modern” style, as they describe it. For his part, principal architect Clinton Cuddington found Karen and Brian’s easygoing approach refreshing. “Homes don’t have to be so serious. Regardless of age, we all want to relax. We all want to dictate how our houses are used instead of have our houses tell us how to behave,” he says, adding, “We were eager to put the pen in their hands.”

Together with Powers Construction, Measured oversaw the complete demolition of the existing house—with upwards of 95 percent being recycled—and its replacement with a double-volume, pitched-roof structure that relates to the neighborhood’s 1940s bungalows in massing and scale. The family, now totaling four after the addition of a second child during construction, moved in last spring.

The first sign that their new home is no ordinary piece of residential architecture is the facade. While the larger volume is clad in simple tongue-and-groove cedar, the smaller one is wrapped in a dazzling collage of multicolored cedar shakes, skewed at an almost 45-degree angle that gives them the appearance of raining confetti.

Initially, the architects had presented monochromatic, neutral options for the exterior, but, in a characteristic interaction, Karen and Brian pushed for something more unorthodox. Cuddington came back with a pixelated 30-tone solution, which, for cost reasons, was eventually edited down to seven shades of soft greens and mauve-ish reds. “People tell us they walk five extra blocks every day to go by our house because it makes them feel lighter,” Karen marvels. “It puts people at ease,” Cuddington adds.

The same can be said of the rest of the home, which, due to a sharp 10-foot drop in the middle of the site, is divided between upper and lower halves. Entering through the front, visitors are met by a double-height foyer with two staircases forking off, one leading up to the bedrooms, a roof deck, and other private spaces, the other leading down to a voluminous kitchen, living room, and dining area, which is on-grade with a covered patio. In the backyard there is a detached laneway structure, partially clad in the same colorful shingles, which the couple rent.

“Our kids lived in a little bungalow and then moved into this piece of art, but they don’t notice. They act like children no matter where they live.”
—Karen James, resident

Everything about the 2,850-square-foot main home is thoughtfully considered, but utility does not come at the expense of fun, and casual spaces intended for the children’s creative exploration are peppered throughout. Directly above the front door, a wall opens up to reveal a netted area full of cushions for lounging or romping; in the downstairs communal room, there’s a flex space with toddler-sized furniture and art supplies. And, although the children have separate bedrooms, for now they prefer to sleep together, meaning one of their spaces has become a de facto rec room.

With all this activity in mind, Cuddington opted for materials that would look better with age or could be easily replaced. Hard-wearing concrete makes up the lower-level flooring and construction-grade plywood, which passed Karen and Brian’s “hot sauce test” for cleanability, comprises the millwork. “I sent Clinton a video of my daughter eating cereal and smearing it all over her chair,” Karen remembers. “I was like, ‘The house needs to be able to take this.’”

Cuddington was able to match such expectations with a high level of precision due to an unusual partnership with the general contractor. Ryan Arceneaux, a Measured intern architect who wanted to immerse himself in the building side of the trade, served as the foreman on the project before transitioning over to becoming a full-time employee at Powers Construction. The upside of having someone who was intimately familiar with the design concept swinging a hammer? “The thesis of the project is expressed at the two-by-four level,” says Cuddington.

And while architecture buffs can appreciate the home’s meticulous craftsmanship, Karen and Brian are pleased just to have found a spot that brings so much joy—to passersby, to their kids, and to themselves. “There’s a big cooking space for me; there’s a big outdoor space for Brian, who likes bikes and gardening,” says Karen. “We kept making play spaces for our children, but it’s meant to be a play space for all of us.”

Related Reading: 10 Homes With Distinctive Facades

Project Credits:

Architect of Record: Measured Architecture / @measuredarchitecture

General Contractor: Powers Construction

Structural Engineer: Fast + Epp

Landscape Designer: Measured Architecture and Aloe Designs

Cabinetry: Designed by Measured Architecture and Fabricated by Goodweather

Geotechnical Consulting: Geopacific

Ema Peter