Parkway Renovation

Updating and modernizing this Arbutus Village townhome, originally built in 1975, while strictly adhering to the tight design and construction budget, required some out-of-the-box thinking.

Location Vancouver, west side Type Residential, townhouse Size 1,800 sf Architect Hotson Architecture Completion 2015 Photographer Ema Peter Photography

The original brick fireplace was hidden after the building’s initial construction. We uncovered the floor-to-ceiling brick wall, which necessitated hours of manual, wirebrush cleaning and washing to restore the brick back to its original condition. 

Chipping away at the existing concrete hearth, we levelled it to be exactly flush with the new oak hardwood flooring.

To manage costs, the owners selected Ikea cabinetry for the master bedroom and kitchen. After sending them out for custom-colour finishing, we meticulously installed them to appear as custom built-ins.

To account for the small size of the bathroom, we measured precisely and worked backwards to make all elements align perfectly: the cabinets fit tightly to the wall; the soap niche in the shower lines up with the glass shower wall, which forms the end of the niche; the Ikea medicine cabinet is tight to the glass shower wall; and top of the shower wall glass lines up exactly with the top of the medicine cabinets and lighting ledge above the shower head.