BC Home & Garden

ROOM TO BREATHE To give themselves some privacy, the Walkers turned their newfound extra space into a master bedroom, complete with a spa-style ensuite that maintains the airy feel of an open loft with soothing colours and lighting. Design dilemmas As soon as Saik's design was complete, Leigh stepped in as project manager and set out to source local contractors and tradespeople to complete the project. The couple worked with interior designer Pieter de Bruin of Alchemy Interiors. The designer's first initiative was to help the couple map out different "rooms" of the loft while retaining a sense of openness and flow. Rows of plants, glass dividers, two-way shelves and strategically placed rugs all serve to set boundaries for different areas. In a loft apartment, lighting is also crucial to creating a sense of space. In order to maximize this, de Bruin advised the couple to paint their entire apartment white. Visually, this opens the spacious room even further and serves to highlight unique concrete features and wood panelling throughout the loft. And though the Walkers had planned to mount curtains across their entire wall of windows, de Bruin advised them to forgo window coverings entirely and embrace the floor-toceiling view of the Vancouver cityscape. Loft living and ensuring that one corner of the large apartment was still visible from the diagonal corner. The original kitchen and bedroom remained untouched and the couple added a master bedroom, spa bathroom, closed-off storage area as well as an office area. Margaret and Leigh acknowledge that, while expensive at the time, investing in the planning stage was invaluable in terms of saving two of the most crucial components of any modern home – space and light. Saik also assisted the couple in planning the renovation in such a way that the unit can, if desired, be turned back into two separate spaces with minimal effort. Even the second front door is just covered by a hinged false panel on the inside. At the top of the list for making loft living practical was creating a storage area. As they had already learned, living in a loft can be difficult – if one room is messy, the entire space is messy. To combat this, Leigh and Margaret used some of the additional space from the adjoining loft to create a large storage area separate from their open living space. Here, the couple has open shelving and an additional freezer, plus space for those belongings they don't necessarily want to see every day. And despite the fact that open space is central to loft living, the Walkers decided to drywall their new master bedroom to the ceiling so there is one completely private space in the home. "We wanted to push the loft concept to see how we could make it possible for a couple, three dogs and, in the future, children," says Leigh. "We work, live and entertain from here." And while it may be relatively easy to turn back into two units, the Walkers aren't planning on moving anytime soon. ■ STYLING Heather Cameron See SOURCES on page 83 40 | BC HOME & garden February 2013 p36-41_Walker Condo.indd 40 13-01-23 11:08 AM

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