Issue link: http://digital.canadawide.com/i/288963
34 | SPRING 2014 bcliving.ca home A fter renovating and selling two homes, designing and building the perfect nest for a growing family was a natural next step for Karen Boriss and Alex Holmes. "We loved renovating old homes, but you're restricted in what you can do," says Boriss. "We were really excited for the opportunity to start from scratch." e couple purchased a lot in Vancouver's Cambie Village neighbourhood and tore down the existing home, but did so in a way that no other Vancouverite had done before them. Rather than perform a typical home demolition, Boriss acquired a deconstruction permit – the first-ever in Vancouver – which is an environmentally friendly alternative to demolition that diverts more than 75 per cent of the materials from the landfill. "You basically take down the house by hand," says Boriss. From day one, the couple worked closely with architects Paul Phillips and Ryan Hultman of EDG Homes Inc., and with builder Peter Pahal of Mercia Construction. roughout the process, Boriss consulted with Geele Soroka of Sublime Interior Design, bouncing around ideas to achieve the "eclectic, Scandinavian modern" esthetic she was after. "A lot of the furnishings are inspired from what I was exposed to growing up," says Boriss. "ere's a bit of mid-century modern – my grandfather was an architect in the '50s and '60s. Some of the pieces are from my grandma's house." e end result is a clean design that's meant to be lived in, not just looked at. e Dining Room "One of the key ideas with the house was to make it very family- friendly and very informal, so that nothing is precious" –Karen Boriss, homeowner SIMPLICITY RULES To keep the dining room simple and functional, Boriss used a sturdy heritage piece as the focal point. "The dining room table – the big farmhouse table – came from the farm that I grew up on in Ontario," she says. The capiz-shell pendant was a treasure she brought back from "a big lighting adventure down to Seattle" as an irreverent state- ment piece for the simplified space. p32-37_Home_Boriss.indd 34 2014-03-13 11:13 AM