Houzz Tour: Glass, Timbers and Angles Shape Restored Wedge House
A midcentury modern home gets new life with a remodel and an addition that bridge old and new
Kathleen McCleary
August 18, 2019
Houzz Contributor. I'm a journalist, author, editor, and teacher who loves houses so much that I wrote my first novel about a woman's obsession with her house. In addition to my three novels, my work has appeared in Parade, The New York Times, The Washington Post, and other publications. I wrote a biweekly column about interior design for HGTV.com for several years; one of those columns (about my 1950's chartreuse-tiled bathroom) inspired the series "Bad, bad baths." I live in northern Virginia with my husband and try to entice my college-age daughters home as often as possible.
Houzz Contributor. I'm a journalist, author, editor, and teacher who loves houses... More
What do you do with a drafty, compact, 50-year-old house with a tiny kitchen and rotting timbers? The answer for most people would be to tear it down and start over. But designer Bryn Davidson’s clients loved the slanted midcentury modern design and feel so much that they chose to restore and expand rather than demolish.
Before Photo
“After” photos by Andrew Latreille
House at a Glance
Who lives here: A couple with two children
Location: Vancouver, British Columbia
Size: 2,000 square feet (186 square meters); three bedrooms, three bathrooms
Designer: Bryn Davidson of Lanefab Design/Build
The home, known locally as the Wedge House, was designed by famed Canadian architect Arthur Erickson, who also created landmarks such as the Museum of Anthropology at the University of British Columbia, the San Diego Convention Center and the Canadian Embassy in Washington, D.C.
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House at a Glance
Who lives here: A couple with two children
Location: Vancouver, British Columbia
Size: 2,000 square feet (186 square meters); three bedrooms, three bathrooms
Designer: Bryn Davidson of Lanefab Design/Build
The home, known locally as the Wedge House, was designed by famed Canadian architect Arthur Erickson, who also created landmarks such as the Museum of Anthropology at the University of British Columbia, the San Diego Convention Center and the Canadian Embassy in Washington, D.C.
Find an architect in your area
The first goal of the renovation was to make sure the dramatic timber structure remained a visible and vital part of the design. Davidson made it happen with the creation of a glass atrium connecting the old wedge portion of the house with a new modern addition on the left that includes a new garage, dining room, mudroom and family room.
Davidson also renovated the existing kitchen, replaced all the windows and doors with triple-glazed wood windows and added a new ventilation system.
Exterior changes included adding the wood boardwalk that floats over the landscape. “It’s an idea you see a lot in coastal B.C., where you have these boardwalk pathways running through the rainforest,” Davidson says.
Davidson also renovated the existing kitchen, replaced all the windows and doors with triple-glazed wood windows and added a new ventilation system.
Exterior changes included adding the wood boardwalk that floats over the landscape. “It’s an idea you see a lot in coastal B.C., where you have these boardwalk pathways running through the rainforest,” Davidson says.
Before Photo
Before: Erickson originally designed the house for a different site, but the site was changed before the home’s construction in 1963. The switch meant that the house was built sideways on the new lot, so a small side entrance meant to be a utility door was now facing the street. One of Davidson’s goals was to reorient the house around a new entrance in a way that made it look as though that had been the intention all along.
After: The new glass atrium serves as both a dining room and an entrance area, and concrete pavers create a clean line to the front door. The utility door is still visible on the right, but its prominence is diminished with the new entrance and landscape design.
The new addition includes a strip of river rock indoors to mark the point between the new house and the old, making for continuity with river rock in the front and back of the house.
Davidson slightly offset the dining room from the entry to provide a clear line of sight through the house to the giant timbers in back.
Davidson slightly offset the dining room from the entry to provide a clear line of sight through the house to the giant timbers in back.
The addition sits about two steps below the original structure because of how grading on the site worked out. To create a step up to the kitchen, Davidson repurposed one of the large diagonal timbers he had to remove to make room for an opening and create a platform and step. All the wood is Douglas Fir.
The spiral staircase seen in the back corner leads up to the bedrooms.
The spiral staircase seen in the back corner leads up to the bedrooms.
The clients wanted a more contemporary kitchen with seating at an island. Davidson had to work within the limits set up by the existing structure of the original house, especially the giant timber beams. “We wanted as big a kitchen as we could get working within those limits,” he says. “We wanted to orient it toward the dining room. And we wanted something that was modern but not stark,” with fun colors and textures, since much of the house consisted of timber and concrete. The solution: A playful mix of textured tile and copper stools.
Chandelier: Lightsaber collection in gold, Matteo Lighting
Chandelier: Lightsaber collection in gold, Matteo Lighting
The new dining room provides a clear view of the kitchen and the patio out back, with the continuity of the angled timbers visible both inside the house and outside. A custom-made dining table fits seamlessly into the space.
A sliding barn door made of reclaimed wood to the left of the dining table opens into the new TV room. The door at the far end of the dining room leads to a small storage area, with exits to both the garage and a back door. The sideboard is an antique the owners already had.
Windows in the new TV room sit low so the family can look out when sitting on the couch, while another higher window lets in additional light.
A mudroom off the dining room provides a space for coats and boots and other items when coming in from the garage or back door.
Davidson replaced patio doors with fixed windows in the living room so the sofa could be arranged in a new configuration across from the original fireplace.
The patio includes an existing open area as well as a new covered area with a triangular roof. “The roof is the same shape as a Star Destroyer, if you’re a Star Wars fan,” Davidson says.
Two big lift-and-slide doors open up the dining room to the patio.
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The addition of interior gravel as a Japanese visual element adds a sense of serenity to the design; it is more commonly seen in corporate settings-so gratifying to see it on a residential level. Alas, the white gravel ‘garden’ in my 1980s contemporary was replaced with 8” terra cotta tiles that exist in the rest of the house-the couple tired of their toddlers tossing the stones about, outside of the enclosure.
Really, really well done!
I REALLY love this transformation. How can I see more of the interior? Interior layout?