Located on North Thormanby Island, this stunning custom family home was designed to encourage a simple and sustainable lifestyle focused on seaside living.
The waterfront house sits adjacent to sheltering sand cliffs at one end of Vaucroft Beach, offering expansive views of the Pacific Ocean.
“We wanted to create a generational destination for our clients and their parent’s siblings and kids. Thormanby is a destination to create memories and enjoy nature,” says interior designer Denise Ashmore, principal of Project 22 Design.
Only reachable by boat with no car access to the island, the site was a challenging location. The remoteness drove the design of the two-level structure—a three-season holiday home for a young family with two children and a dog—using materials that are low-maintenance, hard-wearing, and long-lasting.
“We selected a palette of materials from the surrounding beach, rock and ocean. Big windows maximize the views and cozy areas like bunk room and living room allow places to retreat and read,” says Ashmore.
Everything is tactile and muted rather than glossy and sleek, playing up the rustic setting and meant to age beautifully and add more character with use and exposure.
Functional design was at the forefront of this off-grid project. There’s no drywall in this 2,400-square-foot four-bedroom home. Instead, the walls and ceilings are clad in nickel-gap whitewashed cedar, exuding warmth and welcome.
The white-oak floors complement the palette of natural and neutral tones found throughout the home, which were drawn from a collection of stones and rocks found on the property by the clients, as well as the soft and subdued shades of beach glass.
These organic elements were inspirational in developing the design as site visits were only conducted jointly by the clients and design team via Zoom to save costs and due to pandemic travel restrictions.
Working remotely through COVID and a boat access only property were the main challenges, requiring a strong relationship with the contractor and a very organized client.
“We did a lot of FaceTime video calls from site to studio to work out details, tile layouts. We even worked on the exterior palette of this home,” says Ashmore.
The well executed design earned the project a 2024 Shine Award of Excellence, residential category.
“It’s an incredible honour to win excellence in this category within this talent group,” says Ashmore.
