Skip to main content
home of the week
Open this photo in gallery:

3329 West 42nd Ave. in Vancouver, B.C.Ema Peter/Ema Peter Photography

3329 West 42nd Ave., Vancouver

Asking Price: $8,998,000

Taxes: $15,745.00 (2021)

Lot Size: 66 feet by 131 feet

Agents: Trent Rodney and Jason Choi, West Coast Modern Group

The backstory

Cynthia and Roger Lui began their search for property in Vancouver’s leafy Kerrisdale neighbourhood nine years ago.

The couple, with a baby and two dogs, were looking for a house with a backyard.

The Luis found a lovely lot but the vintage house came with asbestos, lead paint and an extension that flouted the rules.

“There was an illegal water feature that created a sinkhole in the backyard,” recalls Ms. Lui.

Mr. Lui took to Google to create a short list of Vancouver-based architects that specialized in modern design. After interviewing a handful of candidates, the couple commissioned D’Arcy Jones Architects to design a calm sanctuary that takes full advantage of its mature garden.

The Luis learned that zoning regulations in the traditional area where the property sits require that the new building’s street-facing elevation be inspired by the house on each side.

Where the couple envisioned a modern exterior with a flat roof, Ms. Lui says, the architect designed a house with a new interpretation of the peaked roof and dormers on the homes next door.

Mr. Jones describes the result this way:

“This project enthusiastically embraces this odd and archaic approach to street-making by taking the best elements of the neighbouring houses and re-assembling them into a muted face that is agreeable enough to not stand out but atypical enough to suggest a rich inner world.”

  • The architect designed a house with a new interpretation of the peaked roof and dormers on the homes next door.Ema Peter/Ema Peter Photography

    1 of 23

The house today

While the front façade politely blends in with the streetscape, zoning rules allow free rein in designing the interior and the rear elevation.

The 5,000-square-foot house has six bedrooms and four bathrooms on three levels. Materials include brick, Douglas fir and cedar. Inside, the house has poured concrete walls and engineered hardwood floors. Large expanses of glass bring in plenty of light.

Mr. Jones used steel cables in the open staircase so that the couple could keep an eye on little people climbing up and down the stairs.

On the main floor, the combined kitchen, dining and living areas stretch across the back of the house.

An important aim for Ms. Lui was to have an in-law suite on the main floor where family members can stay without needing to climb stairs.

Ms. Lui had lived in the past in townhouses with very steep stairs, which she found unsuitable for toddlers.

“It would be really hard for little feet to straddle even one stair at a time.”

She asked Mr. Jones to create a more gentle transition to the second floor with very shallow stairs.

She also asked for an open-concept plan so that the couple and their two kids, who are now nine and seven, spend lots of time together.

“As children grow older, you always see them become TV teenagers,” she says.

She asked Mr. Jones to minimize hallways and instead create lots of communal space.

“On the main floor, there’s not a door to be seen,” she says.

The main-floor reading area is tucked around a corner so that it’s removed from the commotion of family life but also open to the main living space.

“We’re big readers in our house,” she says. “One of our indulgences was to put in the little library. The kids can sit in the window seats.”

Ms. Lui spends lots of time in the large kitchen, where she unwinds by baking for the family.

One built-in wall oven is used for savouries while the other is reserved for cakes, muffins and other sweet treats.

There are two refrigerators, with one freezer storing the family’s food and another storing the dogs’ raw diet.

Throughout the house, the couple asked for lots of storage so that they can keep the trappings of family life hidden away.

“I think children and dogs have actually made me a minimalist,” Ms. Lui says. We hide everything – even the toaster is hidden away.”

The double garage leads directly to the mudroom, which has an alcove for the dogs and a shower that’s great for washing muddy dogs but also rain boots and other gear.

“I really didn’t want to bathe dogs in my shower anymore,” she says.

Upstairs, the primary suite at the rear of the house has a bathroom, dressing room and a balcony overlooking the garden.

At the top of the stairs, doors to the kids’ bedrooms open into a communal area with a large desk. The parents, who both work in finance, can be working on their laptops while the children do their schoolwork or put a puzzle together. Mr. Jones added illumination from above.

“He put in this amazing skylight so we never have to turn on a single light,” Ms. Lui says.

The couple asked Mr. Jones for three small bedrooms in case they decided to expand the family down the line.

“The vision was to have three children – then I had my second and I thought better of it,” Ms. Lui says.

Three bedrooms in a row have sliding doors between them so that they can be open when the kids are young or closed when they’re older.

“The middle room is a little playroom for the two of them,” Ms. Lui says.

The lower level includes a recreation room with a bar area and an extra bedroom. Part of the lot was excavated at the rear so the rec room has full height windows and a view into a terraced garden.

“The basement also has a lot of light and you don’t feel like you’re trapped in a dungeon,” she says.

The best feature

While the house reveals little to the street, floor-to-ceiling glass at the rear of the house opens up the view.

“We look out the windows into a really serene backyard,” Ms. Lui says of the surrounding yew hedges and mature trees. “When you look out from the dining room, it’s just a wall of green and it’s lovely.”

Your house is your most valuable asset. We have a weekly Real Estate newsletter to help you stay on top of news on the housing market, mortgages, the latest closings and more. Sign up today.

Follow related authors and topics

Authors and topics you follow will be added to your personal news feed in Following.

Interact with The Globe