A HOME TO REMEMBER
How a 1950s bungalow evolved into a West Coast icon for a couple who wants their kids to grow up close to nature.
A 1950s bungalow evolves into a West Coast haven for an outdoorsy family
As a little girl,
Cindy Mast loved to run free, heading home only once the sun began to set. Childhood was similar for her husband, John, who spent a lot of his youth playing in the forest in his backyard. “The kind of outdoor joy and freedom we had as kids was something we really wanted to pass along to our own children,” says Cindy, who found the perfect spot to do just that in the Eagle Harbour community of West Vancouver in 2015. The only trouble? The home itself was far from perfect – dated, dark and too small for their young family of four. But, committed to the landscape, the couple took deep breaths and purchased the sad and dingy bungalow, planning to make it flawless with the help of designer Sophie Burke.
From the start, Sophie understood the couple’s desire to raise their young family in a bright happy space that was, above all, welcoming. It was clear that the Masts value nature, simplicity and the company of friends and family. “For us, the question isn’t, ‘Who’s coming over?’ says Cindy. “The question is, ‘When?’”
Sophie worked in tandem with friends of Cindy and John’s – a contractor and a custom home designer who raised the roof, added dormers and conceived a spacious back extension. For the exterior, they went bold, opting for a striking combination of white and black to accentuate the home’s new architectural lines and many windows. What had once been a dreary little dwelling is now a crisplooking 4,000-square-foot modern farmhouse with coastal nuances.
Sophie started with Cindy’s favourite colours: a spectrum of blues, from turquoise to navy. The fresh palette was underscored with a quiet nod to beachside living, from the white walls to the warm white oak floors.
Natural elements are musthaves in a home committed to casual comfort and warmth, so wood, linen, cotton and wool make cameos in almost every room. “The spaces are open, clean and modern, but they’re welcoming, not slick, thanks to these organic elements,” says Sophie. The house feels comfy and approachable, with its wide-open spaces (that fit the whole family, plus their friends), durable materials (that easily wipe clean) and banks of builtins (that neatly stow toys, crafts and other messy markers of a full family life).
The four-bedroom forever home has enough outdoor space for a yard, a patio, a bocce area, an edible garden and a trampoline. It’s a place that the Mast’s children, Jack, 11, and Madeline, 9, are proud to invite friends to play in until the sun goes down, and one that they’ll remember for the rest of their lives. Which was exactly Sophie’s intent. “I have three kids of my own,” she says. “And, like Cindy and John, I believe in spaces where kids can be kids.” After all, it’s their home, too – and it will be the foundation of so many of their memories.