Editor’s Note

Our editor finds a hidden connection in this issue’s feature condos.

When we’re putting together an issue of Condo, it doesn’t happen overnight: over the course of half a year, we’re scouting spaces, filing away options and assigning stories in bits and pieces.

So it actually wasn’t until we were starting to lay out the magazine that I realized there’s a bit of a pattern in the feature condos for this issue.

It’s not that each of these Vancouver spaces makes smart use of a limited floor plan (which they do) or that they are all swoon-worthy examples of modern design (which they are). So what is the connecting thread that caught my attention as the magazine was coming together? Each space just so happens to be inhabited by a designer.

There’s the colourful Gastown suite (page 56) that Fox Design’s Ben Leavitt fills with vintage kitsch and pop art from his travels. There’s the Waterfall Building loft ( page 46) that architects Jeremy Sturgess and Lesley Beale have made their own while honouring the late, great Arthur Erickson’s work. There’s the Main Street condo ( page 64) that another designer couple ( Vanessa Stark and Misha Olynyk) have turned into their own personal gallery. And though homeowner Erin Ireland (whose bright and airy Mount Pleasant townhouse is featured on page 38) may not be an interior designer, the gorgeous food styling she does for itstodiefor.ca reveals that she’s as adept at visuals as she is with flavours. (And husband Darren Yada is no slouch in the creativity department either, as digital director for creative agency Rethink).

I think what drew us subconsciously to this accidental theme was that these homes are not showrooms. Yes, they’re all created by designers, but they’re also proof that beautiful design can be easygoing, minimalism can be playful, and magazine-worthy spaces can make room for human moments, too.

The features aren’t the only place you’ll find designer advice in this issue. Our new “Pros and Condos” section (page 32) shares expert tips on everything from finding a cabinetmaker to levelling up your painting skills; “My Neighbourhood” (page 74) dishes on furniture designer Kate Duncan’s fave Vancouver places to eat and play. But whatever intel and inspiration you collect here today, remember that the bestdesigned spaces are always the ones that feel like home. Stacey McLachlan, Editor stacey.mclachlan@westernliving.ca

For more of Stacey’s picks, visit westernliving.ca

Editor’s Pick Menu JWDA Concrete lamp $280, available at Walrus, walrushome.com There’s something about the oversized glass bubble that tops the JWDA Concrete lamp’s concrete-and-brass base that takes the design from industrial to— can I say this about...