HAVAN Professionals Inspire
The HAVAN Awards offer inspiration and connect homeowners with professionals who can bring dream home projects to life
From kitchen renovations to whole home makeovers and new custom-built homes, pairing inspiration with resources is essential to achieving a successful project. Through its annual HAVAN Awards for Housing Excellence and Home Design and Reno Show, Homebuilders Association Vancouver is exactly the place to find your inspiration and the professionals who can bring your home to life.
“Searching for a builder or designer can be daunting,” says Katerina Vastardis, Owner and Lead Designer of Designs by KS. “The
HAVAN Awards are peer-reviewed and provide an added level of confirmation to the homeowner that they are choosing to work with professionals recommended by the industry.”
Working with Professionals
In a constantly changing world with evolving lifestyles and a fluctuating housing market, homeowners need options. They also need expertise to help them navigate those options. Working with a professional can help reduce costs, streamline the process, and navigate bylaws and permitting to make the most of generational trends in home ownership.
“People are inheriting family homes and looking to take advantage of City of Vancouver bylaws potentially allowing up to six units to be built on a traditional singlefamily lot property,” says Ron Rapp, HAVAN CEO. “Builders and designers can help homeowners leverage their properties resulting in generational wealth.”
For growing families, space might seem tight, but a home’s revamp might just be the solution to falling in love with it all over again. This means avoiding the need to sell and leave a treasured neighbourhood, schools, and amenities.
“Energy efficiency and building with a smaller footprint is also important when looking to design homes built to last,” Rapp says. “Healthier air, better light, improved windows and doors systems and security also mean greater comfort and safety for the family. HAVAN members have the expertise in energy efficient building and design and use the latest technology to help protect homeowners’ investments.”
Why work with a designer and builder
It’s not always easy to identify one’s style as trends change year over year. This is where working with a designer pays off. “Designers can help identify your design style right for you,” Vastardis says.
“They can also help with situations where, for instance, you have a couple and he prefers modern, while she leans towards country. “Designers will work with the builder, required consultants and you to bring your vision to life, within budget, while hitting the functional targets of the project. Good designers will make a home work for you.”
itself was built and designed by Alloy Homes, but the homeowners—along with their two boys, aged 13 and 15—were also very much partners in the design process. “It was a full collaboration with the clients,” says Connor. “We pushed them, and they pushed us, too.” The main living area is a perfect illustration of how that dance led to an elegant space with plenty of wow.
The striking fireplace, with its custom concrete tiles, evolved out of months of debate and plenty of drawings: should it be brass, concrete, ceramic tile or something else? Then, one day, the perfect concrete tile sample arrived at AVD headquarters. “It was one of those things that was almost serendipitous—as soon as they saw it, they loved it,” says Velji. “And we were so glad we waited.” Playful hits of colour layer in a sense of fun: a vibrant Maharam fabric on the vintage chairs, sunny yellow stools that pull up by the fireplace, pretty pops of pink on the throw pillows. And that asymmetrical, whitewashed coffee table from Crate and Barrel brings in an unexpected, sculptural moment.
The kitchen was designed to be all about family time: from the spacious island where everyone can pitch in with meal prep to the nearby eating nook with its multicoloured fabric bench. “They really wanted a casual seating moment where they could have breakfast and dinner with the kids, and not have to sit at the island,” says Connor. Upstairs, the primary bedroom is suitably soothing, with layers of linens on the bed in pinks and blues. “It’s a mix of mid-century style with an updated, modern feel,” says Velji. “They weren’t afraid of colour, of mixing patterns and textures—which we’re all about, too.”
The homeowners also have an incredible art collection, and so much of the design focused on positioning each piece so it could be properly showcased. The fireplace mantel was elongated so that a piece from John McKee would be framed with millwork rather than just left to float in the space. In the dining room, a quiet design lets works from Cathy Daley and Karen Maiolo take centre stage. The unique collaborative process has created a space that reflects the clients’ own passion for design. “I love that each room has this unexpected moment, whether it’s the wallpaper, a textural moment or a bold colour,” says Velji.
“Each room you walk into has soul.” Most importantly, it’s a space that truly works for the family that lives here. “Right before Christmas, the clients were sending us selfies of all of them cooking in the kitchen, enjoying their house. It’s not one of those homes that’s just pretty—it’s truly utilized,” says Velji. “And I love that so much.”