Western Living May/June 2023

Designer Andrea McLean transformed this White Rock, B.C.,

The wall cabinets are painted in a custom black ma e. The island is stained using Merit's Seaside Timberwood, and finished with custom panels and shelves, providing the tailored look from all directions.

Merit Kitchens Presents

Your Tailored Kitchen Awaits

Urban Cool Meets Westcoast Warmth

Combining standard & custom cabinetry sizes and features helps create your dream kitchen while optimizing your investment.

Peace of mind comes standard. Warranty included.

Beauty on the inside. And out.

Senator Table from Cattelan Italia

HOMES + DESIGN

13

TRADE SECRETS

Beige-on-beige doesn’t have to be boring: Studio Roslyn shows us how it’s done.

14

SHOPPING + OPENINGS

The hottest outdoor furniture, beautiful pendant lighting and new design stores we’re obsessed with.

18

GREAT SPACES

A Whistler coffee shop gets a brand-new groove thanks to designer Daniel Meloché.

20

ONE TO WATCH

Textile artist Maria Heo weaves wonderful wall hangings.

FEATURES

22

QUICK CHANGE ARTISTRY

Designer Andrea McLean uses a coastal palette and a mindful layout to create a flexible home that’s ready for anything.

32

RULE BREAKERS

A haphazard character house becomes a super-functional family home thanks to Project 22 Design (and a pair of oxblood shoes).

44

THIRD TIME’S THE CHARM

Designer Annaliesse Kelly renovates her own home into a bold oasis that any grannie/rave kid would love.

FOOD + TRAVEL

51

CHEF’S TIPS

The best chefs in the West share their secret kitchen hacks.

53

HERE WE SOBO AGAIN Fresh spring recipes from Tofino’s SoBo restaurant.

61

THE GREATEST OUTDOORS

A super simple and super spectacular getaway guide for summer 2023.

PLUS

82

MOOD BOARD

Modern meets coastal in this kitchen designed by Sophie Burke.

COVER: Andrea McLean Design: Ema Peter; this page: Rockit Coffee: Leah Kathryn; Maria Heo: Kyoko Fierro; grilled peach and raspberry melba; SoBo/Jeremy Koreski; living room: Project 22/Janis Nicolay

Serenity... Soon?

If you Google “renovation stress,” there’s one solution that typically ranks quite high in the results: recite the Serenity Prayer as often as you can. (A reminder: “Grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, the courage to change the things I can, and the wisdom to know the difference.”) Even our own editor-at-large, Stacey McLachlan, leaned hard on that line when she humorously regaled us with her own renovation diaries back in 2021. (If you haven’t yet read them yet, I highly recommend a peruse-through on westernliving.ca.)

When it comes down to it, a renovation is a brave endeavour. Your home is turned upside down, inside out and often just plain gutted. If you choose to live there while it’s happening, you’re amidst that chaos, too. (I recently had my hallways and bathroom repainted, and that alone was enough of an upheaval to keep me away from any major projects for a good long while.)

This issue, starting on page 22, we’re celebrating those brave souls who’ve decided to create dream spaces out of the lessthan-ideal original homes they began with, to great results. I was particularly intrigued by designer Annaliesse Kelly’s story of renovating her home, an effort she says kept her alert to the trials her own clients go through. “[It’s] always a good reminder about just how stressful this process is, and how much trust people need to put in us for these ideas they can’t test drive or see until it’s too late,” she tells us. I’ve had many designers tell me that they are their own worst client—knowing just how much is out there can make it even more challenging to narrow in on which fixture, paint colour or furniture piece is the perfect one. But as you’ll see from Kelly’s finished space (page 44), she nailed it all around.

The process was a good reminder of another sort, too, she says: “It’s a beautiful opportunity to tell yourself you love you.” That is the real magic of great design—ultimately, when the last of the dust settles and those Serenity Prayer decisions have been embraced, a great renovation is a gift our future selves will be grateful for—even while our present selves are kicking our own butts for getting it all started.

Anicka Quin , Editorial Director anicka.quin@westernliving.ca

@aniqua

Anicka Quin portrait: Evaan Kheraj; styling by Luisa Rino, stylist assistant Araceli

Ogrinc; makeup by Melanie Neufeld; outfit courtesy Holt

Renfrew, holtrenfrew.com

Introducing Pietra Kode: the Italian stones of yesteryear recoded by DEKTON for contemporary architecture and design.

TK05

GK07 SABBIA MARMORIO CEPPO

KODE CEPPO KODE

editorial

editorial director Anicka Quin

art director Jenny Reed

associate editor Alyssa Hirose

assistant editors Kerri Donaldson

editor-at-large Stacey McLachlan

wine and spirits editor Neal McLennan

contributing editors Karen Ashbee, Melissa Edwards, Amanda Ross, Julie Van Rosendaal

editorial interns Lydia Cotic-Ehn, Isabella Santamaria email mail@westernliving.ca

westernliving.ca

production manager Kim McLane

digital ad coordinator Kim McLane

production support technician Ina Bowerbank production coordinator/ad design Nadine Gieseler

head office web westernliving.ca tel 604-299-7311 email sales@canadawide.com

sales representation

director of sales Anna Lee

senior media specialists Brianne Harper, Mira Hershcovitch, Charie G. Ilon, Amy LaJambe, Sheri Stubel sales specialist Roberto Diaz address Suite 130, 4321 Still Creek Drive, Burnaby, B.C. V5C 6S7 tel 604-299-7311

u.s. sales representation, hayes media sales tel 602-432-4868 email lesley@hayesmediasales.com

european sales representation, s&r media sales manager Sylvie Durlach tel +33 1 44 18 06 65 email srmedia@club-internet.fr

Suite 130, 4321 Still Creek Drive, Burnaby, B.C. V5C 6S7 tel 604-299-7311 fax 604-299-9188

ceo & group publisher Ryan Benn group vp, publishing & operations Nina Wagner

vp of hr/admin Joy Ginete-Cockle group vp, finance Conroy Ing, CPA, CMA

vp of finance Sonia Roxburgh, CPA, CGA

executive creative director Rick Thibert

director of circulation Tracy McRitchie

accounting Terri Mason, Eileen Gajowski

circulation Kelly Kalirai

office manager Lori North

executive assistant Hannah Dewar

publisher emeritus Peter Legge, OBC, LL.D (HON)

PRIVACY

Database. ISSN 1920-0668 (British Columbia edition), ISSN 1920-065X (Alberta edition). Canadian Publications Mail Product Sales Agreement #40065475.

WHEN IT COMES TO YOUR POTENTIAL

THE SKY IS THE LIMIT.

Discover LaSalle College Vancouver, a member of Canada’s oldest design education network, now with B.C.s newest creative campus. We see your potential and invite you to apply to a talent scholarship, providing funding for up to 20% of the cost of tuition for full-time degree and diploma programs. Tomorrow’s leaders of art media & design study here.

IS CREATIVITY IN YOUR FUTURE?

Scan the QR code for your invitation to find out.

PERSONAL RESIDENCE

DESIGNED BY ALYKHAN VELJI DESIGNS

COSMOPOLITAN

COLLECTION I NAKED CHEVRON & PLANKS

Photography: Klassen Photography

HOMES+DESIGN >

Spotlighting the best of architecture and design in Western Canada.

TRADE SECRETS

Designed by STUDIO ROSLYN, Vancouver

The Look: All the Beige

We love a crisp, white wall, of course, but this warm, welcoming beige-on-beige-on-beige bedroom from Vancouver’s Studio Roslyn makes a compelling argument for a different kind of neutral. The suite is located in the condo-filled Olympic Village neighbourhood, and to combat the cold glass and concrete construction at the bedroom windows, the designers leaned hard in the other direction. “We wanted to soften everything,” explains principal Jessica MacDonald (pictured above, right, alongside co-founder Kate Snyder). Up went lush Dedar drapery and a plaster treatment to the column. A looped wool carpet and a custom headboard from millworker Tim Grant bring in further warmth. But there’s balance to the creamy palette that keeps it modern and fresh—MacDonald and co. accented the room with rose, pink and brushed brass. “All together, it’s got a glow,” she says.

Conrad Brown

Bright and Colourful

Elevate your ambiance with the stunning Shine On pendant light (from $745) from Blu Dot. Its adjustable, powder-coated aluminum petals elegantly rotate to create a versatile and graceful LED light that will highlight your favourite decor. designhouse.com

Noteworthy

in stores across the West.

Nebbia glasses

Set of two for $285. obakki.com

New rule: you should have as good of a time holding your glass as you do drinking whatever’s inside. And it starts with these smallbatch, blown-glass, made-in-Japan Nebbia glasses. They’re crafted by master glass artisan Takeshi Tsujino and sourced for design-obsessed Vancouverites by Obakki. To hold one is to take a precious treasure into your palms—a pleasure that makes sipping even a $10 screw-top pinot noir feel like a special occasion.

Stacey McLachlan , editor large

For more editors’ picks visit westernliving.ca

In-spiralling Light

The Skynest pendant light ($6,300) has a hypnotic glow. Flo and Marcel Wanders Studio collaborated on this innovative LED design and mesmerizing sunflower spiral pattern. You are getting sleepy... very sleepy... lightformshop.com

Blue Sky Maximalism

Here’s a winner: the outdoor version of the Mah Jong modular sofa (from $58,000) is available for the first time. The playfully patterned metal base and vibrant cushions create a ma ximalist’s

Soft and Linear

Update your patio with Muuto’s colourful Linear steel table and armchairs by Thomas Bentzen (table, $2,295; chairs, $595 each). Clean lines, folded edges and refreshing spring-inspired colourways (pale blue, burnt orange and dark green) create a modern and inviting atmosphere for dining and relaxing al fresco. vanspecial.com

Bring a light and sleek industrial style to your outdoor or indoor living space with the Mousqueton portable lamp ($280) from Hay. Available in stainless steel, oyster white and iron red, the simple design and carabiner-style clip make this lampmeets-lantern statement piece perfect for a chic camp-core aesthetic. informinteriors.com

Bask in Comfort

Add woven chic to your great outdoors with the Molteni&C Palinfrasca armchair ($12,657). The curved, enveloping lines of solid teak (or olive green EVA polyurethane) serve as a comfy cradle as you contemplate another glass of lemonade. livingspace.com

Shop Talk

Hot new rooms we love.

VANCOUVER ba&sh

Luxury French fashion brand ba&sh, founded by best friends Barbara Boccara and Sharon Krief, has opened its first store in Vancouver. The bold brand’s distinct Parisian style aims to encourage confidence through high-end, ready-to-wear fashion pieces, shoes and accessories. The new 660-square-foot retail space is the first in North America to feature ba&sh’s global design concept: think organic materials, rounded shapes and natural silhouettes. 925 W Georgia St.

CALGARY Le Creuset

Calgary’s home cookware scene is levelling up. Beloved French brand (and Julia Child fave) Le Creuset has reopened its boutique store in Chinook Centre, and it’s the first new concept store of its kind to open in Canada. The layout is inspired by a modern kitchen (complete with open shelving and large island-like surfaces) to give professional and amateur chefs a chance to peruse the latest collections in their natural habitat. 6455 Macleod Tr.

CALGARY Sundays

Flower Power

Add a touch of whimsy to your floral arrangements with the mega-architectural I Shine Vase from Kartell ($294). This vase exudes sophistication and elegance with a shimmering silhouette and range of iridescent hues (think rosy pink, sky blue and olive green). robertsweep.com

Cozy Embrace

A soft, embracing piece with a casualcool personality, Bolia Denmark’s Cosima sofa ($7,508) turns your living room into a luxury beach getaway. With a lowered natural wood frame and soft, down-filled pillows, it’s a timeless silhouette that demands relaxation. spencerinteriors.com

Vancouver-based furniture brand Sundays is opening a store in Calgary’s beltline district this spring—find beautifully functional furniture pieces here. The store will include multiple showcases for bestselling collections like the Movie Night and Get Together sofa lines, so you can find the furniture you need to transform your own home into a sanctuary that’s easy like Sunday mornings. 220 12th Ave. SW

Serene Study

The minimalist oak Writer desk ($1,250) from Sundays is perfect for any creative mind. With a simple profile and a charming vintage grade-school classroom feel, this desk offers a productive slice of serenity so you can focus on what inspires you. sundays-company.ca

Patio Lanterns

COOL BEANS

Daniel Meloché Design creates a groovy coffee shop that moves to the music.

By Alyssa Hirose / Photos by Leah Kathryn

Whistler’s newest ’70s-inspired coffee shop is retro, colourful and cozy. But what really sets the design of Rockit Coffee apart from your standard café (the previous occupant of the property was a Starbucks) is how interactive it is. Vancouver-based designer Daniel Meloché wanted the space to be just as engaging and inspiring as its main motif: music.

Magic Mic

The coffee shop’s Insta-worthy microphone chandelier (left and below) is made from real vintage microphones. The ceiling lights (bottom) are fashioned from custom gold records.

A wall-to-wall installation of vintage speakers (created in collaboration with Vancouver antique store Space Lab) makes the musical connection loud and clear. That said, there’s dynamism in the details— ceiling lights made from custom gold records, albums displayed on built-in walnut shelving, sugar and creamer perched on a stereo cabinet. “Our design concept was to pay homage to the character and liveliness of that ’70s, mid-century era,” says Meloché.

Deep teal walls, burnt orange velvet banquette seating and bright yellow Womb chairs play into the throwback palette. The design hearkens back not just to a certain time, but to a specific place, too: “The client is from Mexico, and wanted the space to have a little bit of Mexican flare,” says Meloché. The 1968 Olympics in Mexico City served as inspiration for the restaurant’s logo and much of the decor (technically not the ’70s, but the late ’60s era hinted at future design trends), including many of the art prints on the gallery wall.

Patrons of Rockit Coffee can fully immerse themselves in the space: the vintage radios and rotary phones can all be picked up and played with (and posed with, too—the coffee shop is undeniably photogenic). There are books you can read and record players you can take for a spin.

Meloché describes the vibe as nostalgic and playful—all in all, the sort of space people write songs about.

WONDER WALL

Maria Heo, textile artist

By Alyssa Hirose / Portrait by Kyoko Fierro

Family and friends of Maria Heo know not to throw out any of their old clothes after a closet cleanout. The Vancouver-based textile artist uses only reclaimed material—much of it sourced from the people around her—to create her stunning woven wall hangings, baskets and coiled art.

“Nature is my major motif, and I want to do what I can for our beautiful planet,” says Heo. Born and raised on Jeju, South Korea’s largest island, Heo immigrated to Canada in 2000 and started working out of Covan02 Gallery in Vancouver in 2015. In 2017, she moved her practice to the city’s east side, settling in at Parker Street Studios.

Heo calls her mother “a true artist”: she practiced a traditional Korean patchwork called jogakbo, as well as crochet, Korean paper crafts and oil painting. Her work influenced Heo to explore design for herself. Heo’s art often blends elements from her Korean hometown with the British Columbian landscape: for example, she might weave a flower she remembers from her childhood into a Pacific Northwest forest scene. “There is both Eastern and Western influence in my work,” she explains.

By nature of using imperfect, donated materials, Heo gives her art a striking tactility that incorporates all kinds of textures, colours and weights. Still, each one-of-a-kind piece creates a cohesive, engaging image— it’s exactly the sort of art that transforms a blank wall into a space that feels personal and homey. That tracks, given that Heo’s own sense of home is woven right in.

Material Girl

Maria Heo began her artistic career in painting, but switched to textile art so she wouldn’t feel confined to a canvas. Her handwoven wall hangings are multi-dimensional, sustainable and delightfully unique.

This innovative, ultra-matte, soft-touch surface makes an impact in any residential design. Find a showroom at fenixforinteriors-na.com

J0718 GRIGIO LONDRA

QUICK CHANGE ARTISTRY

Designer Andrea McLean brings flexible design and a coastal-inspired palette to this stunning renovation in White Rock, B.C.

By Anicka Quin / Photos by Ema Peter

Pattern Play

Designer Andrea McLean spotted the Mutina tiles for the backsplash (they’re part of the Lane collection) while on a trip to Miami. “I just loved the colourways—and I knew it was the right tile. At the project outset, Rick mentioned he loves stormy skies. This tile really fit with our concept of trying to convey the changing colour of the sky and the ocean.”

On the Surface

The island was designed to feel like a piece of furniture—“like it could be picked up and moved like everything else,” says McLean. Because there isn’t a cooktop in it, McLean could go for a solid-wood surface; the perim eter counters are Dekton.

Light It Up

The Pipeline pendant light over the island is from Vancouver’s Andlight. “It preserves the views, and it’s a bit marine-like,” says McLean.

There’s flexible design—being able to turn your kitchen island into an extended dining table for 10, for example—and then there’s really flexible design. When designer Andrea McLean first met with Lucy Willcox and Rick Campbell, the owners of this home in White Rock, B.C., she quickly realized that their vision sat firmly in the latter camp. “Lucy loves to move her furniture around, even once a week,” says McLean. “They have a beautiful eclectic mid-century furniture collection—she just loves to switch things up a bit.”

While the original house itself wasn’t in great shape, the lot was one in a million: positioned on a hill overlooking Boundary Bay, it has a public easement on one side, so the homeowners won’t have to deal with another building getting in the way of the view.

The location also meant that keeping those views was king when it came to designing the new space—but 360-degree windows don’t always set the stage for flexibility. “It’s a similar condition to working

Room to Move

The fir beams in the ceiling were left exposed, a design feature that McLean took inspiration from for the interiors: the cabinetry is also Douglas fir (left). The new space is an airy update from the once-dark and dated design of the home (below).

For more before photos visit westernliving.ca

View Finder

The new space is flooded with light, thanks to both floor-to-ceiling glazing throughout and clerestory windows on the upper level (above, left and right). Lucy collects pottery, and Rick collects vintage toy cars; both are on display in the hallway leading to the primary bedroom (far right).

with condos,” says McLean. “You want to embrace the view, but you also have to have a few interior walls for the television, or artwork or cabinetry.”

Tk Tk

Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, at probo constituam sed. Alterum aliquando inciderint in eum, ne ius omnium perfecto ullamcorper, ad pri labore volutper ut semper epicuri, mei habeo ocurreret no. Usu eu vidit omnis legimus. No sit mutat philosophia, eam et persius discere.

Architect Randy Bens had worked on the building plan, and McLean was brought on board to design the interiors later on in the project. (McLean is a registered interior designer, but is also working toward registration as an architect; the dual background and the ability to understand and incorporate architectural plans gives her a unique perspective.) She listened to the couple’s non-negotiables—Lucy wanted a view from their bed so she could see the ocean as soon as she woke up in the morning, plus that flexibility of furniture design—and then got to work creating an open-concept plan that would reflect the geography outside the windows.

Bens had a plan to expose the Douglas fir beams on the sloped ceiling of the main living area, and McLean took inspiration from this in her materials selection. “From the living room you’re looking at the geography—it’s front and centre, that B.C. coastline—and Douglas fir is a B.C. wood that is being expressed structurally, becoming an interior aesthetic,” she says. “I really wanted the millwork to tie into that.”

To bring in the coastal-inspired design she was looking for, McLean collaborated with general contractor Ron Kliewer of KBC Developments and the millworkers at Intempo Interiors. The challenge was not just to use the same Douglas fir from the home’s structure in the creation of the cabinetry, but also to make that material really look and feel like wood—which isn’t as simple as it sounds. “Douglas fir can be quite orange, and

Rise and Shine

Orienting the bed toward the view (a top priority for the homeowner) meant that there wouldn’t be any window frontage left for the ensuite, but McLean was able to find a compromise: a design that allowed for no doors. Anyone soaking in the tub can still look out and take in the ocean as part of the experience.

Soft Accents

The drapery in the bedroom is designed by Cloth Studio, in a fabric called Filtercloth. (The same cloth also appears in the living room.) Even when they’re drawn, “that dappled light can still come through,” says McLean.

Handheld Device

The millwork in the bedroom is the same design as the kitchen, but here McLean opted for custom oversized pulls: “To me, when you get this nice chunk of wood in your hand, it’s like picking up a piece of driftwood on the beach.”

The custom coral tub in the bathroom is from Victoria and Albert, and the tile is from Daltile’s Keystones line in two different dimensions. “It’s a tile I’ve used for 20 years,” McLean notes. “We wanted to create subtle texture, but we didn’t want glazed

we wanted this to look like it had been sunbleached over time, like a piece of driftwood on the beach,” she says. The team at Intempo needed to whitewash the wood to bring the orange tone down, and to wire brush the surface to bring out the grain—which meant creating a custom, thicker veneer that could handle the resurfacing.

And the while the outside of the cabinets is neutral and organic, McLean brought colour into a few select interiors—royal blue, sunset pink, rusty orange: a moment of delight when opening a cabinet door. “They’re colours you’d see in the sky or the ocean at sunset or sunrise,” she says.

In the open-concept living area, one key piece in the overall layout ended up being critical to the master plan: they needed to decide where the fireplace would go. Traditionally, it would sit on an outside wall, but the buildout for the venting would have led to smaller windows at best, and a fireplace blocking the ocean view at worst. It was Lucy who suggested a suspended fireplace in the middle of the room, along with the Togo sofa and chair. “She was absolutely right,” says McLean, who notes that the suspended fireplace is a perfect fit for the very-movable Togo pieces. “The hearth rotates 360 degrees and can be positioned in any direction you want.”

Most importantly, the space functions just as the homeowners hoped it would:

without restrictions or boundaries, and as open as that stunning view outside. Now, each of those floor-to-ceiling windows provides a new opportunity to reset the floor plan on any given night.

“They’ve pulled that dining table out and pushed their Togo furniture over there, or Rick might set up his art easel,” says McLean. “They love how this plan is flexible for them—each space doesn’t need to be labelled.”

Bathing Beauty

and shiny.”

The Immersive Kitchen Experience

Enjoy a revolving, curated menu with Chef Singson at Kitchen Infinity Atelier while discovering your dream kitchen firsthand

people to experience the space, use the kitchen, use our extensive working display of Gaggenau appliances,” Muller says. “The experience focuses on the flow of the equipment in a setting that isn’t a sales pitch, but rather an organic, fun time at our kitchen with premium food and premium cooking tips.”

EXPERT GUIDANCE

The experience is led by KI Atelier’s in-house chef, Mark Singson, an acclaimed chef with international experience bringing the finest cuisine to tables in Canada. His dishes are influenced by his passions—food, art, music and family—which means pushing the boundaries of flavour and style by combining comfort and elegance to bring people together in a harmonious environment.

If planning your dream kitchen conjures images of browsing endless supplier websites and dodging pushy sales calls, you’re doing it all wrong. Your new luxury kitchen will be a place friends and family gather for incredible food and lifelong memories, so it only makes sense to start there when designing your space.

At Kitchen Infinity Atelier in Gastown, designing your luxury kitchen is an immersive kitchen and cabinetry design experience that goes beyond blueprints and material samples. Indeed, the expert team will help bring your ideas and inspiration to life with dynamic 3D design renders and as much or as little guidance as you prefer, but the real treat is the experiential element.

IMMERSE YOURSELF

“Once we have the vision in place, we invite the client to come back in for a private presentation,” says Carlos Muller, principal with KI Atelier. “As a team, we explore the design and change any details as required. In most cases, we have the hardware, cabinets, drawers, islands and live examples of the layouts in the showroom.”

The next stop is KI Atelier’s immersive kitchen showroom—a beautiful, inviting space designed to let clients experience their dream kitchen, one element at a time. It houses eight individual stations, each with its own equipment, allowing guests to work with a section of the kitchen and find out just how amazing their new space could be. “We want

Singson leads the KI Atelier experience with gourmet eats and exceptional cooking tips for an afternoon of connection, learning and discovery.

“The showroom kitchen is visitors’ chance to try out the seating spaces, plates, elbow room, distance to cabinets, and other scenarios,” Muller says. “It is really the greatest advantage because they can experience it firsthand be 100% sure that the design achieves all of their aesthetic and functional wishes.”

“If you are in the market for a kitchen, come and work at ours for a taste of what a great kitchen experience feels like.”

Learn more at: kiatelier.com

@kitcheninfinityatelier

RULE BREAKERS

Project 22 Design transforms an outdated, inefficient abode into a creative home for a modern family.

By Alyssa Hirose / Photos by Janis Nicolay

Dynamic Duo

The Kitsilano home required a reno that included plenty of storage: easy access to sports equipment, shoes and outdoor accessories was essential for this active family. Designer Denise Ashmore and her team at Project 22 Design created a large mudroom with plenty of shelves and cupboards, so it’s easy to tidy the day away.

When a client walks into a meeting wearing a pair of oxblood-coloured shoes, an observant designer takes note. And for Denise Ashmore, principal of Vancouver-based Project 22 Design, those deep red shoes were a beacon of inspiration for a rather gloomy home.

The Kitsilano house, which had been broken up into four suites over its 109-year history, was in “a great state of disrepair,” says Ashmore. In fact, she elaborates, it was “hacked up,” “butchered” and “lacking all of its former charm”—in other words, in need of a major reno.

Still, the clients—a couple with seven-year-old twins— weren’t discouraged. This would be their first family

home in Canada, and they saw the potential the space had to grow with them. Ashmore and her team brought their vision to life by puzzling together modern design elements with traditional details and plenty of colour. And that’s where those shoes came in.

In the kitchen, oxblood millwork clads the island, and the hue translates down into the terrazzo-tiled floor.

“The clients wanted to have a playful house, nothing boring or expected,” says Ashmore. The purple-y red

No Stain, No Gain In the living room (right), the original stainedglass windows were carefully removed and reinstalled—but the modern furniture and statement fireplace bring the home into 2023.

A House Divided The century-plus-old house had been sectioned off into various units (in various states of livability) when Project 22 Design came on board to transform it into one ultra-functional home.

For more before photos visit westernliving.ca

continues in the door to the wok kitchen, a hardworking room that was cleverly designed to fit under the staircase. The breakfast nook stands in memory of the pre-reno space: it’s the same shape and size as the original nook, but reclad in a dramatic stained oak.

The stained-glass windows are also a nod to the past— Ashmore and her team removed them, documented their positions and reinstalled them to preserve an element of the home’s history. Those windows shed a whimsical light

on the kids’ homework zone, and frame the statementmaking limestone fireplace in the living room.

It was important to both the designer and the clients to have functioning space for every family member: even ones who don’t live in the house. The goal for the basement was to turn it into a separate suite for visiting relatives, but low seven-foot ceilings made it feel dark and cramped. The solution? Picking the entire home up and placing it on a new foundation on the same property,

THE RENOVATION ISSUE RULE BREAKERS

Finish Line

The design team traded outdated materials and a general dark vibe (above) for light and bright finishes that feel clean and contemporary (right).

Soft Landing

The area at the top of the stairs was once home to a tiny office, but the Project 22 designers opted to open the space up to create a sun-filled reading nook (right).

Personal Space

which created an extra two feet of headroom. Rooms that didn’t serve the family’s needs were scrapped and replaced (for example, what was once a tiny office by the stair landing is now an airy reading nook for bedtime stories) and new, practical spaces were created (for example, the storage-heavy mudroom). “The kids are really into sports and swimming at the beach—you know, all the things that require space and gear and different shoes,” explains the designer.

And through it all, there’s a mix of colour, pattern and texture that feels fresh. “The clients liked the classical form of the house, but they definitely love an international flair,” says the designer. That flair is especially evident in the home’s bathrooms. The powder room is dressed in a striking jungle wallpaper and has a gorgeous emerald green-tiled shower. The primary ensuite bathroom sports a geometric Mutina tile

Throughout the home, there are dedicated areas for all of life’s little moments: a hidden wok kitchen for prepping dinner (above), a breakfast nook for before-school eats (top right), a home office with transparent doors to maximize both privacy and natural light (right).

THE RENOVATION ISSUE RULE BREAKERS

Seeing Red Neutral greys rule the kitchen’s colour palette— except, of course, for the oxblood island, which was heavily inspired by a pair of shoes that one of the clients wore to a design meeting. A funky terrazzo tile brings the bold hue to the floor.

THE RENOVATION ISSUE RULE BREAKERS

and a bright bathtub—the tub is original, but was re-enamelled and painted... in oxblood, of course. The double shower is enclosed by glass and a modern, clean-lined metalwork frame that’s repeated in the home office (notably with frosted glass, to preserve privacy while still welcoming in natural light).

Perhaps the greatest example of atypical but functional design in this home is the primary bedroom: rather than having the headboard cozied up to a wall, the bed stands proudly in the centre of the room. The placement ensured that the balcony view was visible from bed. “We talked about putting a screen behind it,” says Ashmore, “but in the end, having a vaulted ceiling and a super dramatic light fixture made it feel more sculptural.” Instead of being included simply as essential piece of furniture, the bed acts as a work of art.

The renovation embraces radical but mindful change: parts of the original home were carefully selected for preservation, while contemporary furnishings and unconventional solutions combine to create a space that will serve the family for decades to come. “This is a very special place that they are going to raise their family in,” says the designer, “and it was such an amazing opportunity to be a part of it.”

Middle Ground Electric outlets incorporated into the floor allow for this unique placement of the bed and nightstands (and keep the lamp wires hidden). The bathroom designs (top right and bottom) play with shape and pattern: one with geometric Mutina tile, the other a bold and jungle-y wallpaper.

2023 HAVAN Award Winners Shine a Spotlight on High-performance Homes

design or renovate their home.

Whereas years ago, there may have been a builder and few workers onsite, today, building to the new code requires a team of professionals to achieve the targeted energy levels of the home with a major focus on the building envelop and the mechanical systems that help to our keep homes energy efficient while generating consistent temperatures year-round.

“In addition to energy efficiencies, homeowners can expect increased resilience, consistent comfort throughout the home, better indoor air quality and improved sound abatement when looking to build to a higher performance level,” Rapp said.

The BC Energy Step Code is changing the requirements for how we build homes in BC. Starting May 1, 2023, the Code will require most new construction in BC to be 20% more energy efficient than the base 2018 BC Building Code. Advanced techniques and technologies have home builders working as much with science as with tools these days with a focus on improving the energy efficiencies and reducing environmental footprint in what are known in the industry as high-performance homes.

The Homebuilders Association Vancouver (HAVAN) Awards for Housing Excellence winners were announced Saturday, April 22, 2023, at the JW Marriott Parq Hotel in Vancouver. Celebrating the best in new home construction, design and renovation in Metro Vancouver, highlights from the special achievement award categories

include Best Energy Labelled Home, BC Housing Award for Excellence in Housing Solutions, and FortisBC Award for Excellence in Energy Efficiency in New Residential Construction.

HAVAN CEO Ron Rapp said, “It is significant to note that many of our members have been building above code for years and are leaders in the high-performance design and building space. When homeowners are looking to build and or renovate their homes, it will be important to work with professionals experienced in building to the new Code levels.”

Showcasing a broad variety of archetypes from innovative laneway homes and infill housing solutions to luxurious ultra modern houses and condos, plus the full spectrum of multi-family developments, the HAVAN Awards for Housing Excellence offer inspiration and resources for anyone looking to build,

Choosing to work with awardwinning builders, renovators and designers, homeowners will have added confidence they are hiring skilled professionals with industry resources to ensure the best outcomes.

“Homeowners work with builders and designers who embrace an integrated design approach for the best control over the construction process and budget,” Rapp said, noting the builder will typically control the bulk of the spend.

Check out the winners of the 2023 HAVAN Awards for Housing Excellence at havan.ca/awards/ finalists for inspiration and resources for finding industry leading builders, designers and renovators.

The science of high-performance homes brings homeowners improved energy efficiencies and a reduced environmental footprint

PHOTO CREDIT: QUEEN MARY: BUILDER: KINGDOM BUILDERS INC., DESIGNER: ARCHITRIX DESIGN STUDIO INC. PHOTO CREDIT: KINGDOM BUILDERS INC.

THIRD TIME’S THE CHARM

Annaliesse Kelly embraces her wildest design dreams with her most personal project yet.

By Stacey

/

Interior designer

McLachlan

Photos by Tina Kulic

You could call Annaliesse Kelly’s style modern eclectic. Or, you could refer to it as she does: “Smash a 90-year-old British grannie with a ’90s rave kid, and then put it all in a pretty, white, super-modern box,” says the B.C.-based interior designer with a laugh.

That radical study of contrasts is on full display in her own, newly renovated 1,800-square-foot Squamish, B.C., duplex that she shares with partner Warren Barrow. And while it’s not the first home she’s designed for herself (tour her previous condo over on westernliving.ca), it’s absolutely the most “Annaliesse” one so far. “I’m learning every day in my work, and my personal aesthetic has evolved over the years,” says Kelly. “I’m able to be more brave. I want to do all the things. I want florals, I want Laura Ashley to come back, I want some big crazy colours.”

She embraces all of these playful details and more against the backdrop of a freshly remodelled duplex. Built in the 2000s, the home featured a spacious layout that’s rare in most modern developments—a wide, high-ceilinged living space, three bedrooms and two and a half baths, plus a double-car garage and roomy yard. Kelly knocked down a few strategic walls, and the place opened right up.

Despite her playful references, the house is quietly luxurious—while still being durable enough to handle her always-covered-in-Squamish-mud dog, Bob. “I know this might sound a little silly, but I wanted it to feel like a grown-up house,” says the 40-year-old with a sly smile. That meant investing in high-quality, natural materials wherever possible: think stone countertops and hardwood floors.

Living Large

A patterned CB2 rug in the living room brings a playful vibe to the space. Colourful Lo Turn chairs are from Bensen, while the oversized custom sectional is from Van Gogh. The fireplace is surrounded with monochromatic Eternal Marquina from Silestone by Cosentino, and the paintings are by Zoë Pawlak.

Top Table

A jet black-painted feature wall is the backdrop for dinner parties around the table from Vancouver’s Lock and Mortice, which is topped with a Visual Comfort light fixture. The chairs are from Inform Interiors and Rove Concepts.

Kitchen Confidential Crisp white Corian countertops and black millwork are balanced by moody Python quartzite from SSC Countertops on the back wall.

Kelly calls the house “a personal exercise in colour,” though she grins as she acknowledges how relative “a lot” of colour can be: “Okay, it’s still really black-and-white.” The high-contrast monochrome base (crisp white walls and Corian Glacier White countertops; black cabinetry in the kitchen; dramatic black marble on the fireplace) is accented by colourful pops throughout: the mustard yellow and ruby-red Bensen armchairs in the living room, the blue-black feature wall in the dining room, the bold swath of crimson in the eye-catching Zoë Pawlak paintings.

“The goal was to try things I haven’t tried for myself, and make mistakes on my own house,” says Kelly. This is a home she’s designing not to eventually sell, but to truly live in. That means she can be a little more committed—case in point: those two huge paintings commissioned from Pawlak. “If I ever move, they’ll fit nowhere,” she laughs.

The windows in the living room face west, drinking in mountain views and allowing the space to be washed in evening sun. In the kitchen, Thomas Hayes stools line an oversized island. An appliance garage places the toaster and coffee grinder out of sight. The stove is Fulgor (“supposedly very nice to cook on,” laughs Kelly). Plumbing and hardware in the kitchen is unlacquered brass, which ties into some of the vintage pieces the designer has peppered throughout the home. In the bathrooms, she installed Kohler Kallista sinks and faucets; the primary ensuite features Maori granite sourced from SSC Countertops, while the powder room uses white soapstone marble.

Opportunity Knocks

Small but Mighty “The powder room is just so pretty,” says Kelly. Venation Royal wallpaper from 17 Patterns covers every wall. The CB2 mirror is a work of art in and of itself. The sink and faucet are Kohler, while the Mayu wall sconce was sourced from Ocean Pacific Lighting.

The duplex was in fine shape before Kelly came along, but an open layout, new kitchen and fresh floors took the 20-plus-year-old Squamish home to new heights.

“If you think about something more than two or three times and the idea keeps coming back, there’s a reason for it,” says Kelly. “We talk ourselves out of stuff that we want—‘Oh, maybe it’s too crazy.’ But you’ve gotta be brave.”

For more before photos visit westernliving.ca

But her favourite place in a home designed to indulge every whim is the bedroom. “My bedroom is honestly everything,” says Kelly. “I wake up and I have the most beautiful view of the mountains and snow, and I turn on my super-bougie fireplace.” Her “grownup sheets” come from Au Lit Fine Linens.

It’s not the only place you’ll find her getting down to business. In the open loft, Kelly has placed her home office, partially enclosed by a half-wall. From her sit-stand desk, she can look out the top of the doubleheight window. “I’m not generally a gallerywall person, but I love this,” says Kelly of the art display here, which includes a sketch from Pawlak, vintage prints and photos of her and Barrow’s grandparents.

Doing her own space again has helped Kelly keep her empathy for her clients fresh. “Sometimes you get jaded but this is always a good reminder about just how stressful this process is, and how much trust people need to put in us for these ideas they can’t test drive or see until it’s too late,” she says.

And being her own client again, at a time in her life where she feels “more comfortable,” has also reinforced the power and magic of interior design. “Your home is sacred and you need to walk in and feel heard and seen and loved by yourself,” says Kelly, reflectively. “It’s a beautiful opportunity to tell yourself you love you. And in this house, I absolutely feel it.”

Boutique Chic

Prints from Ola Volo hang above Kelly’s custom Van Gogh bedframe. Dreamy sheer drapery from A Shade Better creates a boutique-hotel feel. The light fixture is by Visual Comfort.

Making your home comfortable and stylish, since 1994.

jagsfurniture

www.jagsfurniture.ca

EXPANDED LANGLEY SHOWROOM NOW OPEN VISIT OUR SHOWROOMS TODAY

20359 Langley Bypass, Langley

32009 South Fraser Way, Abbotsford

Made for patio weather.

Reserve your table online

Tuna Poke Bowl

FOOD+TRAVEL >

Fresh recipes, great destinations and inspiring people to transport you.

CHEFS’ TIPS

How to Make a Vegetable Dish Sing

Serve the same veg in different ways.

“For example, smashed carrot with curry and turmeric, young yellow carrots cooked in the oven and toasted, then some chips dehydrated in the oven overnight, or even a pistou of carrot stems. Your friends will be amazed.”

– Julien Salomoni, pastry chef instructor, Pacific Institute of Culinary Arts, Vancouver

Do the ol’ roast-and-toss. “Roast it, then toss with a dash of red wine vinegar and olive oil. Add something crunchy (nuts, toasted garlic, fried shallots or seasoned and toasted chickpeas).”

– Jason Kleinfeld, executive chef, Cardero’s, Vancouver

Reach for the salt.

“Salt-bake your root vegetables to discover a new level of richness in flavour.”

– Chanthy Yen, executive chef, Nightshade Restaurant, Vancouver

For more chefs’ tips visit westernliving.ca

Hugo Chang/iStock

Here We SoBo Again

Nine years ago, SoBo chef Lisa Ahier penned the award-winning and bestselling SoBo cookbook: a home cook’s guide to replicating the Tofino institution’s casual, crowd-pleasing dishes. And then... we waited. And waited. And went to SoBo and drank some margaritas and waited some more. And now, finally, the follow-up Together at SoBo comes to bookshelves this May. Here’s a first taste.

Recipes by Lisa Ahier / Food Photography by Jeremy Koreski / Wine Pairings by Neal McLennan

Onion and

Summer Ratatouille and Polenta

When my mom would make this back in the ’70s, I thought it was the most exotic dish imaginable. Even the word in my mouth—rat-a-too-ee—tasted delicious. Mom—who was, in my mind, the best cook ever—would cut up all the vegetables, toss them together and throw it all in a CorningWare dish (remember those? I still have a few tucked away) to bake. Nothing to it. For my recipe, I sauté the ingredients first, but either way works. I also like to use mushrooms, which is not traditional, and a creamy, soft, silky polenta. I adore the rich ragu of vegetables on top.

Polenta

1 cup milk

1 tsp salt

½ cup coarse-ground yellow cornmeal

¼ cup butter, cubed

¼ cup grated asiago cheese

Ratatouille

½ cup olive oil, divided

8 cloves garlic, minced

1 bay leaf

½ onion, diced

1 red bell pepper, diced

1 small eggplant, diced

1 yellow squash, diced

1 zucchini, diced

3 tsp salt, divided

1 portobello mushroom, diced

1 tsp dried thyme

1 tsp dried oregano

1 tsp dried marjoram

1 large tomato, diced

¼ cup fresh parsley leaves, for garnish

8 to 10 leaves fresh basil, for garnish

¼ cup shaved hard aged cheese, like parmesan, pecorino, asiago or romano, for garnish

Prepare the polenta: Heat the oven to 325°F. In a medium ovenproof saucepan over medium heat, add 1 cup water, the milk and salt. Cover with a tight-fitting lid and let simmer for about 15 minutes. Watch carefully to avoid the milk bubbling up and spilling over the sides. If it gets too hot, the milk scalds and will lose its natural sweetness.

Test the milk with a deep-fry thermometer. When it is 155°F (I call this the latte stage), slowly whisk in the cornmeal. Continue to whisk until a few bubbles appear. (I call this the volcanic stage.)

Cover and place in the oven for 20 minutes. Remove and stir with a wooden spoon, then return to the oven and continue to bake for 15 minutes. Remove from the oven, stir in the butter and cheese and serve as soon as possible. It sets up and hardens quite quickly.

Meanwhile, cook the ratatouille: Heat ¼ cup of the olive oil in a large, heavy-bottomed pan over high heat. As soon as it’s

hot, add the garlic, bay leaf and onions. Sweat down for 2 to 3 minutes.

Add the peppers, eggplant, yellow squash and zucchini and continue to cook for another 5 minutes. Season with 1 tsp of the salt. Remove the mixture from the pan and set aside.

Return the pan to the stovetop, again over high heat, and add the remaining ¼ cup oil. Once it’s hot, add the portobello and cook for 5 minutes or until tender. Season with 1 tsp salt.

Return the vegetables to the pan and add the dried herbs. Turn the heat to low, add the tomatoes and remaining 1 tsp salt and use a wooden spoon to gently stir. Let the mixture simmer for a couple of minutes.

To serve: Dish out the hot polenta onto a serving plate, scoop the ratatouille on top and garnish with the fresh herbs and cheese.

Serves 6.

WINE PAIRING

Castello di Ama Chianti Classico, $38

Polenta is associated with Northern Italy, the land of barolo and barbaresco, but both might overwhelm the summer veg... so instead, we’ll head down the boot to Tuscany, where a well-made chianti classico (avoid the more powerful gran selezione) will have plenty of acid to cut the richness of the polenta, but nice tart fruit to cradle the squash and eggplant. This bottle will work like a charm right now, but could easily sit in your cellar for a decade as well.

Tofino background photo: iStock/Robyn Leigh

Grilled Peach and Raspberry Melba

This dessert conjures up memories of endless July days and 100°F Texan heat, when the air is dripping with humidity and there’s got to be a breeze and it’s just so darn hot that ice cream is the only thing that makes more sense than air-conditioning. Peaches were the high point of my childhood summers. We didn’t often have raspberries in our house—they are not well adapted to Texas conditions—but when we did, and when this treat was set before me after a Sunday family dinner, I was in peach and raspberry and ice cream heaven. My mom would always fancy up this simple recipe by finding the coolest glassware to present it in. It seemed to my eight-year-old self the height of elegance. I love to modernize retro classics, so my spin on original peach melba involves grilling or broiling the peaches instead of poaching them.

Melba sauce

2 cups frozen or fresh raspberries

½ cup sugar

¼ cup orange juice

½ tsp salt

Melba

4 lusciously ripe peaches, halved and pitted

Oil, for brushing (optional)

1 pint vanilla ice cream

1 pint fresh raspberries, for garnish (optional)

¼ cup fresh mint leaves, chiffonade, for garnish (optional)

Prepare the melba sauce: In a small, heavy-bottomed saucepan over medium heat, combine the raspberries, sugar, orange juice and salt. Cook down until the sugar has melted and raspberries are softened (about 5 to 10 minutes), then stir with a wooden spoon.

Remove from the heat and let cool to room temperature. Using an immersion blender or in a traditional blender, blend the sauce until smooth. This sauce can be made in advance and stored in the fridge for up to 1 week.

Grill the peaches: Brush the cut sides of the fruit with oil. Place the peaches on the grill (you can use a gas or charcoal grill or an indoor grill pan) cut side down over direct heat until the flesh develops grill marks and starts to soften (about 3 to

5 minutes). Brush the skins with oil, then flip the peaches and grill for another 2 to 3 minutes. The skin will loosen, and you can ease it off.

Alternatively, you can broil the peaches: Preheat the broiler or oven to 500°F. Keep the ice cream and melba sauce on hand. Place the peaches skin side down in a broiler pan. Set the pan under the broiler or in the oven for 3 to 4 minutes. Once the tops of the peaches start to caramelize, they are ready.

Once the peaches are hot and bubbly, assemble your dessert any way you’d like it. Garnish with raspberries and fresh mint chiffonade, if you desire.

Serves 4.

WINE PAIRING

Tantalus Pinot Noir/Pinot Meunier Piquette, $18

Pairing a dessert is always such a trick—the classic route is sweet wine with high acid, such as a German auslese, but the reality is that most casual drinkers don’t want more sweet. Which is why I’m taking a chance on piquette—a farm workers’ staple, made with water and grape pomace. This classy version from Tantalus has super-low alcohol (7.5%), a light effervescence and subtle notes of complementary raspberry and strawberry.

Mushroom, Caramelized Onion and Goat Cheese Pizza

One of the great perks of living in British Columbia’s rainforest is the abundance of wild forest mushrooms. Chanterelles, pine, chicken of the woods, porcini... I encourage you to experiment with the different varieties and find what best suits you. The key to this pizza is the earthiness of the mushrooms and the sweetness of the caramelized onions. And the acidic nature of the goat cheese really perks it up.

2 tbsp butter

¼ cup plus 2 tbsp olive oil, divided

2 onions, thinly sliced

½ lb shiitake mushrooms, de-stemmed, cleaned and sliced ½-inch thick

2 large portobello mushrooms, cleaned and diced

½ lb cremini mushrooms, cleaned and sliced ½-inch thick

½ tsp salt

Pizza dough (see recipe, next page)

1 to 2 cups red sauce (see recipe, next page)

1 cup pumpkin seed pesto (see recipe, next page)

3 cups shredded mozzarella cheese

1 cup crumbled soft goat cheese

2 cups baby arugula

In a medium heavy-bottomed frying pan over medium-high heat, add the butter and 2 tbsp of the olive oil. As soon as the butter melts, add the onions and turn the heat to mediumlow, stirring the onions frequently to prevent them from burning, until they reach a rich, dark brown (about 20 to 30 minutes). By cooking low and slow, you are creating so much flavour, bringing out the onion’s natural sweetness without any sharp, bitter taste. If the onions start to stick or burn, turn the heat to low and add 1 tbsp water. Stir too much and the onions won’t brown; stir too little and they burn. Remove from the heat and set aside to cool.

Heat the remaining ¼ cup olive oil in a separate medium heavy-bottomed frying pan over high heat. As soon as it starts to smoke, add all the mushrooms and cook until tender (about 5 minutes). Remove from the heat and season with the salt.

Preheat the oven to 450°F.

Form the dough for one pizza at a time on its floured pan.

Once you have shaped one piece of dough, immediately spoon ¼ cup red sauce and ¼ cup pesto on top. Use a spatula or the back of the spoon to spread them out evenly. Sprinkle with one-quarter of the onions, ¾ cup mozzarella, onequarter of the mushrooms and ¼ cup goat cheese.

Repeat the shaping and topping process with the remaining balls of dough. Bake each pizza for 10 to 12 minutes, until the crust is golden brown and the cheese golden. Remove from the oven and garnish with arugula.

Makes four 10-inch pizzas.

WINE PAIRING

Hester Creek Old Vines Trebbiano, $25

All three named ingredients here work well with this rare Okanagan version of one Italy’s most planted grapes. Hester Creek keeps the alcohol low and channels the grape’s citrus and firm stone fruit notes to surround the rich onions and tame the bite of goat cheese. That this wine, grown from vines that date to 1968, is just $25 is a modern wonder (and an unbelievable steal).

Tofino background photo: iStock/Lorraine Boogich

Pumpkin Seed Pesto

½ cup raw pumpkin seeds

¼ cup minced garlic

1 cup fresh basil leaves

1 cup spinach leaves

½ cup arugula or watercress

¼ cup freshly squeezed lemon juice

1 tsp crushed red chili flakes

1 tsp salt

½ cup olive oil, plus extra as needed

¼ cup grated hard aged cheese, like parmesan, pecorino, asiago or romano

Preheat your oven to 325°F. Spread pumpkin seeds on a baking sheet and pop it into the oven. Roast for 4 to 5 minutes, until fragrant. Set aside to cool.

In a food processor or blender, combine the toasted seeds, garlic, basil, spinach, arugula, lemon juice, chili flakes and salt.

Pulse until the herbs are finely chopped, then, with the food processor running, drizzle in the olive oil and blend to your desired texture. (I like it smooth and creamy. If you want a thinner sauce, add a bit more olive oil.) Transfer to a bowl and fold in the cheese.

Makes 4 cups.

Red Sauce

1 28-oz can San Marzano tomatoes or whole plum tomatoes

1 tbsp salt

¼ cup olive oil

2 tbsp red wine vinegar

¼ cup roasted garlic, pureed

1 cup fresh basil leaves

¼ cup fresh oregano leaves

In a food processor or a blender, puree all the ingredients to your desired smoothness. (I like mine smooth enough to spread really well.)

Makes 4 cups.

Pizza Dough

12 cups lukewarm water (about 110°F, from the tap), plus extra as needed

½ tsp active dry yeast

¼ cup dark beer

3 tbsp olive oil

3¾ cups 00 flour

3¾ cups all-purpose flour, plus extra as needed

1½ tbsp salt

First mix: In a stand mixer fitted with the dough hook attachment, combine the water, yeast, beer, oil and 00 flour and mix for 5 minutes on low speed or until well incorporated. If you don’t have a stand mixer with a dough hook, you can mix the ingredients in a large bowl by hand: use one hand to mix the dough until it forms a ball and all the dough has pulled away from the sides of the bowl. Transfer to a clean, dry work surface (marble or granite is fabulous) and knead, using the heels of your palm, for about 5 minutes, then stretch and flip. Repeat, until the dough can’t be stretched any more. Cover and let rest for 10 minutes. (Never let your dough get a crust from the air.)

Second mix: Return the dough to the stand mixer or bowl and add the allpurpose flour and salt. Mix for 5 minutes on medium speed. If mixing by hand, it will take about 7 minutes. The dough should form a cohesive ball and pull away cleanly from the sides of the bowl. If it is too wet and sticking to the bowl, add more flour, 1 tsp at a time. If it is too dry and not all the flour is incorporated, add more lukewarm water, 1 tsp at a time, until you have a smooth, shiny dough.

Cover the bowl with plastic wrap or a plate and let rest for 20 minutes.

Divide the dough into four pieces. One at a time, cup each piece of dough in your hand and roll it around in a circle on a clean, dry work surface until you’ve formed a smooth, round ball. Place the dough balls in a large container, spaced about 4 inches apart, to allow them room to expand.

Seal the container tightly with its lid or plastic wrap and let the dough rest at room temperature for 1 hour. Then place in the fridge for at least 24 hours, and up to 72 hours. One hour before shaping and assembling the pizzas, remove the dough from the fridge and let it come to room temperature.

Makes enough dough for four 10-inch pizzas.

Excerpted from Together at SoBo by Lisa Ahier, with Susan Musgrave. Copyright © 2023 Lisa Elaine Ahier.

Photographs by Jeremy Koreski. Published by Appetite by Random House®, a division of Penguin Random House Canada Limited. Reproduced by arrangement with the Publisher. All rights reserved.

EXPLORE OUR WINE REGIONS

1) Campbells Gold Honey Farm & Meadery 2595 Lefeuvre Rd, Abbotsford, BC campbellsgold.com

2) Cannon Estate Winery 30523 Burgess Ave, Abbotsford, BC cannonwinery.ca

3) Maan Farms Estate Winery 790 McKenzie Rd, Abbotsford, BC maanfarms.com/pages/winery

4) Mt. Lehman Winery 5094 Mount Lehman Rd, Abbotsford, BC mtlehmanwinery.com

5) Ripples Estate Winery & New Wave Distilling 3387 Tolmie Rd, Abbotsford, BC rippleswinerynewwavedistilling.com

6) Seaside Pearl Farmgate Winery 5290 Olund Rd, Abbotsford, BC seasidepearlwinery.ca

7) Singletree Winery 5782 Mount Lehman Rd, Abbotsford, BC singletreewinery.com

8) Taves Estate Cidery 333 Gladwin Rd, Abbotsford, BC tavesestatecidery.com

9) Backyard Vineyards 3033 232 St, Langley, BC backyardvineyards.ca

10) Blackwood Lane Winery 25180 8 Ave, Langley, BC blackwoodlane.ca

11) Chaberton Estate Winery & Bacchus Bistro 1064 216 St, Langley, BC chabertonwinery.com

12) Festina Lente Estate Winery 21113 16 Ave, Langley, BC festinalente.ca

13) Glass House Estate Winery 23449 0 Ave, Langley, BC glasshouseestatewinery.com

14) Krause Berry Farms & Estate Winery 6179 248 St, Langley, BC krauseberryfarms.com

15) Sinocan Estate Winery 2218 240 St, Langley, BC sinocanwinery.com

16) The Fraser Valley Cider Company 22128 16 Ave, Langley, BC fraservalleycider.ca

17) Township 7 Vineyards & Winery 21152 16 Ave, Langley, BC Website: township7.com

18) Vista D’oro Farms & Winery 346 208 St, Langley, BC vistadoro.com

19) Valley CommonsBistro & Tasting Room 9124 Glover Rd,

THE GREATEST OUTDOORS

This is your getaway guide for low-commitment, low-stress, high-reward travel: think amazing destinations that are just across the water, just over the mountains or just across the border. Turn the page for magical kayaking, top-notch golf, charming farm tours, exciting restaurants, unforgettable camping and more incredible inspiration for your next B.C., Alberta or Washington vacation.

Holy Cow

Wine tasting at Covert Farms Family Estates in Oliver, B.C., is that much more enjoyable after visiting the farm’s very majestic and very adorable bovine residents. More on page 76.

Alyssa Hirose

ON ISLAND TIME

One hour: that’s how quickly you could be in Victoria from Vancouver if you time your Harbour Air flight right. And with this itinerary for a Perfect Victoria Saturday (patent pending), you won’t be able to get the idea of a quick-toria day trip out of your head.

By Stacey McLachlan

Brunch

Down Under Aussie-inspired Bear and Joey (left) has a menu just as beautiful as the whimsical decor.

Case in point: the bread pudding (right).

8 a.m.

The Carbo Load

Meade Design Group crafted the Instagram-bait interiors of Bear and Joey, decking out the Aussie-inspired café in soft pastels and mid-century-meets-art-nouveau touches. But the brunch menu wows as much as the interiors. The savoury-and-sweet bread pudding ($19) is the sort of photogenic and indulgent meal that inspires both a post-breakfast social media update and a nap.

10 a.m.

Take

the Plunge

Ritual is a Scandinavian spa circuit experience just outside Victoria’s downtown core—think a compact Scandinave Spa. Run through the Nordic relaxation cycle—hot, cold, relax, repeat—at your own pace over the course of a two-hour session (from $59), hopping between the cedar sauna, eucalyptus steam room, test-yourmettle cold plunge pool, bucket shower, salt lounge and fire pit as you see fit.

12:30 p.m.

To Market, to Market

Stop for a horchata latte and homemade toaster tart at the colourful, PoMo-cool Hey Happy (designed by WL fave Bidgood) before shophopping your way through Johnson Street and Market Square. Still Life curates lifestyle goods and fashion essentials—think quirky ceramics and perfect mid-rise jeans—while stalwart Paboom packs shelves with Danica Heirloom pinch bowls, waxed wood cutting boards and a huge selection of Baggu. A pit stop at teeny-tiny Ayo Eat for an Indonesian gado-gado wrap ($4) is a must—the peanut sauce will haunt your dreams (in a good way!).

Ritual Nordic Spa:

Dasha Armstrong

WINERY OF THE YEAR

BRITISH COLUMBIA 2023

A taste of Tuscany in the heart of the Okanagan

Hester Creek Estate Winery is located in British Columbia’s Wine Capital, Oliver. This is where our roots run deep with old vines planted in 1968.

The breathtaking views, reminiscent of rolling Tuscan vineyards, encompass the historic Golden Mile Bench estate property where Hester Creek has gained recognition for its commitment to quality wines and gracious hospitality.

HESTER CREEK ESTATE WINERY

877 Road 8, Oliver, British Columbia, Canada (30 minutes south of Penticton - on Hwy 97)

ESTATE WINERY

With a world-class winemaking facility and Wine Shop, Hester Creek o ers complimentary tasting experiences and a large patio with a picnic area for friends and families to enjoy live music on weekends.

TERRAFINA

Meaning “Fine Earth,” Terra na o ers a Tuscan-style dining experience below a trellis of old vines. Inspired by ingredients from the estate garden, Chef Adair designs his menu to re ect the seasons of the valley.

THE VILLA

Situated at the pinnacle of the Golden Mile Bench, The Villa provides stunning views of the South Okanagan. Enjoy a complimentary bottle of wine on your private patio while gazing out at the miles of vineyards below.

3 p.m.

Up, Up and Away

The Malahat SkyWalk is 35 minutes from Victoria by car—thrill-seekers, take note, and height-phobics, beware. It’s perched in the West Coast forest, allowing views for miles around: on a clear day, walk up the spiral ramp to find sightlines to Mount Baker and the Saanich Peninsula (the top is 250 metres above sea level).

The walkway from the visitor centre to the SkyWalk runs high above the ground, placing you among the arbutus treetops, but if that’s not thrilling enough, you’re welcome to kick back on a vertigo-inducing net at the top of the structure, or whip down the spiral slide back to the bottom in a few heart-pounding seconds. A solid selection of beers and coffee is available at the on-site cafés to steel your nerves ($35 for adult admission).

7 p.m.

Dining In

The Grand Pacific is giving a certain other hotel restaurant (we see you, Courtney Room) a run for its money with its newly revamped dining room, Fathom—and we welcome this healthy, gourmet competition. It’s easy to fill up on the plush milk buns—served with honey cashew butter, rosemary, rock salt and bee pollen ($9)— but the squid-ink spaghetti vongole is a winning main, topped with a generous portion of tiger prawns and trout caviar ($38). Chef Peter Kim (formerly of Blue Water, Glowbal, Fairmont and Seaside Provisions) takes plenty of inspiration from Japanese cuisine: the halibut is served with miso custard and potato tobiko dumplings ($40), while the buttery sablefish ($41) comes on a plate of mind-bending “nori sand.” Grab a window seat as you tuck in so you can scope out the majestic Empress and watch the sailboats as they drift around the harbour.

10 p.m.

Toast to a Perfect Day

Mid-century-inspired tiki bar Citrus and Cane is the ideal venue for a nightcap. Over an order of spicy coconut margarita (made with Sons of Vancouver chili vodka and toasted coconut orgeat, $17), start scheming up a game plan for your next Victoria escape

Fathom: F. Lee Green; Citrus and Cane: Johann Vincent

Nature High

The Malahat SkyWalk is 250 metres above sea level—and the spiral slide is totally worth the workout it takes to get to the top.

Dinner Date

Don’t sleep on the milk buns in Fathom, the new dining room in the Grand Pacific Hotel.

Wellness in Whistler—Your Ultimate Early Summer Retreat

Connect with nature and rejuvenate the mind, body and soul in Whistler this June

on weekends throughout June.

The Farm to Table Dinner Series on Friday evenings is your chance to savour locally sourced food, expertly crafted into delectable, multi-course meals. On Saturdays, Trip to the Farm takes visitors to Pemberton with wellness expert Astrid Cameron Kent, who leads a rejuvenating journey through four local farms each with a unique story and character. Become the ultimate grill master and learn the secrets to creating perfectly grilled meats, vegetables and seafood at Grillin’ & Chillin’ on Saturday afternoons.

You know you need it: time to embrace the moments of pause and sink into nature’s serenity. Whistler’s mountain environment, with gorgeous, 360° views and tucked away from the stresses of city life, is the perfect environment to disconnect and reconnect with wellness—and June is the best month to take advantage of all Whistler has to offer, including some special events.

Transformational experiences

Whistler is home to several spas and wellness facilities, offering hydrotherapy, massage, aesthetics treatments and a complete range of body work. Stretch out after a day of exploring with yoga or learn some new dance moves at one of Whistler’s well-equipped studios, gyms and fitness facilities. The temperate rainforest creates the ultimate backdrop for forest bathing, the art of basking in the lush sensory wonders of the forest. Download the

Go Whistler Tours app and explore Lost Lake, Emerald Forest Riverside/ or Farside Trail.

Active relaxation

The legendary Whistler Bike Park, award-winning golf courses, breathtaking glacier-fed lakes, lush forests and waterfalls are all linked by a network of paved trails, so you can discover Whistler at your own pace. Zipline adventures offer thrill above the treeline, and ATV tours offer up an exciting day of wilderness exploration. Feeling fit? Check out the Whistler Half Marathon, the Run Comfy Numb trail race or XFONDO all-terrain bike race for a unique challenge.

Nourish

Whistler has plenty of delicious and diverse dining experiences, but the month’s highlight is the Nourish Spring Series Presented by Cornucopia—a series of wellness-focused culinary events

Top it all off with the Wellness Dinner Series, hosted at the exceptional Bearfoot Bistro. Guests will enjoy a luxurious four- or fivecourse meal prepared by Executive Chef Melissa Craig, one of Canada’s best chefs.

Nothing ends the weekend like Sunday Brunch at Station House on the tranquil shores of Alta Lake. Take a scenic walk to the brunch location with stunning views from the Valley Trail, then enjoy mouthwatering, healthy dishes prepared by renowned chefs.

Stay longer

The longer you stay in Whistler, the deeper the rejuvenation. Stay three or more nights in June and receive a free $100 Wellness Voucher to be used at participating wellness locations throughout the month.

V isit whistler.com/wellness and get the most out of your personal wellness retreat in Whistler this June.

@GoWhistler @GoWhistler

COLLECTIVE GOOD

A seaside town on B.C.’s Malcolm Island reveals great campsites and greater hospitality.

By Melissa Edwards / Photos by Christer Waara

Some camp gear you can do without—string lights, say, or a cornhole set. What you can’t do without, as we grasp while ransacking our packs on a cold evening in a remote island campsite, is a cooking pot.

Our genius idea was to blow northward past the South Coast crowds, taking the ferry from Port McNeill on the northern end of Vancouver Island over to Malcolm Island, where the shoulder season gave us a good shot at securing a chunk of oceanfront campground to ourselves. But no neighbours also means no borrowing, and it’s soon clear that we’ll have to head into town right away if we want to eat anything warmer than a granola bar.

Luckily, town isn’t far away. The busier campsite here is Bere Point, where itchy orcas come to scratch their sides on the just-sloping-enough-to-not-get-beached pebble flats. But we haven’t come for fins, we’ve come for Finns: Sointula, the main village, was founded as a collective utopia by Finnish free-love idealist Matti Kurikka

in 1901, and my half-Finnish husband was looking for some cultural history with our camping getaway. That original utopia collapsed, as utopias do, but the Finnish flavour remains in the road signs, the practical Nordic architecture and the village name itself: sointula means harmony in Finnish.

So, with a little “oh look, that’s Finnish”-style walking about in mind, we’d booked at Harmony Shores Campground, which is an easy fourkilometre hike to town along the waterfront. As we finish setting up our tent, a cool ocean mist is pulling back into crisp bands of low-lying cloud—tempting us to stick around. But, hot food calls. Someone, somewhere out there, is going to have cookware for sale.

With the North Island weather shifting from fair to moody and back again, we follow the Kaleva Road seaside art trail into Sointula, spotting folksy installations like

The Wild and the Weird Natural wonders Big Lake (above) and the Sointula waterfront (left) coexist peacefully with the bizarre and beautiful Kaleva Road seaside art trail (below).

20-foot macrame, scrap-metal sculptures and tonguein-cheek (probably?) alien warnings. Since long before any Finns arrived, the island has been a Kwakwaka’wakw foraging site; we forage too, feasting on the huckleberries and blackberries that grow along the path.

In town, we score that hot meal: Coho Joe Cafe serves up fresh-baked cinnamon buns and hearty bennies inside a homey heritage house (the B&B suite upstairs is one of a handful of options outside of the Oceanfront Hotel for non-tent-types). We’re soon thankful for the fuel; the general store—B.C.’s oldest to operate as a co-operative— has a casserole dish and muffin tins, but no pots. The clerk directs us to a hardware store a further 20 minutes past town; the added walk scores plenty of Scandi heritage in the form of ramshackle boathouses featuring names like Tarkanen and Sjöberg, but still, we do not score a pot.

We trudge back empty-handed, spotting too late the visitors’ kiosk with its collection of adorable (and free) loaner bikes. But all is not lost: a helpful local suggests

the thrift store, which is hidden behind the community museum. It’s closed, but a knock on the window produces an angel of a volunteer, who lets us in and digs up one precious pot, for which we happily offer ten times the $1 sticker price.

Hot dinner secured, we grab some Finnish pulla bread from the Upper Crust bakery and hike back to camp to comb the kelp-strewn beach and toast a gobsmacking sunset. We’d been warned that ferryloads of one-time residents are on their way back for a blow-out weekend wedding, so the next morning we opt to spend the day exploring the island’s quiet back roads—and are rewarded with a jewel of a swimming hole, complete with lily pads. Big Lake, which is actually a very small lake, can also be accessed from town via the six-kilometre Mateoja heritage farmstead trail.

Back in Sointula, there’s just enough time to poke inside the Wild L’il Gift Shop, where mother-and-daughter team Anissa and Freyja Reed sell locally made candles, art and sea-glass jewellery. As the ferry nears the dock, we end our visit with a co-operative action of our own, releasing our pot back into the donation pile outside the thrift shop so it can once again restore harmony to some future forgetful camper.

That’s So Sointula

Kaleva Road (left) is mystical in the morning, and the community museum (above) is the ideal cloudy-day destination.

Camping illustration: Noun Project/Iki

@visitpenticton | #visitpenticton #fuelfreepenticton

Slow down, see more, discover hidden travel responsibly. Enjoy fuel freedom explore Penticton by foot, pedal or paddle.

Learn more at www.visitpenticton.com/fuel-free

It all starts here

Nanaimo is the perfect starting place for your Vancouver Island getaway — with biking, kayaking, whale watching, shopping, ziplining and more. The moment you take the bikes off the roof rack, get onto the water, take that first sip of wine, or open the door to your hotel room: now you’re really on vacation.

It All Starts in Nanaimo

Take a trip on your trip (opening May Long Weekend)

Just minutes from downtown Nanaimo’s Maffeo Sutton Park and opening May Long weekend, Saysutshun is an excellent idea for your staycation itinerary. Take a short boat ride—a ferry runs seasonally from Maffeo Sutton Park to the island—and enjoy the perfect day trip, or spend the night and camp on a beautiful oceanside site. The island offers walking trails, an interpretive centre, a café, and more! Consider booking a walking tour to learn more about the island’s important connections to the Snuneymuxw First Nation.

Meaningful gifts galore

With so much to see and do in and around Nanaimo, an Island staycation can take the stress out of trip planning and help save some money on longdistance travel expenses. Read on for some great ideas on how to have the ultimate getaway in Nanaimo.

Plenty of flavour

You can’t visit Nanaimo without indulging in its world-famous sweet treat. Follow the Nanaimo Bar Trail to any combination of over 35 varieties. Choose from classic, specialty, vegan, ice-cream and even cotton candy Nanaimo bar renditions!

Suppose you want a satisfying meal to level out the sugar high, N anaimo offers plenty of fantastic restaurant options. Take a charming foot ferry to The Dinghy Dock Pub (open Friday to Sunday) and admire striking views of Mount Benson

while you dine. For beer enthusiasts, Nanaimo boasts plenty of craft beverages to quench your thirst.

The ins on the best of the outdoors There’s an incredible selection of outdoor wonders to explore in the Nanaimo region. Some local favourites include the tidal lagoon at Pipers Park, sandstone rock formations at Malaspina Galleries, and hiking to Ammonite Falls. Another option to experience nature is to go on a whale-watching tour. Passengers often witness orcas, humpback whales, and other marine life, such as seals and sea lions!

T he waters around Nanaimo are also excellent for fishing and crabbing. Local guides know where to find the big ones. If kayaking is more your style, the protected waters of the area’s lakes and harbours are full of secret coves and inlets to explore.

If you’re looking for a souvenir, downtown Nanaimo’s Old City Quarter features plenty of quaint and unique shops to find amazing one-of-a-kind gifts in a charming historic setting. For another special shopping experience, consider driving the Cedar Yellow Point Artisan Trail loop. It’s a great option to take in beautiful sights while visiting farms and supporting local artists by purchasing their creations. When it comes to the ultimate staycation, Nanaimo offers plenty to experience—all in a beautiful and pristine natural setting.

Start planning your Nanaimo getaway at tourismnanaimo.com/StartHere

Plan your trip or memorable staycation with great eats, snap-worthy adventures, or some locally inspired retail therapy in beautiful Nanaimo

NANAIMO BARS BY JORDAN GEISBRECHT-RS, KAYAKING-IN-HARBOUR BY MIKE ANDERSON

SOMETHING IN THE WATER

The Sunshine Coast is named for bright days, but the nights here bring a living kind of light.

By Alyssa Hirose

Iwonder if the six strangers in this Sprinter van can tell I got engaged three days ago.

My parents and sister know, as does my partner—who, of course, engineered the whole thing. But the proposal (and acceptance) happened right before I was scheduled to hop in this van and board a ferry to the Sunshine Coast. So, I had a choice: either copyand-paste a mass text to my friends and family—expedient, if impersonal and anticlimactic—or wait until I return to deliver the news in person and indulge in all the screams, gasps and happy tears.

I opted to wait. So now I’m on a work trip with a half-dozen other people who work in media, in what I’m quickly learning is one of the most romantic places in the world.

And it’s not just the rose-coloured glasses that are metaphorically sitting on my freshly engaged face. After ferrying over to Gibsons and then navigating the winding coast road for about an hour and a half, we arrive at the luxury cabin-style West Coast Wilderness Lodge in Egmont (and a truly breathtaking view). Standing on my patio just

before sunset, I’m surrounded by a gold glow that radiates off the evergreen-covered mountains over Skookumchuck Narrows. In a few hours, the whirlpools and whitewater of the nearby Sechelt Rapids will be at their peak. For now, the water is calm and the serenity is unreal. The hotel restaurant, called Inlets, is dotted along its windowed perimeter with couples eager to catch these last few moments of sunlight. Our haphazard crew of seven stands out, both in our number and in the obvious fact that we’re far less in love with each other than the rest of the clientele. I learn that all of the other journalists in my group are married, and after a single glass of sparkling wine (bolstered by my natural inability to shut up), I tell them that I just got engaged. “Less than 72 hours ago,” I specify over a beautiful heirloom tomato salad. “Yes, I’m very happy,” I confirm while extracting a juicy mussel from its shell. “No, we have not set a date yet,” I answer, trying not to choke on the crunchy yams topping my delicate lingcod. (I make a note for the future to refrain from replying to insane questions while eating delicious food.)

Into the Night photo: Metta Eco Photography; kayak illustration: Noun Project/Anthony Ledoux

You Glow Girl

Metta Eco-Experience’s “Into the Night” tour features bioluminescent kayaking, where curious paddlers can see the plankton sparkle in the dark.

It’s just like a fairytale. But if the animals start talking to you, be concerned.

It’s a different world up here. Learn why.

I’m working very hard to manage my expectations for this evening. It’s difficult, because the activity on tonight’s schedule is the one I’ve been most looking forward to—the thing that, if I’m honest, made me completely comfortable with abandoning my partner as he was barely getting up off his one knee—and that is bioluminescent kayaking.

The kayaking is part of Metta Eco-Experience’s “Into the Night” tour. The company is run by Greg and Meriel Rushton—another couple. There’s gotta be something in the water here... and in fact, there is: bioluminescence. Apparently, the narrows are full of tiny organisms that emit light, creating a gentle glow that, when night falls, becomes visible to the naked eye.

I’ll soon see for myself. While the last bits of daylight fade from the sky, our tour group of about 15 (us and three—you guessed it—couples) stands in a circle near the push-off point as Greg and Meriel give us a dry-land paddling lesson. We’re each also given a red light to clip on to our lifejackets.

As we hoist our two-seater kayaks from a small storage tent and carry them toward the shore, Greg points out that each one has two sticks carefully woven into the bungee straps. “I tell kids these are magic wands,” he announces. I use the cover of darkness to roll my eyes. Once we’re all bobbing around near the shore, you can really only see the dots of red from our lights—I can barely make out the shape of the person sitting directly in front of me in the kayak.

Luckily, that blurry shape is as needlessly competitive as I am: we’re right behind Greg, our paddles slicing through the black water as we leave the others trailing behind. Meriel is at the back, acting as caboose for our bizarre floating train. In the distance, we can see the bright lights of a ferry coming into the narrows as it returns from Saltery Bay, south of Powell River. It’s not close enough to cause us alarm, but it still looks freakishly massive from our dinky little kayaks.

“If we paddled in front of that ferry, could it see our lights?” I call to Greg. “Nope!” he replies jubilantly.

As we get farther and farther from shore, the seascape actually becomes brighter. My eyes have fully adjusted now, and a full moon is causing all the little islets to cast shadows on the ocean. Greg stops in one of those shadows, and we wait with him as the other, slower (not that that matters) kayakers catch up to us.

I’m absentmindedly resting my paddle in the water when I first notice it. It looks like little white sparks are dancing off the blade. I plunge my whole hand in and swirl it around: sure enough, tiny flecks of light appear and disappear with my movement. I whip out the “magic wand”—a.k.a., the stick—and drag it through the water. The flickering lights trail softly behind.

As a person who grew up in B.C., I often feel like I’ve been sadly desensitized to the beauty of West Coast nature. But this is one of the most awesome things I’ve ever seen. The bioluminescence isn’t bright or spectacular, like fireworks; it’s subtle and enchanting in a way that requires you to stop what you are doing and simply stare.

For the rest of the journey, I am an effectively useless paddler, taking advantage of my backseat position to do little else but wave my magic wand (which has very quickly become a prized possession). My deep focus over one side of the kayak forces my partner to lean in the opposite direction and counteract the weight. I try to take photos and videos, and end up with nothing but pitch-black rectangles and some crisp audio of myself breathing.

It’s dark, it’s cold, and I’m with a bunch of people I barely know, but this is the most engaged (pun very intended) that I’ve ever felt with nature. The bioluminescence is quiet and miraculous and undeniably romantic. It’s a romance that I’m perfectly happy to indulge in by myself, though I’ll certainly drag my partner through an insufferable slideshow of pointless photos later.

I’m in no rush to go home, but now I have two life-altering experiences to share with my family and friends once I get there.

WCWL food: Stuart Costello; West Coast Wilderness Lodge deck: Blrrd Creativ; kayaking: Metta Eco Photography

Dinner with a View

The West Coast Wilderness Lodge’s communal patio (below) is the go-to spot for picturesque sunbathing.

Discover the authentic BC frontier.

GHOST LAKE/BLAKE JORGENSON TERRA NOSTRA GUEST RANCH/KARI MEDIG

BARKERVILLE/ROB LLOYD GREAT BEAR RAINFOREST/KENT BERNADET

NEMAIAH VALLEY/JESAJA CLASS

OKANAGAN HAD A FARM

With a moo-moo here and a pop-pop there (that’s the sound of uncorking a wine bottle), the Okanagan is home to some of B.C.’s best farmland. One of our editors took a summer trip and lined up a few very special spots: here are three amazing places worth visiting on your next OK getaway.

By Alyssa Hirose

A Farm for the Foodie

Klippers Organic Acres

725 Mackenzie Rd., Cawston, B.C. klippersorganics.com

The realities of farm life can’t be as romantic as the storybooks would have us believe, right? But Klippers Organic Acres feels like a true countryside paradise—so much so that it has me seriously daydreaming about abandoning my high-maintenance city life to frolic among tractors and chickens.

The family-owned farm in the Similkameen Valley has grown from five to 60 acres since the Klippensteins first founded it in 2001. Kevin Klippenstein takes us on a walking tour through rows upon rows of fresh fruits and veggies, stopping every once in a while to pull a massive beet from the ground or pluck a Padrón pepper from a nearby plant (most are mild, but about one in every ten is very spicy, he tells us).

Those same Padrón peppers are served at Row Fourteen, the onsite restaurant (they take farm-to-table extremely literally). They are done simply, fire-roasted with canola oil and flaky salt, and I “lose” the pepper roulette: the very first one I taste burns in my mouth and nose. But it’s also delicious, as is everything else: warm bread with a soft smoked butter, beets with whey cream and plums, cider sausage atop rich

Klippers Organic Acres

The Feast

Let the chef pick your meal with the multi-course harvest lunch menu ($50 per person) at Row Fourteen

The Shop

Grab a bottle of Untangled Craft Cider’s black plum basil cider ($19) from the in-restaurant gift shop.

The Photo Op

Just down the road from Row Fourteen is the Klippers

Marketplace and Café—snap a pic basking in the hammock chairs while you refresh with housemade peach-leaf ice cream.

romesco sauce. All produce is picked with intention from just outside the restaurant’s sweeping windows, and that mindfulness comes through in the ultra-fresh menu.

A Farm for the Family

Covert Farms Family Estate

300 Covert Pl., Oliver, B.C. covertfarms.ca

Covert Farms Family Estate appeals to the young and the young-at-heart: try not to smile with childlike joy as you bounce around the property in the back of a little red pickup truck. The yellow jumping pillow (think trampoline, but marginally safer) begs to be skipped across. There’s waddling ducks, talkative sheep and giant bristly pigs—but, to me, the cows are the highlight.

Photos: Alyssa Hirose; apple illustration: Noun Project/James Smith

Garlic Shed

Among the rows of veggies at Klippers is a tiny building filled with garlic (yes, it smells weirdly delicious inside).

Unlike those farms that keep livestock in feedlots, Covert integrates their animals with their plants: planned grazing keeps the crops under control and manure helps the plants grow. So, right in the middle of the fruits and veggies, there are fuzzy cows. Emo-looking caramel-coloured cows with sassy bangs, giant cream-toned cows walking with elegant purpose and brown-and-white splotchy cows that look deep into my soul from behind enviable long eyelashes. Covert Farms reminds kids and adults alike where their food comes from: I eat wine grapes from the vine (a few have been lost to an oenology-curious bear), brush dirt from cabbages and carefully avoid bees to pick fresh strawberries.

Here, you can indulge in nostalgic fun (sorry to the kids I double-bounced on the jumping pillow) and also celebrate like a grown-up (cheers to wine tasting on a sun-drenched patio). And it’s a good place to seriously consider becoming a vegan.

Covert Farms

The Feast

Book a private campfire cookout ($38 for adults, $15 for youth under 18) and roast your own Two Rivers hot dogs—plus s’mores, wine and juice for the kiddos.

The Shop

For a wine that channels Okanagan strawberries and cherries, go with the Covert Farms 2022 Rosé ($22).

The Photo Op Fuzzy cows

Need we say more?

A Farm for the Fruit-Lover

The Grist Mill and Gardens

2691 Upper Bench Rd., Keremeos, B.C. oldgristmill.ca

Okay, so the Grist Mill and Gardens isn’t actually a farm: it’s a heritage site with a restaurant, campground and gift shop. Don’t expect rows of carefully plotted crops or livestock wandering about. But the apple orchard has the energy, charm and history that I love about farms. It would be impossible to leave it off this list.

The Grist Mill apple orchard has over 20 different species of heritage apples: it’s a beautiful, eclectic mix of trees. Extraordinarily friendly manager Chris Mathieson speaks with evident passion for the different varietals, even though many of them are a mystery: record keeping for the 146-year-old site has been (understandably) inconsistent, and many of the apples are unknown. Mathieson asks all visitors to help in the team’s pursuit to identify the apples—once, he tells us, an elderly visitor swore she remembered one of the mystery apples from her childhood.

The water wheel-powered mill that the site is named after is still turning, and stepping inside among the platforms and pulleys and grinders is awesome: the space is a love letter to preservation. A tiny museum with bits and bobs about the mill’s history is just a few steps away. And everywhere, there are flowers—the fresh florals have only the fragrance of sweet apples to compete with, and the air here is easy breathing

The Grist Mill and Gardens

The Feast Chow down on a fresh scone in the tearoom or grab a sandwich from the kitchen.

The Shop

The housemade apricot barbeque sauce ($12) is a winning souvenir.

The Photo Op

The water wheel powering the mill is super IG-worthy, as are all of the funky kinds of apples.

SOUTHERN RE-EXPOSURE

The joys of rediscovering Bellingham, Washington, after a pandemic’s time away.

By Anicka Quin

She’s just visiting,” says the bartender to an outdoorsy-looking couple seated at the counter as she tucks a lock of pink hair behind her ear. “Where should she go?”

Technically speaking, I’ve been justvisiting Bellingham regularly for nearly 25 years now, but I still love to ask this question to locals: where should I go this weekend? It’s my first time here at Honey Moon, for example—the discovery of this delightful alley-side meadery came thanks to a hot tip from another local at another place. And how did I manage to go more than two decades without a sip of their heavenly, floral Fleurs Amères mead? Or without spending time under their fuchsia chandelier and twinkling fairy lights?

I can be excused for not discovering this place over the last three years, of course. But our closest city over the border holds a special place in my heart as the ideal near-far getaway—close enough to be an easy hourplus drive to get here, and far enough to feel like I’ve left Vancouver’s busyness behind. The streets are wide and Sunday drive-y; the people have that ultimate PNW look about them—like they’ve just returned from an epic waterfall hike and have plans to open a craft brewery with a couple of college friends within the year.

On this trip—my first post-COVID return— I like the new lens that my absence has cast over the town. In the beforetimes, I had a routine: wake early, head for the border, breakfast in downtown Bellingham (where I once had the thrill of a server asking me for

a local recommendation), wander a bookstore or three, hit up Trader Joe’s and Target, make it home by late afternoon.

But on this visit, I’m making up for lost time: I’m on a girls’ getaway to spend days, not just hours, here (not that we won’t come back with a carload from TJ’s, too). We’ve booked a room at the new Hotel Leo, the historic building in downtown Bellingham that renovated, revamped and re-opened back in late 2019, its roomy modern suites great for a chill-out between shopping and dining. For a moment, we’re tempted to camp out in the hotel’s lower-level theatre, which gives you the option of casting to the big screen from your phone or choosing a DVD from a shelf stocked with fave titles like Slumdog Millionaire and Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels. But we’re looking for an experience of the IRL kind, and so instead we start our wander at my longtime favourite: Old Town Cafe, where a seat in the warm and woodsy booths gives you a view to a new streetside patio, and where the omelettes are a truly beautiful thing. It’s the hearty Lumberjane for me—perfectly prepared local organic eggs overflowing with bacon, cheddar, caramelized onions, mushrooms and kale, while my friend guns the when-in-America veggiefriendly heartstopper of biscuits and gravy: a rich mushroom and tahini gravy draped over homemade biscuits and beautifully poached eggs.

Fuelled to stroll, we wander up to get lost for a bit in the stacks of Henderson’s, the used bookstore that almost rivals Portland’s

Great Explorations

Bellingham’s wide streets were made for wandering (clockwise from top left): the alley-side Honey Moon; puppies at Are You My Human?; cool cats at Neko; tours at Chuckanut Bay Distillery; tacos at Black Sheep; breakfasts at Old Town Cafe; and great sleeps at Hotel Leo.

Honey Moon

Hotel Leo

Are You My Human

Old Town Cafe

Powell’s for breadth of titles on hand (I’m stoked to nab a copy of The Storied Life of AJ Fikry). It’s just around the corner from the Whatcom Museum—and while the weather is a little too early-spring glorious to take the full tour of its collections, the Museum Store is irresistible: local artisans’ pottery (I’m still coveting one of Makiko Ichiura’s ceramic sheep) sits alongside 1,000-piece puzzles and adorable handmade puppets.

We wander back to the Leo with plans to drive the narrow waterfront stretch of road that joins downtown Bellingham with Fairhaven, the waterfront community that’s also designated as a National Historic District. And we will—but first, we’re stopped in our tracks by a pile of puppies. It turns out

that Bellingham is now home to a puppy rescue, which saves canine moms-to-be from high-kill shelters in Texas and California. For about $15, you too can immerse yourself in a dozen or more of Are You My Human’s furry babies for an hour or so. (And, in a case of gilding the lily, Bellingham also has a cat café: Neko is licensed, too, so you can enjoy a bottle of local brewery Kulshan’s Bastard Kat while you desperately wait for Luna or DJ Silly Goose to show you some affection—which they may or may not do, because cat.)

Our pet vibes satiated, we hop over to Fairhaven, where Village Books proves there’s no such thing as too much time in a bookstore, and then doubles down on that dare with the top-floor Evolve Chocolates

and Café, where we enjoy a view over the harbour and a sweet afternoon snack of an iced ginger cookie and a scone packed with Medjool dates, orange and cardamom. But Fairhaven is made for wandering, so we reluctantly leave our ocean view for street level again to explore shops and back alleys and the waterfront itself. The quarter-mile Taylor Dock boardwalk links Fairhaven with Boulevard Park, leading you right out and over the open water—with views back to the peaks that line the Canadian border on a clear day.

Patting ourselves on the back for our step counts and strolls, we decide there’s time to sneak in a quick taco at Black Sheep back in Bellingham before dinner—where we’re rewarded with well-balanced mango margaritas and pork belly tacos topped with mango-pineapple chutney, tamarind crema and cilantro.

Calories, of course, have no place on a getaway weekend, and so we gamely head post-taco for our real dinner and a tour of the city’s newest distillery and restaurant, Chuckanut Bay Distillery ’s Penny Farthing . Co-owner Ethan Lynette spent the last few years renovating the old JC Penny building— spot the original “boys department” signs still framed on the lower level—and is on the way to opening Bellingham’s only rooftop bar this coming summer. Once we’re experts on the distilling process (let’s just say: it’s incredibly complicated, and so cheers to the pros) we dive into a loaded mezze platter of green mint hummus, baba ganoush and citrus-brined feta alongside sweet baby radishes, fresh dates, grilled zucchini and more. And, of course, an excellent Old Fashioned crafted from Chuckanut Bay’s own housemade bourbon and demerara syrup.

Our night wraps with more wanders, that sweet stop at Honey Moon—and, of course, a few recommendations from those bar patrons for the next day (an easy waterfall hike that we’ll line up for our next visit; they raise a glass to us for our taco discovery and Penny Farthing dinner) and a well-earned drop into bed at the Leo at the end of the night. And dreams of future visits—and our own recommendations to offer—in the months to come.

Honey Moon: Annette Bagley; shopping bag illustration: Noun Project/Sugeng Riyanto

Neko

Chuckanut Bay Distillery

Black Sheep

COAL COUNTRY DIAMOND

By Curtis Gillespie

ccasionally, when golfing, you come across a hazard that is so physically challenging that your pulse quickens and your brow gets damp just from thinking about what might happen next. The 12th hole at the new, and stunning, Crowsnest Pass Golf Club in Blairmore, Alberta, features one such hazard—though, in fairness, context is everything.

Of course, there is much more than golfing drama to be had along the Crowsnest Pass, with its towering peaks and mercury rivers. Historic small towns like Coleman and Blairmore hunker in the valley near abandoned coal mines that speak to an industrial past. The topography of the pass combined with the longish winters, however, has also meant that golf has never been big in the area. The old Crowsnest Pass Golf Club first opened in the 1920s, but it had been rebuilt and rerouted so many times to accommodate coal mining that it was never much of a draw.

In 1997, a new 18-hole course opened, and then, roughly a decade ago, the club completed a land swap with a mining company seeking easier access to the highway. In

return, the club received a large and undulating piece of property up the mountainside. The respected golf course architect Gary Browning got to work in 2015, and the new course and clubhouse opened in the summer of 2020. And it might just be the best new course to open in Alberta in decades.

We’d played the first 11 holes of that recently reimagined course in something of a state of awe of its magisterial beauty. When we got to the 12th tee, we found a short par 3 of about 140 yards played over a shrub-choked chasm to a small and well-bunkered green. We also found a course marshal standing on the tee. We made a joke about having a gallery to watch our shots.

“That’s not why I’m here,” he said. “There’s a mama grizzly and her cub just off in the bush over to the right of the green. I’ve been watching and I haven’t seen them. They probably moved on.”

Should we wait?

“Oh no,” he said in that blithe manner that outdoorsy people seem able to adopt in the face of someone else’s imminent mauling. “You’re good to go. I’ll watch from here and then come up to the green with you.”

A quick inspection of his golf cart revealed no weapon other than a large thermos of coffee. My three partners found the putting surface. I proceeded to half-shank my shot into, of course, the bush and shrub right of the green. At the green, I told my friends I was just going to have a quick scout for my ball. None offered to help. The marshal stood nervously by, no longer smiling.

It turned out my ball had settled partway down the side of a foliage-heavy embankment a few yards short of the deeper part of the gorge. What’s the worst that can happen? I asked myself. A possible fall into a valley, at the bottom of which a grizzly mama and cub had been spotted within the last half hour. Okay, that was bad. On the other hand, it was a brand-new Titleist Pro V1 down there. Six dollars! It wasn’t much of a dilemma.

I shimmied down, gap wedge in hand, the green 20 feet above me. No bears. I planted my feet and swung and before I’d even completed my backswing I was hotfooting it back up top, certain I’d heard branches snapping close behind me. Screaming and whooping broke out overhead. I clambered up to find my friends shaking their heads in disbelief and the course marshal laughing. My ball had rocketed up on to the green, clattered into the pin and dropped into the hole.

Later, over a beer, our server asked if we’d seen the bears on the 12th hole.

“No,” I said. “But it was an easy birdie.”

With its majestic views and well-designed course, Crowsnest Pass may be the best new course to open in Alberta in decades.

Photos: Courtesy Crowsnest Pass Golf Club; golf tee illustration: Noun Project/Viktor Turchyn

Alberta’s Crowsnest Pass Golf Club features hazards of more than just the sand-trap variety.

Greener Pastures

MOOD BOARD

Modern Coastal

Designer Sophie Burke brings a beachy palette to a warm, contemporary design.

“For this family home across the street from the beach, we wanted to create a warm and approachable space for everyone to gather. Kids are constantly coming and going through the bifold doors into this space, and it truly functions as the heart of the home. We designed seating areas surrounding the kitchen so there’s always room for family and guests to have access to the action.”

Sophie Burke

This Cecilie Manz vase has a beautiful eggshell finish, and it’s one of our favourite pieces to give as a gift to clients. informinteriors.com

Janaki Larsen’s ceramics are no longer a secret only known to Vancouver locals, and this sculptural black bowl is just as stunning filled with fruit as it is sitting empty on the counter. janakilarsen.com

We frequently turn to Australian company Linear Standard for decorative hardware, like these black Clare pulls that tie in the other black accents throughout. linearstandard.com.au

The leather in these Lili stools from Stowed helps to warm up this crisp and bright kitchen. They’re surprisingly comfortable for such a minimal silhouette and they slide right under the counter so as not to interrupt any sightlines. stowedhome.com

The bleached oak detail on these Allied Maker Arc Globe pendant lights gives a subtle nod to the beach nearby while providing ample lighting for the island. alliedmaker.com

We love these white Barter dishes with their unglazed exterior and glossy interior. They recently came out with a pasta bowl, which you have to know to ask for. barterdesign.ca

Sophie Burke portrait: Bee Chalmers; kitchen: Ema Peter

Photos by Flavien Carlod, Baptiste Le Quiniou, for advertising