Interior designer Jamie Banfield revives the love for the classic Vancouver Special
Credit to Author: rebeccakeillor| Date: Sat, 08 Feb 2020 14:34:39 +0000
Design-wise, Vancouver is still a relatively young city, says interior designer Jamie Banfield, of Jamie Banfield Design, and it shows when it comes to how we feel about the architectural trends of the last 60 years—and our lack of interest in preserving them.
The Vancouver Special is a good example of this, he says.
People have a love-hate relationship with these box-shaped homes, mostly built between the mid-1960s through the mid-1980s. The style evokes feelings of nostalgia and childhood for many Vancouverites, and memories of this city before it became really fancy. Before Expo 86, when Vancouver was in its braces-and-bad-hair, but charmingly real, stage.
Banfield is speaking at the 49th annual BC Home + Garden Show (February 19 to 23) about kitchen renovations and smart ways to update your home, from an energy-efficiency perspective. He has recently taken on a number of Vancouver Special renovations, and says there is much to celebrate about them.
“The lot sizes are great. The homes are not overly big or overly small and they’re built really well,” he says.
Unlike a lot of newer homes, Vancouver Specials typically have great bones, so any updates to them are quite superficial, he says. Their square, box-shaped rooms are easy for designers to work with, because there aren’t a lot of fussy details to work around. And they have features worth retaining, like the fireplaces, some light fixtures, and the small signature front balconies.
“When you look at a Vancouver Special, it might look dated, or not have those 12-foot ceilings or that extra bathroom, but we’re able to manipulate that and get everyone’s wish list met,” says Banfield.
Banfield says his firm typically adds a master bathroom to these homes, with shower and tub, and completely updates the kitchen.
“In one, we’ve designed an open-concept kitchen, with a larger fridge for wine storage, a large 36-inch gas range and doors that open out onto a back deck,” he says.
These homes were typically designed with a single front door, bordered by a panel of frosted brown glass, which his firm replaces with a larger door and clear glass to make the entrance feel “much bigger and grander,” he says.
They also update the windows and insulation, and bring everything up to code environmentally, in terms of wiring and plumbing, says Banfield.
Vancouver Specials are a phenomenon in this city, he says, and it feels good to preserve this memory.
“We’re able to hold onto this and give it a new twist,” he says.