The Alder Street Home was purchased in the summer of 2015 and one of the first projects to tackle was the re-invention of the stairwell. The final result includes a combination of 3 woods; Douglas-fir, Birds Eye Maple and Zebra wood. Inset below the handrail on the balustrade is a strip of programmable RGB LED lights and the fan above the stairwell is new but tweaked with bubble glass shades and Edison light bulbs.

The posts used on the balllustrade are 5x8 solid Douglas-fir and each post has been routered with a Bullnose stop gap detail at the top, bottom and where the handrail meets them.

The balustrade panels are a woodworking feat with their panels of Birds Eye Maple installed with a horizontal grain and edged with the graining of the Zebra wood running vertically. Combining both horizontal grain and vertical grain on one panel is extremely difficult and when one of the wood’s is Zebra wood (the most difficult of all wood’s to work with due to the fact that it has 2 directional grain) the difficulty level sky rockets but the end result is so worth it.

The steel post and beam connectors have been sprayed black and Scallop shells have been attached using magnets – allowing them to be removed and/or replaced with seasonal or other fun magnetic decor.

The original stairwell was a drywall design that only had a large opening to let light into the stair zone. The Alder Street home however has a stunning ocean view and by removing the walls on two sides the view is visible from almost everywhere in the social zone, including from the hallway.

The balustrade is on one side of the living room and was designed to compliment but not match the millwork on the new fireplace surround positioned on the other side of the living room.

Originally the fireplace was a boxy design that projected into the room by 24”. The massive hearth was completely out of proportion to the skinny mantle and the fluted legs simply did not suit the homeowner’s aesthetic. The new fireplace surround eliminated the hearth completely and replaced the mantle with a boxier built up fir beam. The fluted legs where replaced with solid Douglas-fir posts.

The new fireplace façade consists of the same Bird’s Eye Maple veneer as the stairwell and the pinstriping is a series of Purple Heart, Maple and Walnut woods all installed with the grains running horizontally.

The panel above the mantle is also Bird’s Eye Maple and has no pinstripes of contrasting wood. Both panels above and below the mantle are designed to be removed if need be.

The fireplace panel above the mantle is large enough to hold the homeowner’s 60” TV. A short wall projects out on the far right of the fireplace wall before turning the corner to another short wall that holds the entry door.

When guests first arrive and look in towards the living room they are greeted (if the drapes are open) to a beautiful view of Discovery Passage and Quadra Island in the distance.During the summer months cruise ships add a fun aspect to the view.

Since the ocean view is the main attraction the view wall is painted a dark charcoal allowing the sky and sea to sparkle bright even on grey days. When the drapes are closed their job is to keep the wall interesting and stop it from feeling to dark.

Sliding glass doors are located next to the living room window and in front of them is where the dining room is located. The dining room consists 4 of our Aspen chairs painted black and a custom oak topped table we designed with walnut pinstriping and a transparent grey stain. The legs on the table are steel tubes in a black finish. With so many custom features in the home, above the table is featured a unique, integrated LED light that curls down from the ceiling similar to what a wood shaving would do.

Behind the dining area is the stairwell on the left, the hallway behind it and an office on the other side. At the far end of the hallway is the guest bathroom with a bedroom on either side The hallway is treated like an art gallery with original paintings featured prominently on both sides. The ceiling lights in the hall and the entry way  are different yet very similar to the dining pendant.

Originally there was a laptop station at the end of the stairwell off of the dining room.

From the bathroom looking up the hall the dining area is clearly visible, as is the view when the drapes are open. Alder Street home begins on the view wall with a deep charcoal wall colour that gradually lightens up the further into the home you go. By the time you arrive at the bathroom the bright white walls are a natural transition rather than a shocking tonal change.

the guest bathroom in the Alder Street home is very narrow so by painting the walls a bright white to match the fixtures, the room feels more open. To keep the bathroom from feeling stark a sky blue shade was painted on the ceiling, a bold green leaf pattern was painted on the wall above the toilet and a cage frog was mounted into it. The integrated LED light sconce is a modern reflection of copper plumbing and so, this frog was reinvented with hammered copper spray paint from its original purple colour. It really looks like it was made with copper wiring!

While the bath/shower and toilet are on one side of the bathroom, the vanity and a closet are on the other. The vanity features a slab of herringbone acacia wood for its counter top and the backsplash is a copper coloured glass optic tile.

The vanity also features vertical grain fir, bookmatched in a horizontal pattern.

The only thing better than a view of a cruise ship during the day is seeing two at night.