Designs for differing tastes

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Ravenswood
Where: 39289 Falcon Crescent, Squamish

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Designs for differing tastes Back to video

What: 106 three- and four-bedroom homes

Developer and builder: Benchmark Homes

Residence sizes and prices: 1,913 — 2,411 square feet, from $800,000

Sales centre: 39289 Falcon Crescent, Squamish

Hours: noon — 5 p.m., weekends

When Joanne Laurino and her Gannon Ross Design colleagues took on the display home at Ravenswood, Benchmark Homes’s new community of single-family homes in Squamish, they saw it as the perfect opportunity to expand their horizons.

With homes that range from 1,913 to 2,411 square feet, the community attracts people who are downsizing from larger homes in outlying communities, and young families looking to pursue active lifestyles. Considering these demographics, Gannon Ross Design wanted to offer options to fit every taste; the shade and coordination in the finishes come in three colour schemes, for starters.

“We wanted to design the homes with both types of buyers in mind,” says interior designer Laurino, speaking on behalf of the Gannon Ross team. “We felt that the opportunity to have three colour scheme options for these homes would allow the homes to really appeal to a wide range of buyers.”

Gannon Ross takes that design strategy — appealing to a range of needs and uses — to every room in the home.

The master bedroom is as much a sleeping area as it is a lounge space; the furnishings are square and minimalist, so the designers found a balance by by softening up the space with an upholstered headboard and bench.

Laurino says the design team enjoyed planning the open kitchen, dining and living area, and no wonder: Gannon Ross’s arrangement of the dining room area is a standout in the home. They placed a long wooden dining table next to a wall of glass doors and installed a large vertical mirror on the wall to reflect a tableau staged for a small dinner party. Set against the woodwork of the glass doors and ceiling mouldings, the scene itself gives off a sense of contemporary minimalism, with a touch of luxury.

“We think that in order to achieve this look, it is important to have a good mix of sleek pieces and pieces that bring warmth, like the wood table,” Laurino says. “We think that having a good balance between the two allows the space to feel balanced and welcoming to the end user.”

Though esthetics are important, Laurino and her colleagues advise families and mature couples to think of every possible use for each furnishing they bring in to their Ravenswood homes — and ensure that it has at least one function. It’s best to keep hues soft and natural, and use them as anchors for bolder colours.

“Choose neutral palettes for the “big-ticket” items, like the sofa for instance, and then accessorize with patterns and colour. This allows for easier changes as trends change,” she says.