West Coast boutique design firm Parker and Harlow recently designed this 2,500-square-feet waterfront vacation property off the coast of Powell River

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Some home transformations are gritty and down-to-the-studs – and some are as breezy as a Savary Island beachside.

“When you’re doing less invasive design work, there is much more of a peaceful ease to the process,” says Paige Gray, co-owner of West Coast boutique design firm Parker and Harlow, which she founded and runs with her mother, Deb Vanderkemp. “Our clients find it a little less stressful, and the turnaround time is also much quicker than when we’re doing renovations and construction. So everyone’s a little more upbeat.”

This was true of a 2,500-square-feet waterfront vacation property on Savary Island, off the coast of Powell River, where the design duo recently rolled up their sleeves. While the home was in solid shape, with no structural work required, the property hadn’t been touched in 15 years. So everything inside needed a refresh, from worn surfaces and tired textiles to musty furniture. “We basically had a blank slate to start,” recalls Gray.

So, they set about imbuing a lighter, brighter feel, pulling “the nuances of the beach inside” with a palette of soft whites, sandy tones, spots of ocean blue and “raw coastal elements.” Along with some modern touches geared to bringing the owners’ cosmopolitan lifestyle up the coast.

The family – a couple and their three grown children – own several properties around British Columbia. They’ll gather on Savary in summer, hopping on their floatplane from Vancouver, or driving up with kids and dogs in tow. They always “settle right into the groove of entertaining,” notes Gray.

In warm weather, most of this happens on the home’s spacious deck, which Gray and Vanderkemp refitted with all-new outdoor furniture: a sectional and ottoman, umbrellas, double dining tables, chairs, benches and coffee tables. Everything feels clean-lined and unobtrusive to views of towering evergreens, white sand and lapping water. “The transition (area) between the interior and exterior dining spaces is one of my favourite places. You lean against that wall, and the breeze comes in and out,” says Gray.

Gray and Vanderkemp kept the style simple and airy in the home’s two-storey dining room, with a streamlined live-edge dining table, iron chandelier and modern-classic wishbone dining chairs. “(The owners) wanted everything to be really clean and minimal so that when people gather, it’s more about the people in the space than it is about the space itself,” says Gray.

Also, with multi-family entertaining in mind, Gray and Vanderkemp designed “pocket” living and lounging areas throughout the home, for instance, upholstered window seats and small sitting areas. “They wanted private little areas where you can go relax and do your own thing,” says Gray. “When you have a family with multiple kids and partners, and everybody is growing and coming together, having some personal space is really ideal.”

The main bedroom is a serene retreat-within-a-retreat, layered with white-on-white textiles and crisp new linens. A plush king-size bed, room-darkening drapes and shutters make for the deepest of sleep-ins, while a desk in the corner is a calm spot for catching up on emails.

“(The couple) also work while they’re here, and their life kind of follows them around wherever they go. So they have a little pocket area where they can tuck away and get some work done,” says Gray.

With so many nooks and uniquely proportioned spaces, the design team opted to create many custom pieces for the home, from area rugs and draperies to furniture pieces. Durability was a huge factor in the choices, says Gray, given the heavy use and need for longevity. Take the matching white sofa and chair in the living room: a bold colour choice for a heavily used and multi-pet space, so commercial-grade fabric was a must.

The kitchen retained its original footprint, but new countertops, stools and cabinetry – and a coat of fresh white paint on the walls – give the feel of a bigger change. “It didn’t need a whole lot of touching up, and I think just elevating the spaces around it really let it shine,” says Gray.

To elevate an original stonework fireplace, Gray and Vanderkemp added a new fir mantel, adorned with coastal-chic decor objects in white and wicker and a mirror to bounce light streaming in from the waterfront side of the home.

And while the home’s rustic beachfront setting is a magical escape, it posed a few challenges. For instance: no real road access. The team had to barge over every fixture, piece of lumber and furniture item from Powell River, carefully timing deliveries with weather and tidal restraints. To get the house ready in time for summer, tradespeople stayed on the island, working through the shoulder season.

The end result is a dramatic change, yet the process wasn’t needlessly extensive, which Gray attributes to the clients. “These clients were lovely to work with. They’re also very practical people. The home didn’t need to have more work than necessary done,” she says. “They kind of just let it breathe.”

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