Vancouver's extreme makeover

When Vancouver homeowner Nina Ewald decided it was time to update her 1950s bungalow, a fresh coat of paint wasn't quite what she had in mind. Growing tired of the one-bedroom, two-bath rancher, Ewald opted instead for a total transformation of the interior and exterior ofthe home.

"Basically, I wanted to have another level put on the house and wanted to really modernize the house on the interior in particular, butI didn't want to put in something that didn't fit with the rest of the neighborhood," she says. "The reason why I decided not to sell andbuild new is because I liked the property."

Working closely with Vancouver-based custom homebuilder Kerr Construction, Ewald created a contemporary home. Along with Kerr, she did so by adding a floating beechwood staircase with glass walls suspended in the center of the house beneath Velux skylights, and vaulting the ceilings on the main and upper floor. A fully cantilevered and openfireplace separating the bedroom from the remainder of the third-floor master suite also adds to the modern feel of the home's interior.

Completed in July 2005, the key to the project was to build a modern home that preserved Ewald's elaborate garden and blended in with the surrounding neighborhood. The original footprint, foundation and exterior walls remained the same, although the overall size of the house increased from 1,800 square feet to 4,200 square feet.

The design required Kerr to create an open layout throughout, allowing Ewald to access the garden view from several locations within the home. "I love the stairwell in the house," Ewald reflects. "It basically runs from top to bottom in the center of the house and it's allfloating steps on a metal frame, but the steps are three-inch-thick beechwood. I wanted something that was open and wanted to enjoy the house regardless of where I was."

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The $1.5 million renovation also called for a new hand-cut cedar roof, cantilevered decks, a new upper floor and a complete remodeling of the bathrooms and kitchen. The interior plays on a modern Scandinavian aesthetic with skylights, beechwood floors, a state-of-the-art programmable lighting system, central water filtration system and rectangular and square windows. "I'm quite happy with the way the house turned out," she says. "There are personal touches I need to add, but I am very happy with it."

All About Attitude

As with every project Kerr Construction handles, taking direction from the customer to ensure his or her satisfaction is top priority. "We find it's not about what we want to build; it's about what the client wants and what will make them happy," President Doug Kerr says.

Kerr launched the business 20 years ago after spending his earliercareer competing and representing Canada on the World Cup circuit asa member of the Canadian Ski Team. "My whole life I've been trying to do the best at everything I did," he says, "and that carried over into construction."

Since 1987, Kerr Construction has built its client base designing and constructing custom-built homes and performing complicated residential renovations. About 75 percent of the company's total revenues are generated from renovation, and 25 percent are from custom homebuilding. The company primarily serves clients in upscale neighborhoods in the lower mainland, west and north of Vancouver, within 25 miles ofits head-quarters. "The dollar value we range from is quite wide, with the average job being between $100,000 and $800,000, with some projects over $1 million," Kerr notes.

Kerr Construction caters to mid- and upper-level-income homeowners, but no project is too small. It specializes in design/build and in areas including budgeting, permits and zoning, materials selection, warranties and scheduling. "We've grown at over 900 percent in the past five years," Kerr notes, adding that revenues are up 30 percent year-to-date.