After meeting in Berlin, a couple moved to Vancouver with the intention of buying a home that they could expand in time. They thought about adding a family suite or a studio, a room where the husband could work on photography or painting and where his wife could focus on her jobs as a landscape architect and professor. The property they found was just a few blocks from where the husband had grown up, but its low basement ceilings and unremarkable yard propelled the pair to hire D'Arcy Jones and his eponymous firm to open and personalize the site. They wanted "to create as much value, variety, texture, and family-friendly living space as their modest budget would allow," Jones said. He decided to preserve the vast majority of the existing structure as he finalized the layout for three bedrooms and an attic that doubles as a workspace and playroom. He also included raw materials to complement a design scheme characterized by bold colors that reflect the couple's art collection. Through it all, Jones actually befriended the couple — which is fortunate for everyone, since the initial dream for more square footage may still be on the table. "It is an unfussy and imperfect house," Jones said. "It might never be completed in many ways, but that doesn't diminish its potency."
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