PROJECT OVERVIEW
North Vancouver Craftsman Renovation
north vancouver, BC
A whole-home renovation of a 1920s Craftsman in North Vancouver — a Class B heritage home — for a busy family of four. The scope opened the kitchen to the main living area, added a new upper-floor primary bedroom suite and front balcony, and reworked circulation and storage throughout, all while preserving the home’s original character.
TYPE OF PROJECT: Home Additions & Home Renovations
LOCATION: North Vancouver, BC
HOME: 1920s Craftsman, Class B heritage
SCOPE: Main-floor kitchen/living reconfiguration, upper-floor addition (primary suite + balcony), integrated storage, heritage-sensitive exterior addition
DESIGN: Design: Steven Butler, Director of Design, and Nisha MacNeil (now Project Consultant)
STATUS: Completed
A House That Finally Caught Up With Their Life
This project was for a busy working couple with two children who lead a very active family life. Like many families living in older homes, they were finding that the house simply wasn’t keeping up with their needs — particularly when it came to storage, usable space, and the way the family interacted throughout the day.
The clients had actually been working with Kerr for several years. They began the process, paused for a period of time, and then returned when they were ready to move forward with the renovation. It’s a good example of how a renovation can sometimes be a process and a journey rather than a single decision. We were able to pick up where we left off and help them realize the home they had been planning for.
Opening Up the Heart of the Home
The primary motivations behind the renovation were to create more usable space, dramatically improve storage, and foster greater interaction between family members. The existing kitchen was extremely small and disconnected from the rest of the main floor. By incorporating adjacent spaces and removing a fireplace and several walls, the team significantly enlarged the kitchen and opened it directly to the living room — creating a much stronger connection between the family spaces and letting everyone be together, even while doing different things.
Evolved, Not Erased
The clients wanted a bright, comfortable, timeless family home that retained its original character while feeling more open, functional and connected.
The big idea guiding the project was to modernize the home while preserving its traditional Craftsman character. This meant opening the kitchen to the main living area and creating a new upper-floor primary bedroom suite and balcony at the front of the house. The addition was designed to sit quietly within the existing roof form, maintain the original proportions and detailing, and capture views without overpowering the heritage character of the house.
The interior design intent carried the same idea through: preserve the traditional character of the home while creating spaces that feel fresh, functional and current. Throughout the project, careful thought went into how new work would meet the original architecture — casing profiles, trim work, Shaker panel detailing, flooring, doors, and transitions between spaces were all considered as part of the overall design. The goal was never to make the renovation feel obviously new, but to create a home that feels as though it has naturally evolved over time.
Day to day, the revised layout created a stronger relationship between the kitchen, dining and living spaces, improved circulation and natural light, and gave the family a more functional upper-floor bedroom and bathroom arrangement.
The Difference Is in the Details
The upper-floor front addition. This is the most successful element of the project. It adds valuable living space and views while appearing as though it has always been part of the original house.
The kitchen. Now a central gathering space, with a large island and a much stronger visual connection to the surrounding living areas — the result of removing a fireplace and several walls to enlarge what had been an extremely small, disconnected room.
Hidden storage beneath the stair. One of the more quietly clever moments in the home is beneath the newly relocated staircase leading up to the main floor. Rather than adding a visible storage door, the team integrated a classic Shaker-style panel detail along the wall, with a concealed door built directly into the millwork. Behind it is a highly functional storage area — but closed, it simply reads as part of the home’s traditional architectural detailing. It’s a small detail that speaks to one of the larger goals of the renovation: making the home work much harder for this busy family without sacrificing its character.
Old Wood, New Life
On the exterior, the addition uses roof forms, trim proportions, window groupings and detailing that closely reference the original 1920s Craftsman architecture.
Inside, white Shaker cabinetry, light wood flooring, warm wood doors, black fixtures and detailed trim bridge the traditional architecture with a cleaner, contemporary interior:
Flooring:
the team had initially hoped to retain the existing hardwood, but ultimately replaced it with hickory — exceptionally durable for an active family, while bringing warmth, variation and natural character into the home.
Kitchen palette:
a traditional colour palette given a contemporary interpretation — strong black-and-white contrast and modernized lighting keep the space feeling fresh while staying sympathetic to the home’s original architecture.
Doors:
rather than replacing the home’s original Douglas fir doors, several were relocated into new openings, letting their craftsmanship and history remain part of the renovated home.
Trim & transitions:
casing profiles, trim work, Shaker panel detailing, and the transitions between spaces were all considered together, so new work meets old seamlessly.
DESIGNED BY
Steven, Kerr Design Build
“This project meant opening the kitchen up into the main living space and adding a new primary suite and balcony upstairs, designed to sit quietly within the home’s original roofline. The result is a home that flows so much better day to day — brighter, more connected, and far more functional for this family. My favourite part is the front addition: it adds real living space and views, but from the street it still reads like it was always there.”
DESIGNED BY
Nisha, Kerr Design Build
“I designed this home before moving into my current role as Project Consultant at Kerr Design Build. The kitchen was extremely small and disconnected from the rest of the main floor, so we opened it directly to the living room to create a much stronger connection between family spaces. Storage was a major focus throughout, including a concealed door built right into the stair millwork — a highly functional storage area that simply reads as part of the home’s traditional detailing when closed. We also kept pieces like the original Douglas fir doors and moved to a durable hickory floor, so the home feels as though it has naturally evolved over time rather than been obviously renovated.”
Thinking about renovating your character home?
Homes like this one carry decades of character — but that doesn’t mean they can’t work for how a family lives today. Renovating a heritage or character home takes a different kind of care: knowing what to preserve, what to open up, and how to add space without losing what made the house special. If that’s the project you’re considering, our heritage home renovations page is a good next stop, or you can start a conversation with our team below.