Houzz Tour: Affordable Living in a Bright Backyard Mini Home
This efficient secondary house offers a sophisticated solution in a high-density neighborhood
Refreshing sea breezes, mountaintop views, soaring glass architecture and cosmopolitan culture form the standard archetype for most tourists when they think of Vancouver. There’s also “no vacant land, and it’s one of the least affordable cities,” says designer Bryn Davidson. In a city that everyone wants to call home, those challenges have provided impetus for finding more sustainable, affordable and attractive modern living solutions.
Bambi Edlund had a vision of adding a laneway home behind her mother’s postwar tract cottage and approached Lanefab about the idea of a collaboration. “She wanted something that was low-maintenance and modern,” Davidson says.
Outdoor features. Working together, Lanefab staff and Edlund came up with a design that included corrugated steel highlighted by bright, cheerful colors.
Prefab structural insulated wall panels: Insulspan; windows: triple-glazed European-style windows, EuroLine
Outdoor features. Working together, Lanefab staff and Edlund came up with a design that included corrugated steel highlighted by bright, cheerful colors.
Prefab structural insulated wall panels: Insulspan; windows: triple-glazed European-style windows, EuroLine
Another exterior highlight of the home is the rain garden located next to the patio.
Sketch by Bryn Davidson
Davidson sketched out the concept, which includes a large concrete box filled with gravel and plants.
“During a storm, all of the rainwater from the roof and patio pours out of the concrete spout into the rain garden, where it is cleaned and filtered by the plants before overflowing to the city sewer system,” Davidson says. “It’s basically a big rainwater tank, but one that is more interactive and part of the landscape.”
Davidson sketched out the concept, which includes a large concrete box filled with gravel and plants.
“During a storm, all of the rainwater from the roof and patio pours out of the concrete spout into the rain garden, where it is cleaned and filtered by the plants before overflowing to the city sewer system,” Davidson says. “It’s basically a big rainwater tank, but one that is more interactive and part of the landscape.”
Around the corner from the patio and rain garden is a simple carport. According to Davidson, garages are less common in Vancouver, especially because cars aren’t always necessary in this high-density city. “Vancouver is a lot more walkable than most other places in North America,” Davidson says.
In the homes that do have them, he says, they are often converted to extra living space.
In the homes that do have them, he says, they are often converted to extra living space.
Main living area. Inside the home, rooms were designed to feel larger than the square footage would suggest. “There were a lot of rules that governed the shape, size and height of the building,” Davidson says. Lanefab staff creatively worked around those restrictions with a split-level floor plan that maximized space and achieved a comfortable layout.
Laundry alcove. Just off the main living area, a small alcove houses the washer and dryer units. Here, the design makes use of the space directly above the descending staircase and gives the function in every corner of the 800-square-foot home.
Feature wall. At the other end of the main living area, a brilliantly colored feature wall showcases various textures of reclaimed wood. Davidson pieced the wall together using blocks of cedar, spruce and fir that he located at a local lumberyard. Edlund’s eye for design also shines through with the complementary hand-selected furnishings.
Kitchen. The feature wall seamlessly connects the living area with the bright and airy kitchen. The kitchen includes an imaginative mixed-tile backsplash, quartz countertops and a custom cedar table-bar built by Crystal Allsop of Lanefab.
Read more about this kitchen
Read more about this kitchen
Studio. On the upper level, Edlund’s studio provides the perfect workspace to draw her signature children’s book illustrations and custom pet portraits. The room’s European windows offer expansive views of the surrounding neighborhood while continuing the home’s bright and open feel.
Bedroom. Lanefab staff elected to place the bedroom on the lower level. The room takes advantage of cooler temperatures down below and reserves the brightest area of the home for the studio workspace. The bedroom also creatively works around the building’s height restriction, sitting 4 feet below grade.
Like other areas in the home, the bedroom suggests a loft-like atmosphere. The built-in cabinets and concrete floors offer an industrial feel, which is balanced by the warmer tones in the bedding, desk and artwork.
Browse bedding
Browse bedding
Bathroom. The bathroom, located on the same level as the bedroom, gives Edlund modern design and modern conveniences. The wall-mounted toilet has an easy-to-clean option and the light fixtures contain energy-efficient Plumen light bulbs.
Mirror cabinet: Ikea
Browse wall-mounted toilets
Mirror cabinet: Ikea
Browse wall-mounted toilets
Photo by Lanefab
During the construction process last year, Edlund created a gingerbread replica of her laneway house to celebrate the season and her home vision coming to life.
More home tours: Apartments | Small Homes | Colorful Homes | Contemporary Homes | Eclectic Homes | Farmhouses | Midcentury Homes | Modern Homes | Ranch Homes | Traditional Homes | Transitional Homes | All
During the construction process last year, Edlund created a gingerbread replica of her laneway house to celebrate the season and her home vision coming to life.
More home tours: Apartments | Small Homes | Colorful Homes | Contemporary Homes | Eclectic Homes | Farmhouses | Midcentury Homes | Modern Homes | Ranch Homes | Traditional Homes | Transitional Homes | All
House at a Glance
Who lives here: Bambi Edlund, an illustrator and graphic designer
Location: Vancouver, British Columbia
Size: 800 square feet (74.3 square meters)
Designer: Lanefab Design/Build
In 2009, Vancouver’s city government made several groundbreaking policy changes that allowed for the construction of thousands of laneway houses. Laneway homes, which are secondary dwellings built behind existing houses, consume a relatively small amount of space and provide a contemporary, cost-effective option. Since 2010, Davidson and his design firm, Lanefab, have helped build many custom, green mini homes across Vancouver’s cityscape.