Located in a vibrant residential neighborhood in North Vancouver, British Columbia, Donohoe Living Landscapes and HB Design collaborate on a modern farmhouse that blurs the boundaries between indoor and outdoor living.
Organized across two connected lots, the project links the main house and pool house through aligned interior spaces and outdoor rooms, where view corridors and shared gardens structure movement across the site.
Photography above by Ema Peter.
Balancing privacy with openness, the design is anchored by a landscape strategy that mediates between the home and its surrounding context.
Laneway gardens remain intentionally open, while boulevard plantings spill outward to engage the surrounding streetscape, softening the threshold between private property and public realm.
Defined by a custom steel fence system, a series of folded metal elbows spans both properties, framing views while establishing a cohesive edge between spaces.
This system guides circulation across the site, directing movement while maintaining visual permeability between zones.
Material selection reinforces this relationship. A metallic bronze finish applied to key landscape elements shifts in tone depending on light and angle, at times reading as near-black and at others as a warm brown.
“With colours on the home of beige, black and grey, we felt we should select an earthy colour that harmonizes with these tones while accenting the greens of the landscape,” says Ryan Donohoe.
Around the pool, the outdoor spaces are composed as a layered sequence, transitioning from structured hardscape into increasingly naturalized planting zones.
A more expressive palette introduces seasonal variation, with Smoke Bush, Hollywood Junipers, Sedums, and Switch Grasses establishing a relaxed, California-informed atmosphere.
Light canopies of Japanese maples dapple light across the space, underplanted with Tassel Ferns, Japanese Forest Grass, and Irish Moss, creating a textured ground plane that shifts in tone and density throughout the day.
This planting strategy carries the material and atmospheric qualities of the interiors outward, where filtered light and layered surfaces shape the experience of the landscape.
Transforming the space, sliding glass doors retract fully to dissolve the boundary between interior living areas and the surrounding pool terrace, allowing the pool house to function as an open-air extension of the home.
Interior finishes and furnishings continue outward in tone and material, supporting a seamless transition between enclosed and open conditions.
This flexibility accommodates both everyday living and larger gatherings, reflecting a more relaxed, outdoor-oriented lifestyle shaped by the homeowners’ time in California.
Inside, the material palette continues this dialogue, with spaces arranged to support both shared living and moments of retreat.
Porcelain tile, wood, and quartzite are layered to create a restrained yet tactile interior, with light interacting across surfaces to emphasize texture and depth.
“Layering varied materials helped soften the home’s architectural rigor and create warmth, while subtle playful details and decorative lighting added personality without detracting from its timeless quality,” notes Shannon Bradner.
An understanding of how the landscape will evolve over time informs the project’s precision, where hardscape elements including patios, paths, and walls are executed with clarity, while planting is designed to mature into layered, interdependent systems.
As trees, shrubs, and perennials establish, they begin to overlap and protect the ground plane, reducing maintenance while increasing depth and immersion across the site.
In the interiors, natural materials are used consistently, selected for durability and their ability to age gracefully, reinforcing a cohesive relationship with the surrounding landscape.
Sustainable considerations are embedded throughout, from the placement of windows to maximize natural light to the use of materials that require minimal long-term intervention.
Donohoe Living Landscapes and HB Design establish a clear and consistent design language that carries across the site, where spatial alignment, material restraint, and planting strategies work together to shape a unified environment.
The result is a home that balances privacy with openness and precision with growth, offering a considered model for contemporary residential living.
Landscape Design by: Donohoe Living Landscapes (Instagram @donohoelivinglandscapes)
Interior design by: HB Design (Instagram @hbdesign.vancouver)
Builder: Meister Construction (Instagram @meister_construction)
Architecture by: Garret Cord Werner Architects
Pool Construction by: Aloha Pools
Materials from: Metal and Wood Products Ltd.
Photography by: Ema Peter (Instagram @emaphotographi)
Production: Karine Monié (Instagram @karinemonie)
