Cadboro Bay House | FENIX

Vancouver-based design firm Falken Reynolds had the pleasure of undertaking a major project in Victoria, British Columbia, that of designing an entire modern, minimalist waterfront home in Cadboro Bay, which would serve as the backdrop for the active lifestyle of a family of five

The adjacent beach and views across Cadboro Bay served as inspiration for the home. “We wanted to bring the peacefulness of the natural environment inside. We maximized the view over the bay from every location in the house,” says Chad Falkenberg, Lead Designer for the project.

The mudroom, a functional and airy space.

One room often forgotten, and of great importance to families, is the mudroom. The main goal for this project was to create a functional, airy mudroom for the active family of 5 so they could easily transition to outdoor activities: running, cycling, swimming, basketball, lacrosse, and hockey just to name a few. The mudroom needed to serve as the main transition space and be incredibly durable and easy to maintain. It also had to be minimalist and bright, as well as free of visual or functional obstacles, so that going outside was as easy and quick as possible.

When designing the mudroom, one of the first concerns was maximizing storage space. To this end, the team decided to use the wall space to put shelves, hooks and cabinets. However, to ensure that the space still got beautiful and generous light, a large skylight and a large window overlooking the side yard were integrated into the design, making the space feel more expansive and taller.

A mudroom wouldn’t be functional without a place to sit or put a foot up to tie your shoes. Since the house has concrete floors throughout, the designers chose to design a bench in poured concrete.  This way, it stays in place, always looks tidy, and is incredibly durable. The sturdiness allows it to double as a step to reach the shelf and cabinets above.

All cabinets and shelves were designed in FENIX^™ Bianco Kos (J0032), which lends a clean, simple, and unified look to the space. “We chose FENIX^™ for the mudroom and front entrance because of the product’s durability and resistance to scratches and abrasion. While we wanted the space to be bright, we also wanted to avoid glare from the skylight, so the incredibly matte texture of FENIX^™ ensures light is gently diffused throughout the space. It maximizes illumination while minimizing distracting glare,” says Chad Falkenberg.

A dog station was also incorporated into the mudroom with built-in dishes and a faucet. The white of the chosen material blends perfectly with the FENIX^™ Bianco Kos used throughout the room.

“Mudrooms are some of the most challenging rooms to design. Since they are transition spaces, they need to be incredibly functional, durable, and clutter-free. These are places that most people spend very little time in compared to the kitchen, living room, or bathroom, but the time they do spend there needs to be efficient and effective. Using FENIX^™ durable surfaces allowed us to choose white since the panels are easy to clean and resilient to scratches. We photographed the home nearly a year after the clients moved in, and it looks just like new,” concludes the designer.

One of the goals for the home was to make it incredibly easy to live in and maintain – concrete floors, no tile with grout lines to scrub, durable surfaces. FENIX^™ durable surfaces helped the designers achieve this goal without compromising the overall aesthetic of the home. The thermal repair function of superficial micro-scratches of the material was also very appreciated, since it will allow surfaces to remain clean and tidy throughout the house’s lifespan.

Photo credit : Ema Peters