Slope Reno
A family home reworked around movement, light, and a daily life shaped by the great outdoors
Location Varsity, Calgary Size 1925 sqft Status Completed
Status Completed
This project is a full interior and exterior renovation of a family home that had been lived in for decades. The clients were deeply connected to the house, but the demands of a growing family required spaces that could keep pace with their active lifestyle.
The renovation responds to that lifestyle, following the rhythm of weekends spent skiing and biking in the mountains by reshaping how the house supports daily movement and evolving routines.
The design draws from mid-century organic principles, using openness and material clarity to guide the arrangement of spaces. Inspired by the slopes of the Rockies and the family’s weekends outdoors, the project intends to bring the mountains home. Together, these ideas overlap rather than compete, allowing the house to feel grounded to both its history and its surroundings.
The exterior is reconfigured to strengthen connections between the house and its site. New glazing at the front and back opens the main level, drawing daylight deep into the plan. Front and back balconies extend the interior outward, establishing themselves as everyday living space.
A white breeze block wall at the front provides privacy while filtering sunlight, introducing a gentle rhythm that complements the home’s mid-century forms.
Walls that once divided the main level were removed and replaced with a single steel beam. The central stair was relocated to become the home’s spatial and social core, with its screen subtly defining zones while maintaining openness . Daylight from both façades now reaches deep into the main living areas.
Living, dining, and kitchen now occupy the main space as a continuous sequence, creating an open environment that supports both everyday life and entertaining. The arrangement keeps the home’s public areas connected, letting activity and light flow freely.
Transitions between spaces are guided by materiality: stone floors anchor high-use areas, while wood softens living and circulation paths.
Gentle curves resolve these transitions, referencing worn trails and rock edges, and shaping the natural flow of movement in the house.
Muted greens appear throughout the home: on structure, walls, tiles, and exterior details. Inspired by forest understories and alpine landscapes, it harmonizes the warmth of wood with the coolness of stone.
The mudroom has been expanded to support the family’s active, outdoor lifestyle. The new totem provides needed storage while preserving the open floorplan. A continuous built-in bench runs from the mudroom through the living areas, providing further storage as well as seating.
Conceived to read as a tree at the heart of the home, the powder room is encircled by millwork that extends beyond the kitchen, guiding movement towards the private quarters of the home.
