Special Features - Summer House and Home 2015

ARCHITECTURE • TRENDS • DESIGN

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WEST KOOTENAY

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WEST KOOTENAY

Natural and beautifulUrban strawbale in Nelson

Going smallThe tiny house movement

and more

TadanacOld Teck guest house turns 100

2 | WEST KOOTENAY HOuSE & HOmE | SPRING 2015

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WEST KOOTENAY HOUSE & HOME | SPRING 2015 | 3

West Kootenay House and Home magazine is

published twice a year by Black Press.

514 Hall StreetNelson BCV1L 1Z2

[email protected]

Content5 Living with Dorkmyer Habitable art

6 Going small: The tiny home movement

This material, written or artistic, may not be reprinted or electronically reproduced in any way without the written consent of the publisher. The opinions and statements in articles, columns and advertising are not necessarily those of the publisher or staff of Black Press. It is agreed by any display advertiser requesting space that the owner’s responsibility, if any, for errors or omissions of any kind, is limited to the amount paid by the advertiser for that portion of the space as occupied by the incorrect item and there shall be no liability in any event greater than the amount paid for the advertisement.


WEST KOOTENAY

9 Natural and beautiful: Urban strawbale in Nelson

13 Turning 100 Old Teck guest house

15 Trends that are trending

17 Earthships: Radically sustainable homes touch down in the Kootenays

21 Love the home you’re in 10 simple ways to create a home worth coming home to

Cover Photo: Will JohnsonLocation: Kootenai Moon

Publisher: Editor:

Kiomi TuckerAdam MandsethChristine Esovoloff

Dave DykstraLonnie Inglehart

Dyan StoochnoffChantelle Carter

Advertising Sales:

Sandy Leonard Katelyn Hurley Jaime Tarasoff

Graphic Designers:

Karen Bennett

Jennifer Cowan

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Many Nelson residents are familiar with Dorkmyer, the man-sized grotesque perched on the steeple of Mike Hames’ Front Street home. Looming over a main traf� c route, the Alf-like creature, created by local artist John McKinnon, has been known to change costumes periodically.

But Dorkmyer is only the “tiara on the tower” for Hames, a retired architect who spent 35 years custom-designing everything about the home he shares with his wife Lana.

Nautical-themed, built around a multi-storey rock wall and literally packed with plants, vines, art pieces and sculptures, the house is a testament to the power of imagination.

House and Home swung by recently to hear about the multi-decade project, which Hames considers “habitable art.”

35 years in the makingSitting in Hames’ basement, surrounded on all sides by eccentric

art-pieces and found items that have been refashioned into decora-tions, Hames said he feels inseparable from his surroundings.

“I made a life out of my house. I am a house. I mean, you have to do something,” said Hames. “It helps being totally nuts.”

Many of the most distinctive aspects of the home — such as the balcony he adapted into a prow-shaped deck complete with a mast — were the result of happy accidents.

“We had an apple tree out back, and when it died I decided to join my two decks. Well, I joined them and then I said ‘hey, I can make this look like a boat’.”

The mast also serves as a clothesline, which is only one example of the multi-purpose features of his home. On the top � oor, just beneath where Dorkmyer sits, is a room in which a ship’s wheel looks out at Elephant Mountain, so visitors can imagine they are navigating the multi-storey vessel.

Hames calls the house the “Dalice House”, which is a combination of Salvador Dali and Alice in Wonderland. One example of his wacky decorations is a carved pole in the kitchen, complete with cartoonish faces and two protruding sperm whale teeth that resemble rhino horns.

Hames hired two German sculptures to carve faces into the wood. They are only two of the at least ten artists whose work is on proud display around the house.

“I didn’t shoot for all this. It just sort of appeared and became a part of the house.”

A wife’s perspective When the Hames’ � rst moved into their home over 35 years ago,

Lana said she couldn’t quite picture what Mike imagined.“Michael could always see everything that was going to happen. He

could see the house � nished in his mind, and I couldn’t. But every time he would � nish a new feature I’d say ‘oh, now I know what you mean’.”

She said one of her favourite aspects of the home is how open it is, with multiple large windows that make her feel immersed in nature.

“It has to do with all this light, and the windows. It almost feels like the outdoors are now indoors.”

And things are constantly evolving around her.“It never gets boring. Things are always changing around me.”Lana said she grew up in a home where her father was constantly

renovating, but Mike took things to a new level.“He went over the top, totally. When we � rst started we thought it

would take maybe two years, and here we are 35 years later and it’s still changing.”

And she values that.“It feeds me, emotionally and spiritually. When I walk in, it just feels

like where we belong. It’s been such a long time and such a long process I can’t imagine living anywhere else.”

Living among natureHames believes a real house doesn’t end at the walls.“For me a house doesn’t stop at the walls, it doesn’t end at the yard

— it ends at the mountain over there. I want to see what’s out there.”His goal with the home was to let it meld into its surroundings, so

it doesn’t seem like you’re inside at all.“There’s enough glass around you that you feel like you’re really

living in the environment,” he said.And he emphasizes this by � lling the home with freshly pruned

lilac boughs, which he places in indoor ponds, as well as elaborate vines that climb the cliff face and huge bunches of � owers that he replaces routinely.

“I cut huge boughs and put them in the pond there, makes it look like they’re growing. It’s beautiful. Smells nice, � lls the whole house. You see that and ask yourself ‘where are we, are we outside?”

And now that he considers his house � nished, Hames feels pretty pleased with himself.

“I can see with my eyes what I did with the last 35 years,” he said. “It keeps me young, physically. I mean, you have to do something, right?”

By Will Johnson

Mike Hames spent over three decades creating “habitable art” out of his Front Street home

Living with Dorkmyer

The tiny house — it conjures up images of cute abodes, often perched on wheels or nestled in the minds of those who yearn for simplicity, solitude, freedom and let’s face it — a cheap housing option. But what is the real deal with the tiny house and can one really live in 120 square feet?

That is the question I took to three local tiny house experts — and by experts, I mean three companies who design beautiful small liv-ing spaces all under 480 square feet. They all have their own take on the tiny house and what de� nes it, but what these three crafts-men have in common is the philosophy that quality beats quantity, and it is about time people change what they value and how they live.

The countermovement towards smaller houses started in the late 90s and gained popularity, particularly in the US after the econom-ic downturn in 2008. Since then, tiny houses have been used as a solution for ecological living, homelessness, and co-operative housing — mostly in the US.

Here in the endless hinterland of rural Canada, these itty bitty beauties are more about good design and how to live in a beauti-fully crafted cabinet than providing transitory or community hous-ing. Fittingly, Seth Reidy, owner of Nelson Tiny Homes is quick to admit that if looking from a � nancial investment standpoint, a tiny house may not be the way to go. “A lot of people feel these houses shouldn’t cost much, and I feel the same way sometimes, but they do sometimes.”

Reidy started his company in 2012 after building his � rst tiny home as a suite for family that repeatedly had to pay for a vacation rental when visiting from Ontario. It was a satisfying project that had a clean ending; unlike the massive renovations he was doing on large-scale homes where money was no object. “There was never an end to those high-end renos.”

Nelson Tiny Homes has two prototypes, The V House and The Acorn, which can be summed up as liveable pieces of art. Airy and bright, and seemingly much larger than their footprint, Seth’s de-signs are well thought-out and not a speck of space is wasted. Most elements are multipurpose and the use of natural materials is what makes these houses homes. The 120 square foot V House design starts at $30,000 and additional space can be added for approxi-mately $200 per square foot. Tiny, yes, Liveable? That depends.

“I think it would take a very special person to live in the quintes-sential 120 square foot tiny house for years and years,” says Dave Madden, owner of Kootenay Tiny House based out of Nakusp. Dave differentiates his tiny house business model by focusing on frame sales. His 120 square foot tiny houses are built on spec and then transported to the client. Priced at $12,000 for 120 square feet without a trailer, these are basic structures with windows. They have a solid timber-frame wall and are meant to be disassembled and assembled for sites that have dif� cult access.

The tiny home movementBy Amy Robillard

The tiny home movement

Going small


WEST KOOTENAY HOuSE & HOmE | SPRING 2015 | 7

“Backcountry lodges and three-season recreational homes are what we have mostly done since we opened two years ago,” Dave says. The barebones white pine dovetail design is for those who know how to swing a hammer and want to customize the interior themselves. “It is a good option for people who are handy and want to save money.”

But if 120 square feet living seems a bit extreme, Chandler Rogers’ opinion, owner of Small House Innovation based in Argenta, delivers it straight up.

“Everything about small living spaces makes sense and there is an amazing opportunity in the Kootenays for tiny houses. Young people can’t afford houses here and there is a need for something other than trailers.”

Chandler’s designs and prototypes go beyond the tiny house con-cept to houses that range from just over 100 square feet to almost 500 square feet. A timber framer by trade, his designs are innovative and reflect the beauty of the Kootenays. The “one size fits all” permit process in this area is why he feels the tiny house concept hasn’t caught on. “No one is making it easy to build a small house — with the same permits required for a traditional house, the rules are archaic.”

He might be right, but slowly local municipalities and regional districts are looking into options that allow tiny houses within city limits and someday, hopefully sooner than later, the idea of smaller might just catch on here in the land of open space. Like Seth says, “Small spaces force people to liberate themselves — shed stuff and get outside.”

You dream it...We build it...

Hidden luxury home on the North Shore

Feature HomeBy Sam Van Schie

Hidden from view of highway travellers on the North Shore of Kootenay Lake, there’s a luxury summer home nestled into the side of the rock bluffs at the water’s edge. Designed by David Dobie and built by Weiland Construction, the home is nothing short of an architectural masterpiece. Once the site of a rustic family cottage without road access, the property owner went to major expense to have new construction at the difficult to access location. The builders needed to get their materials on site, which meant a driveway would have to be carved out of the bluffs. Weiland Construction, owned and operated by husband and wife Gord and Deborah Weiland, is based in Nelson. Deborah remembers the buzz that was created when their crew started working on the home in the spring of 2012. “People were wondering who was crazy enough to build there,” she said. Because the site isn’t visible from the road, there was a lot of mystery surrounding what was going on down by the water. Working in the Central Kootenay, one thing nearly every new build has in common is difficult landscape. “There’s rarely an easy site to build on because, of course, we’re living on a mountainside,” Deborah said. “Every property either has rocky areas or difficult soils. We’ve had to get use to working around that.”

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When people say, “We are building a house,” they don’t typically mean they are doing the building. There is a fairly new movement afoot to � nd our way back to a simpler way of living and for those with an incentive to build their own home in a literal sense, one of the most popular methods is strawbale, a sustainable option that is somewhat like building with Lego blocks. We are fortunate in the Koo-tenays to have a few examples running the gamut from earthy to quite modern, although the material and process itself dictates most bale homes have a certain organic quality to them. With the lake and mountains for a backdrop, some feel the natural texture and shapes found in strawbale � t perfectly.

One Nelson family has found strawbale to be their favourite way to build. Mike Bowick, an electrical contractor, and Erica Konrad, an artist and designer, have pooled their talents to create the third home for their family that was built by their family. In fact, family is possibly the most important factor in why these two build with bales. The healthier overall environment of natural building, knowing that they are leaving a better world for the next generation, and this one, as well as edu-cating their two children on the importance of sustainability through example, mean they are making a contribution with their home rather than making a sacri� ce. That Indigo, eleven, and ten year-old Saxon are old enough now to contribute ideas to the design means the

home will be nothing short of a unique and tangible representation of their family dynamic.

Erica is responsible for most of the design of their home. Mike is the � rst to admit, “all of the good ideas,” come from his wife, while she in-sists that it is his “sweat equity” that make their projects possible. Eri-ca’s background in environmental studies and resource management helps her to envision a functional space using a holistic approach to materials and spatial designation but their ability to brainstorm ideas together really enlivens the process. She loves the hands-on ability to manipulate the building to suit their needs. Mike agrees that in some cases, the best part has been the ability to literally “unbuild” and re-build on the � y when something didn’t work out as planned.

“Coming up with the design, inspired by the environment and the patterns of our family is like making a puzzle piece � t,” says Erica. “It’s challenging and exciting, creative but also very structured. It has limits and I like the challenge of working within those constraints, as I do, as an artist when I paint. Building with green materials, with healthy living in mind, the process is quite organic — ideas change, we subtract something we thought would work, and add something that � ts better with our family patterns. Certain materials work better and we have found natural materials, sourced mostly locally, takes good design to even better design.”

Natural and beautiful:Urban strawbale in NelsonBy Andrea Bell

10 | WEST KOOTENAY HOuSE & HOmE| SPRING 2015

Indeed, materials inside the home are just as important as the use of straw within the walls. Mike points out that Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) certification depends not simply on what the house is made from. While many sustainable home builders strive to place their dwellings in nature, it is an important part of “the LEED footprint” to start with a previously disturbed loca-tion. The two have tried to build in urban areas to inspire the public and show that strawbale can be used to create a sophisticated look. As much as possible, products were sourced locally, and the use of chemicals and unhealthy materials was not part of the plan. Energy efficiency, solar hot water and the use of Paperstone countertops, natural plaster, horse logged wood, re-use pluming, salvaged win-dows, radiant heat and using their masonry stove as the prime heat source starts a long list of reasons why this family considers they have a lifestyle and not simply a building. “Building green does not have to be expensive. It is a mindset and is as simple as applying certain principles to both the design and the build. An example would be designing your home around sal-vaged windows. Saving energy required to produce new windows and cutting your costs in half is a financial and environmental win-win.”So has this family found completion in this latest building project? Mike says with each new venture they have made discoveries which inspire them for the next space. They are currently building an artist retreat across the lake they hope will be open for residencies in the fall. This time they are including a living roof and a few special de-tails, but overall, their goal is to “share the magic” they have found building alongside nature.


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If the walls could talk what stories they would tell.Teck’s old guest house in Tadanac would whisper of elite company

men, special guests who enjoyed its comfort and ultimately the story of Trail, the smelter town, and how it came to prosper.

House and Home was given a tour of the restored heritage home that will soon be turning 100 years old.

A walk through this house is like putting on a cozy sweater grandma knit — it’s warm, comfortable and nostalgic. The original scuffed hard-wood � oor that leads upstairs is charming, the paper thin windows are forgiving (given the view of the Columbia River), and other details, such as a cellar hatch are reminiscent of a different time.

The house at 20 Ritchie Ave. was constructed by Teck, formerly called The Consolidated Mining and Smelting Company, then later Cominco, in 1916 for the Managing Director, J.J. Warren. Other no-table professionals lived there before it became the guest house in 1948; it was sold in 2009.

Nowadays, however, it’s owned by Mike and Paulette Patterson, who have been devoted to renovating homes for the 30-plus years they’ve been married.

The couple moved to Trail when Mike secured a position at Teck, in which he stayed for two years before moving onto Anglo American. His job now may take him to Tumbler Ridge, but his home stays in Tadanac.

“We’ve always renovated so I mean this was nothing new but Mike

went and looked at it and said ‘it’s a gut job,’” Paulette recalled.Despite an extensive to-do list, the Pattersons purchased the home

and began their labour of love.The couple did most of the renovations, beyond electrical and major

plumbing. They lived out of boxes and ran extension cords for power as they tackled the project room by room.

Old knob and tube wiring and galvanized pipes revealed the old bones of the home. But the daunting project only further fueled the duo.

The once seven-bedroom home now offers � ve bedrooms, as one now holds heating and cooling duct work and another has been transformed into an of� ce/den. The master bathroom needs to be � nished before they can move their attention to the third � oor and basement.

“We are sensitive to the fact that this is a 100-year-old house with a lot of character, and we try to maintain that feel and character in the renovations we undertake,” explained Mike. “We also want to make sure that any changes � t within the character of Tadanac.”

The layout of the three-storey home, plus basement, feels and looks modern with an open concept � ow, an inviting front entrance and the kitchen moved to the back of the house.

But the decor is true to the aged beauty with style Paulette describes as “comfortable quirky.”


By Valerie Rossi

Old Teck guest houseOld Teck guest house

Turning 100


This creative spirit has an eye for old treasures and has brought many back to life.“I don’t like things new and shiny,” she said. “That’s why I say you can’t say my stuff is antique because it’s well used.“It’s not a perfect piece of old. I like stuff that’s been put through the ringer.”Paulette can’t remember the � rst piece she picked up. Over the years, her collection has become her furniture, aside from a few modern items.Practically every piece has a story from trading an iron spiral stair-case for her old wooden stair post, to a hidden folder that tells some-thing of her desk.The space could be a museum, but much of the history would be anecdotal. Even the house itself has very little documented on it.At the time, there were only a few houses in residential Tadanac, all in the vicinity of this house, according to Carol Vanelli Worosz, Community Engagement Leader for Teck.

The � rst houses in the neighbourhood were built along the Columbia River bank and for many years were exclusive to senior Cominco/Teck employees, representatives from other company facilities or senior members of the Canadian Armed Forces.This is a prime example of a true company town program, according to Sarah Benson, director of Trail Museum & Archives.“The homes in Tadanac were typically built and occupied by man-agers and/or high ranking technicians,” she said. “The company in those days went to tremendous lengths to recruit and entice aca-demics, scientists, and exemplary managers.“What a perk to be able to offer such an elite community in which to reside or raise your family.”The Pattersons and their two dogs have found their slice of paradise, just as many before them. But Mike’s work has taken them all over the country and it’s hard to say whether this will be their forever home.“We do know, it will be tough to � nd a neighbourhood as beautiful as Tadanac, and with such great neighbours.”

This is an interesting trend: The trend of sleeping well and long enough! Arianna Huf� ngton’s book: Thrive: The Third Metric to Rede� ning Success and Creating a Life of Well-Being, Wisdom, and Wonder clearly points out that every aspect of life — including mental health, emotional resiliency, weight loss, even � nancial well-being — suffers when we don’t consistently get good sleep. In the current wellness revolution, it is astounding that sleep is not more of a priority. Factors such as room temperature, noise, light, mattress support, pillow age, and bedding quality can all be barriers to a sound, healthy sleep. Busy schedules can preclude the nurturing each and every one of us requires but the trend is to make your health and well being number one. Put your safety mask on � rst! Take charge of your health by making sleep a priority and creating a bedroom environment that you look forward to every time you put your head down to rest. Val Semeniuk, Kootenai Moon Furniture

Black is the new Black. Black is back and it is appearing in all aspects of décor and design. It is popping up in hardware, trim, windows, doors, and even kitchen cabinets. It can look very con-temporary or classically elegant. If you are doing a renovation, con-sider doing black sashes on your windows or try all black interior doors with white trim. Be bold and add some black to you design scheme. Whether your style is Ethnic Chic or Shabby Chic, add a little extra black to update your look.Laurel T Colins

Wood and wood looks are topping the latest � ooring designs. From au-thentic solids and engineered planks to ceramic and porcelains in trendy grays and dark rustic wide planks. For those looking for DIY — vinyl planks in wood look are easy to install and can often go right over top of your exist-ing � ooring, saving additional preparation. Plus, you will have the added bo-nus of being able to put them in water prone areas meaning you can install them in any room of the house, including bathrooms and laundry. Often your guests will assume that it’s real wood. Look around and you may be surprised to see how many commercial businesses like hotel rooms, banks, medical and dentists of� ces have started using vinyl plank. The fact that it’s easy to clean with a realistic look and great longevity have made this a go-to � ooring product. Wendi Thomson, Maglio Building Centre

Stand in a beautifully decorated room and notice how your eye is inevitably drawn to the windows. They are the focal point that sets the tone of any successful deco-rating plan and the way you accessorize them effects the mood inside your home as well as the appearance from outside. The trend has moved to draperies with a myriad of fabrics and so many style. Wave drapes are showing up more and more as they � oat softly below a decorator rod and are often mixed with soft shades creating layers of beauty and warmth. Ready-made options are limited in style between rod pocket and grommet headings, however custom made coverings offer endless choices and best of all, you can have all your bedding and accessories custom made to match. Lastly, watch for the trend leaning towards motorized options as it has become more affordable for window coverings.Wendy Burgess, WL D-synz


Trends


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For days, I’d been searching the Kootenays for an earthship. After several dead-end leads, unsubstantiated rumors and unreplied-to emails, I was losing hope that this obscure building type could be found in our area. Sitting at the McDonald’s in downtown Castlegar, I couldn’t be further away from the spirit of an earthship, but it was here, taking advantage of their free Wi-Fi, that I, � nally reached Pa-tricia Jessup. “It’s only a few minutes away, but... its kind of hard to � nd. I’ll meet you in town and you can follow me there.”

Patricia’s bright yellow Dodge Neon led the way up the winding and beautiful Pass Creek Road. Veering into a maze of dusty grav-el roads, the sleek and greasy environment of McDonald’s quickly gave way to fresh air, big trees, bugs and blue skies. We reached a large, south facing clearing in the woods where she and her partner Kurt Brisske have begun construction on their new home — Earth-ship Pavo Natura.

In the 1970s a young architect in New Mexico, disillusioned with the epic amounts of waste produced by modern economies, had an epiphany. When he packed an empty beer can with earth, Mike Reynolds realized that it gained strength. It transcended its circumstance as a waste product and became a structurally stable building material. This beer can epiphany led to his life-long dedi-cation and passion for creating radically sustainable buildings that use the waste products of modern society. He calls these buildings earthships. It is not often in architecture that one person can be credited with the invention of a building type (after all, who invent-ed the skyscraper or the strawbale house?). But with earthships, we can con� dently point to Mike Reynolds.

Over the years, his earthships have attracted Hollywood celebri-ties and modern day back-to-the-land’ers alike. While they come in

many shapes and sizes, all earthships follow six guiding principals. They: (1) heat and cool themselves naturally via solar/thermal dy-namics, (2) collect their own power from the sun and wind, (3) har-vest their own water from rain and snow melt, (4) contain and treat their own sewage on site, (5) produce a signi� cant amount of food and, (6) are constructed using the byproducts of modern society like cans, bottles and tires. Their design is a holistic, cradle-to-cra-dle approach that covers just about all the bases of sustainable building.

When I asked Kurt why he is building an earthship and not a house of cob, rammed earth or strawbale, he is quick to reply. “Earthships tie all that alternative stuff into one building system, and it works.” In 1923, when the world famous architect LeCorbus-ier said, “A house is a machine for living in,” he was certainly not envisioning an earthship. But, if he were alive today, I am convinced he would approve of the earthship’s functional beauty, its primal relationship to nature and its avant-garde approach to rede� ning how we live in our houses and on this earth.

The Kootenays is home to a wide range of experimental and al-ternative building types. Like spotting a rare bird, there are telltale signs to look for when seeking out an earthship. One of them is a large collection of old, recycled tires. As their foundation, all Earth-ships stack recycled tires, ram them with earth and encase them in some form of plaster. These walls are thick, strong, insulating and thermally massive. For those concerned about the health and safe-ty of recycled tires in their walls, the of� cial Earthship Biotecture website (belonging to Mike Reynolds) has posted studies conclud-ing your health is signi� cantly more at risk by living in a home with new carpets or by eating peanut butter.


Radically sustainable homes touch down in the Kootenays

By Matthew Stanley

Radically sustainable homes touch

Earthships:


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In the world of architecture and design, earthships are somewhat of an “enfant terrible” — a fringe alternative in the sustainable movement that is largely ignored by mainstream design. Yet, earth-ships ask the challenging questions: What do I do with my waste? How can I live in harmony with nature? Am I completely dependent on the modern economy to sustain my life? And, they provide com-pelling solutions. There is an atmosphere of defiance and activism on the Earthship Biotecture website, with as much content devoted to poetry and philosophy as to building and design.

A local Nelson architect, Steven Kaup, recalls his younger years in New Mexico as a “rebellious carpenter, hell bent on non-conform-ing.” In those days, he worked on earthships by stacking recycled bottles into adobe mud. These “bottle walls” can be structural and are used to artfully filter daylight into the home. They are one of an earthship’s most distinctive and beautiful features. Steven’s work on earthships in the mesas of New Mexico exposed him to a philoso-phy of design that has informed his current practice in Nelson. He no longer builds earthships per se, but notes, “My take-away from this experience is that architects and architecture have to be about what connects the client to their ecology, emotionally and financial-ly, and to being balanced in their environment. The same systems apply in the Koots, but our methods are tuned to our environment.”

An earthship is more than a building. It is a cultural movement and a lifestyle. Even though the homes tend to be in far-out iso-lated locations, it is also a community. As owner-builders, Kurt and Patricia have been overwhelmed by the outreach, donations and gratis help from this community. Up to 75 per cent of their building materials have come from recycled and donated sources, including hundreds of used tires from a nearby tire shop. By offering on-site workshops and as Workaway hosts (www.workaway.info), they have

received many hours of sweat equity from friends, locals and even travelers from Belgium and New Zealand.

“The process brings to mind a barn raising,” Patricia is referring to that collective effort whereby a community comes together to raise a building for one of its members. In the conventional construction process of our modern homes, that sense of barn raising is all but lost. Kurt and Patricia acknowledge that there is still a lot of work to be done on their earthship and Kurt laughs as he tells me his motto is not “one day at a time,” rather it is, “one tire at a time.”

Completing an earthship requires motivation and dedication. While they fly under the radar, there are multiple earthships un-der construction in this area (Creston, Retallack, Castlegar, Golden, Vernon, Penticton, Darfield) but few have been completed. Building inspectors are less familiar with this building type, resulting in lon-ger permitting processes. Labour and expertise tends to be pro-vided in the form of short-term volunteers. Sourcing materials is more difficult than popping down to the local building supply store. Wouldn’t it be easier to buy a kit home, hire a contractor and have it assembled on site in a matter of weeks? Maybe. But the earthship community is looking at the bigger picture.

There is a deep sense of satisfaction in knowing that you are living lightly on the land — that your home responds to, and is in harmony with the cycles of nature. With negligible bills for heat, wa-ter and electricity and with in-house food production, an earthship provides its inhabitants with a healthy independence and freedom from the modern economy. Kurt and Patricia are contemplative when they say to me, “It’s about piece of mind.”

Radically sustainable, proudly alternative and bravely pioneering — is it any wonder we are beginning to see earthships land in the Kootenays?


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Spring is in full swing and we can already enjoy the great outdoors to the fullest. Let’s get set for the best patio season ever and give yourself some great curb appeal while you’re at it.

1. Make your front door stunning. Choose a new door colour that is attractive and stands out against your house colour. Red front doors can look amazing, but I have spotted some lime green and cerulean blue doors from a mile away and that is what you want. Replace hardware that is dated or not working properly or add a distinctive door knocker. Add symmetry with matching sconces and decorative planters � anking the door.

2. Clear the way. Make a safe and unobstructed route to your doors and patio areas. This may even require adding some handrails or fencing. Cut back any plants that are growing over walkways or obscuring doorways.

3. Clearly mark you address. House numbers are essential — you must have a visible address from the street. Make sure you include a porch light so the address can still be viewed at night.

4. Say, “You are Welcome.” A welcome sign is highly under-rated. It seems so simple but it will extend a greeting to your guests and even yourself as you approach home and are welcomed in advance. So hospitable.

5. Create a meandering path. Some basic landscaping with some brick or stamped concrete and some bedding plants for edging will create visual interest as you approach. Make sure you use materials that match the look you are going for and include interesting patterns when you lay brick or collect slate or local rocks to make an artful path.

6. Dress up your porch. Add outdoor furniture to any or all outdoor areas you would like to enjoy. Creating various seating or dining areas which can be utilized at different times of the day if you prefer sun or shade. A matched patio set looks great. Add some throws and tosses for luxury. Use benches for extra seating for your outdoor gatherings and be sure to include a lounger or hammock for lazy day naps. Keep planters large enough for impact, as many small pots can look cluttered.


Love the home you’re in10 simple ways to create a home worth coming home to

By Laurel T. Colins

7. Add an arbor or fence. Perhaps a pretty picket fence or a lovely arbor with vines such as clematis would be a very attractive addition to the yard, and will also attract birds. Shutters and or window boxes dress up windows. Architectural design or salvaged pieces can be added to roo� ines or garage doors for added � air.

8. Light the way. Make sure all outdoor lighting functions properly and consider adding more. Solar lights can add a dramatic effect after the sun goes down as well as provides safety along walkways. Patio lanterns are a great way to extend your outdoor experience well after the sun has gone and of course, tiki torches are always a festive touch for those special occasions.

9. Add greenery. Remove dead or unattractive plants or shrubs and put in plantings that are healthy and will thrive in your yard. Make sure you are not creating more work than you want for yourself by consulting with a nursery expert for recommendations on suitable plants for

your soil and lighting conditions.

10. Look at the whole picture. Step back and view your home. Are the window coverings consistent? Are there broken downspouts on your gutters? Is moss growing on your roof or patio? Take the time to make a de� ciency list of all the little (or big) jobs around your house exterior and get them done to the best of your ability and budget so you can sit and relax on those hot Kootenay days of summer and enjoy your best patio season yet.

Add an arbor or fence. Perhaps a pretty picket fence or a lovely arbor with vines such as clematis would be a very attractive addition to the yard, and will also attract birds. Shutters and or window boxes dress up windows. Architectural design or salvaged pieces can be added to roo� ines or garage doors for added � air.

22 | WEST KOOTENAY HOUSE & HOME| SPRING 2015

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Special Features - Summer House and Home 2015

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