Before & After: A Typical Suburban Home in Calgary Sloughs Off Its ’70s Hangover

Interior design firm Falken Reynolds finesses a new floor plan, opens the interiors, and applies a fresh material palette for a family fed up with the past.

Mar 4, 2022 - 01:34
Before & After: A Typical Suburban Home in Calgary Sloughs Off Its ’70s Hangover

Interior design firm Falken Reynolds finesses a new floor plan, opens the interiors, and applies a fresh material palette for a family fed up with the past.

The team covered the brick with natural slate exterior cladding called Cupaclad, then added a charcoal-painted vertical siding to the upper portion. A landscape architect changed the exterior entry sequence so it meets the sidewalk, lining the new path with Corten garden beds.

The exterior was a common sight: that of a classic 1970s-era suburban home with a facade of red brick and beige siding, a garage the most prominent feature. Inside, it had a split-level plan with beige carpeting inset into wood flooring, and a cluttered kitchen was visible from the front door. A mishmash of windows restricted views of the backyard.

The bland architecture wasn’t servicing the owners, a couple with two children, so they made plans for a top-to-bottom remodel and reached out to Vancouver interiors firm Falken Reynolds. "My first impression on walking into the house was that it was a really warm, family home," says designer Kelly Reynolds. "It felt well lived-in, but it was definitely not functioning."

Before: Exterior

Before: A family of four lives in this 1973 home in Calgary. They loved their neighborhood, and didn’t want to move, so called Vancouver interiors firm Falken Reynolds for a remodel. Reynolds recalls of the first visit:

Before: A Calgary family of four loved their neighborhood—the house not so much. So they called Vancouver interiors firm Falken Reynolds for a remodel. Reynolds recalls of the first visit: "The wife said, ‘Please do something with the exterior and take away my yellow house.’"

Courtesy of Falken Reynolds

After: Exterior

The team covered the brick with natural slate exterior cladding called Cupaclad, then added a charcoal-painted vertical siding to the upper portion. A landscape architect changed the exterior entry sequence so it meets the sidewalk, lining the new path with Corten garden beds.

The team covered the brick with a natural-slate exterior cladding called Cupaclad, then added a charcoal-painted vertical siding to the upper portion. Landscape firm Baber Design Build added a concrete path that connects the sidewalk to the front door and lined it with Cor-Ten steel garden beds.

Photo: Ema Peter

The front door opened into the living room, and the position of the kitchen was inhibiting flow between spaces. The dining room wasn’t very comfortable for hanging out, and the family room, located off the garage, was "a lounge space that doubled as a hallway," says designer Chad Falkenberg. "Lifestyles have changed since the ’70s. The family wanted something that felt a little more practical for today."

Before: Dining Room and Kitchen

Before: The front door opened to the living room, with its existing sunken carpeting. The door on the left leads to the dining room, while straight ahead, the kitchen dominated.

Before: Through the front door, the living room had carpet that was laid flush with the wood flooring. The opening on the left lead to the dining room.

Courtesy of Falken Reynolds

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