Budget Breakdown: This Edwardian Got An Overhaul—and a Salmon-Pink Addition—for $1M
"Basically everything had asbestos in it," says architect Aleksandra Popovska—but that was the first of many pricey surprises as she revamped a 1912 "Vancouver special" for her growing family.
"Basically everything had asbestos in it," says architect Aleksandra Popovska—but that was the first of many pricey surprises as she revamped a 1912 "Vancouver special" for her growing family.
In 2017, Aleksandra Popovska and her husband, Daniel Penn, had just wrapped up their third remodel in about as many years: a "Vancouver special" that had been converted into three apartments. They were planning a celebration the night of their move into one of the units. "We were like, ‘We’ll pop a bottle of champagne,’" recalls Daniel—but they wound up celebrating for much different reasons. "We found out we were pregnant," he says.
After realizing that their two-bedroom apartment wasn’t going to accommodate their growing family and large dog, the couple started looking for a new home—and from their prior remodeling experience, they knew they wanted a project. "I grew up doing renovations with my dad, since I was a teenager, well before architecture school," says Aleksandra, who is an architect and principal of the Vancouver firm Hidden Studio Architecture & Design.
She had already completed a remodel by the time she and Daniel met—a full gut wherein she did all the demo and electrical herself. "I think it gives Aleks an insight that’s a bit different," says Daniel, an entrepreneur. "She knows what things cost," and the ins and outs of the construction process.
Before: Front Exterior
Before: Architect Aleksandra Popovska and her husband, Daniel Penn, bought this 1912 Edwardian in 2020. They were excited about the location, but not the current condition of the house, which had been poorly converted into three units. "No one else was interested," recalls Aleksandra.
Courtesy of Hidden Studio Architecture & Design
"We were looking for a home with a lot of original elements that we could restore, and then add in some more contemporary design, which is how I like to work," says Aleksandra. "The Foreign Buyer’s Tax was introduced in 2016, followed by the Empty Homes Tax in 2017, both to cool off the market—and it worked. Everything dried up!"
By early 2020, they were expecting their second daughter, and they knew their two-bedroom apartment would no longer cut it, so they got more proactive in their search. Fortunately for them, the market was picking back up and they saw a listing for a 1912 Edwardian, just a 10-minute dog walk from their old place.
After: Front Exterior
Aleksandra and Daniel removed the gray stucco, which revealed that the original lap siding underneath was rotting. They replaced it with fiber cement siding board from Hardie.
Photo: Ema Peter
The couple preserved the bay windows, which are now fitted with triple-glazed units to accommodate Vancouver building code. The porch soffit is made of yellow cedar, and the exterior is painted in Benjamin Moore’s Deep River and Millstone Gray.
Photo: Ema Peter
See the full story on Dwell.com: Budget Breakdown: This Edwardian Got An Overhaul—and a Salmon-Pink Addition—for $1M
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