Top Five Homes in Vancouver Island

A James Bay condo renovation by Jenny Martin Design.
We’re spoiled for choice when it comes to showcasing beautiful homes on Vancouver Island, both renovated and custom built. So spoiled, we found it hard to pick favorites. So, for 2020, we looked to our readers to tell us which homes they most enjoyed.

Here are our Top Five Most Viewed Home Features this year, as seen in Spruce online.

NUMBER 5 – MODERN LIGHTHOUSE

Perched on one of the most easterly points of Vancouver Island, and with 280-degree views of the Strait of Georgia, is The Lighthouse. This modern-industrial farmhouse stands like a beacon amid rock and sea and was designed by Ryan Hoyt.

Lighthouse Home — This stately house, designed by Ryan Hoyt, faces the West Coast weather with Hardie board fibre-cement siding in a vertical board-and-batten style. Photo by Tony Colangelo.

NUMBER 4 – WATERFRONT DELIGHT

Homeowner Val Pattee met the challenge of downsizing from 4,000 to 1,000 square feet head on when he purchased a waterfront condo in James Bay. Meticulous planning transformed it into a jewel our readers admired as much as we do.

James Bay Waterfront Condo — A James Bay condo renovation by Jenny Martin Design. Photo by Joshua Lawrence.

NUMBER 3 – STYLE AND STONE

A two-storey, 7,100-square-foot house with a view over Blenkinsop Lake and tranquil scenes of fields and grasslands reflects the beauty of its landscape with gorgeous use of stone throughout.

At the south end of the 1,100-square-foot great room, the wall features built-in cabinets providing storage and hiding the electronics powering the television attached to the grey-granite fireplace front. Photo by Joshua Lawrence.

NUMBER 2 – WEST COAST LODGE

The rugged beauty of mountain living is on full display in this stunning Ardmore home, inspired by the homeowners’ Alberta upbringing. “We liked the rustic look of the chalet-style homes from Canmore with the big wood beams, the plank floors, the rock,” says Dave, a pharmacist for many years. “I loved the idea of combining that rustic with something that’s completely modern and making something unique.” They certainly succeeded!

The master bath is pretty much a mountain chalet spa with a sunken soaker tub and stacked natural ledge stone framing a rain/steam shower the size of a guest bedroom. Photo by Joshua Lawrence.

NUMBER 1 – OAK BAY STUNNER

An amazing transformation of a 1912 Oak Bay home is at the top of our Most Read stories of 2020, and no wonder. The homeowners stepped up to the challenge of respecting its heritage while integrating modern design, creating a bright, warm, stylish home that reflects the loving attention paid to restoring it.