McKinnon?s apartments provide access to private roof decks with options for hot tubs, kitchens

Rebecca Keillor
The Vancouver Sun

With summer now truly upon us, there is no better place to be than at home relaxing on your patio, terrace or deck.

The Sun caught up with a local developer, interior designer and decking expert to see what’s new and improved in the materials and design being applied to these spaces.

In Vancouver, there is a growing demand for multi-family dwellings that have impressive outdoor spaces, says Jason Turcotte, vice-president of development for Cressey Development Group.

“People are looking for that change of lifestyle,” he says. “They’re moving out of homes, they’re drawn to lock and leave, but they still want that outdoor space, whether it be to entertain, or get their hands dirty with some gardening. It seems to be something that really resonates highly with them, not having the maintenance of the yard, but still having access to significant outdoor space.”

Turcotte says this was top of mind in the design of McKinnon, Cressey’s new four-storey apartment building in Kerrisdale (at West Boulevard and West 47th Avenue).

“We treated the entire fourth floor basically as a penthouse level product, and brought each unit access up to their own private roof decks, and we’ve done that a few times now, with direct access off a lower terrace, with an outdoor stair that goes to the roof, and just really made it quite an amenity to those units,” Turcotte says.

Up on the roof, says Turcotte, the design includes options for hot tubs, small outdoor kitchens and areas for private planting, as well as communal areas that are pre-planted for privacy.

“People like sitting in their backyards, and being able to entertain on a nice summer’s day,” he says. “It’s one of the things I think people look at when they do look at that transition into a multi-family world. It’s one of the things they feel like they have to give up, which I think is a barrier for people, so as much as we can, wherever the projects permit, we maximize those spaces and build in some of those amenities.”

A material that is growing in popularity for outdoors spaces in Vancouver is turf grass, says interior designer Kendall Ansell.

“With all the water regulations, and dead grass everywhere…people are putting in turf everywhere, and it’s a really good solution, and makes your backyard look perfect all the time,” Ansell says.

There is some maintenance required with turf, says Ansell, in that it doesn’t filter dirt and air pollutants the same way grass does, and things don’t move through it (into the ground) as quickly as with grass, so it requires a good hose down, every now and then, particularly if you have animals “using it as a washroom”.

The best thing about turf, says Ansell, is that it gives a “nice, tailored look” to small areas.

If you have the space, there is perhaps nothing more impressive than a generously sized, well designed deck. Frank Ens, of Frank’s Total Deck Ltd., in Abbotsford, has specialized in deck building for 25 years, and his current material of choice, vinyl decking by DekSmart, has really taken off in the past few years he says.

 “In the Lower Mainland, we get a lot of rain, which doesn’t allow wood to be a long-term solution for an area that is exposed to the elements,” he says. “Also, some home designs have deck area above habitable spaces, which requires a roof finish.  This is where vinyl decking really shines because you can create an outdoor living space above a finished interior.”

Vinyl decking has improved so much since it was first developed, Ens says. The product most decking companies use is around 16 millimetres thick, with improved backing, so there is less shrinkage, and feels good underfoot. 

For design lovers, and those after something  special in their backyards this summer, Italian design company Fantini recently released the outdoor version of its MilanoSlim shower, which may have you taking all your showers outdoors from now until October.

 “MilanoSlim Outdoor is the first outdoor shower from Fantini,” says Riccardo Conti, managing director of Fantini USA. “It has always been our passion to design and innovate products inspired by the form, qualities and applications of water. Introducing an outdoor version of the MilanoSlim shower extends this passion to other areas of the home, as the blending of indoor and outdoor becomes more prevalent in residential design. In addition to developing and introducing an outdoor shower to provide other options for the home, it also explores combining materials, like teak wood and stainless steel.”

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