Parker Street Infill Home In Construction

• By novelladmin

Our Parker Street infill home is currently in construction in East Vancouver, with completion set for early 2022. We’ve added some background and construction images to our portfolio, and we’re looking forward to sharing more images over the coming weeks!

What’s an infill home?

An infill home is a smaller detached home typically located in the rear yard where the garage would normally go on a single-family lot. It can either be rented out or strata-titled, depending on the project attributes and qualifications. Infill homes have most recently gained a lot of attention and traction alongside the Character House Program in Vancouver. In addition to the potential ownership opportunities, infills are typically larger than laneways. Here in Vancouver, infill homes are used as an incentive for homeowners to densify their property, while still retaining the existing character merit of their principal home.

A Solution for Multi-Generational Living

Early in this project, we were featured on the front page of The Province for sharing our perspective as builders on housing needs in Vancouver. Infill homes and laneways homes have been on the rise in Vancouver for years, and the trends have continued; nearly every family we connect with is looking to accommodate multi-generational living at home.

Front Entrance and Layout

The front entrance features a vaulted ceiling with a modern chandelier. The stairs lead to the home’s upstairs bedrooms, bathroom, patio and lounging space. Walking through the hallway, we arrive at a powder room, closet, kitchen, dining and living area. 

Exterior Design and Custom Rooflines

The original concept for this home was brought to us as a gingerbread model, made by our talented homeowners themselves! Over the course of our design development and permitting stages, the main turret and rooflines were transformed into a multi-sloped roof, with two classic dormers and a curved, circular dormer.

Landscaping and Outdoor Living

As part of our site plan, we made it a priority to preserve the Saskatoon Berry Bush on the property. Our homeowner is an avid baker and chef and looks forward to her backyard berry harvest every year. Even though Saskatoon Berry Bushes aren’t native to BC, this bush has been thriving here for years! It’s so tall, we’d venture to say it’s now berry tree. We relocated this beautiful bush/tree and were able to enjoy its berries halfway through our Rough Framing phase.

Looking Back on 2020 with Gratitude

• By Laurel James

As we look back on the previous year, one thing is for certain. It has been a brighter, and more joyous year thanks to our clients!

I’d like to share a heartfelt thank you on behalf of our team to our new, continuing and returning clients for promoting kindness and creativity during such a uniquely unprecedented year. The world opening up again, slowly, but for us, our network has been full of reconnections.

We’ve had an unprecedented number of returning clients this year. Some are embarking on their next home and have asked us to help find the right development opportunity; many are installing home workstations, doing renovations to their home, repairing decks, and installing new tech for their home, like car lifts and new garage doors.

It has been a joy to know that these homes have grown alongside families and that they’d trust us again with their next projects. We’ve been so happy to provide services again — and even more excited to touch base with these families again!

It can feel daunting to set goals and plan for the future when 2020 was such a tumultuous year. Our relationship with our homes and our families has changed. There is a renewed need for beauty, calm, and purpose in our home – perhaps now, more than ever. 

Ironically, this past year was going to be the year that Angelito and myself planned to travel. We downsized our home to an apartment downtown and planned to take more adventures. Instead of plane trips to new places, we’ve instead found new ways to explore BC, and have had the opportunity to revisit many homes from Novell’s past!

There is some light ahead as we all stretch and stumble back into familiar routines. The cycles of work and rest are carved deep into us, but we can be a little more flexible as well. We’re looking forward to continuing our design build work to make this possible within your homes. 

Sincerely,
Laurel James

Felicity: a shared space for Vancouver’s independent creators

• By London Camaclang

Welcome to Felicity 

Felicity is a personal office studio and creative space located in the Dunbar-Southlands Neighbourhood in Vancouver. We design-built this Signature Shed with Novella Outdoors in 2020 and are now opening the space to Vancouver’s local creative community.

Felicity provides some much-needed flexible space for artists, writers, remote workers, students and independent creators. In exchange for free creative space, we will ask for your feedback on Felicity, on Google Reviews or Houzz Reviews and for your participation:

Visitors will be featured in an artist profile, writer’s spotlight, or visitor’s profile, and will have the opportunity to connect digitally with other visitors. We hope to provide a platform for visitors to share stories, connect with each other and support other local creators.

‍We look forward to hosting you!

Features and Amenities

• Private workstation in Felicity
• Access to the garden and green space
• Covered, outdoor table in the backyard
• Eight electrical outlets
• Dimmable ambient lighting
• Built-in floating table
• Storage bench with cushion
• Work chair and small seating poof
• Electric heater with thermostatic control
• Openable windows and skylight
• Lockable door from the interior
• Natural light and green surroundings
• Lush garden surroundings
• Outdoor table under cover
• Water station
• No wifi
• No washrooms on site

There is no cost to visiting Felicity. In exchange for a free shared space for creators, we ask visitors to:

1. Respect the space, and follow our general site rules
2. Provide feedback on Felicity via Google Reviews or Houzz Reviews
3. Participate by providing some information for your artist’s profile, writer’s spotlight or visitor’s profile. This profile allows visitors to connect with each other, share their work, their thoughts and stories. More guidelines for respectful content will be shared upon your visitor’s confirmation.

Availability

Felicity is available for single-day booking requests, with 1-2 people per booking. After receiving approval, visitors will be given the exact address of Felicity. Visitors are free to arrive and leave within that day, as long as they follow our general guidelines.

Women In Construction Week Proves Vibrant for Novell Design Build

• By London Camaclang

Since last Monday, we have been celebrating Women in Construction Week and International Women’s Day 2021. The discussions we’ve started and contributed to will keep going all year long.

We are committed to being a positive force in this industry for equal gender opportunity. This effort includes engaging with our community, professional associations, encouraging more women into residential home building, and empowering women to excel when they join.

We are proud to have a female founding director, Laurel James, who leads our diverse team. We have over 45% of staff represented by women, and know that every member is here on their merits, not because of their preferred gender.

Women in construction include a variety of professions. We are proud to say this represents every department and level of our Novell Design Build.

Laurel James is our Director and the first chair of HAVAN’s Women’s Council. She has strong feelings about the idea of a gender-balanced team.

For all her volunteerism and leadership for equality in our industry, Laurel believes that the best person for the job should be employed and supported. Women will rise to challenges and can prove their skills if presented the opportunity. While Novell Design Build doesn’t hire based on gender, it isn’t a coincidence that we’ve achieved near-gender parity on our team. Laurel and the rest of our team invite women into construction conversations often and encourage them to apply when a job opportunity arises.

Complacency, when it comes to gender hiring practices, simply isn’t an option and definitely isn’t a pseudo-solution.

The result of Laurel’s work is that we find women in construction, in all trades and professions, who believe that they are alone in their work. Women in construction aren’t alone, but our numbers are not rising at the rate we need. We need to do better.

“Women in British Columbia represent only about 4.5% of the skilled trades and that number has barely moved in decades.” reports the BC Centre for Women in the Trades.

If we could attract just 5% more women in BC, the massive labour shortage would be filled.

This week, we celebrated each other’s achievements. Five of our female team members shared their experiences and challenges with the residential design build industry. They represent a future where it’s not strange to see a woman accomplishing skilled labour, managing an office, designing a home, managing a construction project, or running a company.

We #ChoosetoToChallenge by being really good at what we do. A challenged world is an alert world and from challenge comes change.

See more on Instagram @NovellDB.