62 avenueJANUARY.18
DECOR
BY Ellis Choe
PHOTOGRAPHY BY Jared Sych
The Bespoke
Bungalow
Creating the perfect home for now and for the
future, a couple worked with a team of designers
to create one-level living on a corner lot with lots
of natural light, privacy and display space for art.
A
fter Tricia and Mike Flanagan hit retirement and their
three kids moved away, they were ready to move on
and move out of their 3,800-square-foot, two-storey
nest in the ’burbs. But condo-living was not an option.
“We have a large family on both sides. We have a lot
of sporting equipment. Plus, we don’t want some other group to
determine what we can or cannot do with our yard, driveway or
home,” says Tricia.
Three years of planning and designing later, the couple moved
into a low-maintenance bungalow on a xeriscaped corner lot in
inner-city Calgary.
“Bungalows rock,” says Mike. “We’re not running up and down
stairs. I’m getting to be an old guy, but I also need a yard; I need
to be able to be outside ... I need to be able to putz around. And
I don’t like the idea of elevators. I did that all my working life and
I’m tired of that.”
So they created a 2,100-square-foot, one-storey, one-bedroom
home for two — albeit with a fully developed basement with
a separate entrance, mudroom and storage, as well as another three
bedrooms to accommodate family, guests or a future caregiver.
Extra-wide hallways, doorways and doors, as well as walk-in
showers that sit flush with the bathroom floor were all designed
with the couple’s future accessibility needs in mind.
“I think this is the perfect home,” says Tricia, who enlisted
a team of talent, including Marvin DeJong, principal of DeJong
Design Associates, to make their wish list come true.