Decorating & Design
This West Vancouver Home Exudes Modern French Country Style
Updated on April 4, 2025
Cynthia and her husband, Bart, loved the small 1940s stucco bungalow where they’d raised their two boys in West Vancouver, B.C.’s Dundarave area. But their home had its shortcomings. “We’d used up every square centimetre,” says Cynthia. “There was no garage, no mudroom, there were cracks in the drywall, and you couldn’t get into the basement without ducking under the deck — it was pretty bare bones.”
Years earlier, Cynthia had made a wish list for their dream home, including lots of natural light, French doors, wrought-iron detailing, a limestone fireplace and mantel, great bedrooms and a welcoming kitchen. “I’d fallen in love with design magazines,” she recalls. “I started a scrapbook filled with pages I’d torn out of House & Home and other magazines.”
In 2020, the couple considered moving entirely and started searching for houses, but hadn’t found anything. Their real-estate agent had suggested building a custom home on their existing property; Cynthia just didn’t know where to start. Then, while out for a bike ride, Cynthia passed a house she’d never seen. “It stopped me in my tracks,” she says. “It had interesting rooflines, a pale green-grey exterior with black-framed windows and a gorgeous garden. The sign out front read Divano Homes.” The house was owned by the company’s principal, Dino Pecchia, and his wife, Vania, of Vania Pecchia Interiors. “We met with Dino and Vania, and when I shared my wish list and scrapbook, the whole thing felt serendipitous,” says Cynthia. They embarked on the design-build project, which wrapped in the spring of 2023. See inside the West Vancouver couple’s dream home, designed in a modern French country style, below.
The 3,700-square-foot, three-bedroom house is a fresh take on French country style. The relaxed rooms flow harmoniously from one to another, and there’s an abundance of natural light, with wovens and woods adding warmth and texture. Inspired by the cycling trips their clients had taken through France, Dino and Vania prioritized French elements including archways, vaulted ceilings, leather door pulls and copper hardware. Vania chose neutral, earthy shades for the overall palette set off with blue-grey, soft brown and copper accents. “Many of the walls are painted in a muted mushroom hue,” she says. “The wall colour shifts with the natural light, depending on the time of day, bringing dimension.”
For Vania (left), the project seemed destined from the start. She fondly remembers Cynthia (right) taking her through her dream house scrapbook. “That was such a wonderful way to begin. From going through those magazine clippings to walking through the finished home together, it felt like we’d come full circle.”
In the kitchen, white oak floors and painted ceiling beams are a lovely backdrop for the darker wood island. A plaster artisan created the finish above the backsplash, which brings depth to the range wall. The beams are the same colour as the ceiling for a seamless look
Through a tall archway next to the breakfast nook is a spacious pantry that seems lifted from a country house in France.
The breakfast nook is a favourite gathering place; when the couple’s sons come home, they often spend relaxed mornings together at the table. “It was important that every corner of this home was considered, and that it complemented the other spaces,” says Vania.
In the pantry, Vania designed open shelving so the clients could showcase everyday dishes and cherished pieces.
An informal, comfortable vibe defines the dining room. The millwork has a mix of open and closed storage, and space for laying out a buffet.
Wrought iron was on the clients’ wish list, so Vania added iron spindles to the staircase. “This kind of metalwork has a storied, countryside feel,” she says.
A pretty ceiling fixture and subtle botanical wallpaper add personality in the home office.
The laundry room is fresh in pale blue.
The mudroom cabinets are painted in Benjamin Moore’s Hale Navy. Grasscloth and a French limestone floor tile add warmth and character.
A shiplap-clad vaulted ceiling, delicate drapes and a low wood table sourced in the French countryside are charming in the principal bedroom.
The principal ensuite has a pleasing symmetry.
“The client wanted the ensuite to feel fresh and pretty,” says Vania. “This space is peaceful, calm and inviting.”
The outdoor space has multiple zones for entertaining, dining and lounging.
Though their sons are now grown, Cynthia and Bart say they’re glad they “upsized” instead of “downsized,” which is more typical of empty-nesters. Now, instead of a house for raising children, theirs is a house that welcomes their adult children back. “When I saw the completed new house, I was moved,” says Cynthia. “And because we’re on the same property, it still feels like home.”
Tina Kulic
House & Home