Inside A Contemporary Vacation House On B.C.’s Osoyoos Lake

Some homes feel like a deep breath, and this lakefront property belonging to couple Alix Perks and Mike Elliston is one of them.

Set on Osoyoos Lake in B.C., the house is situated in a pocket desert, featuring an antelope-brush shrub-steppe ecosystem with unique species (including brittle prickly pear cactus). “We never thought we’d buy a lake property,” says Alix, who assumed their vacations would revolve around international travel. Alix and Mike bought the lot in April 2021 during the pandemic, when many people were rethinking what “escape” meant. Osoyoos held personal significance, as the couple had married there in 2017, and Mike’s parents are longtime residents. What began as a quick look at one of the last available lakefront lots quickly evolved into a purchase, and a full design project.

Mike, a contractor, managed the build himself. Alix, a surgeon with a demanding career near Vancouver, wanted a place that felt calm and restorative. Together with architect Brian Billingsley of B Squared Architecture and designer Alexandra (Ali) Chapkin of Alexandra Interiors, they created a contemporary family retreat that blends the panache of ’60s Palm Springs with the soft warmth of a Mediterranean escape. “It’s a calm, relaxing space — it feels very natural, soft and layered,” says Ali.

The 4,900-square-foot house has five bedrooms and four-and-a-half baths. Mike says the cantilevered principal suite, floating staircase and curved walls made it an expensive build.

Ali came on as the designer from the outset. London-trained and Vancouver-based, she founded Alexandra Interiors in 2016 and had already worked with Mike on several projects, including the renovation of Mike and Alix’s heritage house in Vancouver.

Ali’s design instincts softened the home’s dramatic architectural shell. She offset its strong lines with gentle curves, plaster walls and warm, rich materials. Striking lighting, tambour oak millwork and custom art add texture, colour and continuity throughout.

The showpiece of the house is the spectacular 24-foot, double-height living area. “No matter what time of the year, you feel like you’re on holiday here,” says Ali. “This lovely light comes through the whole space and bounces around.”

Another standout element is the bespoke 12-foot-long, solid oak live-edge dining table, which gives the couple and their two university-aged children a natural place to gather.

The exterior is just as considered. The pool sits beneath the second floor, tucked under the cantilevered principal suite so that it stays shaded during Osoyoos’s intense summer heat. A fieldstone feature wall adds texture and privacy in the pool area and ties the exterior materials back to the house. “It’s become a year-round house,” says Mike. “We come up in the winter and are able to use the sauna and hot tub, and cold plunge in the pool.”

This vacation home repeatedly draws Alix and Mike’s two children back from school, and the family’s golden retriever, Juno, regularly indulges in lake swims. They’re all surprised by how brightly the stars blaze over the lake (nearby Mount Kobau is the site of stargazing parties). Sandwiched between the rugged desert terrain and dazzling night sky, this home feels like a completely different world — no passport required.