West Coast Modern interior design.

West Coast Modern is the architectural vocabulary most of our Sea-to-Sky projects are in conversation with — whether they're new builds in direct lineage, or renovations of 80s and 90s homes that were built in it. The style is older than Mountain Modern. It's the parent movement, and the reason Mountain Modern reads the way it does today.

Origins — Erickson, Thom, Downs

West Coast Modern began in Vancouver in the 1940s and 50s as a regional response to the rain, the rainforest, and the modernist ideas arriving from California. Arthur Erickson (UBC Museum of Anthropology, Simon Fraser University), Ron Thom (Massey College, Shaw House), and Barry Downs translated International Style minimalism into something that belonged to this coast: timber instead of steel, deep eaves for the rain, big glass for borrowed light, horizontal lines that echoed the ocean.

What defines the style

Material honesty — cedar that ages, stone that's heavy, glass that disappears. Deep overhangs. Post-and-beam structural logic left visible. A commitment to the site — the house is placed, not imposed. Restraint as a posture toward the landscape: the view is the main event, the interior supports it.

West Coast Modern in 2026

The sensibility hasn't gone away — it's matured. Today, when we design in this register, we're reaching for the same balance: Mountain Modern is what West Coast Modern becomes when it moves inland and up the Sea-to-Sky. Same material intelligence. Same restraint. More snow, more vertical, more winter light to work with. Sunstone and Balsam are the clearest examples in our portfolio.

Renovating a West Coast Modern home

If you own a post-and-beam or cedar-soffit home built between 1965 and 1995, you own a piece of this lineage. Renovating it requires respect for what the original architect intended — which usually means not white-washing the cedar, not adding farmhouse details, not replacing single-pane glazing with fake-divided-light windows. We have nine years of experience renovating legacy Sea-to-Sky homes in a way that honours the original work.

Selected projects

Work that shows the thinking.

Balsam — new-build interior design in Whistler, BC by LRD Studio

East Van Loft Vancouver

FAQ

Common questions.

Is West Coast Modern the same as mid-century modern?

Related but distinct. Mid-century modern is the broader North American movement (1945–1969). West Coast Modern is the Pacific Northwest branch of it — regionally specific in its materials (cedar, local stone, timber) and its response to climate (rain, forest, coastal light).

Are there still West Coast Modern architects working today?

Yes, in direct lineage. Battersby Howat, Public Architecture, Patkau Architects, and others in Vancouver continue the tradition with contemporary refinements. Up the corridor, several Squamish and Whistler architects design in the register — and LRD Studio often collaborates on interiors.

Can you design a new build in West Coast Modern?

Yes. Balsam and Panorama are recent examples. The language travels — cedar, glass, horizontal lines, restraint — whether the context is North Vancouver or Whistler.

What's the difference between West Coast Modern and Mountain Modern?

Mountain Modern is what happens when West Coast Modern moves up the Sea-to-Sky and engages alpine conditions. Warmer interior palettes, more snow-load pragmatism, and layered textiles to handle long winter evenings. The DNA is the same.

Let’s talk about how your family lives.

Every project starts with a conversation about who you are and how you actually live.

Start a Project or email hello@lrdstudio.ca

West Coast Modern Interior Design — LRD Studio | Sea-to-Sky BC