It started with the pool. The way the infinity edge seemed to lead right out into the ocean beyond-it just needed something more to complete the experience. Scratch that: it started with the land itself. Height restrictions forced the architects to rethink the design of the house, leading to more square footage on the cliff-hugging lower level. Or maybe it started with that view, which stretched over English Bay and the mountains beyond, but-a basement with a view? Well, that practically begged for an infinity-edge pool, which begat the hot tub outside, which begat the infrared sauna...and so began the luxe home spa in this Vancouver residence. Designed by Juli Hodgson, her husband, architect David Thom (whose own home won a Western Living Residential Design Award in 2007) and architect Ian Pratt, the space takes the evolution of the home spa to the max: an entire floor that combines fitness-a pool and a gym-with wellness (a dual sauna, a steam room and a hot tub). Which makes you wonder: why would you want to be anywhere else in this home?

By By Anicka Quin | Photos by Robert Lemermeyer | Styling by Maureen Willick

We Run
The flamed granite on the deck may well be the perfect flooring for a wet area like the pool. Its textured surface makes it one of the most non-slip products available-a plus when the homeowners’ three-year-old and six-year-old are burning around the pool-but it’s also a great base note for the colour theme of the space. Its deep charcoal grey served as the inspiration for the black and white glass mosaic tiles in the rinse-off area, and its even, consistent colour doesn’t "fight" with the wood and glass accents.

Indoor Outdoor
Designer Juli Hodgson designed
the space to be fluid from indoors to out, taking full advantage of that ocean view. The 50-foot-long infinity-edge pool lies on both sides of the glass garage door, with 20 feet of it extending beyond the house. The home spa continues outside with a hot tub, an outdoor firepit for cooler evenings and, for healthy dining al fresco, a built-in barbecue. The flamed granite flooring inside and on the deck outside provides a visual connection for the space.

Wet and Dry
This want-for-nothing design
includes a tiled shower in the pool area, and around the corner, a sauna that combines both dry heat and infrared- the latter of which is said to have health benefits that include weight loss and healing. (The heat increases irculation, which brings oxygen to joints and extremities, shortening recovery time.) A six-person steam shower beside the sauna is a personal favourite of the homeowner.

Natural Bent
One of the homeowners is originally from Turkey, and so many of the materials in the space are imported directly from his homeland-including all the European-style windows and the iroko wood on the floors, window frames and millwork, indoors and out. A dense wood with teak’s weather-resistant properties (its other name is African teak), iroko is the perfect material to withstand the steamy environment of the spa, not to mention Vancouver’s rainy winters.

Functional Facelift
Swimming pools and hot tubs
are energy suckers-unless you’ve got a renewable, non-polluting power source. The homeowners installed a geothermal heating system, which is recognized to be
one of the most efficient heating and cooling systems on the market. While the initial purchase price is high (roughly $50,000), the payback period in energy savings is relatively short- about three to five years.