Tofino Beach House

Floor to ceiling glazing bring the outside into this hideaway cabin

Nestled in rural Canadian woodland, this cosy retreat provides utter isolation from the bustle of modern life. Floor to ceiling sliding glass doors create a natural window wrapped around three sides of the single-storey house, allowing the occupants to drink in the surrounding views of the lake and beach beyond the edge of the trees.

Locally sourced timber cladding covers the rear side of the sprawling woodland cabin, a nod towards its picturesque surroundings allowing the residence to blend into its natural environment. The use of natural materials continues throughout the interior design of each space, with timber ceilings and stone floors characterising the main living area.

Credit

Nic Lehoux

Location

British Colombia, Canada

The house is accessed via an impressive glazed entrance door with frameless fixed structural glass sidelights and overhead panels to create an elevated sense of space. The pivoting entrance door has a flush threshold for step-free access directly into the main glazed living room.

The living space itself follows a sprawling, open-plan design, with floor to ceiling sliding glass doors and fixed structural glass panels creating a direct connection between the indoor-outdoor living areas. Panoramah! sliding glass door systems were chosen for their slim 20mm sightlines and ability to conceal the outer frames within the building’s finishes, resulting in a minimal glazed façade that doesn’t detract from the views of the British Colombian landscape.

Single sets of sliding glass doors were installed to the smaller bedrooms, creating additional access points between the indoor and outdoor living spaces across the contemporary holiday cabin. A minimal walk-on glazed terrace runs the perimeter of the home with sloping steps down to the forest floor, providing easy access to the beach a few yards in front.

Solar control coatings were applied to each of the ah!38 sliding doors, a key element in controlling the internal temperature of each room. This was particularly vital for the open plan sitting room, as over half of the walls were made up of transparent architectural glazing that allows natural light to flood the space throughout the day.