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Vancouver Special 2.0 - Renovations & Design Ideas

Discussion in 'General Discussion' started by milquetoast, Nov 24, 2014.

  1. milquetoast

    milquetoast Senior Member

    Dating back to the late 1940s and then mass produced in the 1960s, the Vancouver Special design is iconic. An estimated 10,000 Vancouver Specials were built between 1965 and 1984. The houses are characterized by a box-like structure with low-pitched roofs. Facades are typically brick or stone on the ground floor with stucco on the 2nd and 3rd floors. Gates and fences are adorned by painted concrete lions. Renovating and re-inventing the classic Vancouver Special has become the trendy thing to do, perhaps due to newfound hipster wealth.

    Typical Vancouver Specials
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    430 House by D'Arcy Jones Architecture - More pictures and details
    Renovation of a 1981 Vancouver Special on a 33 foot wide lot.
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    Vancouver Special Renovation by Rob Zwick - More pictures and details
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    2425 W 13th Avenue - More pictures and details
    1963 Vancouver Special in Kitsilano
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    860 by Footprint Sustainable Housing - More pictures and details
    1982 Vancouver Special near Fraser and Southeast Marine Drive
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    Riley Park
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  2. milquetoast

    milquetoast Senior Member

    4596 Windsor Street
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    418
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    480 E King Edward Avenue
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    4070 by Iconstrux Architecture - More pictures and details
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    306 Delta Residence in Burnaby by VictorEric Design
    - More pictures and details
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    4596 in Mount Pleasant
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    593 in South Cambie
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    303 E 47th Avenue
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    312 E 20th Avenue
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    2611 in Kerrisdale
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    464 in Riley Park
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    3544 Gladstone Street by Lido Properties - More pictures and details
    1969 Vancouver Special
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    2057 E 3rd Avenue
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    815 E 23rd Avenue - More pictures and details
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    2079 Gravelery Street
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    985 E 38th Avenue - More pictures and details
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    527 E 30th Avenue - More pictures and details
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  3. chrissy

    chrissy Full Member

    I think these houses in my opinion have no character and are too modern... :down:
     
  4. richasian

    richasian Guest

    needs more concrete lion statues
     
  5. Night Of GuardianS

    Night Of GuardianS Active Member

    How much would it roughly cost to renovate a Vancouver special?
     
  6. J0E

    J0E Guest

    do you own one teenie?
     
  7. Spencer Moseley

    Spencer Moseley Junior Member

    Really nice homes!
     
  8. Spencer Moseley

    Spencer Moseley Junior Member

  9. LittleFinger

    LittleFinger New Member

    So, I see siding is trending. According to pictures at least. Recently I bumped into a site related to it https://idealsiding.com/ca/locations/siding-calgary/ and now I'm thinking through using it if I want to renovate an exterior of my cottage. By the way, thanks for the tips. I'll take a note of some examples.
     
  10. RZsocial

    RZsocial New Member

    In my opinion, the houses are monotonous.
    I love being modern. But better yet, they worked more on the exterior design.
     
    Last edited by a moderator: Sep 12, 2019
  11. Rennovarea

    Rennovarea New Member

    A few of these looked alright considering what they had to work with
     

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