SET AGAINST A FOREST BACKDROP, THIS FAMILY ABODE IS STYLISHLY COTTAGECORE YET TIMELESS
Like so many buyers facing a tough real estate market, Cody and Ashley Spencer had to get creative. In 2022, they pooled their resources with Cody’s brother and sister-in-law to purchase a property in Langley.
Since then, the couple’s company, Homestead Design Build, has found its niche working with families in similar situations.
“The newer generation is struggling to get into the market, so I’d say about 60 to 70 per cent of our projects right now are multi-generational living,” says Cody. “Kids are moving back into the parent’s house, parents are moving into the basement, or they’re building laneways in the back of the house. Those are fun projects to work on.”
The Spencers’ shared purchase was an aging structure on a deep lot, bordered by forest. Together, the group decided they’d update the existing house for Cody’s brother and sister-in-law, and build at the opposite end for Cody and Ashley.
One of Cody and Ashley’s earliest dream concepts for a custom home — a sprawling rancher — wouldn’t work here due to the lot’s narrow profile. So, instead, they went tall: 1,950 square feet over two storeys. “We changed our mindset, because we couldn’t have that footprint and go that close to the creek,” says Cody.
The home’s final form, with its steeply pitched roofline, takes inspiration from storybook European cottages, he adds: “It’s [modern] yet it has some features that makes it feel, not stark new, but new and cosy.” For instance, board-and-batten siding and cedar patios soften an exterior palette of charcoal on black.
The back patio, set under a dreamy canopy of Douglas fir and cedar trees, is a perfect spot for soaking up the wooded setting and watching cousins play together. A vaulted cover with exposed beams shelters the space for three-season use, while a ceiling fan with lantern-style housing adds an industrial touch, and slim skylights slip in extra natural light.
Dual-panel sliding-glass doors open wide to the home’s living room, where a floor-to-ceiling stone fireplace brings the European cottage influence inside.
Furnishings are an eclectic and homey mix of vintage and modern pieces. A minimalist gallery wall displays family heirlooms and artwork, while a nearby dining area carries the balance of Old World and new, with spindle-back dining chairs and modern benches, alongside a traditional turned-wood console table and lamp.
In the kitchen, the centrepiece is a striking custom-framed hood fan, with statuesque curves and built-in shelves to store cooking oil and other frequent-use items. Rather than a traditional backsplash, the couple opted for a seamless quartz slab in a soft green tone and — bucking design convention — a piece of framed artwork hung directly over the range.
Fieldstone matching the home’s fireplace reappears here as a feature wall, complementing a farmhouse-style sink and brushed-gold faucet. “Ash did a really good job of bringing that stone over by the sink to tie the two areas together,” Cody says.
A mix of white and rift-cut white oak cabinetry with polished-chrome hardware feels light and modern. A Caesarstone-topped kitchen island adds reeded side panelling for a bit of texture, along with a built-in feeding nook on the side for the family dog, Cali.
Picking up the green theme, a powder room on the main floor brings a saturated dose to the mix, with walls and wainscotting colour-drenched in Sherwin Williams Evergreen Fog.
On the second floor, bathrooms become mini-retreats. The primary is a traditional-feeling space with a free-standing tub, ceramic herringbone floor tile and two-by four-foot wall tiles surrounding the tub — and mitred into the windows with quartz sills. “We always find that using quartz as ledges, to remove as many seams as possible, is the best waterproofing system,” says Cody. The entire bathroom is one big wet area, he adds: “We like to have hot showers and then jump in a cold bath; kind of use it as our recharge space.”
The couple’s daughter gets a cheerful bedroom in hues of bright pink, and a bathroom in green and rose, with playful terrazzo hex floor tile tying the look together. One quirky yet practical detail: the bottom drawer of the vanity pops out a stool to help the smallest family member reach the sink.
And down the hall is the couple’s home office, where the pair tackle upcoming projects from side-by-side desks, taking seamless design-build collaboration to a whole other level.
Will they do anything differently if they ever do another home for themselves? Possibly a couple of things here and there, Cody says. But they designed and built this place intentionally to evolve and grow with their family, he adds — with a floor plan and materials thoughtfully chosen for timelessness and durability. And they can refresh the smaller details as they go.
Project design and construction: Homestead Design Build
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2025-07-24T17:06:40Z