Stilewood Blog

This month, we talk with Shelly Gauthier, our Office Administrator. Shelly’s been with Stilewood for 14 years now – and we’re so glad to have her on our team!

As much as municipal elections filled recent headlines, it’s another event that will have the longest-lasting—and most positive—impact on the City of Vancouver.

On September 12, the City of Vancouver fulfilled its promise of becoming the world’s Greenest City by 2020. That was the day Vancouver issued its first Green Bond offering of $85 million to fund environmentally sustainable initiatives and projects, including competitive returns for investors. This inaugural Green Bond pays a 3.10% coupon interest rate and matures on September 21, 2028.

We’ve all known it was coming and now it’s almost here: the rollout of mandatory changes to the BC Building Code. The good news is that you can be prepared for the changes. BC Housing is offering a province-wide training series, Building Smart: 2018 Building Code Changes, to get you up to speed by the December 10 rollout date.

Training sessions will explore a variety of approaches to comply with each of the coming Code changes. These include, for example, new provisions in Part 9 for stairs, guards, sound transmission and seismic requirements, accessibility, energy and water efficiency standards and other design elements. Building Smart will focus on the requirements that apply to single-family and low-rise residential buildings.

At Stilewood we believe in customer satisfaction, not customer surprises. Before our experienced installers and glaziers show up to provide you with their industry-best, full-installation services, we meet with you and clearly set out all the specifics.

Together, we carefully go over with you our detailed installation contract proposal. It’s important to you – and to us – that you understand and feel comfortable with all elements of it. And, that you understand your fenestration and door systems are being installed to the highest standards.

As usual, the Interior Design Show (IDS) Vancouver, held from September 21-23 at the Convention Centre, featured lively, colourful, idea-rich displays. But this always-special annual event became even more special this year with IDS Vancouver’s unveiling of its first-ever book Currents: Contemporary Pacific Northwest Design

Unilux recently opened up its newest product line: contemporary, all-wood entry doors. The high-end German company offers a choice of 18 standard designs in pine, oak, spruce, larch or eucalyptus.

It also offers custom-design options, such as:

• the shape of the door
• the stainless steel inlay color and size
• the glazing design and configuration
• the handle size and style
• the hinge type – standard or concealed.

In this issue, we’d like to introduce you to Stilewood’s mustachioed maestro of fenestration, Werner Budau. A devoted husband and loving grandfather, Werner has 40 years’ experience in the window and door industry, 24 of them as a cornerstone team member at Stilewood.

You may have already had the pleasure of working with Werner, but we’re betting there are some things you don’t know about him. For example, among his family and friends, Werner is renowned for mixing up the tastiest drinks ever!

Smiles and swings, good food and good cheer: On August 13 at Vancouver’s University Golf Club, the Architecture Foundation of British Columbia hosted its 18th Annual Golf Tournament.

As we have for the past five years, Stilewood was the event’s major sponsor – with tournament proceeds going toward...

We set ourselves an ambitious goal of being greenest city by 2020 –and, incredibly, it looks like we’re going to make it.

In our action plan to become the greenest city in the world by 2020, Vancouver so far tops all other cities with the highest percentage of “green office spaces,” according to the recently released, first-ever International Green Building Adoption Index.

This inaugural edition of the Index, prepared by CBRE Group Inc. with Maastricht University in the Netherlands, compares and measures the adoption of green certification programs across several international real estate markets. The report analyzed 10 major cities in Australia, Canada and Europe.

Drum roll… Welcome to Stilewood’s Anmore project. We’re excited to share with you this transitional project we played an integral role in. Our role was also collaborative. A shared labour of love, you might say.

Let me explain what I mean by a collaborative role. Throughout the Anmore project, Stilewood staff worked directly not only with the homeowner, but also with their project authorities. This approach ensured that everything went to plan; that nothing was left unaccounted for.

And now, prepare to be dazzled! Join us as we visit this bright, open home that epitomizes the best of West Coast transitional design.

Placing your order with us is just the beginning of your Stilewood experience. Other companies proceed with the occasional client update; maybe a quick phone call now and then. At Stilewood we recognize that the quality and thoroughness of our work are important to you. For that reason, we communicate, consult and check with you throughout the project.

We take pride in being thorough with our project management. Involving you includes experiences ranging from choosing your pre-finish colour to deciding which style of architectural hardware you want to grasp each time you enter your home.

Meet Alan Swanson, Sierra Pacific Window’s architectural consultant for Western Canada. Alan has over 30 years of experience in the window industry and works extensively with the Stilewood team to ensure that we know everything there is to know about the U.S. manufacturer.

We figured that instead of teaching us about Sierra Pacific, Alan could answer a few questions about himself!

Contemporary rustic décor combines modern style with traditional elements, such as reclaimed wood wall paneling or salvaged interior sliding barn doors. This design trend is gaining popularity worldwide – and not only because it elegantly juxtaposes modern with traditional. It’s also environmentally friendly.

To show you its unique warmth and stylish grace, we’ll highlight five ways our customers have integrated contemporary rustic into their special projects.

Glance around any urban BC landscape and you’ll see the exciting construction boom happening in our province. There’s just one catch. Currently, BC lacks the labour force to fully populate the increasing construction jobs.

Read more about the construction industry’s challenge – as well as the good-news perspective.

It’s an exciting transformation – and an altruistic, forward-looking one. The Architecture Foundation of BC (AFBC) is becoming an education-based resource. AFBC’s vision: to build an architectural and design legacy for the people of British Columbia.
 
Find out more, including how you can get involved.

Architectural millwork has always been close to our hearts at Stilewood.

Vittorio Ciccone, founder of Stilewood International, had a successful run as a millwork artisan beginning in 1954. Vittorio worked in period reproduction styles of the 20th century, such as Baroque, Rococo, Renaissance and Louis XV. He soon established himself as an authority – and an artist and creator of exquisite pieces.

Find out how we’re staying true to our millwork roots at Stilewood today – including an exclusive look at a unique project featuring old-growth vertical grain fir.

Steel of the highest mettle: Made in Italy, utilized throughout the world
 
Perhaps famed Italian fashion designer Giorgio Armani said it best: “The difference between style and fashion is quality.” For more than 50 years, Pietro Brombal has combined exquisite style with the highest technical standards to create the finest quality in thermally broken metal fenestration and door manufacturing worldwide.
 
Discover Pietro’s family-run company, Serramenti Brombal – and learn how Stilewood partners with this internationally renowned manufacturer.