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Kicking Horse Residence: The Ultimate Weekend Vacation Home

By Kelsey Machado Feb 23, 2018 3:00 PM

Canada’s Purcell Mountains are known for having some of the best skiing and mountain biking in the world. Offering the fourth highest vertical drop in North America, the Kicking Horse Mountain Resort is an ideal place for those looking for maximum thrills while hitting the slopes.

At the base of the resort, sits a vacation home unlike any other. Kicking Horse Residence is a thoroughly modern twist on the classic A-Frame ski chalet. Designed for an active family of five by architectural firm Bohlin Cywinski Jackson, the ski-in/ski-out home is full of unique architectural features. On one side, a striking, sharply pitched roof hints at the traditional chalet influence. This is visually balanced on the other side where, thanks to a different angle in the roof line, the home appears to become a cube of glass, steel, and wood. More visual interest is created in the use of materials — the exterior is a mix of exposed Douglas fir and black stained cedar.

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The sharp contrast between the traditional interior and the contemporary exterior was intended to speak to the family’s ideals; they are a modern family with proud Norwegian roots. Part of the home dramatically cantilevers out over the driveway. Inside, the Norwegian heritage takes center stage. The design is clearly Scandinavian inspired, with minimalist finishes, natural light wood, and simplistic furnishings. Windows and doors were carefully placed to allow maximum natural light and stunning views of the surrounding scenery while still maintaining privacy from the homes on either side.

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While a 3,500-square-foot home would normally be considered spacious and luxurious for a family of five, the owners are big entertainers and required plenty of room for overnight guests. The result is a total of 16 beds cleverly placed through the bedroom suites. From bunk beds in the lofts to twin beds tucked into window seats, there are plenty of spots for guests to crash after a long day of skiing in the winter or mountain biking in the summer. The centrally located kitchen allows for the owner (a former restaurateur) can easily entertain and prepare meals for the constant flow of family and friends.

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The end result is a visually stunning weekend home that the owners and their guests happily enjoy year round.

Kelsey is a professional interior designer with over a decade of experience in the design field. With a passion for… Read Full Bio

Who does James Bond work for? And is MI6 real?

James Bond Specter double breasted

We have some news on the movement of the next James Bond. According to reports, we are looking at the final four (we know of three). Jack Lowden (Slow Horses, Dunkirk), Callum Turner (Eternity, One Night Only), and Josh O’Connor (The Crown, Challengers) are all in the final running to portray the next 007. We also, allegedly, have a fourth, unannounced actor in the running. But of course we do. And since we have news and movement on the James Bond front, I started thinking about what the next movie will be about. That took me down a rabbit hole, and I landed on a question. What is MI6? James Bond’s employer is a shadowy government agency, like Jason Bourne’s Treadstone or Ethan Hunt’s Impossible Mission Force (IMF). But there is one major difference between them and the organization that signs 007’s paychecks.

His is real.

A toast to excellence: Don’t overthink lighting a cigar…but don’t underthink it either

Face, Head, Person

When I first decided I was ready to try cigars for the first time, I was ready to jump right in and sit back to enjoy the experience. Then, something crazy happened. I couldn’t light it. It seemed so simple. Flame, meet cigar. It really couldn’t be that complicated. But I ran into a slew of problems. The wrong kind of flame, canoeing, an uneven burn, and the damn thing kept going out, causing me to restart the embarrassing process. So I reached out to my friends over at La Aurora to find out what I was doing wrong.

That is when I found out from their own John Gaglio that these issues are very common and there is no reason to be embarrassed. Instead, don’t overthink lighting your cigar. And don’t underthink it. Instead, try to use the following tips and enjoy the experience without shame.

Topgolf brings back John Daly to continue to “disrupt” the game

john daly

To the uninitiated, golf can feel like a stuffy game. There is a dress code, there is an etiquette, and you even have to be quiet. At a sporting event. For those of us who love golf (don’t get me wrong, I am a huge fan but believe it is called golf because the other four-letter words are taken), we recognize golf isn’t stuffy as much as it is steeped in tradition. But there has always been one man who shirked the shackles of the tradition and disrupted the game of golf with one of the most immaculate vibes in the sport, John Daly. With his drinking, smoking, wild pants, wilder mouth, and general who-gives-a-sh*t nature, he was everything golf wanted to keep out. Now, the game embraces him and his vibe, and Topgolf brought him in to continue the disruption.

I love the vibe at Topgolf. It’s a place where you can smash a golf ball, listen to music, have a drink, and enjoy yourself with friends and family. That’s my kind of golf. – John Daly