We all enjoy imagining how we’d design our dream homes. Whether thumbing through this magazine or clicking through online real estate listings, we find design inspirations and let our minds wander through idealized homes we may never own. Because finding your dream home is a tough task, it’s better to have someone else build it for you.
“This home began as a project for a different couple,” says Sean Lee, associate, senior architect for Shugarman Architecture, which had nearly completed this Crestwood home when a too-good-to-pass-up career opportunity took the previous clients to Vancouver.
“It actually went through full development permit, and so all the architectural design work was pretty much complete,” Lee says, adding that the company’s never had to switch clients this late in the game before, so there was a brief moment of concern.
“The interior was about 75 per cent complete, and the exterior was about 90 per cent,” he says. “And, in our homes, the client really drives things for us — but suddenly the client isn’t around anymore. Initially, you’re a little deflated for the family, but then you realize that other people are going to love it and they’ll make it their own.”
The couple that made it their own is Bill and Ivana Karamouzis. They grew up in Edmonton, met, married and moved to Los Angeles 10 years ago after Bill’s success in tech (there’s a good chance you’ve played one of his Addicting Games on your phone). But they’ve always been Edmontonians at heart, so when they heard through a family connection that the previous couple was selling, they saw their chance.
“We finally spotted a base back in Edmonton,” Ivana says. “Because we’re here a lot with the kids, and we both grew up here, we just wanted our kids to have the same connections that we have with our families and friends. So we figured this is the best opportunity to get something that we really like. And they did a phenomenal job.”
As lead architect, Lee’s job was to spread nearly 5,000 square feet across one main floor and a smaller second floor for bedrooms. The challenge, he says, was that “when you have a very big box and you want to bring light in, you have to find creative ways of doing that, other than just big windows around the perimeter, because that light only comes in so far. We made a huge skylight above the kitchen island that I think is the highlight of the entire house.”
It’s a fair point, but, as we stand at the massive kitchen island, the afternoon sun seems to shine through the 10-foot perimeter windows, the clerestory windows above them and the skylights all at once. It gets to the point we find ourselves ducking from the natural light, until Ivana suggests we move to the relatively shaded kitchen table that looks out to the massive covered deck and yard (hot tub included).
In the hands of the wrong designers, a build this big, with ceilings this high, could feel vacant, even cold. But light hardwood floors, black trimmed-windows, dark pantries and subtly staggered cupboards (to match the home’s exterior design) bring warmth. The Karamouzises picked large pieces of art to fill the walls with their style, and Ivana rightly gives credit to the previous couple who were unknowingly creating her dream home the entire time. “All the fixtures, all the materials, all the finishes — they had already been picked out, which was great, because it totally worked with what we like.”
The basement is the one area the Karamouzises did change. Originally slated to hold a large gym, they instead split the main area into a glass-walled entertainment room (“It really keeps the noise in!”), and have left the other half an open, blank canvas for their daughters’ athletic imaginations. “We want to keep them small as long as we can, so we just left them their space where they can just do whatever they want with their friends. It’s usually volleyball, or soccer. They tried doing pickleball, but the carpet doesn’t allow for it.”
We finish the tour at the front living room, which gives a perfect people-watching perspective as they walk their dogs down into the river valley, and from where these proud parents watch their kids make Edmonton connections of their own.
“The girls have a lot of freedom here. The cousins come over, and our friends live just down the street, so our kids will meet their kids halfway down the path and go explore. Being in Edmonton means having all your family around you and spending time with everybody. So we were really lucky to find a place that lets us keep all those connections.”
This article appears in the Jan/Feb 2025 issue of Edify
