Here's a fresh take on a 1970s competition that offered a glimpse into Vancouver apartment living

Real estate commentator Michael Geller reflects on 1976 contest and looks forward to an upcoming version fit for condo dwellers

Published Aug 28, 2024  •  3 minute read

In 1976 the Vancouver Sun Leisure section held its 'What the L' contest for creative L-shaped apartment design. Doug Baker won the $100 grand prize for his Burnaby rental apartment that he transformed into a jungle. It featured beaded curtains, dark green and mirrored walls, bamboo furniture and stuffed animals. Photo by Brian Kent / PNG

During the 1960s and 1970s, most Vancouver apartments featured a small galley kitchen and a dreaded “L-shape” dining/living space, which residents found awkward to furnish. This prompted The Vancouver Sun Leisure section to sponsor a “What the L” interior design competition. The idea was to encourage Sun readers to submit photos of the diverse ways they had furnished and decorated their L-shaped living spaces.

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Since the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation financed many of these apartments, as its newly arrived assistant architect/planner, I was invited to be one of the competition judges. Fifty years later, I can still vividly recall many of the creative ideas submitted by readers.

The grand prize winner was a Burnaby bachelor’s pad transformed into a jungle. It featured dark green and mirrored walls, bamboo furniture and lots of stuffed animals. The walls and ceiling were barely visible through all the plants. It wasn’t easy to imagine that this had once been a typical beige Metro Vancouver apartment.

Other submissions recreated the interior of a rural farmhouse, an elegant Cote d’Azur pied-à-terre, and the inside of an industrial factory.

Runner-up Jane Welch won $50 in prize money. She impressed the competition judges with her use of a double sweep of hanging beaded curtains that redefined and reshaped the space. Photo by Brian Kent / PNG

Competition runners-up Mrs. C. Nevard and son Ken Coburn went big on the bling in their Balsam Street rental apartment. Treatments like a crushed velvet wall covering, an overhead dining room canopy and a decorative fireplace facade added high style, yet easy to remove when it came time to move. Photo by Brian Kent / PNG /sun

The competition entries offered newspaper readers a glimpse into how other people lived. It also inspired some readers to completely redecorate their homes.

Recently, I have been thinking about this competition since former Vancouver city councillor and B.C. social service agency S.U. C. C. E. S. S CEO Tung Chan introduced me to Shasha Liu and Lillian Dong.

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Lui is an acclaimed television producer and the founder of The Lifestyle Foundation. Dong, a graduate of Parsons School of Design with experience in fashion brand marketing in Shanghai, is the foundation’s CEO.

The Lifestyle Foundation is a non-profit organization headquartered in Vancouver that promotes lifestyle exchange, quality living and philanthropy. It advocates for more enriching, fulfilling and meaningful ways of living. Its primary audience includes those who recently moved to Vancouver from China and other Asian cities.

The foundation wants to offer these newcomers insights into different Vancouver lifestyles. Like The Vancouver Sun’s “What the L” competition, it also aims to provide a glimpse into peoples’ homes to illustrate how other Vancouverites live.

On Sept. 24, the foundation is organizing a Lifestyle Award Ceremony at the Vancouver Art Gallery. It is intended that this will be the first of many such events in Vancouver and Los Angeles.

One objective is to highlight the best in Vancouver lifestyles and foster connections among guests from diverse industries. The event will include a collaboration with iQiyi, one of China’s largest private internet TV networks, which will further enhance its reach and impact.

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As part of the event, the foundation is organizing a design competition to highlight three aspects of contemporary Vancouver life.

The first category is how homeowners and tenants make their homes more pet friendly. After all, thirty-five per cent of Vancouver households have a dog, and Coya, a pet food company, has ranked Vancouver as one of the best cities in the world for dogs.

The second category is how people use plants to make their homes more attractive and healthier. Having a house plant, or many plants, can be a beautiful way to bring life into our homes, improve the air quality and reduce pollutants.

The third category is how residents design balcony spaces to make them more interesting, usable and livable. While many Vancouverites never use their balconies, others have transformed them into attractive extensions of their home.

Anyone can submit entries to the competition. There is no cost to enter, but entries should include at least three digital photos, a written description (no more than 700 words) and an optional short video if desired. Further details can be found on the foundation’s website.

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The foundation will announce the winning submissions at the Sept. 24 event, which will be videoed and posted online. Winning entries and honourable mentions will also be featured in a future edition of The Vancouver Sun’s Westcoast Homes section.

The event will also recognize individuals and organizations promoting other desirable lifestyles. They are expected to include those advocating for the conservation of heritage homes and living in smaller spaces, including laneway and coach houses.

Just as the “What the L” competition offered Vancouver Sun readers a glimpse into how others lived and inspired readers to redesign their own homes, the organizers of this competition are hopeful that the same will happen again — nearly 50 years later.

— With research from Postmedia librarian Carolyn Soltau

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