Daisy Ranch on Salt Spring Island sounds intruigingly more like a whimsical fictional residence than an actual home. However, this is the latest project by architecture firm Olson Kundig, which created an unapologetically personalised cabin-like home for their builder and fabricator client, Patrick Powers.
Inside Daisy Ranch by Olson Kundig
The residence, in British Columbia, Canada, is inspired by its context – a landscape wild and remote, rooted in nature. ‘This energy really drives the architecture,’ says Tom Kundig, co-founder at the firm. ‘We wanted the house to feel connected to that environment, influenced by the climate, culture, and rugged character.’
His client, of course, played a large role. Kundig explains: 'He is a skilled contractor and fabricator, but also someone who loves craft and has a real lust for life. That raw sense of adventure – reflected in his family’s lifestyle – is woven into the design. It’s a house that’s meant to be lived in, explored, and enjoyed; a reflection of both the place and the people who live there.’
The earliest inspiration for the design came from the turn-of-the-century brick farmhouse that Powers grew up in in Ontario. In particular, it was his childhood corner bedroom with windows on two sides that shaped his relationship with light, views, and the feeling of being connected to the landscape. Daisy Ranch has similar qualities, featuring large windows that bring the outdoors in.
The home’s interior acts as a museum of personal items and family history, which creates a warm and cosy environment. Bocci lighting features in the living room, while audio is courtesy of a sound system by Ryan Johnston. Design studio Chairman Ting created artwork for the floors and kitchen island, while the log-cabin fabrication was delivered by Nicola Logworks.
‘My favourite part of the house is the main space,’ Kundig tells Wallpaper*. ‘That’s where everything comes together – the inside and outside, the views stretching in both directions, and the pulse of family life. It’s the heart of the home and a place that feels like a launchpad for adventure, setting the rhythm for how they live their lives on the Gulf Islands.’
The architectural design offers a deep connection to the landscape, founded in honest and durable materials. Its straightforward framework emphasises the tiny details by the hands of the maker. It puts the spotlight on how materials come together, and as Kundig puts it, ‘how a building is conceived, assembled, and experienced’.
While Olson Kundig crafted the architectural framework and modern volumes, Powers slowly developed the interior palette over the course of the build. He used found objects for vanities, steel tubes for firewood storage, and Corten steel for the kitchen counters and backsplash, ‘all are an expression of who I am and who I have become over the build of this house’, he says.
Powers continues, ‘I’ve always hosted what I think are fantastic parties in fantastic spaces. This house is unquestionably a fantastic party house – it’s architectural, but it’s also rough and tumble and ready to put on a show. We run the gauntlet of parties here – dinner parties, birthday parties, small music festivals – it’s meant to be a beating pulse for my family and my friends.’
At the core of the house is a canoe, which hangs from the living room ceiling. ‘It was a present that was given to [my father] when he contracted polio as a small child, to help him rebuild his shoulders that were left damaged from that experience,’ Powers tells Wallpaper*. ‘He grew up with the canoe, courted my mother in it and finally paddled my brothers and me around the Georgian Bay. The canoe feels at home here and represents the love of my family.’
The home has also been designed with the client’s children in mind. On the deck is a half-pipe skating ramp for his son, while in the living room, there are aerial silks suspended for his daughter. ‘First and foremost, the house could never feel precious,’ says Powers. ‘It had to be tough enough to let two young children live freely – running, skateboarding, painting, and generally using the house as a backdrop to real life rather than something to be wary of using. I think of the house in the same way I do my beautiful 1979 Ford pick-up truck. Dents and scratches are a form of patina, not damaged goods.’
For visitors entering the space, Kundig says, ‘My hope is that they’re met with a sense of possibility and wonder, as if something unexpected might happen around any corner. The house is meant to spark curiosity and creativity, to feel adventurous without being prescriptive. It’s about creating a home where everything can merge into something special – something that could only happen at this point in time, in this very place.’
Discover more unusual homes in Tom Kundig: Complete Houses (Phaidon, 2025)