A chic, modern renovation is a striking backdrop for a playful holiday scheme by designer Ami McKay.

As world-class competitive badminton players (and now a coach and businessperson, respectively), Anna Rice and Bobby Milroy aren’t afraid of hard work. But partway through renovating their 2,400-square-foot boxy, undistinguished “Vancouver special” in the Trout Lake neighbourhood, they realized that they couldn’t manage the reno on their own and called in assistance from designer, Ami McKay, of Pure Design. The multi-year project saw them gut the house, move the three bedrooms and main bathroom downstairs, and the kitchen, dining and living rooms up top. With the budget tight, they invested in making the main living spaces open-concept so that they felt more spacious. As Ami explains, this would get more light flowing through and maximize the lovely views of Trout Lake and the park across the street.” Then they perfected the backdrop, layering in sleek, modern elements like a custom kitchen, handsome (but inexpensive) vinyl-plank floors, a concrete fireplace façade and floating fir shelves. Here, Ami decorated the home for Christmas in a suitably playful, modern way.

Photography: Janis Nicolai | Styling: Ami Mckay | TABLE, Bryght (now Article); LIGHT, 18Karat; PILLOWS, handmade GNOMES by Maileg, Nineteen Ten; TEA TOWEL, HomeSense; VASE, GLASSES, Oak + Fort; PURPLE PILLOW, RUG and WEAVE, Pure Syrian Collection.

Simplicity defines the interior design. “We kept the base light and natural,” Ami says. “Then, we made it fun, colourful and happy.” The dining area’s banquette extends out from the kitchen, offering space-saving seating for a crowd and storage underneath. A curated selection of pillows injects contemporary flair, while sprightly gnomes (above) from Denmark imbue a magical Christmas mood. Ami made the simple garland with fir and eucalyptus sprigs; for the rest of the year, this wire holds children’s artwork.

Photography: Janis Nicolai | Styling: Ami Mckay

Designer Ami McKay took a lighthearted approach to decorating the house for Christmas—in part to appeal to Anna and Bobby’s children, Noa, 5, and Robby, 7. “It’s all about joy,” Ami says. “This house is pure joy.” In the kitchen, for example, quirky bearded gnomes, found by Anna at a Christmas market in Copenhagen, preside over the counter by the sink. The room’s contemporary flat-front cabinets, custom-built by Anna and Robby’s millworker, have tidy integrated pulls. Finished in white, the upper cabinets blend into the backsplash—long, textural subway tile installed in a herringbone pattern—for an airy look. Floating wooden shelves let Anna, a two-time Olympian, display treasured collectibles. A new clerestory-style window lets in natural light but avoids views of a neighbouring wall.

Photography: Janis Nicolai | Styling: Ami Mckay | VASE, Anthropologie.

Artful earthenware vases handmade by California ceramicist Gopi Shah enhance the Christmas mood with their sweet heart-shaped faces. For Christmas, Ami dressed them up with pine and eucalyptus clippings. Thoughtful elements like the white walls and fir floating shelves form a crisp backdrop against which the owners can display a changing array of contemporary furniture and accessories as they invest in new pieces over the years.

Photography: Janis Nicolai | Styling: Ami Mckay | TRUCK, Bill Chalmers; BOTTLEBRUSH TREES, Michaels.

For the holidays, Ami swapped out the usual collectibles displayed on the floating fir shelves for seasonal adornments like pint-sized bottlebrush trees in jewel tones. Along with the vivacious tassels on the stockings, these tiny trees were a jumping-off point for the Christmas look Ami created. “The wooden trucks are built by an old man on the North Shore,” she says.

Photography: Janis Nicolai | Styling: Ami Mckay | RUG, CB2; GAMES, HomeSense; CANDLESTICKS, The Cross; CHALKBOARD, SIDE TABLES, Gautier Studio; MUG, Nineteen Ten; FLOORING, EZ-Grip; STOCKINGS, Anthropologie.

In the living room zone, elements like the durable new vinyl-plank flooring set in a herringbone pattern to give it that chic, of-the-moment look, along with the austere concrete-finished chimney breast, establish the basis for the breezy, new, contemporary look.

Stockings hung from a wire slung across the chimney breast herald the holiday season in the living room area. A plate on the coffee table is piled high with Christmas cookies for friends and family, while Santa gets his own wee snack by the gas fireplace. A patterned wool rug is colourful and spill-friendly underfoot.

Photography: Janis Nicolai | Styling: Ami Mckay | LIGHT, Vancouver Special.

The home’s minimalist modern design carries into the main-floor bathroom, where an angular vessel sink sits atop a simple fir countertop, lit by a punchy highlighter-yellow pendant light designed by Mattias Ståhlbom for Muuto. A handful of Silver Dollar eucalyptus, with its slightly frosted hue, adds a hint of Christmas in the utilitarian space. A glass-panelled door lets natural light into the space.

Photography: Janis Nicolai | Styling: Ami Mckay | PINK CORD, Michaels.

A stuffed monkey pulled out of five-year-old Noa’s bedroom and plunked under the tree atop a stack of gifts brings a little extra whimsy to Ami’s holiday decorating scheme. Delicate pink twine (it’s actually biodegradable!) unifies gifts wrapped in an array of recycled papers like the low-key dotted kraft paper, unpatterned newsprint and lively green wrap found at a dollar store. Sprigs of greenery tied onto a few packages add a fresh, natural look.

Photography: Janis Nicolai | Styling: Ami Mckay

Shots of hot pink put a fashion-forward spin on Christmas in the living room area. “We wanted a Scandinavian feel, so we used pale colours and natural elements as our base, and then we chose some bright colourful tones to add in,” Ami says, who offers designers’ tip for choosing a tree. “I love to do two trees— it’s my signature move, and a good way to fill up a space,” she says. “I always love a Charlie Brown tree: A tree where you can see the lines of the branches, see through it, and see the pieces you put on the tree.” A vintage Beni Ouarain rug, crisscrossed by magenta stripes, feels cozy and casual underfoot in the family-friendly room, and vibrant garlands (made by Ami out of felt balls) adorning the trees riff on the colours of the stocking tassels across the room.