CEDAR GROVE
Cedar Grove — HAVAN Award 2026, Best Custom Home Interior Photography by Ana Zaha · Metro Vancouver, BC Interior Design: Centre Stage Interior Design · Builder: Converse Custom Homes
Cedar Grove is a custom residence in Metro Vancouver that received the 2026 HAVAN Award for Housing Excellence in the Best Custom Home category $2,000,000 to $3,000,000. Designed by Christy Simpson of Centre Stage Interior Design and built by Converse Custom Homes, the project was recognized at the 17th Annual HAVAN Gala at the Westin Bayshore, Vancouver, in April 2026. I photographed this home for the award submission a full-day shoot that became one of my favourite projects of the year.
There is something immediately grounding about Cedar Grove. Before you step inside, the exterior sets a tone a home that is confident without being loud. Clean lines, natural materials, and a proportional sense of scale that feels deliberately residential rather than performative. It doesn't try to impress from the street. It earns its presence quietly. That quality restraint over spectacle defines every room inside.
The living room is the defining space of Cedar Grove. A pitched roof that soars above the main volume, floor-to-ceiling windows that dissolve the boundary between inside and outside, and a fireplace that anchors the room without dominating it. The light in this room changes character through the day cool and directional in the morning, warm and diffused in the afternoon. I spent more time in this room than any other. Not because it required it, but because every time I thought I had the shot, the light shifted and offered something better. That is what a well-designed space does it rewards patience. The furniture is scaled to the volume. Nothing is overstuffed, nothing is too spare. The palette is warm neutrals materials that absorb and reflect light rather than competing with it.
Simplicity is the hardest thing to execute well in a kitchen. Cedar Grove's kitchen achieves it. Custom cabinetry that reads as architectural rather than decorative, an island that earns its place in the plan both functionally and visually, and windows positioned to flood the prep area with natural light throughout the day. The contrast between the island finish and the perimeter cabinetry creates a visual rhythm without disrupting the calm. Nothing is accidental here each decision traces back to a clear idea about how the space should feel to cook in, eat in, and move through.
Award submissions are judged on the quality of craft as much as the quality of design concept. At Cedar Grove, the detail work is what makes the difference custom millwork with tight tolerances, hardware that is considered rather than catalog-selected, material transitions that are resolved rather than hidden. I photographed these details deliberately. Close-ups of where two materials meet, of how a cabinet door sits in its frame, of how stone was selected for pattern continuity across a surface. These are the photographs that a design jury reads carefully and they are the images that tell the story of how a project was actually built.
PROJECT CREDITS
Interior Design: Centre Stage Interior Design — Christy Simpson, Langley Township, BC
Builder: Converse Custom Homes, Surrey, BC
Award: HAVAN Award for Housing Excellence 2026 — Best Custom Home, $2,000,000–$3,000,000
Location: Metro Vancouver, British Columbia
Photography: Ana Zaha | anazaha.com
Camera: Canon R5 · RF 16-35mm f/2.8