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The tradition is back for another summer: Tickets are now on sale for the PNE Prize Home, this year in a new location in Surrey.

“We’re excited to introduce this year’s prize home in a brand-new community,” says PNE spokeswoman Laura Ballance in a news release. “Each year, we look for ways to evolve this long-standing tradition, and the 2026 home reflects that with its thoughtful design, vibrant setting and incredible prize package. We’re proud to continue creating something that captures the imagination of our guests year-after-year.”

The new residence, built by Foxridge Homes, is at 10100 Elderberry Cres. in Surrey’s northeast between Tynehead Regional Park to the west and Barnston Island to the northeast. It’s valued at over $2.3 million.

The 4,117-square-foot home is on three levels with seven bedrooms and 4 1/2 bathrooms, and includes a separate two-bedroom legal suite.

“The space is designed as a bright and welcoming family haven, complete with an art room and games room, blending soft neutrals with warm woods and playful pops of colour to create a home that is both stylish and livable,” says the PNE.

It includes furnishings from Paramount Home & Design, appliances and electronics from Samsung, a B.C. Hydro EV charger and a Husqvarna yard maintenance package.

Tours of the prize home begin June 20 and run until Aug. 15, every Saturday from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Get free tickets through TicketLeader starting in June.

Tickets for the PNE Prize Home include the Surrey house package, and are eligible for a bunch of other prizes, including five vehicles from Chevrolet and Cadillac; five $10,000 cash prizes; two $10,000 Metropolis at Metrotown shopping sprees; two seven-day cruises for two with Celebrity Cruises, plus $1,500 cash; a 2026 Suzuki Boulevard M109R motorcycle; a Beachcomber hot tub package; and a Woody’s travel trailer.

There are also four bonus draws throughout the summer, each with a prize of a seven-day cruise for two with Celebrity Cruises, plus $1,500 in cash.

Tickets are on sale now with prices the same as last year: two for $35, six for $80, 15 for $165 and 30 for $285. They can be bought online, through the PNE call centre at 604-678-4663 or toll free at 1-877-946-4663, and at select mall locations after June 1.

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Traditional Japanese homes often follow the philosophy of wabi-sabi, an appreciation for imperfection and asymmetry. If elements are flawed, worn out or unbalanced, rather than scrambling to fix them, the theory goes, it’s better to not only accept but celebrate a place’s peccadillos. The pursuit of perfection, after all, is an exercise in futility and an express train to stress.

The couple who commissioned the Sakura Estate in Coquitlam back in 1963 were not known to be Japanese themselves, but they obviously embraced the wabi-sabi sentiment when envisioning their new mid-century modern home.

“Its luxury comes from the materiality: it’s simple, reduced, peaceful,” says listing agent Trent Rodney, co-founder of West Coast Modern real estate agency. “Everything is locally sourced with a Japanese sensibility.”

That sensibility starts with the property’s namesake, the Sakura, a 60-year-old cherry blossom tree that presides over the front yard. Adjacent to the entrance courtyard, the covered two-vehicle carport’s eaves curve up like a pagoda. After passing through two motor court gates and continuing along a curved driveway, then over circular paving stones that look like lily pads, and across slate tiles, you pass underneath translucent tōrō lanterns, historically used to line and illuminate paths around Buddhist temples and shrines.

Hand set, locally sourced Squamish granite columns frame the entrance courtyard, and a skylight illuminates the pebbled pathway leading to the home’s double mahogany doors.

“Each element slows movement and creates a staged arrival in the entrance foyer that feels like you’ve entered the insides of a supersized Japanese lantern,” says Rodney.

The California-style pool in the backyard was inspired by American landscape architect Thomas Church, characterized by the kidney-shaped design that blends with the surrounding landscape. “Granite monoliths, tall vertical stones near the pool and outdoor fireplace, function as sculptural landscape elements and reference traditional Japanese stone garden placement,” says Rodney.

Japanese maples, cedar and wisteria ensure privacy, while a small balsam fir edging the pool evokes the bonsai and standing stones in many temple gardens.

“The architect for the Sakura, G. Douglas Wylie, collaborated with landscape architects Muirhead and Justice, both heavily influenced by Japanese planning,” says Rodney. “They approached the landscape and building as one, (which) are all linked to the Japanese origin hundreds of years ago.” In fact, this residence is one of only two of Wylie’s known designed homes, the other being the Taylor residence in New Westminster.

An outdoor living space with a built-in fireplace makes for a peaceful place to take in the property’s expanse of green lawn year-round.

What’s inside

The Japanese influence carries into the bungalow’s interior with sliding shoji screens that open onto a sunken living room encased in glass and cedar planes reminiscent of a Kyoto tea house. The exterior Squamish granite walls extend to the fireplace wall inside.

“The primary fireplace itself is described as “Wrightian” because its design recalls the fireplace compositions of Frank Lloyd Wright in the 1940s and 1950s, where the hearth functioned as the structural and visual anchor of the home,” says Rodney. “While Wright never built in British Columbia, his influence shaped many West Coast modern architects.”

During a later renovation, slate flooring was added to the kitchen and bathrooms to match the original material palette, while refined marble covers the entrance and formal areas, and new carpets were laid in the bedrooms.

Other improvements over the years include kitchen upgrades such as granite countertops, teak cabinetry with iron hardware balances, Thermador appliances, and a built-in coffee station. A suspended glass cabinet and shelving that divide the kitchen from the dining space reflects the mid-century design.

Rodney says this type of home is an endangered species, particularly in Coquitlam. “The highrises in the distance aren’t so distant anymore, they’re coming in closer. It is in a fast developing area, and when we have fast developing that’s when we lose these things. There’s no protection; the track record for these types of homes is demolition, a reality of the last 10 years. We’re trying to celebrate living with more intention and maximizing your sense of space, integrating indoor and outdoor with the Japanese principles, living in the entire site (and) maximizing available square footage.”

He says the home would appeal to creatives — filmmakers, musicians, art dealers, tech entrepreneurs — anyone looking for a sanctuary from the outside world. “These places can be inspiring, not just because they’re cool looking from an esthetic perspective but because they encourage us to slow down and embrace nature.”

In the neighbourhood

There are many public and private elementary, middle and high schools nearby, some within walking distance. The Vancouver Golf Club is a few minutes away, as are shops, restaurants and other services along Austin Avenue and North Road. A bit farther away are Lougheed Mall and Costco.

The Lougheed SkyTrain Station is also close by, as is access to the Trans-Canada Highway that takes you west through Burnaby and into Vancouver, or east into Surrey and the Fraser Valley.

Location:701 Dansey Avenue, Coquitlam

Listed for: $3,850,000

Year built: 1963

Type: Five bedrooms, four bathrooms

Size: 5,372 square feet

Realtor: Listed by Trent Rodney, West Coast Modern Real Estate

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Rats are more active than ever this time of year – but that doesn’t mean your backyard birds have to miss out. Here’s how to keep rodents away from your feeder.

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A furniture collection that doesn’t try to blend in, Vancouver-based design studio Marrimor unveiled five distinct pieces at Milan Design Week that are incredibly colourful, expressive and tactile. Presented at Alcova, they included the P2 coffee table, Drape swivel chair, Notch sectional, Concerto console and Bloop rug.

“A maximalist could place all five products in the same room and they would sing together and make a statement, but alternatively, just one piece in a room would provide a centrepiece for the space”, says Lauren Bugliarisi, cofounder of Marrimor, with designer Tanja Breadner.

A collection born from momentum

This new collection began not with a single object, but with a surge of creative energy following Milan Design Week 2025.

“We have a lot of creative energy right after Milan Design Week, when we’ve had a chance to talk about the pieces. Those conversations inform and inspire what we do the following year, says Breadner.

“Some of the pieces we’ve been conceptualizing for a while. We sketched the Drape chair before the Drape Sofa, which we launched in 2025. The lion’s share of this year’s collection was born right after we got home from Milan,” says Bugliarisi.

Designing without restraint

If there is a unifying idea behind the collection, it is freedom. Freedom of colour, material and form.

“We deeply desired to design products that weren’t restrained in colour, shape or material application because that’s what we find ourselves looking for in the market,” says Bugliarisi.

The result is a collection that can be layered or distilled.

Craft, collaboration and a few pivots

All Marrimor furniture is produced in Italy, along with most of their soft and hard goods. Their rugs are produced in Thailand and Nepal, depending on the technique required.

“We are committed to going wherever the workmanship is the best within any given category,” says Bugliarisi.

It’s an approach that does come with some challenges.

“Material play can come at the cost of production hiccups during the prototyping process. There were several times we had to pivot from one material to another, or tweak colours based on what was possible,” says Bugliarisi.

Their P2 coffee table, originally planned in a different finish, was reimagined in chrome due to material availability at the time.

“ In the end, the cool mirror-like finish is the perfect contrast for the luxe leather and wood accents,” says Bugliarisi.

Playful, but precise

“We’ve had the most successful show this year since launching our company. The five products resonated very well with our clients and attracted new retailers, agents, architects and designers alike,” says Breadner.

Visitors responded not just to the colour, but to the combination of playfulness and high-end execution, she says.

“As creatives, it’s a relief to put something out into the world and have people understand it. People have been pleasantly surprised by how colourful the collection is and the material selection, which is all we can hope for!” says Bugliarisi.

Amplified creativity

Alcova, at Milan Design Week is such a special show, providing a platform for so many incredible makers, brands and artists, says Bugliarisi.

“The large area allows for thousands of visitors to explore design and art in a relaxed and inspiring way,” says Breadner.

What comes next

Marrimore will show this collection at other design events, such as 3 Days of Design in Copenhagen and Art Basel in Miami.

As is their tradition, they’ve started the process of designing next year’s collection in the wave of creative energy that comes from Milan Design Week, says Bugliarisi.

“We will continue this momentum. Creatively, we are planning the next collection for 2027 and working on extending the existing product line,” says Breadner.

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