A red seal-certified joiner and custom millwork shop foreman, Devi Hite is passionate about representation of women in the trades and getting the most out of small spaces. After taking a hobby woodworking class at Roundhouse Community Art Centre in Vancouver and falling in love with the craft, she completed the Joinery Program at BCIT and has spent the last nine years designing, crafting and executing functional and beautifully designed space solutions and cabinetry.
“My first large-scale personal project was my condo that I purchased after renting it for many years. After undergoing a lengthy live-in renovation on a 500 square feet studio apartment with a pooch and a husband who worked nights for five years, we decided that it was time for an upgrade.
The real selling point of this place for us was the patio and it’s ridiculously amazing outside-to-inside-space ratio. As great as this patio is, the inside needed a lot of work to make it functional, practical and comfortable. Cookie-cutter, new build condos in Vancouver aren't built to optimize space as much as they could, which was especially true in our case.
The primary bedroom was really the epicentre of silly use of space in this condo. When we moved in, the room was just big enough to fit a queen bed and the bedroom and bathroom door would hit each other if opened at the same time. Being a cabinet maker, I knew that I needed to build a bed with a lot of storage, which I then constructed at my shop, Vertical Grain Projects (they also helped me out with the installation). We ripped out the existing closet and installed a pocket door.
I’m a huge fan of built ins and I wanted the headboard to feel like a modern, updated canopy bed. That added feeling of coziness provided by a slight overhang is something that I really wanted to bring into this space. I chose to add a pop of colour as the rest of the space was pretty neutral - this is #31 Denim from Maxwell Fabrics.
The living room posed another space challenge. After months of failed searching for a sofa that would fit in the tiny amount of wall space that we had, we bit the bullet and knew that we had to get something custom made. This sectional is from FULLHOUSE Modern near Granville Island and provides the perfect spot for our dear pup to sunbathe.
For years I lived in a dark, ground floor shoebox where plants would come to die. As soon as I moved in here, I bought myself this big monstera plant. Lo and behold, its thriving here. Turns out plants like sunlight. Who knew?
This tiger sculpture is another beloved gift from my mom. Growing up, my favourite stuffed animal was a tiger, so this is a nod to my childhood. After struggling to justify having something decorative that takes up so much space in such a small condo, I've truly grown to love it.
My mom has started a tradition of buying me small sculptures as gifts (please refer back to my tiger statue to prove this point). This ‘borb’ by Johnathan Adler is my absolute favourite.
Spearheading a total, condo-wide renovation was (and still is) a massive undertaking, so I had to know where to pick my battles. These white bookshelves are your standard Billy Bookcases from Ikea. They hold books, so that’s good enough for now.
My husband had this poster for years and it was just sitting, rolled up in a closet. For his birthday last year, I got it framed by Bob at Commercial Picture Framing on Broadway. Bob is a total gem and does amazing work."
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