Kinglet Perch in Naramata at dusk, with the white stucco living volume projecting from the hillside among ponderosa pines.

House beside a Kinglet Perch

Read the feature on Kinglet Perch by The Local Project.
Read the feature on Kinglet Perch by The Vancouver Sun.
Read the feature on Kinglet Perch by Modern Home.
Featured on Dereave, e-architect, Archello, Archiscene.

Naramata | 2025

Kinglet Perch begins with a practical decision: do not cut a road through the ponderosa grove when the house can be carried from the ground already available. A flatter area lower on the property appeared easier to build on, but reaching it would have meant removing the trees along the driveway. The house stays near the upper edge instead, preserving the grove and concentrating construction close to the existing approach.

The main living space faces south for winter sun and a longer view down the Okanagan Valley. To reach that view, it extends beyond the pine trunks on a steel-and-timber platform suspended over the slope. Like a small trestle, the structure carries the house across ground that was better left alone. The cantilever is not an added gesture; it is the part of the building that makes the siting possible.

Kinglet Perch dining room opening through large sliding glass doors to the sheltered courtyard.

Kinglet Perch does not flatten the hillside or clear a new route through the trees. It is carried from the upper ground, crosses the slope on a small number of supports and leaves the grove largely intact. What appears as a house reaching outward is equally a house holding its ground.

Kinglet Perch kitchen with a long wood island, white cabinetry and wood lining above the work area.
Kinglet Perch living room with wood-lined walls and ceilings, a concrete floor, fireplace and broad views over Okanagan Lake.
Kinglet Perch viewed from the north, cantilevering out over the grass and trees

Behind it, the bedroom block, garage and dining room hold a courtyard open to the uphill land. This quieter side of the house stays close to bedrock, grasses and tree trunks, while the living room reaches toward the lake and the length of the valley. The plan moves between these two scales of landscape rather than reducing the site to a single view.

Covered terrace at Kinglet Perch overlooking Okanagan Lake and the hills beyond.

White stucco forms the outer shell, with weathering steel limited to the guards. Wood is kept where it is most directly experienced: within the living spaces and primary bedroom, then continuing across the ceilings of their adjoining patios. The material distribution is practical as much as visual, reserving warmer finishes for occupied and protected areas.

Kinglet Perch in Naramata, seen across dry grassland and ponderosa pines with the living volume projecting from the hillside.
Kinglet Perch at dusk, with warm light from the glazed living room above the rocky Okanagan hillside.

Project Team: Will Green, Warren Sanders
Landscape: Delve Landscape Design
Contractor: Ritchie Custom Homes
Structural Engineering: Elemental Consulting

Gold Certified Grand Prix du Design 2026 - Private House
Gold Certified Grand Prix du Design 2026 - Landscape Integration

Primary Photography: Latreille Photography

Kinglet Perch seen from the hillside at sunset, with white stucco volumes and the living room projecting beyond the slope.
Kinglet Perch seen from the hillside at sunset, with white stucco volumes and the living room projecting beyond the slope.
Underneath view of a wooden deck supported by black metal beams, overlooking a landscape of fields, trees, hills, and a lake in the background.
Underneath view of a wooden deck supported by black metal beams, overlooking a landscape of fields, trees, hills, and a lake in the background.
View from a balcony overlooking a lake, surrounded by green fields, trees, and mountains in the distance, with a clear sky and scattered clouds.
View from a balcony overlooking a lake, surrounded by green fields, trees, and mountains in the distance, with a clear sky and scattered clouds.
Kinglet Perch cantilevers out over the rock propped up on two steel v-struts.
Kinglet Perch cantilevers out over the rock propped up on two steel v-struts.
Site plan of Kinglet Perch showing the house near the upper edge of the site and the preserved ponderosa grove downslope.
Main floor plan of Kinglet Perch showing the courtyard between the living, bedroom and garage volumes.
Long section through Kinglet Perch showing the upper courtyard and living-room platform carried across the slope.
Kinglet Perch viewed from below, with white stucco volumes, weathering-steel guards and a timber-lined terrace above exposed rock.
Timber-lined terrace at Kinglet Perch with built-in seating and views toward Okanagan Lake and the hills.
Timber-lined terrace at Kinglet Perch with built-in seating and views toward Okanagan Lake and the hills.
Kinglet Perch overlooking Okanagan Lake, with the glazed living room and terrace projecting from the hillside.