Answering the call home
A carefully choreographed return home – preparing for a new chapter in life. Caterina and Fabio Banducci spent their youths in the Okanagan, relishing the languid summer days both working and playing in the abundant orchards and vineyards of the area. When career opportunities eventually came calling, they re-made their home and built a life in the Lower Mainland. But the Okanagan stayed close to their hearts, calling them back for regular family vacations in Peachland, Naramata, and Penticton.
20 years after moving to the coast, the Bianucci’s began making preliminary preparations to return home and trade in the chaos of city life for the idyllic charm of their childhood. With their kids nearly ready to leave the proverbial nest, their eyes were fixed on a return to the peace of the vineyards, orchards, and lakes they had left to build their careers.
To start the transition, they bought a farm on the Naramata Bench, with a plan to renovate the property to meet their needs over five years. Known as Naramata Outlook, the farm featured 10 acres of land that overlooked Lake Okanagan and the mountains beyond, and began perfecting their vision of a home nestled among vineyards.
Challenge
Create a home that maximizes the natural beauty of the Naramata Outlook, with its endless views, and can transition gracefully from full house to empty nester.
Outcome
After collaborating with a local grape grower to convert the existing orchard into a vineyard, Caterina and Fabio worked with Ritchie Homes to build a bright, airy home that highlights the unparalleled viewscapes of their new vineyard, the lake and the mountains.
The road to Ritchie
The Bianucci’s first reached out to various builders in Penticton when they purchased the Naramata Outlook in 2014. Their planned return was still five years away, and in many ways a dream come true, so the couple wanted to take their time and make sure they had the right building partner to create their perfect space. After meeting Ritchie, the Bianucci’s realized they’d found a team as passionate about their vision as they were. Over the years, the Ritchie team met with the Bianucci’s, listened to their ideas, and toured them through builds when they visited Penticton. Their relationship gave the Bianucci’s the confidence to choose Ritchie to construct the home that merged childhood memories with their vision for the future.
Naramata Outlook
Naramata Outlook is situated on the iconically picturesque Naramata Bench, approximately halfway
between downtown Penticton and the village of Naramata. When the Bianucci’s purchased the 10-acre
property, there was a an existing rundown farmhouse on along with an apple orchard.
While the existing farmhouse and orchard did not line up directly with the Bianucci’s’ vision, they knew that the right architect and builder could bring out the full potential of the stunning raw property, complete with endless views of Lake Okanagan and the idyllic agricultural charm they craved.
In addition to a full design & build project with regards to the home they would construct, the couple needed to transform the old orchard into a modern, efficient vineyard. Before construction of the home began, the Bianucci’s came to an agreement with Terravista Vineyards, a prominent boutique winery on the Naramata Bench, to plant and manage their new vineyard. The tailored selection of various grape varieties that replaced the existing apple orchards added further personality to the property and set the stage for the creation of a true legacy family home.
Preserving the views
The next step along the Bianucci’s’ journey home was to design a home which made the most of the 210-degree views, spanning from Munson Mountain to Peachland. With the farmhouse slated to be torn down, they engaged an architect to design a new home that could meet their vision. The Bianucci’s invited Ritchie Homes into the design meetings with their architect, to ensure their new home would transition from the page to reality seamlessly. The result is a low-profile home that embraces and celebrates the property they fell in love with. The home features large, strategically-placed windows that draw the outdoors inside through almost every room of the house, including a large picture window next to the standing bath, making their newly planted Okanagan terroir an integral part of the home.
A home for the future inspired by the past
After six years of designing their return from the urban stresses of the Lower Mainland to the fragrant and unhurried nostalgia of their childhood stomping grounds, followed by another year of construction, the Bianucci’s are finally living out their idyllic dream in their bespoke family home situated on their very own vineyard. The couple has no regrets with regards to the long gestation time, having meticulously planned each detail while embracing each part of the process fully, imprinting their own personality and legacy on the project throughout. By working closely with both the architect and Ritchie Homes through the design-build process and becoming intimately familiar with the property over an extended period of time, the Bianucci’s are now ready to fully enjoy both the grander and more minute pleasures of a slower-paced life on the Naramata Bench. Their home is ready to be savoured by them and their family for years to come.
