Long ago, when you got an AirBnB, it was always somebody's own home that they had lived in and cultivated. Nowadays, the majority of offerings are either places done up specifically to rent out, with the same combinatorial collection of Ikea furniture and bland knick-knacks, or somebody's apartment with most of the owner's effects stripped away so that only the most inoffensive, generic veneer is left behind.
Scott's unit is not one of these. It is full and brave and not without opinions, and when you stay here you feel the life that was and is lived here. The space welcomes you to explore the corners and edges of the rooms, to peer onto crowded bookshelves and flip through books, to put down your phone or laptop and just absorb what is around you. Even staying multiple days I was constantly discovering new things, whether it be a strange statue I hadn't noticed the day before or a collection of quill pens that make you wonder what was written with them. It awakened in me a sense of childlike curiosity and wonder that I hadn't felt in years.
If you stay here, at least one time recline on the low, sprawling, purple couch, put on a record from the extensive collection, toggling the power switch on the receiver which is oh-so-satisfying, and immerse yourself in the thrum of downtown Vancouver while surrounded by the music. I dare you to do this and not feel deep contentment, as I did.