Kitsilano Heritage Kitchen

A full renovation was called for this original 1926 house to add additional space and function for a growing family. The interior design was conceived to add timeless style and architectural detail to the home. The interior and exterior of the home was substantially rebuilt and the interior heritage features were added to blend with the exterior of the house.

This traditional kitchen has a fairly large footprint but still presents several design challenges despite the generous size. As the hub of the home, the kitchen is connected to the rest of the house by 4 doorways. The placement of those doors along with windows on 2 walls meant that we had to find creative solutions for this space. The beautiful plate racks on either side of the window not only house most of the family’s daily dish ware but also make creative use of an otherwise awkward amount of wall space. The custom hood surround is a stylish and practical solution to hide the modern hood fan in this traditional shaker kitchen while also providing much needed storage in the towers on either side. The towers house spices and oils in pull out shelves on one side and tea and coffee necessities on the other side of the hood surround. The decorative shelf on the top is used to display heirloom pewter dishes the family has brought with them from their European home. A large pantry with pull out shelves is built into the wall between the kitchen and adjacent mud room, allowing for a built in shoe storage accessible from the other side of the dividing wall between the 2 rooms.

The kitchen cabinetry design showcases a classically timeless shaker door profile and a selection of cabinetry hardware that reflects the finish of the pewter ware on display.  The large marble Island with seating for 5 people is the heart of this home and accommodates many activities from food prep to homework time. One side of the island houses the stand mixer and other large kitchen machines, while the prep sink and dishwasher  drawer make clean up and cooking a breeze. The kitchen island is painted a robin’s egg blue and a lighter shade is painted inside the coffers on the ceiling giving the the design interest while keeping the overall space a calming oasis for a busy family.