Originally called in to modernize an outdated kitchen, this Treeline Home project soon expanded to include renovating the dining and living room as well as purchasing select lighting, furniture and accessories to complete the new contemporary west coast aesthetic. We achieved this with the help of new custom Dougas-fir cabinetry designed and built by us.

This is the kitchen before we began and what we where first presented with on our initial meeting with our clients. The kitchen was not only a blast from the past, it was also way too small with plenty of room to expand towards the dining room at the far end of this long room.

The sketch I presented our client’s shows the original floor plan and the enw one. The kitchen peninsula has been removed and the window counter expanded along the wall until it is just 15” from the sliding patio door. In order to add a new island in the centre of the room, the island is positioned 40” away from the window cupboards, 42” away from the stove counter and 40” from the passage wall. The island is custom sized at only 27” deep with 12” of it deligated to the standard overhang for bar stools. We also chose to wrap the bar stool overhang around the side for a fourth stool as we have found homeowners love this custom feature.

New pot lights around the parameter of the kitchen, a new pendant over the sink and 3 hand blown fiery red glass pendants over the island keep the room stylishly well lit and even though the island is far narrower than an off the shelf version, it adds a tonne of extra prep and storage space.

The marble mosaic backsplash is referenced in the square grid pattern of the glass inserts of the upper Douglas-fir cabinetry.

I selected Canadian made Trica stools for the kitchen. 2 deer and 2 bear are laser cut into the stool backs as a reference to the real bears and deer that frequent this Treeline backyard.

The dining area next to the kitchen still features the homeowner’s antique dining set, however the wood was cleaned up and refreshed.

The dining room may feature an antique dining set and antique roll top desk on the far wall but it is kept contemporary with the addition of a glitzy pendant over the table, new hardwood flooring and a contemporary green/grey wall colour.

The hardwood travels through the dining and living rooms, down the hall and down the stairs to the entry foyer.

The new fireplace surround is built using Douglas-fir, grey realstone and a marble hearth. The fir panel behind the TV can be removed to access wires if need be. All furniture, lighting and accessory selections where chosen to reflect a contemporary west coast aesthetic and to compliment the homeowners taste. She absolutely loves her new zebra chair in front of the tempered glass desk. While he absolutely loves the new wood piece on the other side.

It’s hard to believe the fireplace wall looked like this before we began.

Needless to say the first thing we did was remove the wood paneling, floating hearth and carpeting. Once that was done new drywall was installed, the plywood floor was cut back to accommodate the new fireproof hearth and then the construction of the fireplace surround began starting with the two new laminated fir posts. Once the fir posts where in place the mantle was temporarily installed.

The laminated mantle was slid over a wood frame, levelled and attached. The whole in the floor was filled first with concrete board and then tiled, the old brick received a coat of mortar and covered in realstone.

Once the construction and finishing was complete, new lighting was installed. Each light source – including the ceiling fan - was selected for its unique design aesthetic.

Lighting for me is an opportunity to express creativity and individual style. Functional they may well be but that doesn’t mean they can’t be artistic expressions as well. Pictured above from left to right is one of the hand blown kitchen island pendants; a lamp whose base also lights up positioned next to the fireplace; the new glitzy dining room light that when lit up casts amazing shadows across the room; and finally a vase shaped hand blown pendant that is positioned above the staircase behind the living room.

I am proud to have one of my own original Evelyn M mixed media on canvas paintings titled “Dawn of the Butterfly” gracing the kitchen wall. Doesn’t the red butterfly play off of the fiery red pendants beautifully!

The transformation is complete.