Double Island Dream

For these customers - a newly retired professional couple - brightening up their home and making better use of kitchen space were their goals. The home, a classic 1990’s home in South Surrey had darker oak cabinets and a dark dropped, decorative ceiling. They can now enjoy their bright open space with plenty of room for the cook as well as dinner guests.

Solving kitchen space limitations

The original kitchen featured an island with irregular shaped, dark drop ceiling which defined the counter and food prep workspace. The new design included removing the dark irregular ceiling drop and extending the bulkhead to the edge of the great room which redefined a much larger, functional kitchen space. Even with two islands the kitchen is so much larger - one island for food prep and cooking with a cooktop and countertop and another for entertaining with seating.

Eliminating the ceiling drop and updating the oak cabinets and darker countertops, the kitchen has a brighter, bigger feel. Custom cabinetry included inserts - making utensils, spices, oils and a winerack all within easy reach. The kitchen nook changed from a seated eating area to a cozy reading corner with garden views. The ceiling now has 27 recessed LED lights on dimmers.

Energy efficient upgrades

The original windows were drafty. When we removed the window trim we discovered the windows had not been sealed or insulated properly. Adding insulating and resealing the windows will really improve the comfort of the renovated space. New double crowns were installed between upper windows and lower windows for elegant finishes.

Other upgrades:

• Checked and updated all electrical plugs and gas lines
• 27 new LED recessed lights installed with dimmers across kitchen and great room
• Nu heat installed around islands and not across the full kitchen to reduce energy consumption
• Original kitchen cabinets were repurposed for use in garage and basement of the home