Virginia Park

Main Floor Overhaul

This beautiful family came to me as a referral from a contractor. At the time, they had already gone through a few different kitchen design options from a local cabinet supplier and nothing had given them that WOW feeling yet. They truly needed someone who was going to look at the entire space as a whole (Hi! I’m Kass!)

When I originally spoke to Stephanie on the phone, I could tell the intention was more than just “my kitchen is ugly”. They had goals of making sure their personality was evident in the design – that everyone in the home was happy with the vision and that it was going to enhance their everyday experience.

The main goal of this overhaul was mostly for their sweet boy, Luke, who uses a wheelchair as a form of mobility. The entryway and main floor were not accommodating to their unique everyday needs.

At the top of their Wish List was:

Open-concept main floor
Accessible wheelchair storage
Spacious entryway
Seamless flooring throughout
An intentional display of inspirational quotes they had collected over years of hospital visits and hopeful surgeries

After meeting with them for the initial design consultation, my mind was running wild with how much we could do with the space. I was working with a cramped kitchen, a living room that had a large, disproportionate fireplace and a dining room that was barely used (mostly just got in the way of front door shenanigans).

My brain produces wildly creative solutions and that’s exactly what we did here. I suggested that we flip-flop the entire main floor. The living room became the kitchen, the kitchen became the dining room and the dining room became the living room. Within the old kitchen location, I was able to design a closet space big enough to fit Luke’s wheelchair when not in use. We even repurposed a vintage door into a sliding bar door for added functionality in the entryway.

I had also noticed their love of nature, organic materials and textures, one-of-a-kind vintage finds and warm neutral colours. I presented a sage green colour for the main cabinets and a wood-tone for their big 6-seater island. We kept it fairly understated with the Colton Design from Cambria on the countertop and had fun with an over-sized, textured hexagon for the backslash.

We installed vinyl-plank flooring throughout and kept it simple with one paint colour for the entire space. We were also sure to give them a little structure when it came to displaying their inspirational quotes on the wall. And of course, we can’t forget about the custom designed fireplace with beautiful cement tiles as an accent and barnboard to cap it off.

I had so much fun working with these clients, creating an inviting space for them and their guests!