Mission Inspired Bisque and Walnut

This project was an addition to a Mission style home. The kitchen cabinetry needed to compliment the home's architectural elements, while suiting the homeowners personal taste and entertainment style.

• Mdf door painted Bisque with maple stained Walnut accents
• Beaded shaker style door
• Staggered elevations
• Counter tops are Silestone Quartz in Mountain Mist
• Cabinets designed to hide exterior entrance stairway in corner-with microwave shelf
• Built-in wall cabinet with lighting, glass door and wine rack
• Increased depth pantry and fridge cabinet
• Bead Board, custom corbels and baseboard detail on island back

How to Choose a Refrigerator

The refrigerator is one of the biggest purchases you will make for your new kitchen. Here are some questions to ask yourself when choosing a new refrigerator:

What should the volume of the refrigerator be?

• One rule of thumb says plan on 12 cubic feet for two people and 2 more cubic feet for each additional household member. If you shop at Costco twice a week, you may require more space.

What style of refrigerator works best with your layout?

• A French door refrigerator works well in a galley kitchen, but a fridge with a full door may work best in a large kitchen (just make sure that the door will swing the right way!

What finish should you choose?

• It is important to consider how the finish of your cabinetry will look with the finish on your appliances. White cabinets look great with a white fridge, as long as the color matches. Stainless steel looks great with white too, but be aware that the sides of your fridge are likely black and will stand out like a sore thumb if exposed! Black appliances are popular, and brushed bronze is making an appearance in contemporary designs.

What depth of refrigerator should you choose?

1) Standard Depth Refrigerators

• Generally available in a variety of sizes, from 42" deep to 30"deep. When selecting a regular depth refrigerator, make certain that you ask your Kitchen Designer to make the panels on either side of the fridge the same depth as the box of the fridge (generally 27 to 30" deep) so that the sides are not visible.

2) Counter Depth Refrigerators

• Generally the box of the counter depth fridge is the same depth as the counter top, 25", so that only the doors and handles of the fridge are protruding from the face of the cabinetry. These models are often available to accept false door panels, but should not be confused with Built-in Refrigerator.

3)Built-in Refrigerators

• Popular brands include Sub Zero, Thermador, Electrolux and Miele. The doors can take custom panels and are designed to blend in with the surrounding cabinetry.

Modern Maple with a bit of Sparkle

This was a fun project. The client was eager to to redesign the space to be fun and cool, while still being fully functional. All details were poured over and some unique design elements resulted.

• Slab style Veneer Doors in Flat Slice Maple wood.
• Extended bar style pulls
• Cabinets were nearly to the 8' ceiling and trimmed in with a fascia
• Counter-tops are Silestone Quartz in "Stellar Night"
• Wall corner cabinets are extended to the counter-top for easy access to day to day items like dishes and the sugar bowl.
• Doors are extended beyond the light rail for a seamless look that doesn't interrupt the vertical lines
• The custom wine rack is based on a design that the client found in a magazine
• all toe-kicks and the bottoms of the island legs are wrapped in brushed aluminum.
• The open shelves (cubbies) above the glass door cabinets make for a great display space.

Classic take on Black and White

This design was for a modest single family home. The kitchen opens directly into the living and dining areas, so the color selection needed compliment the homeowners furnishings and art, and not stand out too dramatically.

• MDF Doors in flat panel door style with inside panel profile
• Finish is semi-gloss PVC on doors
• Crown molding and back/sides of island are Birch stained Espresso colour
• Glass is frosted and hardware is oil rubbed bronze.
• Microwave shelf is incorporated into pantry
• Counter-top is granite tiles with oil rubbed bronze edging
• Ends of island have picture frame molding details in Espresso

Contemporary Plate Rack Twist

I love love love that the upper cabinets were installed on the tile back splash! The open shelf below the glass door is also very cool- a contemporary alternative to the dusty 'plate rack'. This is not one of my designs, but I can certainly envision utilizing some of the elements in it for future projects.

Country Cozy

I love this sweet little house. The couple that renovated it have great taste, really pulled off decorating and pulling the colours together in the rest of the space. All cabinetry and countertop by Progressive Cabinets.

• Birch doors in Raised Panel door style with Shaker profile
• Glass doors with Mullions and Olde German Glass
• Cubby style wine rack
• Staggared elevations at 92 and 84 inches
• Silestone Quartz Countertop in Brazillian Brown
• Hardware in Oil Rubbed Bronze finish

Worlds Coolest Wine Cellar

A client forwarded these pictures to me this week in an email titled 'medicine cabinet ideas'! What a great way to incorporate the wine cellar into the kitchen!

The Spruce Grove Court Project

A couple years ago, My partner and his brother moved this house from Kearney Lake Road to Beaverbank, put it on a new foundation and renovated it. This is the kitchen design we decided on. All Cabinetry by Progressive Cabinets in Dartmouth, Nova Scotia. Design by myself.

• Natural Birch doors in Flat Panel Shaker style
• Glass doors with mullions and plain glass
• one bank of pot and pan drawers
• concrete counter tops with urathane sealer
• open shelving on end of peninsula
• raised bar on peninsula
• slide in range
• custom depth pantry and fridge cabinet
• natural multli-coloured slate backsplash