An Emerald-Green Gem

Victoria Family renovates kitchen with bold, English-inspired design and heritage charm. — Homeowner Rachel Laird dreamed of having space for her family to create together, and this enchanting kitchen delivers. The vibrant cabinets in bold Cushing Green are complemented by beadboard in the softer Sea Haze, both colours by Benjamin Moore. The red oak island adds a woodsy feel to the space.

BY DANIELLE POPE | PHOTOS BY MARY McNEILL KNOWLES

Rachel Laird and her husband Dave found their Swan Lake home at the height of the market frenzy. It was 2016, and the couple was relocating to Victoria from Kelowna, with no time to be choosy.

“The house was in an area we weren’t really familiar with, but we made an offer and just hoped it went through,” says Laird. “It seemed peaceful and lovely.”

The offer worked. Once the house was in hand, however, they weren’t sure it would be a long-term match. The 1940s-era build had been brought up to 1980s standards, but the kitchen was still especially small and antiquated.

Life clipped along for the couple. They settled into Island living and welcomed a daughter. Then the pandemic struck.

“We actually had the home for four years before we made any changes, but we started thinking — like everyone during the pandemic — what would we need to do to actually make this place work for us?” Laird says. “Either we needed to move, or change something.”

BEFORE

Pre-reno, the kitchen was antiquated and impractical. While the plumbing stayed in its original location to help with function and costs, the exterior door was swapped from solid to glass with mullions to match the existing windows, which held heritage charm. Custom Vancouver Island marble flooring replaced dated vinyl, and new Montblanc Caesarstone countertops appear as though they’ve always been there. The romantic archway builds a transition between this special zone and the rest of the home.

Transformation of a 1940s-era kitchen into a timeless, functional space with bold, English-inspired design

CURVES AHEAD

Laird made a call to the team at Victoria design firm Bidgood. With modest hope, she approached them with a few ideas on how the kitchen could be modernized, brightened, maybe even expanded — but it was hard to envision how much could change. And, she had a firm deadline of August 2021, with her second child due soon after.

“This family wanted to connect the home so the kitchen was a central part of the living space,” says Kyla Bidgood, creative director and founder of Bidgood. “They wanted to open it up but not alter the footprint, and we needed to align the changes so the space would feel like it belonged and was part of the home’s ethos.”

By now, they loved the area and the market was ballooning. A livable suite in the home’s lower level made it possible for the family to expand their layout. Still, the main floor was impractical for parents with young children.

This kitchen — with its plain white cabinetry, steel pulls, vinyl flooring and generic counters — was surprisingly dark and its awkward layout left anyone working in the space with their back to the rest of the house.

“Our biggest thing was being able to see the kids, and it felt very dark, with minimal counter space,” says Laird. “Even in an awkward one, everyone always ends up in the kitchen.”

Bidgood’s challenge was to bring a beat back into this home’s heart. With a mission to open the space and improve flow, brightness, storage, prep space and connection with the rest of the house, it was no small order. Plumbing could stay in its original location to help with construction costs, but the team modernized the space with chef-grade appliances and brought in an English country esthetic. That included honouring the home’s coved ceilings by way of adding a new archway and pill-shaped island.

“Their street had a very English countryside feel and we wanted to bring that feel-good storybook essence into the kitchen,” Bidgood says. “Opening up the space with the archway kept the kitchen defined, but added a renewed sense of connection.”

The room would be losing a wall, but gaining an island that would become the focal point and workspace of the kitchen. The purpose-built piece isn’t filled with special plumbing or modern-day storage risers. Instead, it looks like a period-specific, butcher-block centrepiece that doubles as a movable servery, landing for groceries or place to visit.

“It’s so fun to prep dinner and have my daughter sit on a stool at the end of the island and talk about her day,” says Laird. “It feels just right. The end result was completely outside my realm of what I thought was possible. When I heard the plan I said, ‘If I had a kitchen like that, it would be beyond imagination.’ And it truly is.”

BEFORE

Far from the drab motifs of this kitchen’s past, antique brass ring pulls and the Ikon low-divide sink in Blanco add both functionality and historic charm. The Georgian-style bridge kitchen faucet and side spray in unlacquered brass by Perrin & Rowe will weather family life and add patina for decades to come.

INSPIRED BY ENGLAND

Not only does the renewed space bring function into the home, it does so with a romantic colour scheme that speaks to Laird’s bold personality — and one that evokes traditional English kitchens that are often decorated in bold hues.

“I love colour in that moody, British sort of way. I love that personality and lived-in-ness — the emerald green, with the marble floor,” says Laird. “My husband was a little skeptical at first, so this colour was a compromise, but the green we landed on is perfect. When people see it for the first time they often remark how well it works.”

“I love colour in that moody, British sort of way. I love that personality and lived-in-ness …”

The floor, with its quad tile sets of Vancouver Island marble, is one of Laird’s favourite features. While the materials are new, the look has a true heritage feel and wears well.

“I don’t want to be precious about things, and you can worry about that after it’s just been renovated,” she says. “I like the patina, and that it has a scratch from when [the children] were playing with a toy car. It wears with us, as a family.”

The carved Caesarstone backsplash lifts the elegance of the countertops while keeping visual interest.

The brass Boston Functional Single Arm Library Light by Chapman & Myers adds a sense of history to this space, while zinc shell cup pulls in antique brass carry on the heritage feel. The hood vent art was discovered via the studio at What’s Lost and Found.

With a design for longevity in mind, a priority for the Bidgood team was not only to make the changes look like they had always been there, but also to bring in materials that will work for decades to come.

“That feeling of warmth and coziness is something we wanted this family, and everyone who comes into their home, to feel,” says Bidgood. “It’s like grandma’s kitchen back in the 1940s — it was always pristine, but had a lived-in look, with craftsmanship built to withstand life.”