November 2, 2024

BlocDeBlocs

Home is a place where we can be happy

A designer brings a restaurant-inspired layout to her dream kitchen

A designer brings a restaurant-inspired layout to her dream kitchen

This meant designing commercial-style functionality into every corner

Article content

After more than 15 years designing client kitchens–especially so many white ones–choosing warm woods and matte black in her own was a welcome detour for Katerina Vastardis.

Advertisement 2

Article content

“I often pitch design ideas and materials to clients, but those items or designs don’t get selected,” she says. “I have a folder on my computer called ‘Graveyard of Ideas.’ I got to open that folder and implement some of them.”

Article content

kitchen
The kitchen’s north wall, clad in matte black laminate, houses a pantry for food storage, plus a fridge, wine cooler and freezer–all Sub-Zero single-door panelled models–plus a beverage station. Photo by ishot /PNG

Vastardis, who is owner of Vancouver’s Designs by KS, designed the kitchen, along with the rest of her family’s 2,600-square-foot new build, completed in 2021.

She took cues from the restaurant industry when planning the layout. This meant designing commercial-style functionality into every corner, with work “stations” for cooking, food storage, prep and cleaning. On the esthetic side, she went with plenty of warm, welcoming wood. “We used walnut on the cabinets themselves….I think that it’s rich and beautiful and timeless,” she says.

Article content

Advertisement 3

Article content

tiles
Textured mosaic tile–from the Ann Sacks Savoy collection–adds texture, complementing Silestone quartz countertops and MATT Concrete wall panels. Photo by Ishot /PNG

Rift-cut white oak ceiling slats–one of Vastardis’s “folder” ideas–and Rove Concept wishbone stools play off oak flooring. “And all of that wood is cooled down by the black in the cabinets, hood fan area and appliances. The countertops are a quartz, but it’s honed, so it looks a little bit more rugged and concrete-like,” Vastardis says.

The sub-175-square-foot space packs an impressive fleet of appliances for its size, including a standalone fridge, freezer and wine fridge, plus a Wolf gas range, steam oven and wall oven. For the “cleanup station” in the island, Vastardis added a five-foot-long sink and two dishwashers, one standard-style Miele and one Fisher Paykel drawer-style model, handy for smaller loads and keeping mess off the counter.

Advertisement 4

Article content

kitchen
Although warm-toned and compact, the kitchen gets plenty of daylight, thanks to a large south-facing window with views of the backyard, and patio doors to the west. Photo by ishot /PNG

Was it harrowing to design her own kitchen after working for so many years with clients? “I always joke around that my client was my husband,” she says. “When you work on your own project, there’s a little bit more emotion involved. So that was interesting. But nevertheless, it was very rewarding.”

kitchen
Vastardis brought in Organized Clean Designs, a professional organizing company, to ensure maximum efficiency, down to the containers inside drawers. Photo by ishot /PNG

Design: Designs by KS

Construction: Furtado Contracting Ltd.

Comments

Postmedia is committed to maintaining a lively but civil forum for discussion and encourage all readers to share their views on our articles. Comments may take up to an hour for moderation before appearing on the site. We ask you to keep your comments relevant and respectful. We have enabled email notifications—you will now receive an email if you receive a reply to your comment, there is an update to a comment thread you follow or if a user you follow comments. Visit our Community Guidelines for more information and details on how to adjust your email settings.

Join the Conversation

Advertisement 1