In 2006 we completed extensive renovations by adding a complete new 2nd story. This allowed the house to finally become purpose-built for use as our home and as a fully private guest suite Bed and Breakfast. We were fortunate then to meet Richard Hinchcliffe designer and chief contractor. Someone who could build what they designed. He took our stick-man concept and crafted a master-piece. Richard also brought with him master-builder John.
The last outstanding piece to complete this rebuild was designing and building a kitchen in harmony with the rest of the renovations.
Well we had good luck again when our dear friend and cabinet maker Hike Preuss (250) 881-4780) became available to take another stick-man drawing and turn that in to an original modern west-coast kitchen.
Hike had built the kitchenettes for the B&B rooms in 2006. We continue to receive compliments about Hike's workmanship from our guests. We specified the "must haves" and "don'ts" then allowed Hike artistic freedom. Below is the result April 2011. Hike, you are amazing!
The appliances are all Viking Professional Series | Range | Range Hood | Refrigerator | Dishwasher | The Viking Professional series is available in many choices of colours. The custom pallette on their web site allows you to skin the appliance to better visualize the appliance in that colour. Orange was tempting :-) It's not a simple order to get just right. With a non-refundable 50% depsosit for an order that takes 3 to 5 months to special order, you want to be sure you get it correct the first time. We wish to give a special thank you to Ryan Crollard (1-800-488-4426) at Dewaard and Bode for all his professional help with this special order.
Hike had told us he was going to make a surprise signature panel. The Kingfisher are local to the lagoon here and we have used him as our logo on our Hummer and Zodiac. Now he is in our kitchen. The real one perches daily on the posts on our dock.
Hike's idea to use the red base board - colour-matched perfectly no less - to tie it all together. We love it. Ashley wished for a wine rack and there it is.
The stained glass doors were custom made about 2000. They lead to the adjoining breakfast dinning room.
The Ames Natura Series tiles were purchased from Pacific Flooring. Their installer Matt is a perfectionist. Quality job Matt!
The pantry beautifully ties in the refrigerator with a compliment of large beautiful pieces of natural maple. A few pictures in the right column show the interior detail of the pantry hardware and the space that it affords.
The drawers and cupbboards are all soft close. The natural maple was Ashley's idea. Hike spent weeks tracking it down. The rounded shelf perfectly transitioned to the existing window with neither compromising the view nor the flow of the space. This too was all Hike. His design and craftsmanship are spot on.
The kashmir white granite counter-tops and backsplash were measured, cut and installed without a flaw by Adam of Tyndal Distributors The diswasher does not show as availalble from the Viking web site. We thought we would have to settle for stainless when Ryan somehow got us a red one ordered.
The large porcelain apron sink by Franke has no divider and is a delight to use. Large pots and pans are easy to clean. The Grohe faucets are slick and smooth operating.
The Franke prep sink came complete with built in cutting board and several bowls fiitted to the upper portion of the sink. The rinse bowl is really useful.
Our friend Tiffany contributed her idea of the curved indentation where the island widens at the kidney-shaped seating area. The reach to the sink was immediately more comfortable. Standing at the prep sink feels natural as the curves embrace you. This kitchen island has already become a socializing center-piece in this already inviting kitchen.