Western Living Magazine
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Introducing the 2026 WL Designers of the Year
Robert Ledingham Memorial Award 2026: Schédio Spaces
Industrial Designer of the Year 2026: Nolan Talbot-Kelly
Eight winners, your People’s Choice favourites and two new Hall of Famers—see who’s shaping Western Canada’s design future.
From an interior designer who credits her early years at sea for her creative streak to an industrial designer who finds inspiration in overlooked hardware and a landscape designer who makes room for the wild, the winners of our 2026 Designers of the Year awards prove there’s no single route to great design.
This year’s eight winners bring ingenuity, craft and fresh thinking to architecture, interiors, landscapes, furniture and objects across Western Canada. Meet the 2026 Western Living Designers of the Year.
For RUFproject’s Sean Pearson, the constraints of a tough project are just the beginning. From tight urban lots to challenging terrain, his multidisciplinary Vancouver studio turns limitations into opportunities for light, landscape and architectural expression. Read More
Bettina Balcaen and Tillie Kwan founded Studio Balcaen Kwan around a belief in “quiet architecture”: thoughtful work shaped by context, craftsmanship and the human experience. Their restrained but sophisticated approach makes the Vancouver practice one of the West’s most exciting emerging studios. Read More
After 30 years in business, Vancouver’s HB Design is still at the top of its game. Jennifer Heffel and Shannon Bradner lead a collaborative studio known for exacting, deeply personal interiors—and for building a company designed to outlast any one designer. Read More
Fisherman’s daughter and former fashion student Jenalee Nordstrom brings an unusual mix of resourcefulness, technical know-how and imagination to Schédio Spaces. Her sculptural interiors are conceived as complete environments, where craft and function are every bit as important as how a room looks. Read More
Andrew van Egmond’s landscapes make room for nature to move closer. Working from Saturna Island, the Dutch-Canadian designer pares projects back to their strongest gestures, using restraint and careful observation to let rock, water, plants and the larger landscape take the lead. Read More
Vancouver designer Nolan Talbot-Kelly finds poetry in the hidden hardware and hardworking systems most of us walk past. From construction components to salvaged materials, his furniture, lighting and objects turn overlooked utilitarian details into something worth looking at twice. Read More
Ko Júbilo brings an industrial designer’s eye for systems and adaptability to furniture that’s meant to grow and change with its owner. His modular, highly considered pieces solve everyday spatial problems without treating furniture as disposable. Read More
Meg Hübert’s playful, imaginative spirit shines through her bespoke ceramic lighting. Colour, texture, translucency and a willingness to experiment turn her functional pieces into joyful little sculptures—and make the Vancouver ceramicist our 2026 Maker of the Year. Read More
The editorial team at Western Living loves nothing more than a perfectly designed space, place or thing: and we’re here to tell you about it. Email us your pitches at [email protected].
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