We’d like to go ahead and dedicate our 2025 Interior Designer of the Year award to a former guidance counsellor at Stelly’s Secondary School in Brentwood Bay, B.C. Without them, Kyla Bidgood might have never taken an aptitude test as a high schooler—and might have never learned that “interior decorator” was a career at all.

She was always a creative kid, dancing “every day of the week” and collaging her bedroom walls. But it wasn’t until she saw that career suggestion on a dot-matrix printout that she found her ideal path.

Almost 20 years into her career and still exceedingly humble, our Interior Designer of the Year might not refer to her practice as a calling (in fact, she is more likely to focus on praising her team of eight for their important contributions to her practice), but one look at the rich, captivating spaces she’s brought to life in Victoria and beyond and it’s undeniable that she was meant for this work.

Portrait by Lillie Louise Major

Since completing her education at Vancouver Island University and racking up experience under the region’s busiest designers (Axis Design, Kimberly Williams Interiors, the Interior Design Group and then some), she’s had a prolific run with her own eponymous design studio, crafting everything from restaurants (the Parisian-coded Flute and Fromage) to hotels (the sumptuous Brentwood Bay Resort) to tech offices with an art deco vibe, and has tackled a wide range of residential projects—modernist condos, heritage house revamps, remote cabins, guesthouses steeped in quiet luxury.

The Dollhouse Project. Photo by Mary McNeill Knowles

Though she has her own aesthetic preferences (“I love colour, I love pattern, I love playfulness”), Bidgood’s talents lie not in prescription but in conversation. As a result, her portfolio covers a wide range of styles—a subtly elegant guest suite that embodies the beauty of the West Coast; a dollhouse-like heritage home, repurposed for a young couple; a fir-clad tiny home in the woods with storage galore. No matter the theme, says judge and interior designer Nam Dang-Mitchell, “there is a beautiful tactile and artisanal quality to Bidgood’s work. One can feel that every detail has been lovingly considered.”

READ MORE: Meet last year’s 2024 WL Interior Designer of the Year, Sophie Burke

Over the past two decades, plenty has changed for Bidgood: personally, professionally, aesthetically. “I have a five-year-old and three teenage stepdaughters and I just get durability on such a personal level,” she says with a laugh. “And I want to be surrounded by great memories and pieces that are meaningful.” It’s this sentimental thread that ties her work from yesteryear to the present. “I want places to feel friendly and comfortable, and varied and textured and interesting and, ultimately, an extension of the homeowners.”

The Grove Guest House. Photo by Mary McNeill Knowles
Soft Footprint
The Grove Guest House’s bathroom (above) features local white marble from Vancouver Island Marble Quarries. Photo by Mary McNeill Knowles

These diverse spaces are all elevated and grounded, rooted in thoughtful transformation and personal storytelling. Judge Craig Stanghetta, principal of Ste. Marie Design, praises Bidgood’s “fearless design ethos that resists trends in favour of timeless emotionality.” Bidgood describes her work as “emotional architecture,” and her collaborative process—with clients, team members and a carefully chosen cohort of tradespeople—ensures that every material choice, design detail and gesture helps create an environment that’s character-rich and distinctly human. Palettes are warm, honest and textured, highlighting local craft and layered living. “If someone’s got a gorgeous character home and wants to go full-on traditional, I roll up my sleeves. If they have a very modern aesthetic, I’m like, yes, let’s go, I love it all,” says the designer.

Going for Gold
From the beginning, the vision for Bidgood’s Willows Fable project “was less about aesthetics than atmosphere,” she says. Wallpaper features soft, nostalgic patterns; natural woods in honeyed tones call to mind the craftsmanship of yesteryear. Photo by Mary McNeill Knowles

Her studio’s Grove Guest House project took a handful of 1950s bungalows located on a rural island property and turned them into decidedly luxe private accommodations, with the rugged West Coast wilderness as the background. Elsewhere on Vancouver Island, the team renovated a charming 1920s home rooted in the nostalgia of Grandma’s house: dubbed Willows Fable, the interior celebrates the lived-in, the handed-down and the beautifully imperfect. Here, you’ll find feathered-in floorboards that match the refinished existing hardwood, classic floral wallpaper, mismatched china, and the comforting presence of objects that have stood the test of time.

Art and Architecture
“A good designer is like being an actor,” says Bidgood. “You have to slip on the shoes of another person and think: What do I want? What would I like?” While designing a series of guest houses for some international owners (Grove Guest House, above) she opted to bring West Coast elements into the space—from Canadian art to vintage books on Emily Carr—to really create a sense of place for any visiting American residents. Photo by Mary McNeill Knowles

For a client who wanted to capture the magic of his own childhood cabin experience, Bidgood created a compact, cozy bunkhouse on Jade Lake that took inspiration from boat interiors—clever pullouts, integrated shelving and abundant hidden cabinets allow the modest structure to shift from gathering space to quiet time. For her Dollhouse project, a 1930s home in Victoria got a seven-foot extension to serve a growing family—but it’s almost impossible to detect what’s new and what was existing. Curved forms unify the rooms throughout the project, appearing in the credenza, the banquette and playful pulls.

In the Woods
“The cabins are not precious or pristine—they are made to be used, to be lived in, to gather wear with grace,” Bidgood says of her Jade Lake Cabin project, (above and below). Photo by Mary McNeill Knowles
Photo by Mary McNeill Knowles

Her team’s new builds involve just as much care and thought as their renovations. The Pinecrest Residence is one beautiful example, featuring mid-century influences interpreted through a contemporary lens. There are sleek, clean lines and a familiar low profile, but there’s a softness here, too, thanks to bronzes, an off-white palette and warm white oak cabinetry.

Vintage Charm
In the kitchen of the Pinecrest Residence (above), two brick columns frame the space with quiet drama and symmetry. The contrast between smooth oak and rough brick offers a tactile push and pull. Photo by Mary McNeill Knowles

A guidance counsellor set her on her path originally—so it’s a nice full-circle moment to see that Bidgood is now offering guidance of her own every day. “I work with my clients to really dig out meaning. What are your memories? What are you drawn to? There’s nothing better than showing a client your design package and having them cry.”

Photo by Lillie Louise Major

Q&A: Kyla Bidgood on Design

What books are on your nightstand?

The Creative Act: A Way of Being by Rick Rubin lives at my bedside. I love that I can flip to any page and get a dose of creative fuel and perspective. And to keep things from getting too existential, I’m also currently reading Margo’s Got Money Troubles by Rufi Thorpe, which is turning out to be hilariously life-affirming.

If you weren’t a designer, what job would you be doing?

Probably something in the world of perfumery. It’s my side obsession—as a collector, I’m fascinated by the artistry behind it: the chemistry, the perfumers (a.k.a. “noses”), the history, the storytelling. It’s such a sensory and emotional form of design—just in a different medium.

What are your design pet peeves?

When the impulse is to spread a budget thin across a wide scope instead of focusing in and doing fewer things really well. A smaller footprint with beautiful, lasting materials always feels better to live with in the long run.

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Stacey McLachlan

Stacey McLachlan

Stacey is a senior editor at Western Living magazine, as well as editor-in-chief of sister publication Vancouver magazine. She loves window shopping on the job: send your home accessories and furniture recommendations over to [email protected]