Western Living Magazine
Small Wonders: 3 Playful Kids’ Rooms Built for Big Imaginations
7 Reading Nooks Where We’d Love to Get Lost in a Good Book
Inside a Gravity-Defying West Vancouver Home
Recipe: St. Lawrence’s Chez Solange Brown Butter Mocktail
8 Surprise Dinners For One Serious Cause. Here’s What’s Going Down at Vancouver Entertains
Recipe: Chicken and Parsnip Stew with Leeks and Potatoes
What It’s Like to Forage with a Two-Michelin Star Chef
5 Things to Do on Salt Spring Island: Where to Eat, Shop and Sip
Hastings House: A Salt Spring Island Getaway Full of Little Luxuries
In Living Colour: 7 Silver Chrome Home Finds That Shine
10 New Furniture, Lighting and Decor Finds for 2026
In Living Colour: 8 Striped Home Finds for Summer
PHOTOS: Party Pics from our 2026 Designers of the Year Awards Party at Inform
Introducing the 2026 WL Designers of the Year
Robert Ledingham Memorial Award 2026: Schédio Spaces
Sponsored Content
Three new Lower Mainland condo developments demonstrate how one standard kitchen layout, with the right design elements, can take on endless fresh looks.
For micro-suites and larger-than-life penthouses alike, right now it’s all about that open concept: floor plans that blur the line between kitchen, dining and living areas to bring people together. It’s why we’re seeing such similar layouts in the latest condo developments; but, still, all kitchens are not created equal. Material choices—countertops, backsplashes, cabinetry—can totally transform the look and feel of a space. Just look at any show suite on the condo market, and you’ll see how this on-trend set-up can be customized and transformed by a designer’s choice of finishes.
Where You’ll See It: Mirabel, West EndDesigner Alda Pereira added in a marble tile backsplash for a hit of natural patterning amid the minimalist white-and-wood cabinetry, which keeps a compact space feeling light and bright.
Where You’ll See It: Foster Martin, White RockA waterfall countertop of grey-and-white marble in this kitchen—along with dark wood-grain cabinets—adds some upscale elegance to the space.
Where You’ll See It: Elenore on Fifth, Mount PleasantThis sleek kitchen space is all about clean lines and sophisticated black-and-white finishes, from the white-laminate cabinets and matching solid- quartz backsplash to the black built-in pantry.
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]
Are you over 18 years of age?
Get the latest headlines delivered to your inbox 3 times a week.