Kitchens

2023 Kitchen Design Tip 4: Make Your Island Perform Double (or Triple) Duty

Laneway homes don't offer much in terms of square footage, but designer Rebecca Foster made the most of this space.

By Alyssa Hirose /
Tracey Ayton

This North Vancouver laneway home was too small for a dining table, so Rebecca Foster, director of design at Welton Design Group, and the builders at Revel Built Inc. decided to think big: with the kitchen island, that is. “We created an oversized island and incorporated seating on the side, so the homeowners are able to sit as a family,” says Foster.

The clients’ own design taste leans toward an English pub vibe, which contrasted with the modern architecture of the home. To bring the two elements together, Foster opted for traditional exposed brick and contemporary pale green cabinetry (Benjamin Moore’s Nature Lover), and tied them together with the warm faux-leather banquette. Photo: Tracey Ayton

The island, which is nearly 11 feet long, has a built-in banquette, plus room to pull up bar seating and a high chair, allowing it to pull triple duty as a dining surface, food prep area and storage solution.

This kitchen embraces the linear in subtle (but intentional) ways. The horizontal lines created by the brick wall, for example, balance the vertical lines made by the shiplap that clads the island. Photo: Tracey Ayton

To prevent the space from feeling too boxed-in, the designer opted for open shelving on the upper cabinetry. “We positioned that bottom shelf very strategically—it’s two inches above eye-height for the tallest person in the home,” Foster explains. “It lightens up the room, and doesn’t distract from views of the beautiful backyard.”

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Alyssa Hirose

Alyssa Hirose

Alyssa Hirose is a Vancouver-based writer, editor, illustrator and comic artist. Her work has been featured in Vancouver magazine, Western Living, BCBusiness, Avenue, Serviette, Geist, BCLiving, Nuvo, Montecristo, The Georgia Straight and more. Her beats are food, travel, arts and culture, style, interior design and anything dog-related. She publishes a daily autobiographical comic on Instagram at @hialyssacomics.