Western Living Magazine
Protected: How the right windows can help create your dream bathroom
5 Designer Looks That Show How Sliding Glass Doors Can Elevate a Space
8 Beautifully Curated, Art-Filled Homes
A Taste of Taiwan: TikTok’s Tiffy Chen Shares Her Fave Childhood Taiwanese Dishes
Recipe: Traditional Taiwanese Chow Mein (Gu Zao Wei Chao Mian)
Recipe: Fried Shallots
A Relaxing Getaway to San Juan Island: Wine, Alpacas and Farm-Fresh Finds
Black Creek’s Sauna Retreat Is the Ultimate Rural Escape
Local Getaway Idea: Kingfisher’s Healing Caves Redefine Wellness and Escape
The Secret Ingredient to Creating the Perfect Kitchen: Bosch
Everything You Need to Know About the New Livingspace Outdoor Store
New and Noteworthy: 11 Homeware Picks to Refresh Your Space in 2025
Designers of the Year Frequently Asked Questions
Enter Western Living’s 2025 Designers of the Year Awards
Over 50% Sold! Grab Your Tickets to Our Western Living Design 25 Party Now
Jamie Hamilton and Greer Nelson of Oliver Simon Design create a dreamy pink kitchen with clever storage solutions for a baker and artist.
This pretty pink space wasn’t the first project that Jamie Hamilton and Greer Nelson had worked on for this particular client, but it was perhaps the tallest order: “The idea was to create her dream kitchen,” Nelson says matter-of-factly. The two principals of Vancouver-based Oliver Simon Design were tasked with renovating a cold, boring room into a hyperfunctional workspace for a client who is both a baker and an artist. That meant challenging conventional storage, letting nothing stand in the way—not even a door. The duo eliminated a swinging door in the corner of the kitchen and put in a baking pantry to pack with flour and sugar, creating more counter space in the process. Then, they chose a garage-lift shelf for the island: it perfectly fits the homeowner’s stand mixer, pops up to counter height when in use, and then tucks gracefully away. “It’s all easily accessible right when she needs it,” Hamilton notes. The setup could inspire jealousy in even amateur bakers. The marble backsplash with plenty of movement and that delicate pink paint appeal to the client’s creative side, too. “That made it more interesting, more dynamic and more reflective of her,” says Hamilton.
The blushing hue (Sherwin-Williams’s Cabbage Rose) for the kitchen island was drawn from the veining in the Calacatta Vagli backsplash. And, being an artist, the homeowner wasn’t afraid to get colourful: “When you get a chance to use some colour—and you have a client that’s willing to do it—you go for it,” says Nelson.
To celebrate the stunning marble and splash of pink, the rest of the kitchen was kept fairly neutral. Warm oak cabinetry, a black dining table from Sundays and a minimal pendant light from Workstead complement the space’s more conspicuous features.
Are you over 18 years of age?