2026 Kitchen Design Tip #1: A Plumbed-In Kitchen Island Isn’t the Only Functional Prep Table

Designer Kyla Bidgood keeps one thing top of mind each time she’s commissioned to design a space: what will feel right for this house and this family?

“I love the challenge of imagining what’s going to suit them perfectly, of being, like: what suits this space, this architecture, this family, their personalities, their lifestyle? What’s the magic? The alchemy of all of these things is so unique to a project,” says our 2025 Interior Designer of the Year.

Take the design of Willows Fable, a renovation of a 1920s character home in Victoria’s Oak Bay neighbourhood. Bidgood reinvented the “Grandma chic” home while keeping the vintage spirit alive, just as the young couple who’d purchased it wanted. That balance is especially evident in the home’s kitchen—Bidgood’s client, who loves to cook, wanted to keep the aesthetic of a 1920s kitchen while also having a functional workspace. (It was a difficult ask, given that kitchens from the era are often quite small.) Adding a five-foot addition to the historic space made room for a unique feature: a functional prep table in place of a kitchen island.

“In older homes, the kitchen was not the space where everyone hung out, or the family hub. It was really like a work zone,” the designer says.

Bidgood bullnosed the edges of the countertops to make for extra curves and dropped some kitschy pendant lights close to the counters to illuminate work surfaces. A large stove with an oversized vent anchors the room—the walls of which, by the way, are painted a gorgeous (and once again trending) butter yellow.

“We really wanted the kitchen to look like it was made by a local craftsman, versus a modern kitchen,” she says. “It really does have that handmade quality to it.”

In Focus

Decorative pendant lights frame the window instead of hanging over the island, maintaining a clear sightline to the stove—the kitchen’s dramatic focal point.

Mellow Yellow

Playful colour choices, inspired both by the homeowners’ “adventurous spirit” and the couple’s collection of cabbage plates, give the kitchen its lively, handcrafted charm.

Soft Corners

Custom rounded cabinetry, bullnosed countertops and soft curves throughout the design create a sense of warmth and vintage craftsmanship.

Island Time

The functional kitchen island acts more like a freestanding furniture piece than a traditional built-in, which Bidgood says is an intentional nod to the old-fashioned prep tables that once served kitchens.