We’re proud to share that the Abbey Garden Suite has been awarded Best Large Traditional Kitchen at the 2026 Western Canada Design Excellence Awards (WCDEA). These awards recognize outstanding residential and commercial design across the region. This project reflects the kind of work we believe the recognition celebrates: thoughtful problem-solving, refined detailing, and spaces that elevate everyday living.
A Suite Surprise
This award-winning project began with a thoughtful surprise.
Our client wanted to create a beautifully appointed home away from home for her newly married daughter and son-in-law to enjoy during extended visits. Beyond that, she also envisioned something she had long wanted for herself: a generous, well-equipped kitchen for hosting family and friends on her patio, with the storage and functionality to support large summer gatherings.
The lower level already contained guest bedrooms, but it lacked the amenities and privacy needed to function as a true suite. Without a kitchen, laundry, or separation from the main staircase, it felt more like overflow guest space than a self-contained home.
The renovation transformed it completely into a fully self-contained garden suite with kitchen, living area, bedroom, office, bathroom, and laundry—designed for comfort during extended stays and ease of everyday entertaining.
A key part of the brief was ensuring the space never felt like a basement, but instead like a warm extension of the home above.
Designing for Warmth, Not Utility
The guiding philosophy was timeless over trend. Rather than treating the suite as a conventional secondary space, our design team looked outward to the mature garden beyond the walk-out doors. That landscape became the conceptual anchor for the entire project.
A palette of rift-cut white oak, sage green cabinetry, unlacquered brass, and natural stone brings warmth and cohesion throughout. These are materials chosen not for effect, but for their ability to feel grounded, familiar, and enduring.
The result is a suite that reads as a complete home—layered, comfortable, connected, and peaceful—rather than a collection of renovated rooms.
The Kitchen: Solving a Complex Floor Plan
The kitchen presented the project’s most significant challenge. The original space contained seven openings, a structural bulkhead, and an angled corner window that could not be altered. The result was a fragmented layout with very little continuous wall space for a functional kitchen.
The solution was to treat constraints as opportunities. The kitchen was arranged along the exterior wall to strengthen its connection to the garden and covered deck, while also creating clear separation from the bedroom wing.
One opening was enclosed with a ceiling-height rift-cut white oak cabinetry wall—defining the suite boundary while adding substantial concealed storage. The structural bulkhead was integrated into the millwork, allowing it to feel intentional.
Every decision was driven by clarity, efficiency, and a desire to make the space feel both open and grounded.
The Award-Winning Details
The Stove Wall
A custom tapered hood anchors this end of the kitchen, flanked by white oak floating shelves styled with everyday objects and personal pieces selected by our interior designer. The effect is understated but lived-in, creating a kitchen that feels immediately usable rather than staged.
The Oak Cabinetry Wall
Ceiling-height rift-cut white oak cabinetry runs the length of the space, integrating refrigerator and freezer columns, and pantry storage. The grain subtly references the mature trees outside, reinforcing the connection between interior and landscape.
The Island and Pendants
A sage green island grounds the kitchen and provides generous prep and dining space. Above it, sculptural concrete pendants introduce a more tactile counterpoint—quietly unexpected within the otherwise restrained palette.
Beyond the Kitchen
While the kitchen earned the WCDEA recognition, the strength of the project lies in its overall cohesion.
White oak millwork continues into the living area, forming a ceiling-height media wall that visually links both spaces. In the bathroom, the same material palette is paired with quartz and a frameless glass shower enclosure for a calm, spa-like atmosphere.
A dedicated bedroom, office, laundry, and walk-out patio complete the suite, reinforcing its role as a fully self-contained home.
Direct access to the landscaped garden ensures the indoor-outdoor connection remains central to the experience—exactly as envisioned from the outset.
A Basement That Doesn’t Feel Like One
What was once an underused basement is now a warm, functional home for family—supporting long visits, everyday living, and meaningful gatherings. At its centre is a kitchen designed not only for utility, but for connection: to the garden, to the home above, and to the people who gather there.
We’re honoured that this project has been recognized at the 2026 Western Canada Design Excellence Awards.
Explore the Project
See more of the Abbey Garden Suite in our project portfolio.
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We specialize in transformative residential design-build projects that combine architectural clarity with construction excellence—creating homes that elevate daily life.
Photography by Allan Laing, ALP Photography.