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Finished Capilano kitchen with a white waterfall island, dark handleless cabinetry and a linear pendant light
Capilano, North Vancouver, BC

Capilano Kitchen Transformation

A dated kitchen, completely reimagined.

1
Load-bearing wall removed and re-supported
7
Stages from demolition to handover
100%
Cabinetry designed and built for this room
The brief

Whole-home interior renovation

An enclosed, dark galley kitchen opened up into a bright, connected main floor — structural wall out, beam in, and a full run of two-tone handleless cabinetry built for the new layout.

The original kitchen felt visually busy and disconnected from the adjoining living area. The goal was not simply to replace the cabinetry, but to rethink how the entire space worked. The existing kitchen and dividing wall came out, the new opening was reinforced with a beam and posts, and the room was rebuilt from there — electrical, drywall, paint, flooring, and the complete design, fabrication and installation of custom cabinetry.

Full scope at this home

This was a complete interior renovation. The photo story below follows the kitchen and main floor, where the biggest structural change happened.

  • Structural wall removal and reinforcement
  • Electrical modifications
  • Drywall installation and finishing
  • Interior painting
  • New flooring throughout
  • Custom cabinet design, fabrication and installation
  • Custom millwork and finishing carpentry
  • Custom-built TV feature walls
  • Tile installation
  • Staircase renovation and custom glass railings
  • Bathroom and powder room renovation
  • Basement renovation
  • Living and dining room renovation
  • Lighting installation and upgrades
  • Baseboards, trims and finishing details
  • Final finishing and project coordination
How it was built

Every stage, in the order it happened.

7 stages, photographed on site as the work ran.

  1. The original Capilano kitchen before renovation: dark cherry cabinetry along a narrow galley with a long white island The original kitchen island and bar seating before renovation, looking toward the dark upper cabinets
    Stage 01

    Where we started

    A long, enclosed galley in dark cherry, closed off from the living area by a full-height wall. Plenty of cabinetry, but the room read as a corridor — and the wall meant whoever was cooking was cooking alone.

  2. The Capilano kitchen stripped back during demolition, with the dividing wall removed and the original wall substrate exposed
    Stage 02

    Strip out

    Cabinetry, counters, backsplash and finishes came out back to substrate, and the dividing wall came down. Everything that follows depends on this stage being done cleanly — so services were traced and made safe before a single cabinet moved.

  3. Structural opening in progress: the removed wall replaced by a beam and posts, with exposed joists and rough electrical
    Stage 03

    The new opening

    With the wall gone, the span was picked up on a new beam and posts. Rough electrical was re-run for the revised layout — outlets, under-cabinet circuits and the new pendant positions — while the ceiling was still open.

  4. White custom cabinet carcasses installed along the kitchen wall with the island frame set in the centre of the room
    Stage 04

    Cabinet boxes

    Carcasses were set, levelled and scribed to the room — a full-height run down one wall and the island frame in the centre. Custom work earns its keep here: every box is sized to the walls it actually meets, not to a catalogue.

  5. Dark handleless cabinet fronts installed with the island in place and integrated appliances in the tall run
    Stage 05

    Two-tone fronts

    The dark handleless fronts went on, the tall appliance bank was integrated, and the island took its final form. Full-height storage runs wall to wall, so nothing sits on the counters that doesn't need to.

  6. The finished cabinetry wrapped in protective sheeting while flooring and finishing work is completed
    Stage 06

    Protect and finish

    Floors down, paint on, stone set — all of it under sheeting, with the finished cabinetry wrapped. The unglamorous stage, and the one that decides whether a kitchen still looks new in five years.

  7. The completed Capilano kitchen with a white waterfall island, dark handleless cabinetry and a linear pendant light
    Stage 07

    Handover

    Protection off, integrated LED live, the island lit by a single linear pendant. One connected space, with a clear line of sight from the range through to the living area — exactly what the wall used to prevent.

The result
One connected space, designed for everyday living.
The finished kitchen looking down the dark cabinetry run toward the integrated refrigerator
Finished kitchen detail: the waterfall island edge, integrated sink and the open sightline through to the staircase
The completed kitchen looking toward the garden doors, with under-cabinet lighting and the wall ovens integrated into the tall run

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