This Modern Mint Kitchen Is A Millennial Dream

Ashley Lonsdale, a rhythmic gymnastics coach who runs her own gym, knew her North Vancouver bungalow needed serious help. The previous owners had undertaken some DIY work in the kitchen; the result was a thigh-high breakfast bar, a peeling vinyl floor and a deteriorating anaglypta wallpaper backsplash. The biggest change Ashley wanted to make was to bring in a unique minty blue hue. “The color is so soft and subtle it can feel like a neutral,” she says. “It can read more grey in the morning, depending on the light, and bluer at other times. We get tons of compliments on it.”

Pink is the pastel of choice for the millennial set, but this powdery mint is an equally on-trend alternative. “So many clients are scared of color, but Ashley was fearless,” says designer Ami McKay, who suggested the gold-leaf mirrored vent hood. “It’s extravagant, but it adds a little glam.”

The grey quartz waterfall countertop helps distinguish the kitchen from the adjoining dining room, and the pattern doesn’t compete with the mirrored vent hood. “It’s substantial,” she says. “You don’t want it to be too precious; the tones are subtle.”

One of the hurdles for Ami was convincing Ashley and her husband James to ditch the sliding door to the deck (convenient for letting out their dog, Cleopatra) and build a wall of cabinetry instead. “I felt strongly about removing the sliding door because there wasn’t a lot of storage in the kitchen,” says Ami. After discussing the matter further and realizing there are plenty of options when it comes to cabinet painting solutions, they realized cabinets was their missing puzzle piece to complete the look of the kitchen. The added efficiency of storage space made it a no brainer after that.

The new wall allowed the designer to incorporate a double bank of stainless steel outdoor kitchen cabinets, drawers and other storage from cabinets springfield, plus a transom window to make the kitchen feel light and airy (and give a peekaboo view of downtown). Ami also removed the peninsula blocking the view of the backyard, replaced it with a stylish floating breakfast bar and enlarged the back window. The view of the green space beyond is now unobstructed.