Vintage Kitchen Restoration A vintage kitchen restoration with authentic flush inset cabinets, cup pulls, exposed hinges and custom retro appliances by Northstar are all very possible. It's what we've been doing for clients for over ten years now! Here are a few examples: Helene and Alan loved their 100 year old Vancouver home, [...]
Luxury Kitchen Design - Four Key Design Elements Luxury kitchen design has come to mean very different things to different people. Of those we have been involved with in designing and/or building, regardless of whether they are classic white upscale city homes or casual country homes, four key design elements stand out: spaciousness, the [...]
Home Library Design Home library design begins with a clear understanding of how you want to use the space. Traditionally, a home library is a space for storing books, but it may be much more than that for you. Anna and Tristen's home library in the photo above is in a loft overlooking the [...]
Modern Country Kitchens Modern country kitchens have that casual comfortable feeling but with all the modern appliances and hardware that make life easier. For example: in the photo above there is a standard size dishwasher concealed behind a bank of three faux drawers to the right of the sink. Yes, there is a large [...]
Kitchen Island Design Kitchen island design is vast, as the British would say! So many different shapes and sizes; some more for show, others simply practical work stations. The island above is in a Shaughnessy residence; a historic district in Vancouver, British Columbia. This island is 10' wide x 7' deep. It has [...]
Traditional Kitchen Design Traditional kitchen design can mean different things to different folks. Do you mean 100 year old American or Canadian traditional kitchens? That would likely mean that there would be free-standing furniture pieces like a hutch that functioned as a dry pantry, maybe a dry sink and a kitchen table. Certainly [...]
Beaded Inset Cabinets Our beaded inset cabinets have a 1/4" wide bead detail around all door and drawer openings. The bead is a part of the face frame, not the door. Although the bead detail certainly gives the cabinet a very classy look, it can also be used on more casual cabinets and [...]
Reclaimed Wood Floors Reclaimed wood floors have been an important design element in a number of our projects. Right away they tell you that you are in a casual space and it's ok to relax. The homeowners of this timber frame home wanted a low maintenance, user-friendly floor that felt comfortable to bare [...]
White Kitchens White kitchens are chosen more often by our clients than any other color or finish! Often homeowners will choose white perimeter cabinets (the cabinets that are placed against the walls around the room) with an alternate color or finish for an island or other feature piece. In the photo above, the perimeter [...]
Designing inset cabinets begins with an understanding of how they are going to be built. Traditional inset cabinets are cabinets with the doors and drawer-fronts set into a face frame. Think picture frame. The doors and drawer-fronts are the paintings inside the frame. Inset cabinets look more like furniture pieces than storage cabinets. [...]
