The Greater Vancouver Home Builders’ Association’s 2016 Ovation Awards are around the corner, and will be celebrating excellence in residential design and construction in projects across the Lower Mainland.
And here’s your chance to influence one of the results – and maybe win a fabulous prize in the process!
This year’s popular People’s Choice Award is all about the region’s hottest kitchens, whether new or renovated – and every voter will be entered to win a $1,000 gift card to spend at fine Italian cabinetry and furniture design company Garbo Arredamenti, courtesy of GRB Italian Interiors Ltd.
Have a look at the seven shortlisted projects in the photo gallery above, and read about each project in more detail below the voting form. When you’ve decided, just click on the voting button for the project of your choice in the form below, then fill in your details so we can enter you into the prize draw.
The winners of the 2016 Ovation Awards, including People’s Choice, will be announced at the Awards Gala on Saturday, April 23 at the Vancouver Marriott Pinnacle Downtown. For more information, go to www.ovationawards.ca.
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Project #1: Granville Manor, Vancouver
This striking kitchen is truly one-of-a-kind and so well suited for this home. Anchored by a captivating 14-foot long island, it offers a perfect eating, entertaining bar for family and friends, and also doubles as kitchen work surface with allowance for multiple work stations. The countertop is made-up of four granite slabs with a beautiful waterfall edge. Baroque glass tiles accentuate the front toe kick as well as accenting on the kitchen’s backsplash.
Three burnished silver chandeliers hang majestically overtop. Striking full-height dark-stained walnut cabinets and glass doors add display element as well as convenient storage. The upper cabinet design is inspired by a traditional china cabinet, yet decidedly modern-day. The cabinets feature bronzed mirror backing and stylish antique English handles. The polished white ceramic wall-tile backsplash and unique Tuscan-styled Lyon Stone range hood create a stunning look.
Brushed oak wide-plank engineered hardwood connects the kitchen to the rest of the home. This kitchen’s galley-style layout works well for convenient food preparation and entertaining. It is further expanded with a seamless integration with the adjoining covered terrace for fabulous year-round dining.
This indoor/outdoor space is made possible with the flexibility of the bi-folding glass wall that doubles the overall space in minutes. All these details plus the 11-foot high ceiling make this kitchen feel much larger than its actual square footage. Environmentally-friendly features make this kitchen even more appealing. Boasting Energuide 80, there are many “inside-the-wall” details that make this a very energy efficient kitchen.
Project #2: 948 Belmont, District of North Vancouver
This open-plan kitchen was designed based on “activity centres” or “zones” which also provide spaces for entertaining and dining. All the “zones” – including storage, preparation, cooking, entertaining and dining areas – have easy access to each other so that a user can walk a straight line from one zone to the other one.
The main kitchen serves as the new “great room”, which also provides more room by opening the 15 foot folding door to back yard living space. The design of this modern-looking cabinetry includes three-inch thick gables matching the three-inch countertops, kitchen island which is aligned with exterior windows and folding door, storage on both sides of the island with water fall counter tops, hidden hood fan for electric cook top, bigger hood fan, sink and gas stove in wok kitchen, porcelain Roberto Cavalli tiles in wok kitchen, hidden garbage pull out, saw cut on all back splashes and two dishwashers.
Rift cut oak cabinets matching with Calcutta Caesar stone counter tops and Ash hardwood flooring. White solid real glass doors for upper cabinets with blum jacks, 12 handmade bucci lights on top of the island matching with countertops and white glass upper doors, Kohler sinks and faucets, steel cover plates for electric outlets and plugs matching the appliances complete this kitchen .
Environmental friendly stainless steel Subzero Wolfe appliances with the highest level of energy saving rating A+++, Euro line windows and folding doors with best rate of heat loss, LED puck lights and pot lights, IBC boiler certified with ASME rated vessel condenses and web based controls allowing for remote communication were used.
Project #3: North Shore Lookout, North Vancouver
This one-of-a-kind kitchen is absolutely stunning. A minimalist-lover by nature, the homeowner had her dream kitchen planned in her mind prior to even the design-stage and knew exactly where she wanted everything placed. The resulting kitchen design looks and feels spectacular and spacious!
Your eye is immediately drawn to the single sheet of stainless-steel covering the hood fan; it’s a piece of art that blends with the other stainless-steel elements in the home and creates an interesting dynamic with the lines of the vaulted ceiling above. Clever built-ins maximize the kitchen’s functionality while offering a clutter-free space. The homeowners love to entertain so a built-in bar area was included – the perfect place for light food-preparation, serving, and creating fabulous cocktails for friends! The bar area’s backsplash is completely unique with chartreuse-coloured geometric-shaped tile, adding a splash of retro-colour.
The rest of the kitchen has a modern mix of subtle, neutral colour-tones. The huge central-island is made of natural stone with waterfall-edge extending stone down to floor. With comfortable seating for 5 people, plenty of storage, and an expansive countertop, this island is the favourite gathering place for family and friends. On the back-wall, behind the range, there’s a beautiful textured split-face grey marble which contrasts with the kitchen’s otherwise smooth faces. Cabinets are made of striking vertical-grained natural teak-walnut with a clean profile. The cabinets look deceptively simple, but construction was complex, to ensure they fit with the ceiling lines! A beautiful, hard-wearing wide-plank engineered natural-hardwood flows throughout.
The appliances are a chef’s dream - Wolf range, SubZero integrated fridge, double wall ovens, bar fridge and more! Huge expanses of windows connect this spacious kitchen with its spectacular outdoor wooded location. This kitchen truly fits the wants and needs of the homeowner while looking sensational. Complex needs, simple design – beautiful results.
Project #4: Hillside Splendor, Coquitlam
It’s hard to imagine what this kitchen looked like prior to its stunning renovation! The previous dated oak design had a segregated cooking-area tucked in a corner nook. This new kitchen is a complete transformation – a spacious open-concept layout.
Maximizing the floor space offers many options for this busy family, including several flexible areas for cooking and entertaining. Homeowners love the large centralized, quartz-topped island with three-inch waterfall edges. This is the main cooking area and offers a convenient preparation surface and breakfast bar. It’s surrounded by high-gloss European-style cabinetry.
The main kitchen is supplemented by a secondary prep kitchen, a well-ventilated compact 88-square-foot space (including a secondary sink and dishwasher) that eliminates mess in the main kitchen. The free-flowing floorplan has the Miele refrigerator situated for convenient access from both kitchens. This technology-loving family loves the motorized hood-fan that retracts out-of-sightlines when cooking is complete. This dream kitchen also includes a coffee bar (with built-in espresso machine) that’s perfect when entertaining guests, as it leaves the main work areas uninterrupted for food preparation. While not shown in the photo, guests are wowed by the 3-sided modern gas fireplace that offers the perfect separation between kitchen and great room.
The true jaw-dropping feature is the over-sized quartz dining table. Custom-made for this home, it has chunky 4.5 inch mitred-edges with exposed sides wrapped in finished quartz. Seating 10 people comfortably, this table weighs over 6000 lbs and required a steel support frame to re-inforce the kitchen floor! A slim-line LED light sculpture is suspended over the table, carefully chosen for its clean design. There’s a green side to this striking kitchen…the energy-efficiency and Energuide rating increased dramatically; now BuiltGreen Gold with better appliances, lighting, locally-sourced cabinets, and low-flow plumbing. Plus various charities received the donations of used building supplies and appliances.
Project 5: Sailor’s Retreat, West Vancouver
When this waterfront high-rise condo was built 25 years ago, its kitchen was just a place to cook. Last year, new owners re-imagined it as a centrepiece for sophisticated entertaining and the focal point for simple, elegant living through the rest of their lives. Stunning in how it loves the sea. Like them.
What do you do?
Expand it, moving a wall to capture space from a barely used hallway. Extend it - discover the southern views behind old cabinetry and incorporate the old dining area. Ditch the baseboard heaters; use radiant in-floor heating.
Give the kitchen a functional flow around a dramatic double-waterfall Indian-marble island. Marble the countertops, too, then accent them with large-format floor tile and lighted display cabinets.
Make cooking sizzle with an induction cooktop. Clear your sightlines with pop-up downdraft and electrical towers. Keep refrigeration handy in sink-side euro-style 24-inch cabinet, island fridge-freezer drawers and under-counter wine cooler.
Then set it all aglow with a wall of floor-to-ceiling golden anigre-veneer cabinets and an anigre ceiling panel that mirrors the island and holds recessed lights (preserving the ocean views).
There are significant challenges with concrete floors, ceilings and walls. Overcome them with a cross-strap ceiling for new overhead runs. X-ray the floor to channel services without damaging the rebar or structure. Design coffers around ceiling edges for ventilation ducts, gimballed task lighting, recessed LED accent lights, and hidden power blinds.
Finally, how about connecting the kitchen to the living area around a spectacular chroma-clay pebble-finish three-sided gas fireplace? Wait – none of those work with the condo's limited vent. So you design a one-of-a-kind fireplace that can, then get it specially approved. You can hide the mechanicals behind removable cabinet shelves.
Project #6: Alpine Kitchen, North Vancouver
A beautifully modern and sleek all white custom kitchen with large L- shaped island. This kitchen is fully equipped with European glass cabinets, built-in Energy Star appliances, large format European porcelain tiles throughout, and small vac-pan’s for quick and convenient clean up. This incredible kitchen includes custom wall-to-wall wood shelf above the sink with LED lighting, white quartz Caesartone backsplash to match the countertops, glass cabinets and drop ceilings throughout.
In addition to the abundance of storage, this kitchen includes two built-in dishwashers on both sides of the sink and two built-in spice racks on either side of the stove. The beautiful upper cabinets lift automatically with just a touch allowing for quick and easy access while cooking and entertaining. The elevator hood fan also lowers with just a touch to save space and helps maintain the open concept feel of this contemporary kitchen. The large built in double door fridge is integrated seamlessly into the kitchen design to maintain the modern and chic look. And to add a little pop, the kitchen features black Miele appliances.
Project #7: Hyde Park, Surrey
The challenge – this gorgeous townhome kitchen was designed to stand out in a busy multi-family landscape. No-one wants to make sacrifices to their kitchen when down-sizing or right-sizing. And with this kitchen they don’t have to. Inspired from previous award-winning kitchen designs, the kitchen’s U-shaped configuration is simple and works very efficiently within its footprint, creating a great work triangle. The island is large for the space, perfect for family and guests to gather at, or lend a hand with the food preparation.
Large windows provide plenty of natural light. Strategically-placed pot lights give general lighting and contemporary cylinder-styled pendant lights focus on the island. Sophisticated, clean-lined Italian flat-paneled cabinetry features hi-gloss white upper cabinets and dark-toned horizontal-grained lower cabinets on the back wall. Dark accent panels on either side of the hood fan add extra punch! Unique floating display shelves give opportunity to show off special treasures. This same dark wood cabinetry is carried though the main floor in the adjoining two-sided wall-unit that features a fireplace facing the eating area – another unique feature for this kitchen/great room space.
Storage is always important and this kitchen offers plenty. Clutter-free surfaces are ensured with a huge floor-to-ceiling pantry, built-in storage spaces, and even a ‘magic corner’ maximizes the capacity and usability of all the kitchen cupboards. The beauty of this kitchen is the spaciousness that comes from being part of an open-concept floorplan. Not only is food service convenient to the dining area but also to the outside deck. Durable, soft-toned wide-plank laminate flooring runs throughout main, unifying the space.
Overall, this kitchen meets and exceeds its goals. It stands-out from “typical” kitchens with its unique design details, and feels like a gorgeous contemporary kitchen.
Contest rules: No purchase necessary. One entry per person. Must be 19+ years of age to enter. Only Greater Vancouver area residents are eligible to win the grand prize. Employees (and their families) of Greater Vancouver Home Builders' Association, Glacier Media Group and GRB Italian Interiors Ltd. are not eligible to enter. Winner will be selected on Monday, April 4 by Real Estate Weekly (REW) representatives in a random draw of eligible entrants, and contacted by email or phone. The winner will be notified by 5pm April 4, 2016, and will have one week to respond with the mailing address to send the prize gift voucher for $1,000 towards Italian cabinetry. In the event of seven days of non-response, the first winner forfeits the prize and another winner will be drawn, and so on. The winner agrees to allow the Greater Vancouver Home Builders' Association, Glacier Media Group, Real Estate Weekly, REW.ca and GRB Italian Interiors Ltd. to contact and publish the name of the prize winner. The grand prize must be accepted as offered and there is no cash equivalent or alternative prize.
