Three finished Birdseye kitchens on mid-Vancouver Island

Our work

Real Island kitchens

Every kitchen here is one we designed, built, and installed — from a straightforward reface to a full custom build.

Six projects, three paths

Same care. Different amounts of change.

Every project below is a real Birdseye job on mid — Vancouver Island. Between them they show the whole range — from a reface that kept everything but the fronts, to a room designed from empty, to built-ins that aren’t a kitchen at all.

Reface · the look Partial · how it works Full custom · everything

Full custom

Ocean Breeze — designed around two, from an empty room up

Full custom · Nanaimo Ocean Breeze — a kitchen in tranquil blue

Designed around two, from an empty room up

The homeowners chose this exact shade of blue and wanted a calm retreat with seating for two. With no room for a traditional table, we built the seating right into the peninsula — a from-scratch layout shaped around exactly how they live.

Colour: Serenely SW 9632 · Sherwin-Williams
Door style: Beveled Shaker, lacquer finish
Boxes: ⅝” melamine, plywood core
Drawers: BLUM Merivobox soft-close

Read the full Ocean Breeze story on the current site

More from this kitchen — click a photo to expand

Partial renovation

White Doves & Walnut — new pantry, new doors, same solid boxes

The Bender kitchen in Nanaimo before its partial renovation, with dark espresso raised-panel doors, a busy grey granite counter and a glass-tile backsplash

Partial renovation · Nanaimo White Doves & Walnut — a partial reno that kept what worked

New pantry, new doors, same solid boxes

The existing cabinet boxes were solid, so we kept them — new doors, drawer fronts and a matching walnut pantry tower gave the kitchen an entirely new look. Black walnut on the lowers and the pantry, paired with White Dove uppers so the room doesn’t go dark, tied together with a walnut crown.

Upper cabinets: White Dove OC-65 · Benjamin Moore
Lower cabinets & pantry: Solid black walnut
Door style: Beveled Shaker
Hardware: Mercury Contemporary Pull, 160mm

Read the full White Doves & Walnut story on the current site

More from this kitchen — click a photo to expand

Partial renovation

Honey oak to light grey — the kitchen from our home page

A Nanaimo kitchen before its partial renovation, in honey-oak raised-panel doors, with the upper cabinets stopping short of the ceiling

Partial renovation · Nanaimo Honey oak to light grey — without starting over

The middle path, and where most kitchens land

Most people who see this one guess a brand-new kitchen. The bones were solid, so we didn’t start over: we kept the lower boxes and the layout, turned those lowers into deep drawers, and replaced every upper with new cabinetry to the ceiling — while keeping the counters and backsplash that were still perfect.

What we kept: Lower boxes, layout, counters & backsplash
What changed: Deep drawers in the lowers, new uppers to the ceiling
Doors: Light grey flat panel, glass-insert display uppers
Why it matters: Most of the change of a new kitchen, without the weeks of upheaval

Cabinet reface

O’Malley — refaced in 2014, still looking current

The same kitchen after its 2014 reface, with new maple doors, drawer fronts and hardware

The O’Malley kitchen before refacing, with 1990s arched raised-panel doors and laminate counters

Cabinet reface · Nanaimo O’Malley — a reface that’s aged beautifully

Refaced in 2014 — and still looking current

We refaced this Nanaimo kitchen back in 2014 — kept the existing boxes and layout, and gave it new doors, drawer fronts, and hardware. More than a decade later it still looks current and has taken everyday family life in stride — the best proof there is that a well-done reface lasts.

Age: Refaced in 2014 — still going strong
What we kept: The existing cabinet boxes & layout
What changed: New doors, drawer fronts & hardware
Why it matters: A reface that lasts, not just a quick fix

More from this kitchen — click a photo to expand

Full custom · not a kitchen

Pouring Perfection — a dry bar built to match the house

The Pouring Perfection dry bar in Nanaimo - lit glass-front upper cabinets over white raised-panel drawers, a wood counter and a built-in beverage fridge

Full custom · built-ins · Nanaimo Pouring Perfection — a seamless dry bar

Not every job is a kitchen

The clients wanted a dry bar that matched the door style, crown and countertops in the nearby kitchen, and worked as the entertainment hub of the house. The design was a creative collaboration that achieved the look and features they were after — built-ins that read as if they had always been there.

Colour: Classic Grey OC-23 · Benjamin Moore
Door style: Half-shoulder and bead profiles, raised sloped panel, lacquer finish
Hardware: Senza Transitional pull (128mm) · Grange Transitional knob
Drawers: BLUM Merivobox soft-close

Read the full Pouring Perfection story on the current site

Partial renovation

Ready to Sell — an awkward kitchen, fixed for the market

The Ready to Sell kitchen in Nanaimo — a sage-green corner storage bench with a bamboo edge-grain seat, built where the old pantry bank stood

Partial renovation · Nanaimo Ready to Sell — fixing an awkward layout

Turning an awkward kitchen into a selling point

Many of the kitchens we’re asked for have one job: get the house ready for the market. Here the clients wanted to upgrade a dysfunctional space to allow for in-kitchen dining. A long bank of deep pantry units was relocated to make room for bench storage seating, and new cabinetry around the fridge returned storage to the space. The house sold in four days.

Colour: White Dove OC-65 & Croquet AF-455 · Benjamin Moore
Door style: Beveled Shaker, lacquer finish
Cabinets: Hybrid — some kept, some new
Hardware: Modern metal pull · Richelieu BP8189128195