We design, build, and install custom kitchens in Ambleside and Dundarave from our Kitsilano showroom, a short drive over the Lions Gate Bridge. Kitchen projects in these two villages tend to be one of two things: a full renewal of a post-war bungalow near the water, or a new kitchen in a view home on the slope above Marine Drive. Most plan in the $30,000 to $50,000 range, and a large view-home kitchen with top-tier finishes and high-end appliances runs past $100,000. Those are planning ranges, and the real number is confirmed in person.
Ambleside sits on the flat between Marine Drive and the seawall, and much of its housing is 1950s and 1960s bungalows and ranchers on wide lots. Many are being renewed rather than replaced, and the kitchen is usually the first room to go. Dundarave, a few blocks west around the pier and the village, has older cottages near the water and larger homes climbing the hill behind, most of them with some view of the water and Point Grey across it. Newer builds are replacing the oldest stock on both sides, and those come with open plans and large kitchens from the start.
The three types ask for different kitchens. The bungalow asks for a made-to-order kitchen that fits an old shell. The view home asks for a kitchen that stays out of the way of the window. The new build asks for a large kitchen that can hold a crowd.
In a home above Marine Drive the water view is the most valuable thing in the room, and the kitchen is designed around it. Base cabinets run under the windows and stay low. Tall storage, the fridge, and the ovens go on the inside wall, so nothing stands between the cook and the view. An island faces out, with the cooktop or the sink on it, so whoever is working looks at the water rather than at a wall.
Coastal light matters for finishes. South-facing light bouncing off the water is bright and cool, and a long run of white painted slab can read flat and glaring in it. Rift white oak or walnut veneer on the fronts, with the painted slab on the island or the tall wall, warms the room without darkening it. It is worth looking at samples in the house, at the time of day you cook, before the finish is chosen.
A 1950s bungalow in Ambleside has a kitchen that was built as a separate room with a door, ceilings around 8 feet, and walls that have moved a little in seventy years. Opening the wall to the dining room is the usual first move, and that is a structural decision for your contractor and an engineer, not for us. Once the opening is decided, we measure the real space and build to it. Plywood boxes made to the millimetre for that wall fit an old house better than stock sizes ever will, and the filler strips that stock kitchens rely on do not appear.
Keeping the sink and the range near their original positions keeps the plumbing and electrical work small. Moving them is fine, but it is a separate trades cost and it needs to be decided before the cabinets are drawn.
Ambleside and Dundarave homes host. A kitchen here is usually asked to feed a table of ten at Thanksgiving and to hold a room full of people standing around the island the rest of the year. That points to a few specific things. An island with seating on the long side and a clear work zone on the other. A drawer stack for serving pieces and platters near the dining room rather than near the stove. A tall pantry cabinet with space towers, so the counter stays clear when guests arrive. A bar zone with a beverage fridge, if the plan has the room for it. Integrated handles keep the long runs clean, and integrated appliances keep the fridge from being the biggest object in the room.
One of our medium kitchens, on Camelot Road in West Vancouver, is a good reference for the finish mix people in Ambleside and Dundarave tend to ask for. The cabinetry cost was $25,000. The fronts are walnut wood veneer and slab MDF painted decorators white, in a handleless slab style on grey plywood boxes. It is warm where the wood is, quiet where the paint is, and there is no hardware on the face to catch the light.
The free consultation happens at our showroom at 1737 West 3rd Avenue in the Armoury District, or at your home. We then produce the design package with 3D renderings so you can walk through the kitchen before it exists. Measurements follow once the design is agreed, and the cabinets are built to your order, engineered in Austria and built in Canada. Our standard lead time is about 4 weeks. Cabinets arrive pre-assembled and are installed by our team or by your own contractor. Hardware and mechanical parts, including hinges, slides, and soft-close, are covered for life under our lifetime warranty, and wood and laminate finishes typically carry a one-year manufacturer warranty.
Start with the Vancouver Kitchen Cost Calculator for a planning range, then read our wider guide to custom kitchens in West Vancouver. When you are ready, book a free consultation and we will come to you or meet you in Kitsilano.