Project 02 — Kitchens
A narrow Ottawa galley kitchen kept its bright white envelope and gained a hand-painted Moroccan mosaic backsplash, veined quartz counters and open shelving — colour where it counts, calm everywhere else.
Location
Ottawa, Ontario
Category
Kitchen renovation
Scope
Counters, backsplash, shelving, sink and fixtures
Year
2025
Duration
Approximately 4 weeks
The brief
The room is a true galley — one run of cabinetry, one run of counter, a single window over the sink and no space to move a wall. The cabinetry was sound, but tired laminate counters, a shallow sink and a plain painted wall behind the range made the whole space feel like a corridor rather than a kitchen.
Keep the white cabinets and the light. Spend the budget where it shows and gets used every day: a proper counter, a deep double sink, real storage at eye level, and one bold, personal surface — hand-painted Moroccan zellige-pattern tile carried floor to ceiling.
The idea
The build
A tight kitchen renovation lives or dies on sequencing. Counters, tile, shelving and fixtures were scheduled back to back so the family was out of a working kitchen for as little time as possible.
Templated and installed veined white quartz across both runs, with a straight polished edge that keeps the sightline clean. A deep undermount double bowl and a tall gooseneck pull-down faucet sit under the window, where the light is.
Hand-painted Moroccan pattern tile, set full height on the range wall and carried along the counter run so the pattern reads as one continuous field. Layout was dry-set first and centred on the range, with cuts pushed to the outside corners and grout lines matched across every plane.
A tiled niche beside the microwave was fitted with two crisp white floating shelves, and two black cast-iron pipe rails with S-hooks went up on the end wall. In a galley, every hook is a drawer you didn't have to build.
New switching and receptacles set flush into the tile field, painted trim and cabinet touch-ups, and matte black hardware to tie the rails, hooks and faucet together. The maple floor was cleaned up and left as it was — warmth the room already had.
Details
Outcome
The footprint never changed and no cabinets were replaced, yet the room reads as a completely different kitchen. Hard-wearing quartz, a sink that fits a roasting pan, storage at eye level, and a wall of colour the family chose themselves.
See more of our work“You don't need a bigger kitchen. You need the right three surfaces done properly.”
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