A modern-rustic island kitchen Modern Kitchen, Vancouver

Use art as your inspiration. This oil painting by artist Barbra Edwards was the initial inspiration for the colors and textures throughout the kitchen in her own home. "The house is located on a small island in British Columbia overlooking the Pacific Ocean, and it's surrounded by evergreens and arbutus trees," says Ines Hanl of The Sky is the Limit Design."When we selected the materials, I was very mindful of her preferred color scheme: golds and browns, with flecks of moss. Rift-cut oak stained in three different earthy hues was used for a variety of cabinetry, which is offset by a lacquered soft gray-green specialty cabinet. The custom-made concrete bar relates to the rocks and mountains outside, as does the oyster slate we used on the floor."

Unexpected combination of cabinet materials.

This bar has been made from 3 pieces of preformed concrete. A kitchen for a fine art painter, materials were selected to match her sense of esthetic in her paintings ( see background) - stained quartersawn oak, soft green matte lacquer, bronze and copper all pick up on the setting atop a wooded cliff looking out over the ocean.

drawer on the other side of the bar