Style at Home: Sustainability Through Design

Vancouver explores sustainability through design.

Featured by Style at Home | Article by Martha Uniacke Breen

Photo by Janis Nicolay.

Now in its 20th year, the Vancouver Interior Design Show offers west-coast design lovers a deep dive into what’s new and next in western, cross-Canadian and international style.

The theme of the 2023 edition was “Moving Parts,” exploring the concept of sustainability and how it may be practically applied to every stage of the design process – from initial conception and raw material sourcing to final delivery.

Photo: Knight Varga Interiors (with Aya Kitchens)

Just as with IDS’s sister show in Toronto, the big brands like Caesarstone and Miele had a strong presence, and IDS is still a great place to connect with designers and design-forward items for the home. One of the more attractive booths was the full-size kitchen display by the Vancouver duo of Knight Varga, in tandem with Aya Kitchens.

According to Trish Knight, who along with partner Nicole Varga makes up the team, the cabinets feature a new profile that’s a sleeker version of Shaker, and a custom colour called Ice Formation, one of an array of new shades for 2023 from Aya. Knight mentioned she particularly likes Dekton for counters, since it mimics marble better than any other engineered stone but is so strong it can be made in a narrower 1/2” width (which lowers costs) and in longer lengths.