Tag Archives: cabinetry

Designing for Place, Purpose, and Partnership in the Maritimes | 625 | Natalie Owens & Victoria Armour of Stil James

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From Halifax to the four Maritime provinces, Stil James founders share how timeless design, regional sensibilities, and entrepreneurial grit shape their work and new cabinetry brand, Loran. There’s a kind of quiet confidence in the design work coming out of Canada’s Maritime provinces—projects that don’t chase trends but instead reflect the rhythm of life shaped by weather, culture, and community. In this episode of Convo By Design, I’m talking with the founders of Stil James, a Halifax-based design studio that embodies this spirit of regional purpose. Their approach blends design restraint with deep practicality, and their new cabinetry brand, Loran, takes that philosophy even further.

Designer Resources

Pacific Sales Kitchen and Home. Where excellence meets expertise.

Design Hardware – A stunning and vast collection of jewelry for the home!

TimberTech – Real wood beauty without the upkeep

In this episode, we explore how two designers are navigating generational shifts in lifestyle, climate challenges, and a conservative market while building a business rooted in curiosity, learning, and partnership. From kitchens and mudrooms to cabinetry and color palettes, they reveal what it means to design for both function and future in Atlantic Canada.

We talked about how the pandemic reshaped design thinking in the Maritimes—how open spaces replaced formal dining rooms, and how designers are reimagining older homes to suit how families actually live. The team at Stil James described the region’s unique relationship with design: working “ten to fifteen years behind the trends” not as a limitation, but as an advantage that allows for timelessness and reflection. They draw more inspiration from Europe than North America, taking cues from craftsmanship, heritage, and texture rather than fleeting style cycles.

Our conversation moved into climate resiliency—a constant design driver in Atlantic Canada, where homes must withstand everything from coastal winds to heavy snowfall. Mudrooms become essential transitional spaces, designed for the reality of shifting weather and active family life. Clients are increasingly focused on systems, materials, and sustainable practices that ensure their homes can adapt with the climate.

We also discussed how lifelong learning has become central to the Stil James ethos. They encourage their team to attend design shows, seek global perspectives through digital tools, and value soft skills—resilience, empathy, and curiosity—just as highly as formal training.

Then came Loran, their new cabinetry venture, born out of a clear market need for design-forward millwork in Halifax. Partnering with an Ontario-based manufacturer allows them to maintain quality and scale while keeping exclusivity within the Maritimes. Loren’s mission extends beyond their own design projects, serving other designers and homeowners seeking elevated cabinetry built with longevity in mind.

Show Topics

  • Shifts in design philosophy post-2020
  • Retrofitting Maritime homes for modern living
  • Working “behind the trends” as an advantage
  • Designing for climate resiliency and functional living
  • Building a culture of curiosity and continuous learning
  • Launching Loren: a cabinetry company for the Maritimes
  • Rejecting color trend cycles for timeless design
  • Entrepreneurship, partnership, and the business of expansion
  • The dynamics of collaboration and shared creative leadership

We closed with a conversation about color and timelessness—how they resist seasonal trend reports and instead design for relevance over the next decade or more. They balance enduring finishes with accents that allow for evolution and personal expression.

Entrepreneurship runs deep in their story, both having grown up in business-minded families. Their partnership was forged during the pandemic, when shared values and complementary strengths—operations and development—created a foundation of trust that continues to shape their design practice and the growing Loren brand.

This conversation is about more than design. It’s about purpose, perseverance, and how regional context can inspire innovation rather than restrict it. And that is coming up, right after this.

Thank you, Natalie and Victoria for taking the time to speak with me and sharing for sharing your insight.

Thank you for listening. If you liked this episode, share it with a friend or colleague who loves design and architecture like you do, subscribe to Convo By Design wherever you get your podcasts. And continue the conversation on Instagram @convo x design with an “x”. Keep those emails coming with guest suggestions, show ideas and locations where you’d like to see the show. Convo by design at outlook.com. 

Thank you to my partner sponsors, TimberTech, The AZEK Company, Pacific Sales, Best Buy, LOME-AI and Design Hardware for supporting the publication of over 650 episodes and over 3,000,000 streams, downloads and making Convo By Design the longest running podcast of its kind. These companies support the shelter industry so give them an opportunity on your next project. Thanks again for listening. Until next time, be well, stay focused and rise about the chaos. -CXD

Built to Last. This is What Happens When You Blend Unbridled Talent, Uncompromising Quality and Passion for Design | 428 | Moya O’Neill

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I’m Josh Cooperman and this is Convo By Design and today on the show, you are going to hear from someone with whom you are already familiar. You know her product because you hear about it during the show and I thought it was time for you to really hear from her, this is the create visionary behind the lifestyle brand, Moya Living. This is Moya O’Neill.

Designer Resources

ThermaSol – Redefining the modern shower experience. Episode 271 featuring Mitch Altman

Moya Living –  Beautiful, durable powder coated kitchen, bath & outdoor kitchen cabinetry

Design Hardware – A stunning and vast collection of jewelry for the home!

The Oasis Alliance – Providing design to those in need.

ICAA Southern California – SoCal is Southern California’s preeminent resource on classical architecture and the allied arts.

Moya is not just a guest, not just a partner sponsor of Convo By Design, she is a friend, a superior creative and she has built this company around a product, as you have heard me say, is built like a tank and looks like a Ferrari. That’s not a sales pitch, its true. Why is that so important? name a company, brand, manufacturer or other purveyor of a product that makes a product so stunningly gorgeous that it’s style is enduring while constructing it of a lasting material like steel using best building practices as to make sure the product lasts and is measured not by years but by generations? You will be hard pressed to find another like Moya Living. Their process is a model for modern manufacturing. But is all starts with the vision. And, you are going to hear all about that, in just a moment.

Thank you Moya, I do love our chats. Thank you CXD sponsor partners ThermaSol, Moya Living and Design Hardware for making this show possible. Thank you for taking the time out of your day to listen to the show. I hope you enjoy the show, that’s why I do this. I would also like to hear from you. I love the guest submissions and show ideas so keep them coming, email me convobydesign@outlook.com or massage me on Instagram @convoxdesign, with an x.

Remember why you do what you do and for whom you do it. Let that be the thing that drives you to push the boundaries and let’s keep moving our industry forward. Be well, and until next week… Take today first. CXD

Christopher Peacock | 420 | Bespoke and Hand-Crafted Design with Heritage to Match

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I’m Josh Cooperman and this is Convo by Design with a conversation about building an absolutely exceptional design brand. Christopher Peacock is a truly exceptional creative with a rich history in creating some of the most extraordinary wood cabinetry in the industry today. There is a difference between crafting a product and building a brand. Peacock molded his eponymous brand in the US from humble beginnings and a keen understanding for what he wanted. And he’s going to share that story and insight here.

Christopher launched his firm in 1992. Christopher Peacock Cabinetry was built on the premise that wooden cabinetry should be beautiful and enduring. But when Peacock put his name on it, there was a greater sense of purpose. That is what I find so interesting here. This is the piece that is missing from much of what we. See and hear these days in the trades and in the media surrounding design and architecture. For many years now, the idea of luxury design has been inextricable tied to big, expensive and for lack of a better word, “extra”. I don’t think good design has to be big, expensive or “extra”. I think good, no, great design is about the nature of the work and manner in which the work is tied to the individual for whom it’s created. Look at art. A painting can sell for millions of dollars but at the end of the day, what is it…really. A few dollars worth of canvas and paint. But the work speaks. Fashion, same thing. A few dollars of fabric crafted into something extraordinary. It’s the art that goes into the craftsmanship. That is what makes design so special. And that is why Christopher’s sorry is so special. And why I am so pleased to share it with you. 

Designer Resources

ThermaSol – Redefining the modern shower experience. Episode 271 featuring Mitch Altman

Moya Living –  Beautiful, durable powder coated kitchen, bath & outdoor kitchen cabinetry

Design Hardware – A stunning and vast collection of jewelry for the home!

Thank you Christopher for taking the time to share your story. Thank you CXD partners and sponsors; ThermaSol, Moya Living and Design Hardware for your continued support. And thank you for taking the time every week to share some time together and hear the stories behind sublime design. Until next week, remember why you do what you do and for whom you do it, be well and take today first.