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IN GEOF LILGE’S WORLD,
everything always comes back to the kitchen.
In his new showroom at River City Tile Company in
the industrial northwest of Edmonton, the award- winning designer displays projects in a model kitchen that looks straight out of an issue of Architectural Digest.
The abundant natural light from the south-facing windows dances across the many kitchen accessories designed by Lilge, including his iconic Hole Slab Long charcuterie board — a minimal oar-shaped plank with rounded edges and a distinctive circular hole at one end, inspired by German minimalist designer Dieter Rams — that mega retailer Williams Sonoma sold thousands
of in the early 2010s. Adorning the wall behind some of these items are hexagonal cement tiles Lilge designed for Geon Tile.
The literal centrepiece — and Lilge’s primary focus these days — is the OnOurTable Cook Island, a fully bespoke, solid-wood kitchen island that launched last fall. A collaboration with Selenium Interiors — local cabinetmakers that, much like Lilge, concentrate on the culinary end of interior design — the Cook Island is described as a “totemic hub for daily living,” both a completely customizable kitchen solution and a piece of art in and of itself.
“When Selenium built the prototype, we had it in their showroom,” says Lilge. “But then they had to leave for the conversion of the Yellowhead Trail, so we needed a new space for it. I’ve known Aaron [Brown, of River City Tile and Geon Tile] for years, so he gave me this space, which does a nice job of highlighting the tiles we made together.”
Having a physical space dedicated to the Cook Island and his other kitchen-related products has been the last piece of the puzzle.
“Part of the whole OnOurTable vision is entertaining and sharing food and drinks with other people,” explains Lilge. “Simply sitting around and enjoying the same space as friends and family, that’s what it’s all about. Being able to have a space where people can come and get a sense of that is the best way for them to see how these products can help fit into their lives.”
Lilge has already had a long and successful career in design. In the ‘90s, he was one of the founders of Pure Design, an Edmonton-based design company that burned bright even if it didn’t burn for long. At its zenith, the firm had a staff of 35, shipping over $2 million annually of its products across the globe.
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