Interior Design: Rethinking A Traditional Kitchen To Suit A Large Family

We are in the great neighborhood of Cedarville in Toronto. It's a great family-oriented area and we got this beautiful house, a Tudor-style home, that we wanted to convert into a space that really, really worked for a family of six. I was brought into this project for the kitchen area. When we first saw the space, it was very traditional in style and in layout. They had the closed-off dining area, then the closed-in kitchen in the back of the home, and what I really wanted to do was bring the kitchen to the front of the home. The kitchen is the heart of the home, so I really hate when it's tucked in the back. It's the first place that the kids want to open up their binders and do homework in, where they're dropping their backpacks to tell mom and dad about the day. And so I really wanted to connect the eat-in area and the kitchen at the front and heart of the home here. My client grew up with and wanted a sofa in his kitchen. And as a designer, you're almost taken by surprise, a couch in your kitchen? And so it was definitely one of the design challenges. And now that we have it in here and we tied it into the kitchen so nicely, I almost think, why do we not have sofas in kitchens all the time? We have a white oak table, something that is pretty durable for the kids. And then we just have this soft-palette, warm-fabric chairs. We actually did make a really beautiful custom plaster light that we wanted to have as almost an art piece in the space. And then that banquette, that couch that sits just off the table for people to move back and forth from. Eating, lounging, reading, whatever the case may be. We really wanted to mix warm materials. Every single thing has a color tone to it. And even though we chose to do a dark countertop as our island, I still think you walk in here and feel that light and brightness without having to choose the typical countertops and cabinets. We mixed the countertops, which you don't always see. We decided to do a dark countertop that kind of goes halfway through our island. A little bit of a different feature so that it's not the same. And then we also have a beautiful quartzite. Still a natural stone, but a lot more durable for this busy family that's constantly cooking. We thought if we do hanging pendants, it's going to kind of take away from that pop in the island. So what we've done here is a really beautiful flush mount that sits high up on the ceiling, but it still has a fluted texture. So there's some interest to it, but not enough that it's almost in your face when you walk into the kitchen. You'll see that our hardware is all black throughout. We wanted that to be a little bit more consistent. And then a very beautiful plaster hood that creates that texture and that warmth without it feeling so harsh. There's a surprise desk mail drop area that we really loved. It's hidden behind two really beautiful pocket doors. And we've done a really cute feature of like a felt pad that sits behind so that they can display the kids' latest artwork or biggest achievements. And it was just a nice thing to add into a kitchen space. In all the homes that I'm doing so far, I'm really pushing these walk-in pantries. A second area for families to prep that the mess can kind of hide behind. An area where the kids can go and grab snacks or cereal, whatever the case may be, but not have it directly in the kitchen. So we have a beautiful matching white oak arch door with a ribbed glass detail so that you can have the natural light still come through without seeing the mess of the pantry. We've done great dark countertops as well. We've allowed for some vegetable drawers and some bread drawers and really making that the utility area of this kitchen. In the kitchen itself, we have the quartzite that goes on the countertop all the way up the backsplash. But when you see in our cute pantry, we didn't do that. We did decide to do a more fun backsplash, something with a little bit more interest where we could have some fun. The after is the best part. Seeing the before and afters of the spaces, I think, excites not only us, but the clients as well. They come in here and they say, I just can't believe you saw the space turning into this. And I think that's the best part of my job, is being able to come into a space and really say, if we take down this wall, the whole space will feel like one. They are overjoyed that they are able to raise their family in such a beautiful space, feel so connected as one, and live in their home.