Traditional remodeled kitchen with white cabinets

A small, dark kitchen that faced a hill to the north was not an inspiring place for the owners of this house to be cooking for and entertaining friends and family.

So it was scarcely surprising that something had to give, says architect owner Linda Brettler.

"We wanted to make the kitchen much bigger and lighter, so we took over the space formerly occupied by a maid's room and an old pantry. We created one large living space that we can open up to the sunny rear yard with big French doors. This gives us views in all directions, including a particularly pretty view of the landscaped garden."

The single flowing space, which replaces four small self-contained rooms, includes a television area and a breakfast area as well as the kitchen. A double-sided glazed overhead cabinet provides a degree of visual separation between the kitchen and breakfast area, while still allowing easy communication.

"I didn't want to sacrifice the idea of the older house entirely, however," the architect says. "I still liked the idea of keeping some point of reference to the original rooms, by giving each space its own flavor."

For the kitchen floor, Brettler chose a basketweave tile with strong diagonal lines. The tiles convey the look of an older home and help to disguise the fact that the kitchen is not symmetrical the pattern makes the space look larger.

"The island is like a piece of furniture that has simply been popped on top of the floor at some later date. It is made from stained alder wood, while the perimeter cabinets are lacquered white. All the doors have recessed panels, with a semi-circular detail on the white cabinets."

Brettler says a lowered table top helps to break up the perceived mass of the island, so it doesn't feel like such a giant piece of furniture sitting in the middle of the room.

"Similarly, I chose stools that are not too busy visually, or too large, so we can fit several people around table top."

To lighten the center of the kitchen, and the main work area, the island top is Carrara marble in contrast to the black marble on the perimeter counters. A formed lip around the edge of the island top prevents water running off.

Reflective tin inserts are another key feature of the cabinets.

"Because I wanted full-height cabinets, but at the same time did not want these to overwhelm the space, I added these decorative reflective inserts to the doors along the top," says Brettler. "The pressed tin catches the light and provides plenty of sparkle."

For visual continuity, white cabinetry in the family room echoes the kitchen cabinets. It incorporates open shelving, a niche for the television and a brown leather-upholstered bench seat.

Brettler says the cabinetry creates a very monochromatic palette, so she experimented with a variety of different colours for the walls throughout the kitchen, sitting area and breakfast room.

"The entire family living area needed a punch, and I could see that red would set off everything. It works with the black and white, and also with the woodwork and the vintage light fixtures. It even sets off a large art work to good effect."

Wherever possible, the architect likes to recycle materials and incorporated vintage items into her interiors. This kitchen features vintage light fixtures. The range hood and backsplash were recycled from the original kitchen.

Story by: Colleen Hawkes