The project
This kitchen renovation faced some of the most common design challenges we see when working with homeowners to create an inspiring and functional nerve centre for their home.
The first challenge
Do we open up the kitchen to the dining room?
The solution
While it is popular to open up a kitchen to a dining room, one of the challenges with an open concept kitchen is that there is no way to hide the mess and clutter that often happens in a kitchen. For this reason, the homeowner decided to maintain a separate formal dining area for entertaining.
The second challenge
Incorporating a casual and space-conscious family eating area in a narrow kitchen.
The solution
The homeowners wanted an area for casual day-to-day dining. However, if you are going to have both a formal dining room and a casual eating area, make sure they are not right next to each other. If they are, come up with a seating style for the casual area that is different from that of the dining room. In this case, we went with a peninsula that wraps around the outside corner of the dining room wall. It’s the perfect spot for this family of three to connect over a meal amidst their very busy schedules.
The third challenge
Building a beautiful and timeless kitchen on a small budget.
The solution
The budget for this project was very tight, so custom cabinetry was not an option. Instead, we laid out the kitchen plan with IKEA cabinet frames but designed custom doors, floating shelves, the peninsula table base, and a wine rack to get a custom look without the price tag.
Source Guide:
• Designed by Meghan Carter Design Inc., www.meghancarterdesign.com
• Construction: Peloton Contracting Ltd, 647.831.3385
• Cabinetry, frames and interior fittings: IKEA; doors and custom elements: Kyle Klaver Cabinetry
• Counter tops: Caesarstone 2141 Blizzard, Calcatta Marble, www.caesarstone.ca
• Backsplash: Saltillo Tiles, www.saltillo-tiles.com
• Plumbing: Roman bath, www.romanbathcentre.com
• Breakfast bar chairs: Restoration Hardware, www.restorationhardware.com
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