Colin and Justin: The perfect kitchen recipe – Toronto Sun

Creating a new kitchen is like assembling the ingredient list of a delicious recipe. You have to imagine how your finished masterpiece will taste and look, whilst serving it up with proud conviction

At Long Beach, a contemporary cabin reno on which were currently working, we dreamed of a food prep zone that would be at once beautiful and practical, whilst complimentary to the rest of the newly open concept space.

This in mind, heres our carefully planned ingredient list: studied carefully, we hope itll inspire your own next kitchen masterpiece

Cabinetry

Whilst we shant pander to stereotypes, well admit that these two Scots are incredibly canny. Consequently, when it came to cabinetry, we knew there was a better way than complete demolition. So we contacted Trevor at Chaulk Design Studio (www.chaulkwoodworking.com) in Haliburton. Hey, we enjoy shopping local, so working with his team to rebrand our space was a no brainer.

Being that the existing cupboards were in excellent condition, we elected to keep them, replace the doors and drawer fronts, and add a new cupboard above the fridge freezer. Note, however, the way in which the eye level elevation heightened: Trevor did this by topping the existing cabinets (creating further storage therein) and building Shaker fronted doors to accommodate the extra height.

Counters

Having saved on cabinetry, we indulged our scheme with beautiful quartz counters by Hanstone (www.hanstone.ca) a London, Ontario manufacturer who produce a range of options that mimic stone, marble and granite.

Like many other specifiers, weve shied away from real stone, lately, finding it less serviceable and eminently more damageable. Quartz, on the other hand, is scratch, stain and heat resistant, and provides the look we love in a surprisingly accurate representation of the real thing.

Fabrication

Counters were measured, fabricated and installed by Mike Mastrogiuseppe (at http://www.thehouseofgranite.com) whose site visit and cutting service created exacting standards, not to mention a beautiful waterfall edge that wraps the peninsula elevation at one end. Take a tip DONT try and tackle a job like this yourself. Always call in the pros

Faucet and sink

Further detailing comes via inexpensive graphite grouted subway tile, and from the Silgranit sink and faucet (both by http://www.blanco.ca) The former lends a big, deep volume area for clean up, whilst the slick lines of the latter serve as highly functional kitchen jewelry.

Appliances

Weve renovated enough cottages to know that kitchen detailing is critically important. End users, more than ever, expect quality inclusions to make their time at the cottage as stress free and convenient as possible.

Appliances are by Fisher Paykel (visit http://www.fisherpaykel.ca or find them in premium appliance retailers across Canada) whose double oven has multi functions including roast and aero pastry, non-tip shelves and 8.2 cubic feet across independently operable ovens.

We love the steel finish, large windows and chunky dials that glow white when the ovens heating up, orange when desired temps have been reached and red to announce self cleaning.

The induction cooktop boils liquid in less than a minute, remaining cool to touch until pans are placed, whilst the pyramid chimney hood extracts steam and cooking odours and can either vent outside or be fitted with a charcoal filter to recirculate air.

The 32 French door, large capacity fridge freezer enjoys active smart temperature control to keep food fresh, and proved the ideal depth to avoid the clunky look that can happen when bulkier machinery protrudes beyond cabinetry lines.

Finally, an easy open/close two-drawer dishwasher allows glasses or crystal to be consigned to one level and soiled pots and dishwares to another, making each drawer a true half load for guilt free small washes.

Ceiling

With slick counters and state of the art appliances, we elected to add rustic balance with a fine line cedar strip ceiling whose knotty finish is gently soothing. Were big fans of this wood genus, finding it durable, easy to work with, and maintenance free. Contact http://www.nuforest.com for further info.

Floor

The damaged laminate was promptly removed and, in its place, oak engineered boards by Bruce Flooring (www.bruce.com) were installed to streamline proceedings. Were thrilled with the quality, and even our floor fitters commented that the product is of an excellent standard. Head in to Home Depot, as we did, to moderate spend. Every little helps, right?

Barnboard

Finding a C+J project where heritage wood doesnt feature, at least somewhere, is well nigh impossible. Did someone say omnipresent? Here, below the breakfast bar, it suffuses a little texture and serves as contrast to the simple metal framed, wooden topped bar stools.

All things considered, our room recipe is complete. Served up straight, ingredient-by-ingredient, it delivers or so we certainly hope a tasty insight into the way we plan our projects. More from us next week!

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Colin and Justin: The perfect kitchen recipe - Toronto Sun