Project Glam Kitchen: Open Concept Space Planning

After looking up the city zoning laws and determining how many square feet we could add on to the house, the planning stage kicked in. The architect initially presented us with a layout for a kitchen with no island and then after that, a larger space with a support column stuck smack in the middle of it, neither of which I was on board with.



I decided to take a more hand’s on approach to the entire design of the home and not just the decorating aspect, which is what I normally stick to, and ended up changing the proportions so I could fit in a large L-shaped kitchen with an island, a breakfast table, as well as a family room- with no support column in sight!

And why was I was so hung up on not having a column in the middle? Because the whole point of the addition was to have a wide open informal space to function as the hub of the home. Whether cooking up a storm, watching TV, eating a nice meal or just pulling up a stool to the island for a snack, I knew it would be the ultimate hang-out destination in the house. Having a column in the centre would not only disrupt the flow, but would also be a terrible eye sore and prevent me from having nice uninterrupted sightlines throughout the space.



After a lot of back and forth with the structural engineer, it was determined a heavy-duty beam would be sufficient to carry the support load, but this also meant having it drop down from the ceiling, which isn’t high to begin with. My creative solution was to hide the beam it in a coffering treatment, which looks sophisticated and adds nice architectural detail to the space. The coffering runs alongside the perimeter of the addition (with the exception of over the windows, French doors and the kitchen range hood), as well as divides the family room from the breakfast area. You’d never know which parts are hollow and which are hiding important structural supports.

With a wide open space, the task of assigning zones commenced with the kitchen on the right side and the family room and breakfast area on the left side, with a clear pathway to the backyard door in between.



To maximize seating in the breakfast area in the back left corner, I decided on a banquette that would be comfortable for lounging and eating. An oval table ensured it would be easy to get up and exit the banquette from both sides, and it also left enough space for the set of double French doors to the backyard to fully open when entertaining.

The family room area is compact and cozy but can still seat a crowd thanks to the custom sectional. Opposite the sofa is built-in millwork to house the TV with plenty of open shelving for display of family photos and treasured tchochtkes above, and closed storage below.

With the different zones complete, it was now the time to get into the nitty gritty details and plan the perfect kitchen.

Up next: kitchen layout

A Mommy-To-Be Friendly New Years Mocktail: Apple Ginger Sparkler

This year champagne is off limits, so here is an alternative from Miss Martha that has the same colouration and festive spirit, without the alcohol.

For Ginger Syrup:

1. Place 2 cups of sugar, 1 six-inch piece of fresh ginger finely diced, and 2 cups water in a medium saucepan.
2. Bring to a boil. Reduce to a simmer, and cook about 1 hour, until ginger flavor is quite strong. Let cool and strain before using.

For Mocktail:

• 1/4 cup Ginger Syrup
• 4 1/2 cups sparkling apple cider (make sure it is pasteurized)
• 6 cinnamon sticks
• 6 pieces crystallized ginger

1. Place 2 tablespoons ginger syrup in each of six glasses.
2. Fill glasses with ice cubes, pour in cider, and stir to combine.
3. Garnish with cinnamonsticks and fresh ginger, and serve.

(image via marthastewart.com)

Project Glam Kitchen: An Intro and Before Shots

If you were flipping through the workbook section of the January issue, you may have caught a sneak peek of my kitchen (or you may even have the February issue in your hands if you’re a subscriber! Early birds catch the worm!) After spending long arduous months on my home reno, I am so excited that I will get to share my kitchen and family room with you, and in anticipation of the big reveal, I’ll be taking you on a behind the scenes tour of the basic building blocks of how it all came together here and on the Style At Home blog.

When we first toured the house, it was clear that the kitchen hadn’t been touched in decades. This wasn’t shocking considering the rest of the outdated plumbing, knob and tube wiring, presence of asbestos, lack of central air and all the other fun factors that make embarking on a gut job a necessity. But I was still in love with the house and knew it was brimming with potential. After a couple of months of driving by longingly and some negotiating, it was ours!

We knew our plans for our dream house would require not only a gut reno, but would also eventually require more square footage as well in order to have space for both informal living and formal entertaining. I am an old soul at heart who loves to host and I already had a few pieces of treasured formal furniture, so a proper living room and dining room were on my wish list, in addition to having a great casual space with an eat-in kitchen and family room.

Having endured living through a major reno (remember the bunker?), I knew it was wise and more cost effective to do the addition and existing reno simultaneously. I also knew I only wanted to tackle a project of this proportion once, so the MO was to invest in a long-term design to fit our evolving family needs and do it in one fell swoop, instead of doing a smaller job now and then having to move out again in 5 years to do the addition when we really needed the space. (and that was well before we knew that twins were on the way- everything happens for a reason!)

And with that plan in mind, we set out to create a floorplan that would give us everything we needed.

Up next: open concept space planning

(magazine image by Stacey Brandford)

Power Problems

As I’m sure you may have seen on the news or on social media (or if you were here living through it), Ontario and other parts of Canada were hit with a nasty ice storm last week. While the icy branches certainly look pretty, the wake of devastation they left behind is not. Some side streets still have major trees blocking lanes and some families only had power restored this weekend!

We sustained a lot of damage to our trees and bushes (thankfully nothing heavy hit our cars or house)  but it was not having power for over 66 hours that really sucked. While it was refreshing taking a break from technology, between taking measures to keep the pipes from freezing to the spoiled food to the shlepping back and forth to the next hot meal, it was not an easy few days for a preggo like me.

Here’s a hardy thank you to all the hydro crews that worked insane hours to get people back on the grid- especially over the holidays!

This Is Real

And it’s spectacular! I got all giggly inside when I saw this baby lounger (aka rocker) at ella + elliott on clearance from $355 to $255. I am familiar with the manufacturer Bloom, who make super modern (and super pricey) high chairs and other gear for babies, but until now had never seen something so glam available for the nursery set.

Everything about it screams me – I mean it’s black plexi and gold leatherette -  but I held myself back as I have to remember that matching my baby gear to my home decor is probably not the priority here. Besides the gold may just be too fabulous for such little baby boys to handle anyways… if I was having girls though, they’d probably be goldmembers like me!