Before and after: a downtown Toronto kitchen gets a sleek contemporary makeover

This downtown Toronto kitchen makeover is a master class in modern kitchen ideas used to breathe life and style into a tired and dark space. The kitchen is easily the most functional room in the home – but its functionality needn't sacrifice style or attention to detail, as this stunning transformation proves.  Above all, it showcases the importance of choosing the right materials and color scheme for creating a high-end kitchen design.

Before

(Image credit: Erik Rotter)

After

(Image credit: Erik Rotter)

When a couple decided to leave Bermuda after 30 years and move to Toronto, they purchased a 10-year-old downtown condo that did not reflect their sense of design or their lifestyle. The original design is heavy on functional, monochrome finishes that lack personality. 

The couple love to cook and entertain, so they tasked Svetlana Tryaskina of Toronto-based Estee Design with creating a functional kitchen outfitted with high-end appliances, seating for six to eight people, upscale finishes, better lighting, and more privacy for the unit. The resulting project is an imaginative transformation that injects warmth and contemporary edge into the space.

Before

(Image credit: Erik Rotter)

After

(Image credit: Erik Rotter)

Svetlana started by rearranging the layout of the open concept living room and kitchen. Top-of-the-line, built-in appliances allowed her to design seamless millwork panels without sacrificing storage and performance. 

The design embraces the warmth of wood, creating a seamless link with the open plan living space. 

(Image credit: Erik Rotter)

As the centerpiece of the design, she selected five eye-catching Cantina pendants from SONNEMAN–A Way of Light featuring flask-like, flat oval glass profiles suspended from slender cables. These pendants almost look like art objects and give the kitchen a rarified, modern look. Delicate and airy, they would work equally as living room lighting ideas. 

(Image credit: Erik Rotter)

A single point source of LED illumination within the void of the larger clear glass volume creates a special aesthetic tension of scales. As objects of kinetic art, the pendants complement the two-tone kitchen and create the illusion of a larger space.

Exclusive handmade wallpaper with shimmering texture adds a sense of spaciousness and luxury. Beautiful hand-selected walnut millwork veneer brings warmth and elegance and brass fixtures exude opulence and exclusivity. A blue hand-glazed tile backsplash pays homage to Bermuda’s blue waters.

We can't get enough of this exquisite interplay of colors and finishes – a chic, modern kitchen that reflects its owners passions.