
A Modern Kitchen with a Touch of Rustic Chic
Our client had a vision for their first home and hired us to help bring that vision to reality. In addition to modernizing the kitchen in both style and function, they wanted to make the space more conducive for social gatherings and entertaining by adding seating at the peninsula and incorporating a beverage centre into the layout.
Interior Designer: Erica Sibley, ARIDO
Design Firm: Binns Kitchen + Bath Design
Photographer: Vincent Lions

We were tasked with providing better storage solutions, including a broom and vacuum closet and an appliance garage, without reducing the amount of storage in the existing kitchen. Clean lines were emphasized on our clients' wish list, but they also wanted the space to feel warm and cozy, without the sterile nature of some white kitchens.
The challenges of this project were related primarily to the age of the house. The house being 100 years old and having gone through several renovations, the floor and ceilings were out of level and several bulkheads had to be concealed where walls used to be.
Removing some of these would require a complete rebuild of the structure of the house and was not in the budget. These provided the bulk of the challenges in this space, as some we were able to conceal, reduce or cover, but others had to remain.


As a solution to this, we chose not to take the cabinetry all the way up to the ceiling as we felt it would highlight the problem areas. Additionally, we added the wood slat wall panels as a design feature that creates an arch around the peninsula.
This arch also creates a marked transition between the kitchen and dining room spaces, highlighting the social area in between. This wood slat material was repeated on the range wall to help bring warmth and texture to that side of the room.
We wanted to keep the space feeling open and airy, especially with the heavier wood elements, by using floating shelves on the range wall to the left and right of the hood fan to display decorative elements. We repeated this on the peninsula side of the kitchen with floating shelves that wrap around the existing post.
The range and hood fan were moved to align with the centre of the panel-clad archway and thus create a new focal point in the space. We relocated the sink and dishwasher to the peninsula to create a better clean up zone and conversation area when guests were visiting.

Some of the special features in this kitchen design like the counter-standing cabinet for appliances and open shelves help create the clean and airy aesthetic while being functional. By designing a peninsula style kitchen with a custom wood slat wall feature, a ledge detail for the backsplash, and using a mix of textures we created a unique interior tailored to our clients wishes. They are sure to enjoy this kitchen for years to come together with their four legged friend.
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