Kitchen of the Week: Cooking for Two in Ontario
Three small rooms become one large kitchen, so an Ottawa couple can cook side by side and entertain
A young couple’s obsession with midcentury design and cooking drove this kitchen remodel in an 80-year-old home in Ottawa, Ontario. The designer of the space, Nathan Kyle of Astro Design Centre, says the area was originally carved into three separate rooms, and each one had a different floor level. The project was a feat of engineering as well as design.
Photography Doublespace Photography
Photography Doublespace Photography
That communal entertaining style inspired Kyle to design two islands, one for food preparation and the other for plating and dining (Kyle likens it to a chef’s table in a restaurant). Because of the desire for many cooks in the 400-square-foot kitchen, the designer eliminated the traditional work triangle. Instead he created cooking, preparing, cleaning, mixing and working zones. This way the people in the kitchen need never squeeze past each other, let alone bump into each other.
The bar has storage for all kinds of beverages — wine, liquor, coffee — and their accoutrements. The husband, a coffee connoisseur, appreciates the espresso machine with a constant water feed that refills automatically.
Hot Ideas for Coffee and Tea Stations
Hot Ideas for Coffee and Tea Stations
By keeping the cabinets under the counter, the designers could add windows for views to the backyard. They also added small cubbies beneath the cooktop to store small tools of the trade: spatulas, tongs and potholders.
The material palette — white lacquered MDF, quartz countertops, brown-black tiles on the backsplash and concrete tiles on the floor — recalls the color palettes and textures of midcentury design.
The material palette — white lacquered MDF, quartz countertops, brown-black tiles on the backsplash and concrete tiles on the floor — recalls the color palettes and textures of midcentury design.
At the back of the kitchen, walnut shelves and a desktop give people a place to perch and check emails or recipes.
Why Your Kitchen Wants Its Own iPad
Why Your Kitchen Wants Its Own iPad
The couple wanted a modern style and a much larger kitchen, as they like to cook together and entertain their family and friends. “You might have some people prepping the food, another person cooking at the stove, someone preparing drinks and others just there for the conversation,” says Kyle.