Modern Home Renovation: Timeless Interior Design for a New Stage of Life

Many renovations begin with a life change - whether it's a move to another home or city, a downsizing with an empty nest, or a career change and upward mobility in the housing market. For some, it's "just that time" when your space is no longer serving your needs

This client was in that stage where she had let the home go for years while focusing on building a successful career. She was now ready to invest in her ideal home to reap the rewards of her hard work and truly start enjoying her leisure time at home.

A bright, timeless kitchen with dark stained white oak island and range hood, paired with off-white cabinetry.

BEFORE - FRONT ENTRY

At our first visit we found the home was dated and dark, a throwback to a Mediterranean look of the late 90's with reddish oak floors, matching furniture and a lot of black metal finishes with scroll detailing throughout.

BEFORE - View from the front door.

The whole house was to be updated, including the kitchen, 2 bathrooms, all floors, staircase, interior doors & trim, windows & exterior doors, light fixtures and furnishings.

Basically, a full gut and re-design of the space with removal of a structural wall to open up the main floor!

BEFORE: Cherry kitchen cabinets

The top priority, as with most homes was the kitchen. It was dark and dated, but fairy small for the size of the home. The client is a wine enthusiast, likes to entertain and to bake when she finds the time. We wanted to expand the footprint of the kitchen while maximizing storage and counterspace.

The client wanted a classic, timeless kitchen design with a neutral colour palette throughout the main floor, but still wanted luxury details. Our design plan started with the removal of the wall between the kitchen and dining room.

While optimizing the floor plan and maximizing storage,

• we added a walk-in panty,

• a nine-foot white oak island with tons of storage and three appliances,

• a custom six-foot oak range hood, and

• enlarged the window above the sink to allow so much more natural light

• enhanced the view of the beautifully landscaped yard with pool.

White oak island and range hood balance the off-white transitional kitchen.

For the cabinets we choose Benjamin Moore Dove Wing, its a warm off white with a silvery undertone. We added a dark stain to the white oak island and oversized range hood for contrast and to complement the medium-tone white oak plank flooring.

Countertops and backsplash are in Hanstone Aurelia, a Calacatta inspired quartz with a white base, soft gold wisps and dramatic grey veins.

A six burner gas range and a second (wall) oven placed into the island makes it easy to create a feast.

Left side of kitchen showing paneled fridge, door to pantry and island seating.

The high end fridge, dishwasher and wine fridge (in the island) are paneled for a seamless integrated design.

Far left is a black pocket door into the walk-in pantry.

The new modern oversized window and the pantry door with black casing add modern elegance to the space.

Pendant lights are simple RH Utilitaire glass with bronze accent detail allowing the oversized dark oak range hood to be the feature.

Custom white oak shelves, stained the same colour as the island, offer a place to highlight collected ceramics, vintage copperware and artwork, while decorative wicker baskets hide the not so pretty, but necessary stuff.

Custom wine glass storage with fluted glass doors lends sophistication and elegance when internal light is on in the evening. Paneled dishwasher next to the sink and a wine fridge (on the island), hidden pull-out garbage, under sink storage drawer, and dish drawers all in the same area allows for a highly functional space with good flow and organization.

The island is a workhorse with secondary sink, microwave drawer, second oven and wine fridge. The new window is three times the size of the original window maximizing light and the pool view.

LIVING ROOM - BEFORE

The fireplace, furnishings and accessories now outdated, this room needed some special details to make it cozy and inviting.

LIVING ROOM - AFTER

Wall to wall ledgestone highlights the fireplace wall and adds warmth to the living room.

A view of the living room from the kitchen shows the arched oak doorway to the office/library niche.

We replaced the gas fireplace with the largest size that would fit and clad the wall in ledgestone tile in an earthy palette of cream, taupe and grey setting the tone for the new cozy furnishings. We then added a custom rustic wood mantel for the holiday stockings to hang. The right side of the living room was elevated with an arched opening in white oak trim stained to match the kitchen. This small niche is used as the office/library space. Built-in walnut bookcases on all three walls were designed for a future build.

PRIMARY BEDROOM - BEFORE

BEFORE - primary bedroom

BEFORE - primary bedroom

The primary bedroom was darker than the rest of the home, so we wanted to brighten things up while keeping a cozy and luxurious feeling.

PRIMARY BEDROOM - AFTER

A mix of chenille, linen, boucle and cotton velvet fabrics make this monochromatic colour palette soothing and inviting in the primary bedroom.

Adding trim detail on the headboard wall provided some architectural interest and visual height to this large bedroom space.

We made custom drapery in chenille fabric to create a moody luxe vibe.

Glass and brass pendant lights over bedside tables allow for a cleaner look on the bedside table.

ENSUITE BATHROOM - BEFORE

We created an access doorway from the bathroom to the adjacent bedroom that was turned into a dressing room with custom closet system. This meant relocating the toilet (perfect opportunity to move it to a lesser visible space), and taking a few inches off the double vanity for better flow. We changed the layout to allow for a beautiful view of the new freestanding tub with marble niche above and bubble chandelier - so glamorous and soothing at the same time.

ENSUITE BATHROOM - AFTER

Luxurious ensuite bathroom includes a sleek free standing tub with elegant polished nickel faucet and a marble mosaic niche built into the wall. The bubble glass chandelier elevates the luxe factor.

The quartz-topped double vanity with storage tower framed by full height mirrors and pretty glass pendants.

FRONT ENTRY - BEFORE

This space was previously a formal living space that was never used. It was not making a great first impression when you walk in the door.

Check out that unfortunate window situation on the left - an architect, not a designer made that decision for the exterior front view of the house.

FRONT ENTRY - AFTER

Custom designed fireplace with reeded panel detail.

We wanted to create a focal point in this space so we added a fireplace with reeded wood detail to draw you into the room. Then we installed wall sconces with the same ribbed glass feature to tie it all together, three matching sconces line the staircase (not shown). A muted earth tone area rug defines the space; we then added modern abstract art, a couple of cozy armchairs and curated accessories, making it an inviting space to linger in the evening with a glass of wine while also creating a lovely vignette from the front entry. In the future, the client may use this space as a dining room, so it has some flexibility, and in the meantime it looks great!

We executed a modern home renovation with timeless design features that will add value to the house and improve how she lives and entertains in the space.

We hope you enjoyed the tour and seeing this home transformation.

Photography by: Kosta Bratsos

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