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By Joe Fumo
His Unique Solutions Created A Magnificent Bath.
A boxy room, two distinct personalities, a Buddha and a litter box problem. These were the varied challenges facing Anthony Binns, CKD CBD, when he was asked to transform the master bath of this typical subdivision home.
Undaunted, he crafted a solution that has won several design awards, including the Best Overall Bathroom Award in the 2005 NKBA Design Competition.
The first issue he tackled was the litter box. The clients are very attached to their cats, but try as they might, they could not keep ahead of the smell of the litter box, which they placed in the bathroom. They asked Binns to incorporate the litter box in a new vanity area, yet were concerned about the odour.
“I knew it would be hard to incorporate the litter box into the vanity without it looking awful,” Binns said. So he devised an alternative. He put the litter box in a small adjacent closet that wasn’t being used, and created access to it through an inconspicuous cat door in a wall near the toilet. Motion sensors trigger a light and fan whenever a cat enters. Problem solved.
“Once I got that taken care of, I could work on the artistic part of it,” Binns recalled. The biggest challenge, he said was that the room was so blah. The clients did not provide much direction, and were happy to let their designer make suggestions. However they did want an antique Buddha statue incorporated into the room.
That inspired him to use a Zen style for the design. To give the room some shape and softness, he created a curved wall behind the tub. It was here that he put a niche for the statue.
The Zen motif and the need for a masculine tone- both homeowners are men- informed his subsequent design choices. He proposed a hefty, freestanding cast iron tub, slate for the floors and a large shower, and open wooden consoles with vessel sinks in lieu of a traditional vanity.
Pleasing two personalities
The clients had two very distinct personalities and tended to focus on different aspects of the job, Binns said. One was practical and concerned about quality. The other one was more focused on the overall beauty of the project. One cared more about having a large shower; the other wanted a nice tub.
However, both clients insisted on separate sinks and no vanity cabinet. The previous arrangement featured a massive countertop that stayed cluttered because they did not want to reach below for supplies. This bathroom provides ample storage in Robern medicine cabinets that masquerade as artwork.
“My clients didn’t want the look of medicine cabinets, so we made them appear like hanging mirrors floating on a frame,” Binns said.
A storage and display area separates the vanities. Dimmable general lighting, strong lights for the vanities and accent lighting on the Buddha allow the room to adapt to different needs and moods.
To help manage client expectations, Binns provided elevations of every wall and every tile cut, as well as a hand-drawn perspective that offered a full view of the project. Construction surprises were minimal. A piano mover was hired to bring the cast iron tub into the room, and the clients decided to add a heated floor to the project. The room is partly over a garage, and once the floor was opened up, they realized it was colder then they though it would be.
Reluctant to join family business
Fortunately, Binns isn’t fazed by construction issues. He started with Binns kitchen + bath design-
then owned by his parents- as a teenager strictly for the cash. He had no desire to enter the family business, and he joined the Army to prove it. But they assigned him to demolition work, so three years later when his brother took over the business and asked him to come on board, Binns agreed.
That was 1980, and Binns started off driving a truck and installing kitchens. Eventually he got into sales and, as the industry became more design driven, he evolved along with it.
“My favourite part of the day is working with people, finding out what they like,” he said.
“I think what I bring to the equation is being good at finding out what people really want – what hot button excites them the most – and then accentuating that.”
Many of his projects are medium – to high-end, and he said clients want to reap the full benefits from such a sizeable investment. “They put a lot of their personality into it,” said Binns, “so each project I do has an individual flair to it. Each has its own character and its own life. For example, if it’s a kitchen, I tell my clients that when they go downstairs in the morning, the kitchen should smile right back at them. I want them to be proud that they made that purchase.”
Binns said his company’s stability helps him produce lasting results. “We have a good team effort,” he said. “We have very low turnover of staff. Most have five to fifteen years experience, and it’s not unusual to retire from here.” His brother is still involved, two sisters-in-law work there, his niece joined the company a few years ago, and his son and nephew are coming into the business.
Binns is happy the clients of this award-winning bathroom have joined his roster of satisfied customers. But he was equally pleased when his no-nonsense, “man’s man” project coordinator took a look at the project, which includes a light pink ceiling, and thought it looked fantastic.
Category 7: Large Bathrooms
First Place
Anthony Binns CKD CBD
Binns kitchen + bath design, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
WHEN A TERRIFIC VIEW MEETS A GREAT kitchen design, that’s residential nirvana. On the other hand when kitchen walls obscure a spectacular view, as in the Toronto condominium of Jim and Aileen Reyes-Picknell, that’s more than bad. “It was a disaster area,” says Jim, summing up the dark, tired kitchen that blocked the park panorama below his home. Fortunately, Jim and kitchen designer Beverley Binns, of Binns kitchen + bath design in Toronto, saw the space’s potential. “My goal was to take advantage of all the beautiful light and trees,” Binns says, “and bring that into the space so you could experience it when you first enter.” Hewing close to the original footprint of the 100-square-foot kitchen, Binns removed the interior existing walls to integrate the windows- which wrap around the entire home- into the design of the kitchen. This solution elicited childlike bliss from the homeowners. “It’s like we live in a tree house!” Aileen says. “It’s amazing to be putting away dishes and to watch the birds in the trees.” Crafted of rich cherry, the cabinets stand on stainless steel legs that suggest furniture placed in front of a window. Besides lending a free-form feel, this configuration allows heat to flow from a baseboard system, a holdover from the condo’s former life as a commercial space. “The heat needed to circulate around the entire unit,” Binns says “so we couldn’t cover that area.” The cabinets set an inviting tone that compliments another focal point of the room: a stainless steel range hood with a glass detail. The hood hovers over three cooktop modules, including a barbeque that was near the top of Jim’s wish list. An eating bar crafted from ¾” inch thick solid glass sits on chrome posts and rests over a Silestone countertop. “It catches your eye right away,” says Jim, “and it helps make the kitchen the social hub of the entire place.” The kitchen is a place for both work and play: Jim and Aileen, both management consultants for a company they founded in their home, are able to plug their computers into outlets below the breakfast bar. The couple avoided bulky appliances, streamlining the space by putting an oven and microwave side-by-side in the peninsula and paneling the refrigerator and dishwasher. A recessed shelf area displays barware, and a tambour cabinet set into the wall allows Jim and Aileen to stash small appliances instead of letting them clutter the countertops. The couple believes the room fuses style and function, and they’ve adopted its look throughout their home. “the kitchen looks so good and works hard at the same time,” says Jim. “It’s paradise to live and work this way.” |
