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By Jennifer Morgan Gray
The walls drop away and a kitchen opens wide to a park panorama
Designer Beverley Binns
Binns kitchen + bath design
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.” |
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