Colin and Justin: Head towards the light
April 3, 2010
Colin and Justin
Having visited hundreds of kitchens during our Canadian tenure, we’ve espied, firsthand, pretty much every food prep zone variant known to man. From dreamy commodious spaces arranged open concept with other rooms, to diminutive corner kitchens (often little bigger than closets), we’ve reworked so many that we struggle to remember individual components. Every rebranding exercise results in a dramatically different finished esthetic, but there’s an element common to each of which we’re fiercely proud. They all share form and function.
Undertaking any kitchen makeover allows us to flex our designer muscle, but while we relish the opportunity to kick up a delicious storm, it’s not always easy. As Star readers, you’ve regularly seen us face kitchen demons and we hope you’ve enjoyed each triumph as we purge past tense terror to deliver an altogether snappier future. And boy, we’ve done ’em all. We’ve created eye-popping yellow fantasies with wow factor sufficient to leave Lady Gaga reaching for her smelling salts. And we’ve fashioned cuisines with enough marshmallow pink detailing to send Barbie into high orbit. You’ve witnessed — on these very pages — confettis of stainless steel teamed with aquamarine. You’ve seen moss green cabinetry and lusted (we hope!) after kitchens with Tiffany blue doors. Yup, the list is endless and we have so many more to come.
That said, as much as we love emboldening homes with a veritable Joseph’s coat of Pantone punctuation, we also enjoy being afforded the opportunity to take it all down a few gears via low key design solutions. Which kind of sums up the aspiration of this week’s protagonist. A forty-something TV exec, our chap broadcast his aspirations loud and clear as we chatted in our studio about that which he hoped to achieve.
Our style-searching client moved into his condo several years past and, whilst his initial enthusiasm saw him rework other rooms to beautiful effect, the kitchen has remained relatively unchanged. Bedrooms and other living spaces, he explained, were easy to tackle as life, by his own admission, rolls on unhindered. The kitchen, however — particularly for someone who loves to entertain — is an altogether trickier matter as its smooth operation is constantly required to oil the wheels of sociability.
Working, as we do, with a number of different contractors, we selected a company who assured us they could bag the entire job in just one long weekend, with minimal upheaval. Working against the clock, and with minimal run-up time to order appliances and cabinetry, we knew there was only one place that could be relied upon to deliver everything required: Ikea. So we set to work.
With no kitchen window to tempt in daylight, the only other source of natural illumination was borrowed, via the windows, from the interconnecting lounge diner. Our client was hellbent on having white cupboards and we agreed that these were certainly the most practical way to brighten the compact space. This in mind, here are this week’s salient design points which we hope will guide you through a similar kitchen transformation.
Tear down
It’s important to bring in the pros for a gut-down like this, even if you consider yourself particularly DIY minded. Sure, removing cabinetry and closing down water supply are simple enough tasks, but tackling electrical — and the closure of gas supply — should be left to those who are properly qualified. Put simply, competently tackled jobs endure, whereas rushed self-installation breeds all manner of problems further down the line.
Cabinetry
Ikea, without doubt, carries some of the world’s most affordable kitchens. We’ve been installing their ranges for a decade and find them to be well-built, hard wearing and stylish. Our chap, as we mentioned, was dead set on white, so we charged in with measuring tapes and spoke with Ikea’s in-store planners. Virtually everything we needed was available to take away that day and, with the assistance of our contractor’s van, we had the whole lot back on set within just a few short hours.
Under-cabinet lighting
It’s all very well installing a new kitchen, but unless you attend to “detailing,” your project runs the risk of appearing underplayed. To make the best of this space, we installed discreet under-cabinet lighting that actually serves two purposes. Firstly, when the kitchen is “working,” its inclusion provides a flood of illumination to make food prep easier; and secondly, when the room is not in use (and the overhead lights are off), it proffers an ambient glow that can be enjoyed from the living room beyond. Take it from us; a little thought at planning stage goes a long, long way and will suffuse your scheme with a much more professional feel.
Work tops
As recently as five years past, granite counters were often considered the preserve of top end renos and expensive “add-ons” in new homes. These days, granite, due to popularity, has become far more affordable yet it’s still perceived as a luxury product. As a real estate value enhancer, stone finishes are now a “must have” addition, especially in the condo market. Although this reno was devised for a client with no intention of selling up, the inclusion of granite will be a significant benefit should sales time eventually come around.
Undermount sink and taps
We’re so loving the current trend for undermounted kitchen sinks. Having spent years streamlining kitchens across Europe, we’re thrilled to witness the look catching on over here. Inserting sinks into pre-cut stone, or pre-templated composite products, is relatively straightforward for most contractors, especially when working alongside the stone — or composite — supplier.
Tip: It’s crucial that invisible or colour-coded sealant is arranged at all joins and, if this is done, waterproofing should be good for many years to come. And don’t forget to add attractive kitchen “jewellery” to ramp up the drama. Here, the modern faucet finishes our look perfectly.
Tiling
Subway tile is a regular C and J default mechanisms as its installation adds slick, unfussy appeal. Redolent of chefs’ kitchens and top-end delis, we’ve even been known to use a non-permanent marker to jot down food menus or daily notes. Just be careful when rubbing away wording that you don’t brush onto the grout which, because it is porous, may mark.
Appliances
Teamed with a monochromatic kitchen, resilient metal hardware is the best way forward.
Tip: We specified a satin finish for the stove, exhaust and fridge freezer as this medium is easier to care for than its reflective metal cousin. Whoever invented the moniker “stainless steel” had clearly never dealt with the attendant issues of a splashing wok or a bubbling soup pan. Just saying!
Flooring
To connect the kitchen to the open-concept zones beyond, we specified quality Ikea laminate. Product such as this has come a long way since its formative years and now boasts better durability and far more realistic wood effects.
Tip: The secret to making the best of inexpensive laminate is to invest in a quality fitter. In the same way that expensive wooden flooring can be ruined by poor installation, so too can less expensive product be made to look even better via careful installation.
Next Week: The polar opposite to this project; a dazzling 1950s inspired poppy red kitchen.
Colin McAllister and Justin Ryan are the hosts of HGTV’s Colin & Justin’s Home Heist (Saturdays at 2 and 7 p.m.) and the authors of Colin & Justin’s Home Heist Style Guide, published by Penguin Group (Canada). Follow them on Twitter @colinjustin or on Facebook. Contact them through their website, www.colinandjustin.tv.
Read more Colin and
Justin here.
Check out
their top 10 shopping destinations and watch
the video of their makeover of the Star
editor's office. Scope out some of their previous transformations:
- Crisis relief for a design disaster
- Design
on a dime
- Sleeping
with Colin and Justin
- Freshly
squeezed style
- Extravaganza
in orange
- Blue
and white make it right
- Baby
blue strikes the right chord
- Taking
it up a notch
- Well-planned
kitchen really cooks
- Asian-inspired
glamour
- Reaching
new heights
- Tweaking
for a new decade
- Crazy
for Canadiana, eh!
- Create
a holiday affair to remember
- Please
pass the mustard
- Hallelujah!
Designer salvation
- Mauving
right along
- A
beach of a makeover
- It's
a jungle in there
- Kitchen
less than confidential
- Sweet
dreams are made of this
- A
sweet transformation
- Just
a little bit country
- Calamitous
kitchen
- Killer
bee design
- Va
va va voom!
- Cave
dwelling
- A
little Hollywood-style glamour
- Purple
reign
- The
boss's Office Heist
- Now that's making an
entrance
-
A
Colonial charmer
- From
ghastly to glorious
- Not
so mellow yellow
- Answering
nature's call
- Picture perfect loft
makeover
- Shades
of grey
- Beyond
the 'wreck' room
- Check,
mate
-
Soaking in the
lap of
luxury
-
Basement gloom be
gone
- A
country kitchen goes classy
- Kitchen full of
Swedish glamour