How a designer built a snazzy kitchen out of a closed-off space in a Don Mills bungalow

Is there anything more satisfying than seeing a wall knocked down with a sledgehammer? The homeowners of one Don Mills bungalow experienced this thrill after Luana Cazan of Cazan Design Group removed a large wall that barricaded the kitchen from the living room into two small, lacklustre spaces. The new open-plan scheme is unified by cool hardwood floors and a two-tone Trevisana kitchen that runs into the living room. The result is an inviting space, elevated by a few smart, stylish touches. The entire home reno—not just the kitchen—cost $140,000.

Here’s what the cramped kitchen looked like before. It lacked personality and the dark paint was oppressive. The door to the left leads to the living room:

An overdose of wood in the living room made it feel like a drab cottage:

The kitchen didn’t have enough counter space to prepare big meals, and the cheap, laminate counters were uninspiring. The window above the sink looks out to the front of the house:

This was the scene post-demolition—you gotta love exposed two-by-fours. Getting rid of the wall also brought focus to the cathedral ceiling:

After the load-bearing beam was installed, the room really started to show promise:

Here’s the main floor now. The walnut kitchen by Trevisana has a vivid blue backsplash with back-painted glass mosaics from Ciot. Cazan added trim to the top of the cabinets to give them a finished, framed look and made sure the Caesarstone countertops aligned with the face of the cabinets for a more modern aesthetic. The dining table from Structube can be pulled out for larger groups or removed entirely if the homeowners need space for a party:

Darker lower cabinets complement the hand-scraped American walnut floors that aren’t too matchy-matchy with the cabinets, so the space doesn’t feel predictable, Cazan says:

Cazan continued the wood along vertical cabinets that hold both pantry essentials and electronics for visual consistency. (The homeowners joke they now have too much storage.) The stainless steel appliances are by Bosch (the stove can switch between electric and gas), the range hood was custom-cut so that it could tuck into the ceiling, and the pendant over the island is from Union Lighting:

Cazan punched out the back wall and replaced a pair of small patio doors with larger ones. She highlighted them with black paint for graphic impact.