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Interior designer Kevin Chan’s trade secrets

Kevin Chan’s Trade Secrets

The Nivek Remas designer transforms industrial shells into modern marvels

By Caroline Aksich| Portrait by Erin Leydon
| April 11, 2018
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Kevin Chan’s design firm, Nivek Remas, gained a cult following in 2014 after their first big project—a townhouse development in a former government building on Dovercourt—sold out in a single weekend. That same year, he transformed a derelict Bloorcourt boiler factory into a collection of laneway homes that juxtaposed industrial elements (milk-washed brick) with opulent details (skylit master baths with cathedral ceilings). That blend of rustic and modern is one of Chan’s trademarks: he recently painted the interior of a Forest Hill century home in bright shades of off-white and revamped a cold, industrial micro-condo with vintage pieces from Prince Edward County.

 


His Current Obsessions

Interior designer Kevin Chan’s trade secrets
Regine Schumann’s neon and black-lit artworks

Interior designer Kevin Chan’s trade secrets
India Mahdavi and Pierre Frey design sumptuous velvet upholstery in rich colours

Interior designer Kevin Chan’s trade secrets
Le Labo’s woodsy, unisex Santal 33 scent

Interior designer Kevin Chan’s trade secrets
The Segment table by Apparatus, with its lacquer surface, resin legs and brass hardware

Interior designer Kevin Chan’s trade secrets
The vaulted ceiling, wood details and greenery at Le Sirenuse, Joseph Dirand’s Miami restaurant

 

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Caroline Aksich, a National Magazine Award recipient, is an ex-Montrealer who writes about Toronto’s ever-evolving food scene, real estate and culture for Toronto Life, Fodor’s, Designlines, Canadian Business, Glory Media and Post City. Her work ranges from features on octopus-hunting in the Adriatic to celebrity profiles.