Before embarking on an update of the kitchen in their Guelph, Ontario, home, Laurie Schnarr and Alan Walters compiled two wish lists of must-haves. Hers? Blackboards, "from a lifetime of working in classrooms, and their aesthetic appeal." His list itemized a tin ceiling and open shelving. Months of research ensued to gather the mix of materials - his, hers and everything in between - that would come together in this eclectic kitchen. The shared dream created a space that fills their contemporary needs, yet fits perfectly with their little circa-1900 cottage.
Each material and design choice adds layer upon layer of texture to the space, but adding different decorative elements didn't all come that easily. The couple's first attempt at painting the re-plastered walls in a battleship grey was “just wrong,” Alan says with a chuckle. “Too dark.” They tried again, choosing a coffee shade that works with the natural wood window frames and the warm colours in the room. The tin ceiling, from a Petersburg, Ontario, supplier, required some careful play too. Alan visited the shop several times in order to decide on a pattern and then to revise it after he deemed his first design “too busy.” When the final result was a little brash, Laurie says, their contractor brought in an Elora, Ontario, artist to “dull it down” with graphite. “We're into darker col-ours,” Alan says. “I like to turn the lights down and watch the shadows and light when I'm cooking.”
The mahogany cabinetry, however, was a seamless fit, stained the natural shade of a favourite freestanding pantry in the next room. A work table with turned legs and a butcher-block top ties in with its mahogany stain, while the island, with the same turned legs, is also mahogany, but for variation was stained a dark walnut. Soft soapstone for the sink, island and countertops is highly practical for a cook, requiring only an occasional mineral-oil rub to maintain its deep black tone. Not only can you spill anything on it without marking it, Laurie says, "I can be rolling out pastry and then I'll grab a hot pot off the stove and put it down on the counter." No muss, no fuss.
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