When Anna Olson planned her kitchen, she didn't know it was going to become a TV star. The chef, cookbook author and host of cooking shows Sugar and Fresh with Anna Olson did what any professional cook would: She drew on years of experience in commercial kitchens to design a lively space that accommodated her non-stop kitchen activity and her fondness for cooking with others, especially her husband, Michael, who is also a chef. Later, when she decided to shoot Fresh with Anna Olson in her home, set designer Elisa Sauve helped make it camera-ready, but the kitchen remains a working space that Anna uses virtually every day.
In addition to having a starring role on her show, however, the vibrant, colour-filled space turns out to be the star of the Olson home as well. The house, an 1880 heritage building in Welland, Ontario, features typically Victorian elongated shuttered windows, a central turret and a deep wraparound verandah. Anna and Michael renovated the house six years ago, and decorated with a combination of old and new, pairing contemporary stream-lined furnishings with a vibrant colour palette to ease the gracious space into the present.
A succession of wide doorways offers views of the kitchen from anywhere on the light-filled main floor, and the kitchen's bold robin's egg blue adds a retro accent to the mix of vintage dining room table and modern oversized living room sofa. "For every day, I would probably go for a more muted shade, but I like living with it," Anna says. "It's bright—even in winter."
View a slideshow of the kitchen, living and dining rooms.
Anna Olson's top 5 must-haves for her kitchen
1. Her oven
The commercial gas oven is a vintage piece: Anna bought it years ago from a local college that was closing down. Not only is it accurate, but its two decks double its efficiency.
2. Her pantry
The stainless steel glass-door pantry was a pie fridge discarded from a local diner. Its open storage keeps staples visible.
3. An immersion blender
It's simple, practical, and no-fuss portable.
4. Enamelled cast-iron cookware
Anna collects both new and vintage Le Creuset pots. "I love how they conduct and hold the heat."
5. Good knives
Anna uses IVO cutlery, but cautions, "It takes playing with a few types" to find the knives you like.
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