Colin and Justin: Counterscaping 101

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A few carefully chosen items can bring in a whole new aesthetic

When it comes to proposed kitchen updates, costs can easily spiral as oft’ modest plans develop to become full scale rejigs with wall removal and new cabinetry (not to mention plumbing and electrical correction) bashing your budget with all the force of a marauding, Spanish bull.

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Dutifully, when reworking client real estate (on a set, overall budget) we, just like everyone else, must balance our books and, if necessary, spend up on one space whilst bowing down on the next.

Rarely (sadly) do we have the luxury of blowing the budget across every single area, so we apportion available funds to enhance as many zones as possible. We suppose it all comes down to planning, and a time worn C+J maxim: ‘To fail to plan is to plan to fail.’

Let’s propose, for example, we’re flushing a bathroom’s grizzly past to deliver a fresh new world for our paymaster’s pleasure. Or installing new floors across an entire level.

Maybe client ambition has naively factored a new kitchen into the – already constricted – spreadsheet. Having attended the rodeo on myriad occasions, we’re mindful that budgets seldom settle anywhere near realistic financials. But hey, that’s how it is – we have to manage client expectation at every juncture.

Short of banging our heads in frustrated battle, we’ll typically suggest a sequence of smaller ‘stop gap’ kitchen solutions, essentially a ‘holding pattern’ roster, until next year’s budget fully materializes and we can properly address our clients’ schematic wish list.

Accessing principles such as these isn’t rocket science – all it takes to better prevailing vision is to embark upon a radical tidy up. Are all those magnets on the fridge door necessary? And how about that assortment of boxes, tins and jars that clutter eye space and suffocate the workstation?

In short, time devoted to establishing order will make everything seem eminently more streamlined and much less ‘workaday’.

Beyond cleaning, sorting and auspicious storing out of sight, our short-term logic might be to retain cupboards, but switch up hard wares. Or we might suggest replacing dated counters and improving under cabinet lighting to deflect from issues such as uneven plasterwork on walls, or perhaps an overly low ceiling.

The addition of a jaunty blind in a popping accent tone can tighten overall aesthetics, as can a cute wee rug whose colour palette compliments existing tile: you know, a tweak here or a decorative tickle there – a compendium of lil’ tweaks to deflect from the main issues. Tactics such as these literally distract from weak spots and buy time until a fuller demo is on the cards.

Alternatively, we might suggest embellishing space with sparkling new accessories, or ‘successories’ as we call them. When shopping, think about form and function and consider how each new piece will enhance the look of your kitchen counters.

We call this ‘counter scaping’, the subtle art of adding kitchen ‘jewelry’. In the same way that a sparkly new broach can enliven a tired blouse (or a gentleman’s tie pin a standard necktie) so too will carefully chosen items (toasters, blenders, choppers etc) promote a fresh new aesthetic.

Something as simple as a Breville coffee maker, like the one featured here, and perhaps a toaster and kettle from the coordinated collection, can positively impact mood and trigger feel good emotions about indulgent espressos, home brewed tea and gently toasted baked goods. Enough, perhaps, to distract from even the most lacklustre food prep zone…

And if the aforementioned items are as much about function as they are form, then hey – even better.

Sometimes, after all is said and done, the perceived lifestyle factor serves a glimpse of potential every bit as inviting as the literal colours and finishes that underpin the overall space.

Watch for Colin and Justin on Citytv’s Breakfast Television and Colin and Justin’s Sub- Zero Reno on Paramount Plus TV. Find the Colin and Justin Home Collection in stores across Canada. Visit www.colinandjustin.tv.