Kitchen serenity

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Designer Eva Healy achieves quiet luxury in a busy space

Most days, the ‘chaos’ can be intense in designer Eva Healy’s home kitchen.

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With the comings and goings of her husband Mike, kids Braeden and Leila, and their beloved family dog Hugo, there’s never a dull moment, she says.

But thanks to a well-thought-out makeover last summer, all of that busyness is now ensconced in calm.

“I was really looking forward to creating a more serene experience in my kitchen,” said Healy, founder and principal designer of Avenue Designer Inc. in Oakville. “I wanted to push the limits a little bit out of the comfort zone of your typical white kitchen.”

Inspired by the high-end elegance of European designs, Healy set out to use materials in different ways, applying patterns, textures and a soft palette of charcoal grey, light wood and warm cream to achieve a quiet luxury. The key, she said, is simplicity, in both design and function.

Shifting away from quartz, Healy chose porcelain surfaces from Laminam, selecting a Nero Greco finish for the counters, custom table top and to waterproof Hugo’s built-in dining nook, and Diamond Cream to clad the backsplash, range hood and floating shelf. Both styles offer “soft veining that’s not too stark,” she explained, helping to create “a quietness rather than a harsh contrast.”

Reflecting the ‘no hardware’ trend, the minimalist cabinets are finished in a sleek, pre-engineered laminate made in Italy that “looks like wood, acts like wood, but the caveat is it isn’t wood,” said Healy.

The emphasis is on craftsmanship and functionality, with storage solutions from Häfele that maximize every nook and cranny, including the Vauth-Sagel Cornerstone Maxx that features easy-to-access pullout shelving.

It’s small details like making sure the cooktop is flush to the countertop, choosing a built-in range over a slide-in model, and integrating hidden appliances, that help to maintain the serene visual flow. But it’s just as important to consider sound — like a quiet, yet powerful range hood — and lighting, she added.

“It’s about having the proper light when you’re cooking, but also having the ambiance when you’re not,” said Healy, who is so enamoured with the mood created by her new linear LED under-counter and toe kick lighting detail, she often leaves them on for a warm glow.

To anchor the dining area — which features a slim, upholstered banquette bench — Healy chose a beautifully sculpted statement fixture that’s actually made out of soft cream paper.

“There’s basically three elements in this kitchen — wood, charcoal and stone — and they’re all in the same colour family so it gives it that serene feel,” said Healy. “… It’s not complicated, complex or flashy. It’s really about the luxury and longevity of the design.”