Favorites

Xenia Rose (left) and Kate Dubois balanced bold color with white and wood for this home renovation and expansion in Ontario.

The sconces above the window are from Luminaire Authentik.

“From day one, it was ‘no notes,'” says Rose.

The stools were a Marketplace find by Mary, who has such a knack for online thrifting that she’s earned a nickname: Marketplace Mary.

Calacatta Viola Laminam porcelain tops the island and wraps the vent hood. Article's Aino pendant lights illuminate the space.

Caesarstone Fresh Concrete countertops line the perimeter cabinets.

The wood handles were hand-stained and sealed to match the cabinetry wood.

The millwork cube holds a bathroom and storage aplenty, including the front hall closet and mini upper cabinets.

Behind one of the cube's doors, you'll find a full bathroom waiting, decked out in vibrant maroon tiles.

House of Fine Cabinetry produced the extensive millwork at the center of this project.

“The process was so amazing because they trusted us so much and did not push for changes. They were willing to hear the vision, and it was such an opportunity to make a mark and show the kind of bold design we want to be doing,” says Rose.

The great room in the new addition. “Every day walking into that big room, you just have that, ‘Oh, wow,’ moment,” says Marlatt.

Marlatt built the cabinets in place from Russian Birch plywood, and the counters are a thin application of Neolith stone. The backsplash is glass, making for easy clean-up, and a few of the cabinet fronts are painted Masonite, for fun pops of color. The ceramics on the shelves are by Burgevin.

A built-in couch sits against birch plywood walls.

“The fireplace really turns out to be a focus of the deck and the house,” says Marlatt. “We use it a lot more than I ever thought we would, frankly.”

Now, large doors connect inside and out, as does the double-sided fireplace. Instead of installing a flat fascia board at the roof, Marlatt “went to a metal shop and had a stainless-steel V-shape fabricated. It gives us that sharp metal edge, almost like a wing of a plane.” The new deck is made of Pakari, a thermally modified pine that is chemical free, insect and rot resistant, renewable, and California fire-rated.

Marlatt designed and installed a built-in desk with a folding top to save space in the study room. “That's also something I'd like to build again,” says Marlatt. “Every time you do something that's a little bit experimental, you realize how much better it would be the next time. It's all prototyping.”

“Light from the skylight in the hallway passes into the room now,” says Marlatt. “In the morning, the light from the study room passes into the hallway and cast shadows through the polycarbonate.”

The perforated aluminum at the exterior forms a privacy screen for the bathroom.