When a house is in foreclosure, it’s not staged for selling. That was abundantly clear to Chandra Vermeulen and Josh Farynowski when they first stepped into a musty Sunnyside home that had sat vacant for at least a year. The walls were dirty, pests were calling it home and, according to Vermeulen, the kitchen was “like a cubicle” — cramped and impractical. Hardly ideal for a couple expecting a baby.
And yet, it had heart — unlike the renovated homes they had viewed. Farynowski notes that those spaces felt cold, with grey-and-white palettes that were nice but unexciting. “We wanted to do something ourselves,” he says. “Find a place that we could put our own stamp on.”
The Sunnyside house did have positives. It was close (but not too close) to downtown, it had natural light, and it featured a wow-factor open staircase and original wood accents. The couple bought the home in the spring of 2023 and brought in the design team at Studio Felix to transform the rest.
The cubicle kitchen was the first to go, and in its place stands a series of stunning walnut built-ins. The home’s first floor is only about 700 square feet, so the cabinetry needed to hold not only kitchen essentials like plates, cutlery and appliances, but also pantry items, coats, brooms, records and toys for the new baby. The cabinets wrap all the way around the main-floor powder room and house everything from loose keys to the coffee machine. “It’s not a huge space, but it is a powerhouse of storage,” says Suzanne Tetrault, Studio Felix’s owner and principal interior designer.
As with any renovation, there were a few bumps along the way. The white cabinets over the stovetop were mistakenly installed too high, but the couple opted to go with the flow and put in open shelving for display-worthy ceramics. For extra seating, they ordered two stools to match ones they already had. But when they arrived, the colour and material were wrong. Or were they?
“We were like, ‘We love that, let’s embrace that,’” says Vermeulen, and the mismatched stools stayed.
The kitchen serves many roles for the couple, who now have two young children. It’s a place to make canned preserves from the raspberry bushes outside, to bake a batch of fresh sourdough pretzel buns and, in a pinch, to use as a home office. Plus, the island’s rounded corner makes for a great racetrack.
“Our toddler loves it because he can run around in a circle,” Vermeulen says with a laugh. It’s moments like those that make this kitchen the heart of the home.
The Handles
What came first, the cabinet or the pulls? In this case, the pulls. The high-contrast walnut cabinetry and the kitchen’s finishes were inspired by the sleek, curved pulls sourced from Banbury Lane.
The Coffee Station
A kitchen of this size can’t usually accommodate a large countertop coffee machine, but the homeowners deemed it a must-have. Tetrault and her team designed the storage cabinets with a recessed spot especially for caffeinating.
The Backsplash
The square green tiles stand out in the space, chosen because of their unique, handcrafted vibe. The dark-and-light combo also echoes the mismatched stool upholstery.
The “Secret” Wine Fridge
The island includes wine storage for both bottles and glasses, but you’d never know with the door seamlessly blending in with the façade. “We forget it’s there sometimes,” admits Vermeulen.
