Renovation: Modern farmhouse details breathe new life into a Surrey home—The Vancouver Sun, November 11, 2022

Yes, a white kitchen can be warm and inviting, thanks to complementary shades of off-white paint on the walls and cabinets. PHOTO BY MARTIN KNOWLES /PNG

This article was written by Lise Boullard and originally published in The Vancouver Sun on November 11, 2022

Rustic finishes, a neutral palette and modern accents create a fresh look in this kitchen and powder room reno.

When the owners of a mid-size family home in Surrey decided it was time for a powder room and kitchen update, they didn’t have to look far for inspiration.

Situated in Rosemary Heights, a neighbourhood in the agricultural heartland of South Surrey bordered by the Agricultural Land Reserve, the Nicomekl River and many blueberry farms, the home’s renovation reflects the area’s farming heritage.

With an understanding of the residents—two busy accountants and their two sons—and their lifestyles, interior designer Toula Favreau got to work on the transformation of the suburban residence, which was originally built in 1999 and purchased by the couple in 2007.

As with all of her projects, Favreau was guided by her philosophy that spaces should be as beautiful to look at as they are easy to be in. “I love the idea of people coming home after a long day’s work and not just feeling relieved to be home as they slip off their shoes, but feeling genuinely happy to be in their own beautiful space where they can relax and recharge to face another day,” says Favreau, who owns Acanthus Interiors.

In the 200-square-foot kitchen, which connects to the open-concept dining room and living room, Favreau removed the awkward two-tier kitchen island, square tile backsplash, steel metal sink, dated two-tone cabinets and clunky appliances. Also gone were the old-school ruffled valance curtains. “The kitchen needed to be more functional, and we needed breathing room,” Favreau says.

With a blank canvas to work with, Favreau embarked on the creation of a bright, energetic space featuring a minimalist neutral colour palette and enough room for all four members of the family—and sometimes their extended family and friends—to cook and convene. In went an expansive kitchen island and Cambria quartz countertops, a double-bowl porcelain apron farmhouse sink and sleek stainless steel appliances, including a gas stove.

Beautifully crafted alder wood cabinets and a white ceramic subway tile backsplash imbue a sense of modern elegance with nods to the past. A few coats of Benjamin Moore’s Hushed Hue, where “drab” walls had once been, brighten up the area while maintaining a sense of warmth.

To create the illusion of more space in the kitchen, Favreau reduced the standard three-inch width border of the cabinet doors and drawer fronts to two and a quarter inches, “making the entire kitchen look bigger…it’s a cool little trick that I like to use,” she explains.

The new island has “very deep” storage on both the sink and the stool sides, ideal hiding spots for items that once cluttered the kitchen’s countertops. “The clients now have places to put things away,” Favreau says.

The original kitchen always had a lot of natural light, thanks to large wrap-around windows, but Favreau added recessed lighting to illuminate any “dead zones”. The owners wanted to keep the original pendant light over the dining area, which Favreau agreed suited the new farmhouse look.

In terms of colour palette, Favreau opted for “minimalist, warm and tan,” consistent with a traditional farmhouse esthetic, but chose to punctuate that with more contemporary black accents—kitchen chairs, stools and a matte black faucet.

Three different types of flooring on the main floor—dated tile, wall-to-wall carpeting and strip flooring—”wasn’t the clients’ cup of tea anymore at all,” Favreau says. So the designer replaced those with nine-and-a-half-inch wide plank white oak floors with a brushed finish (which the clients loved so much that they decided to extend it up the stairs to the second floor and down the stairs leading to the basement).

And the way the flooring was selected was almost as exciting as the flooring itself. “Brock at Sprint Floors has a mobile showroom that actually comes to the client’s home,” the designer explains. This allowed Favreau and the clients to bring some of the materials into the space and see how they would work with the lighting. “The clients couldn’t believe the flooring people were coming to them,” Favreau says.

In the 20-square-foot powder room, originally painted a dark burgundy, Favreau removed the dated toe kick wood cabinets, beige speckled laminate countertops and Hollywood vanity light bar. In went luxurious Cambria quartz countertops and alder wood cabinets. The use of geometric shapes—white wood panelling and a round mirror with two sconces—adds interest. Under-vanity lighting and coats of white paint open up the room, and the neutral colour scheme ties in with the rest of the home.

With its careful balance of rustic natural wood elements, neutral tones, sleek appliances and black accents, the result is a residence that is anchored in the past but not stuffy and old-fashioned, Favreau says.

A renovation that makes a Rosemary Heights home feel new again, with inspiring spaces for a family’s next chapter.