Laurie Goldbach works in the kitchen of her Calgary home on Jan. 23, 2020.Jeff McIntosh/The Globe and Mail
When Brett Code and his wife, Laurie Goldbach, bought his parents’ home in 2007, they gave the 1960s-era house a facelift – painted some rooms, renovated two bathrooms and got rid of some old panelling in the main-floor family room. One thing they did not touch, however, was Code’s mother’s sturdy oak kitchen.
“We were a bit afraid,” Code says sheepishly. “She had renovated it in the eighties and just loved it so much. When Mom’s friends caught wind we were planning to do a major renovation a few years later, the first thing they asked was, ‘You’re not changing that beautiful oak kitchen your mom built, are you?’ It was rather intimidating.”
But in 2018, the couple – both lawyers – took the leap, renovating the entire two-storey home in Calgary’s southwest – including the kitchen, which got a bright new look.
Initially, they toyed with changing the layout of the space, which backs onto a lovely backyard. “But the more we tried to jiggle with the plans, the more we realized Brett’s mom’s original layout made the most sense,” says Goldbach, who worked with Karen Attwell of Form Interiors on the kitchen design. “We just modernized, streamlined and spiffed up.”
Brett Code says this French La Cornue range is 'what we designed the whole kitchen around.'Jeff McIntosh/The Globe and Mail
The first item they purchased was a double-oven French La Cornue range in a deep navy, with brass fixtures. Code is an enthusiastic cook. “I’m not allowed in the kitchen when he’s working,” Goldbach says. His wish list for the kitchen contained two things: deep cupboards and a range that was versatile, reliable and beautiful to look at.
“The oven is really what we designed the whole kitchen around,” he says.
In the end, the range, such a dark blue it appears almost black, set the template for the remainder of the colour scheme. White cabinets were chosen as a light foil to the heaviness of the appliance. The oversized round knobs in black and brushed brass mimic the hardware on the oven, while the tiles – in a swirl of cream, blue and grey – give the room a playful punch.
“We love to travel and we spent our honeymoon in Spain,” Code says. “The tiles are meant to be kind of Andalusian [from the south of Spain] and remind us of the craftsmanship we saw at the Alhambra [palace] in Granada.”
The cream, blue and grey tiles give the kitchen a playful punch.Jeff McIntosh/The Globe and Mail
The rest of their home is filled with contemporary art, pieces they have picked up during their travels as well as when Code worked in France and Africa for several years. “There is very little art in the kitchen, so the tiles were our way of injecting a bit of creativity into the room.”
Opposite the sink, the fridge is hidden in a long row of cabinets that are extra deep to hold Code’s large collection of pots and pans. “All the shelving is adjustable which means we have real flexibility and incredible storage,” he says. “I’ve been working to fill them up for the last two years, and I still have room to spare.”
Code’s mom never did get to see the new kitchen. However, her son says they took lots of pictures to show her in her nursing home. Apparently, all their worries were for naught. She approved.
Get the look
Courtesy of manufacturer
La Cornue CornuFé 110 range in dark navy and brass; $13,000 through jeromesappliancegalleryinc.ca.
Ryan Lodermeier/Courtesy of manufacturer
Hennepin Made Parallel Sphere pendant light in champagne and crystal; $469 through forminteriors.ca.
Courtesy of manufacturer
Waterjet Mosaics YA circle multi-grey, light-polish tiles; $134 per square foot at Saltillo Imports.
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