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Amy and Trevor Bond's colourful kitchen takes cues from her work as a glass jewellery artist

Amy and Trevor Bond in their open-concept kitchen and dining area in Toronto on Jan. 29, 2018.

Amy and Trevor Bond dream in Technicolor. When the Toronto couple purchased their Riverdale home, on the city's east side, they envisioned something quite different than the existing practical block-and-brick two-storey built by an Italian mason in 1966. "We had grand plans," Trevor says. After a seven-month renovation that saw the structure stripped to its studs and joists, Amy and Trevor, along with their two kids, Baxter and Ruby, finally moved back in this past October.

"We wanted a more modern design because, for us, it's a more practical way of living," says Trevor, who's a realtor. "I'm inspired by the Romans, insofar as you build it once, you build it really well and it should last for a very long time."

To better suit their lifestyle and stature ("I'm six-foot-two and Amy is not short," Trevor says), the couple opened up the main floor, added height and capped the ends with big, bright windows. Trevor refers to the kitchen, connected to the dining room and sunken living room, as "command central."

"In real estate, we call it the 'Captain Kirk Kitchen' because it's in the middle and everything else is around you. The cook is the captain – you have full command of the room," he says.

When it came to the renovation, Trevor and Amy, who works a glass jewellery artist, were equal partners at the helm; their ideas for layout and finishes culled from Trevor's experience showing homes and Amy's acumen for colour, form and texture.

"I'm a huge fan of mixing colours," Amy says. "When I work with my jewellery, one of things I love the most is choosing all the colours and making different patterns."

Still, while jewellery accents, she recognized that a home is all-encompassing: "It had to be more mellow," she says. "You're living in it."

The yellow-glazed diamond tile, from California-based, family-owned company Heath Ceramics, was the starting point. In less capable or confident hands, that might have been the one and only pop of colour, but Amy and Trevor are no shrinking violets. Even the built-in, custom cabinetry, by Johnny Fever of JaG Creative, is a pleasing shade of lavender. "It's our version of grey or beige," Trevor says. Stools from Structube, turquoise Eames moulded plastic chairs, pendants from Soffi (previously Luma Custom Lighting) and artwork by Emily Filler (on an orange wall, no less) add up to create a space that's hard to pin down – and even more difficult to date. "We wanted to try and achieve a timeless aesthetic," Trevor says.

"Because I make things for a living, I really wanted to try and incorporate artist-made finishes in the house," Amy says. Glass panels, for example, were sourced from local glass-blowing company Jeff Goodman Studio. The house's exterior features resplendent, triple-glazed brick in five shades of blue-green, from emerald to celadon, by artisanal brick maker Elgin Butler. "It's hard to rein it in because there's so many things that I really loved," she says. The couple had help from friend and interior designer Alex Fida, and credit him as a "gatekeeper." Trevor says, if not for Fida, the overall palette, finishes and furniture might be similar, but the effect different. "It would be untamed."

In the end, what they have is a colourful kitchen that's both lively and refined. "And it feels a little bit more like a living room because you're not surrounded by appliances," Trevor says, referring again to the lavender cabinetry "chock-full of stainless microappliances that you hate to see."

Amy adds, "It's nice because I pick up the kids from school, and I'm in the kitchen until bedtime. Getting dinner ready, eating, then cleaning up." But nothing in this particular kitchen seems a chore. "The kids are either colouring or doing crafty things at the table. We're all together."


Get the look

Aurora Pendant, $540 at Soffi Lightin.

COCO Counter Stool (Rust), $129 at Structube.

Marimekko Oiva/Unikko Plate, $39.50 at EQ3.

Marimekko Sukat Makkaralla Tumbler two pack, $39 at EQ3.

3x9 Diamond Tile from the Dimensional Collection, US$78 per square foot at Heath Ceramics.


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