Kitchen of the Week: Hearth and History in an Ontario Home

A historic kitchen in Canada gets improved function with a vintage vibe

Kelly LaPlante February 10, 2017

Houzz Contributor

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When a retired couple with a passion for antiques decided to renovate a 130-year-old home, they turned to their daughter, Laura Goard, who works for design-build firm Square Footage. The new design, which included the kitchen and a fireplace that had been buried behind walls for many years, had to reflect the history of the home while improving function and incorporating a number of antique design elements from the homeowners’ collection.

Square Footage Inc.

Photos by Valerie Wilcox

Kitchen at a Glance
Who lives here: A retired couple with grown children
Location: Ontario, Canada
Square footage: 300 square feet (28 square meters)
Designer: Laura Goard of Square Footage

The fireplace was the original cooking site of the home, but it had been buried for many years behind a wall from a previous renovation. “We weren’t sure what we were going to find when we unearthed it,” says principal designer Frankie Castro, who assigned Goard to her parents’ project. “But it was actually in pretty good condition, so we just cleaned it up and brought it up to 21st-century standards.”

The original floors only needed to be cleaned, resanded and resealed.

Square Footage Inc.

An antique cupboard from the homeowners’ collection hangs between an identical set of windows and farmhouse sinks. The two sinks are there partially for function — the homeowners use one for utility and one for cooking — and partially for visual balance. “We’re really telling your eye where to go,” Castro says.

Square Footage Inc.

Over the sinks, the translucent shades of vintage schoolhouse fixtures refract the crisp outdoor light. An antique rug stretches across the floor.

Paint color: Gray Owl, Benjamin Moore (half tint); cabinets: Miralis in Cloud White; lights: Legacy

Square Footage Inc.

The cooktop and range are anchored against the original brick on the back of the fireplace, bringing the cooking activities in the home back to where they occurred more than a century ago.

An antique door the homeowners found years ago obscures the stacked washer and dryer.

Countertops: Caesarstone in Raven and Pure White

Square Footage Inc.

Inset in the ceiling, one final piece of history is preserved: the original electric wires.

“Our inspector told us: ‘You can’t have that wiring. That’s only knob and tube wiring. It’s not going to pass code,’ and we laughed because it’s just decorative,” Castro says.

The wiring, like many of the elements of this renovation, tells the story of the home, and invites visitors to imagine a simpler time when food was actually cooked in a fireplace.

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