City Homes
This Circa-1906 Toronto Home Has An Earthy, European-Inspired Kitchen
Published on April 23, 2025
After five years in their circa-1906 home in Toronto, Casey Stratton and her husband, Will, were tired of their dark, cramped kitchen. Casey found herself dreaming of the beautiful places she’d admired on trips to France, and the Georgian Bay cottages she, Will and their two young sons visited each summer. She called up designer Melanie Hay, a close friend, to make her dream for a new kitchen a reality. The design brief? To create a European-style country kitchen with nature-inspired elements and a dose of contemporary flair.
When it comes to design and decorating, inspiration is everywhere. And for this family kitchen redo, Melanie homed in on the gorgeous Eucalyptus Leaf chandelier from Palecek. The brass fixture became the jumping-off point for the entire design and, now, it has pride of place over the island.
“It’s really become the hub of our home,” Casey says of her new European-style kitchen. It’s where she entertains, has nightly dinners with her family and sits down to work.
See how Melanie brought the kitchen to life with a nod to nature below.
Melanie pulled the chandelier’s botanical vibe through the space, using muted, earthy tones for the cabinets, stools and dining banquette, and embraced curves over angular lines for the vent hood, island, desk and doorways. Wood grains and heavily veined Arabescato Corchia marble on the counters and backsplash also evoked the natural world.
Not only design inspiration, the chandelier brought more light into the formerly gloomy kitchen, a special request from Casey and Will. “With nine bulbs all on a dimmer, it creates a lot more illumination than any pendant would,” says Melanie. “And the sculptural, organic leaves in a beautiful brass finish add warmth and colour without being too flashy.” Melanie added artful sconces over the range, a table lamp on the counter and recessed lights on dimmers.
With the statement fixture and veined marble for drama, the designer needed to bring in a touch of serenity for balance. Her solution was to paint the cabinets in Farrow & Ball’s London Stone, a warm, muted hue, and she selected hardware and fixtures in brass tones to limit contrast. The rail and pot filler add shine to the dramatic marble backsplash, which is balanced by a subtle vent hood that blends in with the wall colour.
Details such as the faucet, sprayer and soap pump add old world flair to the renovated kitchen, while other aspects — the lighting and stools — are decidedly modern.
It took a total of eight months to transform the dark galley kitchen with dated fixtures and limited storage into a contemporary, European-style kitchen with great lighting and large appliances. “I love maximalist details, but I’m always looking for places where the eye can rest,” says designer Melanie Hay (above).
Choosing a stainless steel fridge rather than a panel-ready one (which would have been costlier to install) allowed for more budget for millwork.
“The thick masonry wall needed a beautiful touch, but one that wouldn’t draw too much attention away from the kitchen itself,” says Melanie.
A luxe marble top and a subtle arch elevate the desk in Casey’s workspace in the kitchen. “When you have this much marble, it will chip and stain over time,” says Melanie. “You have to be willing to embrace the imperfections and use the kitchen without worrying too much.”
In the nearby powder room, Melanie continued the warm metal theme with a brass sink, faucet and mirror frame. She used the same Arabescato Corchia marble used in the kitchen, wanting the space to tie in with the design of the main level but also stand on its own. The floral wallpaper is striking, and its blue is pulled out for the wall tile and door colour. “When you open the door, you’re welcomed into this beautiful, blue jewel box of a room,” says Melanie.
Lauren Miller
Melanie Hay