Decorating & Design
The Best Of Brian Gluckstein, H&H’s 2022 Designer of the Year
Published on November 9, 2022
Brian Gluckstein is the first to admit that he is no cook, but that doesn’t mean he doesn’t know how a well-appointed kitchen should function. It’s that kind of intuition that has fuelled Brian’s firm, Gluckstein Design Planning, over the last 36 years. As the 2022 Designer of the Year, Brian knows instinctively how his clientele want to live, which makes him a natural choice for the Princess Margaret Cancer Centre Home Lottery Showhome, which he has designed for the last decade. Brian’s able to incorporate the asks of his luxury clientele and turn them into a house built from scratch that has everyone talking (and buying tickets). Let’s take a look back at some of the work that has made him a deserving choice for designer of the year.
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Many of Brian’s clients are repeat customers, tapping him to design their second or third vacation homes, or refresh houses he designed decades ago. But Brian’s also a full-fledged brand, neatly straddling the worlds of luxury and mass market. His lines for Hudson’s Bay (GlucksteinHome) and Home Depot (GlucksteinElements) bring his discerning taste to shoppers living outside the confines of Rosedale, Aspen, Manhattan or Palm Beach, making his furniture, tableware, bedding, and lighting accessible to just about anyone.
When it comes to Brian’s designs, there’s a practicality and simplicity in his approach, but also an ability to celebrate luxury: banding a kitchen pendant with a strip of gold, fluting a big-box vanity, installing a cozy fireplace in a kitchen, or famously lining his own bathroom with built-in bookshelves.
2022 Princess Margaret Showhome
In his 10th showhome design for the 2022 PMH showhouse, Brian paid homage to what tops the requests of his roster of high-end residential clients, as well as a wish list of features he was eager to try out (hello dog shower for all those pandemic pups, and a climbing wall!). Brian switched up his trademark grey palette for a soft blue (inspired by a dress he saw in Vogue), splashing it on the great room paneling and the kitchen cabinets. “I love to experiment with color, and this is the perfect opportunity. There’s a freshness to it,” says Brian. Two custom daybeds were designed to tuck neatly into alcoves flanking the fireplace. “In a monochromatic space, I like to layer details such as trims, paneling and caning,” says Brian.
Floor-to-ceiling windows and a dramatic two-storey wall of glass in the family room flood the house with natural light while providing definition. “I think lockdowns tested some marriages,” says Brian, with a laugh. “There’s something nice about having rooms to retreat to. In this house, we found ways to define spaces yet still see through them — there are beautiful views everywhere you look. Paneled in rift-cut cerused oak, the family room gets a modern, industrial hit from the metal doors.
Pale blue cabinets are a fresh counterpoint to the kitchen’s oak herringbone-pattern floors and smoky bronze mirrored backsplash. The island and counters are clad in Caesarstone, and incorporates a ledge to keep water from splashing on food and laptops.
Stretched vinyl mimics a sky blue lacquered ceiling in the dining room, and the palette plays off the great room with a faux grasscloth wallpaper for subtle texture.
A facetted vinyl pool with a fountain to muffle traffic noise is sited to allow for great views from the house. After Covid shut down in-person showhome tours in 2020 and 2021, Brian can barely contain his enthusiasm for welcoming visitors IRL. “You need to see it in person, to walk through the rooms, see the furniture and the finishes firsthand, see how we’re adventurous with materials,” says Brian. “After all, people come to this showhome not to see things they have in their own house, but for inspiration. We push the limits in a refined way. It’s not a mirror, it’s a door to something different.”
2021 Princess Margaret Showhome
In his ninth Princess Margaret Cancer Centre Home Lottery Showhome, Brian pondered the definition of luxury where sunlight, space, air and time have become almost as important as finishes. This 7,220-square-foot home’s rotunda, cerused oak panelling and silk-lined dressing room are all in keeping with the neighbouring stone châteaux that line the lake in Oakville, Ont. In the lofty, 22-foot-high dining room, mirrors between the windows reflect the stair railing. “I love to connect upper and main levels in two-storey spaces,” says Brian. “The dark tile floor and windows create a courtyard effect.”
The study’s curved sofa is set into the bay window overlooking the garden. “The stepped drywall ceiling defines the study and living room spaces and highlights the open bookshelves,” says Brian.
“There’s a lot of different materials in this kitchen, but it’s cohesive because the black accents and wood tie it together,” says Brian.
The family room is a perfect spot for watching the game. “We didn’t define spaces with walls and doors in order to open them up and let people in,” says Brian.
“The house is designed for entertaining,” says Brian. “The rooms are open to each other, and there’s so much seating in the breakfast area.”
In this elevated laundry room, the appliances are raised to eye level,” says Brian. The space doubles as a craft room with punchy orange stools.
The hammam-inspired spa has a chromotherapy tub and generous deck for stretching out a yoga mat. Discreet inset lighting keeps the feeling zen.
2020 Princess Margaret Showhome
“You hardly need to turn on the lights in this house,” says Brian of the sunlit, two-storey foyer for the 2020 Princess Margaret Cancer Centre Home Lottery Showhome. The family room’s expansive windows look onto the backyard. “I like sweeping sight lines both horizontally and vertically, so we made the family room two storeys high with juliet balconies above,” says Brian. “This is the hub of the home and everything else radiates off of it.”
Forever a fan of banquettes, Brian paired bench seating with a smoked glass trumpet table in this breakfast nook. The table ties in nicely with the kitchen’s black metal detailing.
“Instead of using frosted glass for privacy, we installed a semitransparent screen to conceal the shower and water closet,” says Brian. “I’m a real bath person, so the tub is always the center point for me.”
2019 Princess Margaret Showhome
Low-set wainscotting and full-length drapery emphasize the great room’s lofty ceiling. “I like high ceilings and love to incorporate at least one in every design,” says Brian. High-contrast trim on the off-white coffee tables and armchairs evokes the signature piping of a timeless Chanel jacket.
Extending the family room’s corner windows to the floor and topping them with elegant arched transoms has a custom look and connects the mink-colored room to the outdoors. A striped rug underscores the casual mood.
Subtle texture and strategic doses of shine in the principal ensuite keep the look simple yet sophisticated. The graphic tile is a dramatic focal point. “To create the look, large-scale slabs were cut and arranged in this pattern,” he says, “but the technique can be replicated by cutting down less expensive 12- by 12-inch tiles in different colors.”
2018 Princess Margaret Showhome
The 2018 Princess Margaret Cancer Centre Home Lottery Showhome which Brian designed boasts floor-to-ceiling windows that overlooked manicured gardens, an airy kitchen with a sunny window seat and an intimate dining room ideal for family suppers or cocktail soirées.
The 2018 PMH Showhouse was inspired by a 1920s estate Brian spotted during a trip to Long Island, New York. “It’s really a house the whole family will enjoy,” says Brian. He painted the kitchen cabinetry a gray-blue hue framed in gunmetal black for a modern-industrial look. The man-made quartz countertop continues up the backsplash and behind the uppers, which lightens the space.
“Everyone loves a window seat,” says Brian of the kitchen’s dining area. “Imagine reading the paper or having your breakfast here. It’s a great place to sit and look out at the garden.”
In this principal bedroom, blush-colored walls and a dramatic tufted headboard create an overall feeling of softness, while blue-gray bed linens add freshness.
2017 Princess Margaret Showhome
For the 2017 showhome, Brian pulled out all the stops to make the home incredible. “Every year I make a secret Pinterest board and then sit down with the team,” says Brian. “We talk about what we want to do, as well as take comments from previous showhome visitors into consideration. The sunken dining room offers entertaining versatility with a custom banquette in the bay window that can serve as a spot for cocktails or seating for buffet-style meals.
Verre églomisé mirrors by Toronto artist Cristina Pepe and a vintage-style chandelier bring glamor to this foyer. A dark marble floor grounds the space.
Brian tweaked the concept of a formal library to reflect the way people work now and made it a social hub. “Libraries are not a necessity,” he says. “We’re more fluid in the way we work with laptops on sofas now. This is a much cooler take on the library.”
In the principal bedroom, the furniture floats away from the walls for a relaxed look. “The chaise in front of the window — that’s a signature for me,” says Brian. “I love to come home and put my feet up.”
2016 Princess Margaret Showhome
Brian’s skillful layering is on full display in the great room of the 2016 PMH Showhome, where panelled mirrors flank an upholstered screen that serves as a dynamic backdrop for photography. Ample seating upholstered in a similar hue as the pale grey walls creates an airy feel.
Library Bathroom
Brian’s own signature ‘library bathroom’ spawned my imitators, including Brian himself who recreated the bathroom at IDS. This well appointed soaker is partially encircled by shelves full of leather-bound books. A mirrored side table, credenza-like vanity and upholstered armchair make this bathroom feel like a living room.
2019 Kips Bay Showhome
For the 2019 Kips Bay Showhome, Brian dropped a golden mobile down the center core of the staircase.He installed a fabulous custom stair runner and wrapped the whole thing in the palest crystal blue using shimmering wallpaper and paint.
2016 Princess Margaret Showhome
Brian’s skillful layering is on full display in this great room, where panelled mirrors flank an upholstered screen that serves as a dynamic backdrop for photography. Ample seating upholstered in a similar hue as the pale grey walls creates an airy feel.
Symmetry reigns in this kitchen, where two lanterns hover above the island on either side of the sink. The range hood is clad in the same opalized grey tile as the backsplash, and a partly open pantry at the far end offers tons of storage.
2015 Princess Margaret Showhome
Brian is a huge fan of sybaritic bathrooms. This luxe version has a marble shaving station installed in the principal ensuite shower.
2014 Princess Margaret Showhome
For the 2014 PMH Showhome, the formal front room’s combined living and dining areas make it ideal for entertaining. A panel of custom-made wallpaper by Fromental features hand-embroidered silk flowers and is bookended by mirrors.
The ficus tree in the conservatory extends the garden indoors in the 2014 Showhome. Sunlight streams in through steel-framed windows that rise one-and-a-half storeys high.
2013 Princess Margaret Showhome
“I love hallways to be experiences,” says Brian. “Sometimes, I’ll line them with bookcases; sometimes, they’re more like galleries. This one is a garden area. We did a cathedral ceiling with a skylight and outdoor-style lanterns, then hung photographs of beautiful gardens on the walls.”