Canadian Contractor - July-August 2015
Create successful ePaper yourself
Turn your PDF publications into a flip-book with our unique Google optimized e-Paper software.
KITCHENS<br />
Kitchens, dollar for dollar, allow you<br />
to offer your renovation clients the<br />
best return on their investment.<br />
<strong>Canadian</strong> <strong>Contractor</strong> spoke to<br />
award-winning kitchen designers<br />
to find out the recent <strong>Canadian</strong><br />
kitchen trends that you need to<br />
be aware of.<br />
Hands-free and touchless features – “smart tech” in kitchen<br />
designer language – are all the rage in high-end kitchen<br />
renovations for up-market clients.<br />
“We’re seeing a lot more smart technology in kitchens<br />
today,” says Erica Westeroth, senior designer and partner, XTC<br />
Design Inc., Toronto. “There are more hands-free or touchless<br />
features in all kinds of applications, from faucets, cabinetry<br />
lighting, or even to operate cabinetry to lift doors out and up.”<br />
Installing smart tech in a kitchen requires a learning<br />
curve for most contractors, but it isn’t difficult, designers<br />
say. “There’s a whole mechanism that goes in behind the<br />
cabinetry. Blum makes the system, which includes a servo<br />
drive. They have a very good service program to help train<br />
tradespeople on installation,” Westeroth says.<br />
At his downtown Toronto showroom, Anthony Binns, a<br />
third-generation cabinetmaker, peers with a keen eye along<br />
a long length of white lacquered upper cabinetry made<br />
by German company Eggersmann. When installing smart<br />
technology, it’s important to have exact measurements. Any<br />
small shift can keep the smart boxes from “communicating<br />
with each other,” Binns says. This could cause a malfunction.<br />
The cabinet door might not lift with a finger press. The client<br />
is paying top dollar for this ease-of-use function, so accuracy<br />
is extremely important, notes Victoria Shaw, Binns’ partner at<br />
Eggersmann Toronto.<br />
Modern aesthetic<br />
“We’re also seeing cleaner lines, a trend toward a more<br />
modern aesthetic,” XTC’s Westeroth says. Hardware is linear<br />
or recessed. The layouts are simpler, not a lot of angles or<br />
curves. “Is it easier to install? It’s less time consuming. A more<br />
contemporary look does not require a lot of moldings, for<br />
example. But you can’t hide anything exacting.”<br />
www.canadiancontractor.ca <strong>July</strong>/<strong>August</strong> <strong>2015</strong> 23
Change language