Holiday Apple Tarts

It's quite amazing at how much of a sweet tooth I have and it seems to get worse right around the holidays.

This is a quick and simple holiday tart I make for my friends and family and I have to admit, they're dangerously delicious!!

Ingredients:
Puff or Phyllo pastry
2 large apples-I like Granny Smith
1/2 cup of sugar
1 tablespoon cinnamon
Unsalted butter

Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper and apply a generous amount of butter.

Cut the pastry into equal 3 1/2" circles and place on a cookie sheet.

Slice butter into equal slices, and place in the center of your pastry. You can adjust the amount of butter to suit the desired flavour.

Mix the sugar and cinnamon together and sprinkle generously on top the pastry and butter.

Cut apples into halves and cut again into thin slices. Apply apples to the pastry in a circular direction starting with the larger apples on the bottom and ending with the smaller pieces on the top.

Apply another chunk of butter on top of the apples and sprinkle with the cinnamon sugar mixture.

Heat oven at 375 degrees and bake for approx. 30 minutes or until apples are cooked and pastry is golden brown.

Makes 8 Tarts

Enjoy! Happy Baking.....and Eating!

Classically Inspired Kitchen-Custom Cabinet Install

Custom cabinetry is the way to go with a new kitchen renovation, there are so many aspects that can be customized that you just can't do with a modular off the shelf kitchen. Everything from the height, depth, width and finish can be made to your specific needs when going the custom route.

In this case most of the cabinets had to be custom to some degree to accommodate appliances, walls, and awkward bulkheads. The cabinets are painted in Benjamin Moore'-Dune White CC-70 and finished in a satin finish. The finish is absolutely stunning!

Most of the original plan was executed with the final kitchen design. The pantry adds so much additional storage and the well thought-out compartments within, allow the home owners to stay organized.

When planning a kitchen its all about being flexible. Our original plan to have stacked cabinets with a row of glass doors above got chopped and ended up on the kitchen floor, due to budget restraints. Instead, we decided on 36" upper cabinets with a more substantial crown moulding right up to the ceiling. The higher cabinets still allow for additional storage compared to their previous kitchen.

On either side of the range we added glass doors above to add symmetry and to break up the row of white cabinets. We also had them wired for pot lights for a layer of decorative lighting. 

I absolutely love the way this turned out! By making the cabinet above the range deeper, the crown moulding wraps around the varying planes adding an architectural feature and visual interest to a pretty simple design. Although its not a wood canopy it has the feeling of a grand design feature.

We again played with varying planes along the pantry wall to add depth and visual interest. 

This turned out to be a great looking kitchen. The white cabinets have completely brightened it up and the dark floors ground it all and have really opened up the space.

We're ready for the next step... countertop install!

Check back for our post on the countertop selection and install process.

Classically Inspired Kitchen-Flooring

We really wanted the space to open up and by selecting a large 12"x24" tile in a dark finish it gives the kitchen depth, grounds all the white finishes and makes it seem much larger. The porcelain tile on the finishes board was the original tile we selected but due to budget constraints we needed something that was easier on the budget. We found this option (towards the right hand bottom of the image) and it was a fraction of the cost, it was a great compromise!

To add some visual interest we selected this very interesting pattern that works amazingly with this size tile.  

This is an old house and required several bags of self leveler in order for it to come up to an acceptable state to receive the tiles. It was very important to have a leveled floor to prevent tiles from cracking further on in the future. 

Classically Inspired Kitchen-Demo Day!

Demolition Day! Its time to be out with the old and in with the new!

Goodbye old and outdated kitchen! The homeowners were sure glad to see this day come...

Oh did I mention this was Thanksgiving weekend...Yikes! Luckily the homeowners had another property just outside the city where they spent a cleaner and dust free Thanksgiving.

It's all gone!

This house is located on the Danforth and doesn't have a private driveway, therefore we would've needed to park a bin to dispose of the old cabinets and debris on the street and that requires a city permit.  Instead, the homeowners called a junk removal crew, which saved them a good chunk of money. This was a small enough kitchen so it actually worked out in their favor.

One thing about demolition is you never know what your going to find beneath the surface. We were aware that a portion of the subfloor in the addition was damaged caused by an ongoing leak but we didn't expect this. 

Always include a contingency in the budget for unexpected overages such as this, I sure did!

The show must go on...the cause of the leak was determined and new insulation, vapour barrier and subfloor were installed. Were ready for our new flooring!

Simple Holiday Decorating Inspiration

The holidays are fast approaching and the days of decorating are dwindling down. Christmas is one of my favourite times of year but the fussy decorating can sometimes be too much to handle. The garland, the lights, real tress, fake trees, wreaths that are large, wreaths that are small,  bows, balls the list goes on! 

Here are a few simple ideas to show your in the Christmas spirit without all the fuss!

source: www.allthingsfancy.blogspot.ca

Love the idea of having a simple painted initial with a small floral detail as opposed to having a traditional wreath, it's different and it definitely gets noticed!

Source: www.unskinnyboppy.com

Every year I have glass ornaments that just sit and collect dust from the previous year, this is a great way to add colour and a little bling to any room.

Source: www.elledecor.com

This is such a darling idea, so simple and elegant.

Source: Canadian House and Home

I love the idea of the ribbons and letting them hang freely from chandeliers. Simple decor during the holidays truly is sometime best!

Source: www.witandwhistle.com

Lights in a bottle, what a cool idea!

I can see these wine bottle lights setting the mood at any holiday party, They're simple and would add a warm glow to any room. 

For DIY instructions on how to create the wine bottle lights check out

Wit & Whistle.

Classically Inspired Kitchen-The Plan

THE PLAN

We designed the cabinets to go up to the ceiling for additional storage which the previous kitchen was lacking. I knew it would also make the kitchen feel much larger! We also wanted to give the kitchen a sort of focal point, although the kitchen is small it needed something to draw your eye in. We decided to incorporate a custom canopy  range hood to give the kitchen some visual interest.

By adding cabinetry above the fridge and around the awkward bulkhead, it doesn't seem so awkward anymore. 

Although the pantry is directly across from the main prep area, we wanted to give this area its own identity. We had to take into consideration an existing base heating vent in this area which left us with a 9" high toe base. Our solution was to flush mount an arched base to give it that built-in look. By mounting door panels that match the cabinetry on the walls, this area feels like a built-in piece of furniture. Ample storage solutions were incorporated in this area including, a place to store brooms and cleaning items, pull-out drawers for easy retrieval of items, pull-out baskets for vegetables like onions and potatoes. An additional work surface is now a place to rest baked  goods when fresh out the oven!

We opted to switch out the existing dining table for an island with the exact dimensions since the home does have a formal dining area.  The island is now a multi-purpose area allowing for storage for large pots and pans and additional items such as cookies sheets etc, a secondary prep area, and we were still able to seat 4 as was done previously.

Classically Inspired Kitchen- The Requirements

The most important part of any kitchen renovation is the planning. A kitchen cannot be great unless it functions well for the end users. We had to work within the existing limits of the space and there wasn't much we could do about the existing layout. It was a small kitchen so we had our work cut out for us. 

These were the requirements:

Design an open and bright kitchen

Provide a solution for additional storage and the ability to organize efficiently

Design new custom cabinetry

Provide a durable countertop solution

New flooring 

New Task lighting


THE BEFORE

It was a dark and outdated kitchen

Alot of wasted space, meant more opportunity for additional storage!

Although the layout stayed the same, we had a few tricks up our sleeves....

 A recent addition to the back of the house opened up the space and is now a dining area, 

but the difference in flooring materials and structural components visually separates the 

space and makes the kitchen seem smaller.

Classically Inspired Kitchen

MATERIAL FINSIHES BOARD

I've had the opportunity to work on some really great project this year, one in particular being this kitchen, which we designed and project managed over the series of the last couple months. Inspired by classic styles, we transformed an old, small and outdated kitchen into a bright and functional modern space.  Join me as I review the journey it took to design and execute this project from concept to completion.

Furniture Files: 1950's revamp

Old Furniture, New Life!

I'm a huge fan of mixing it up! Old, new, modern and traditional....YES SIR! I put it all in there. One of my favourite things to do is to give new life to old furniture, lighting, housewares etc. and transform it into something that can be used in today's modern interiors. Today's furniture is blah! no character, no personality and so uninspiring.  Don't get me wrong there is some great furniture out there but just look at what you can do with a great piece and a little imagination.

this is the before shot, not a bad looking piece.

The big reveal!!!!

A once masculine piece now is now a soft and feminine show stopper in a clients make-up studio. We used a simple yet luxurious grey velvet fabric on the seat and gave it a bit of an unexpected surprise on the back with the Bold Stripe. We continued the stripe in the piping detail to accentuate the architectural lines of the chair. A simple tufted button, gives the chair that added feminine detail. 

Fabric was supplied by Eurofab in Toronto.