Murrie

Murrie is a main-floor renovation in Etobicoke, completed in 2021. Studio Kimi designed and built the project end to end — a design-build, where the same team handles the drawings and the construction. The owners had a dated, closed-off main floor and wanted it to work better for everyday family life, while keeping the character of the house.

The original kitchen was a narrow galley with dark oak cabinets and black appliances, shut off from the rest of the floor. It worked, but it felt tight and dark, and it kept the kitchen apart from where the family actually spent their time. The first job was to rethink the layout so the main floor felt open and connected.

We opened the kitchen up and planned it around a bright, warm-white palette — light cabinetry, quartz counters, and warm metal hardware, with natural wood used sparingly to keep things grounded. A generous run of cabinetry and a working island give the kitchen the storage and counter space it had been missing, and a window over the sink brings in daylight the old layout blocked.

Off the kitchen, a dining spot sits in the bright bay, and a built-in bench tucks a casual breakfast seat into the corner. The same palette carries through to the entry, where built-in cabinetry keeps everyday clutter out of sight. New flooring and fresh paint run through the whole main floor, so the kitchen, dining, and entry read as one continuous space rather than separate rooms.

Because this was a design-build, one team carried the project the whole way: the space planning and drawings, the cabinetry and finish choices, and the construction itself. We walked the owners through each decision and ran the trades so the work stayed on track.

The finished main floor is bright, warm, and genuinely easy to use. The kitchen finally connects to the rest of the home, built around the way the family cooks, eats, and gathers.

An investment range of $50,000 to $75,000.