Two Modern Custom Homes · Aurora, Ontario
Smoky Oak is actually two projects.
Designed and built by AWDS for two sisters with separate homes in Aurora, the kitchens share essentially the same design language. Dark cabinetry forms a dramatic full-height wall, while lighter wood cabinetry brings warmth to the working side of the kitchen and island. A reeded wood range hood, long floating shelves and strongly veined black stone add contrast without complicating the overall composition.
The result is unusual in our portfolio: two individual homes with kitchens similar enough to look like the same project, each designed and custom built for a different owner.
One of Smoky Oak’s most important details is deliberately difficult to see.
The dark cabinetry extends into a full-height panelled wall, and AWDS incorporated the pantry entrance directly into that panelling. Rather than interrupting the elevation with a conventional interior door, the door follows the surrounding panel lines so that, when closed, the entrance reads as part of the millwork.
From the kitchen, you see a continuous dark wall.
Behind it is an entire working pantry.
The concealed pantry changes the way the main kitchen can function.
Inside, the visual language becomes lighter. Wood cabinetry provides extensive open pantry storage, drawers and additional work surfaces, allowing everyday storage and secondary functions to move out of the main kitchen.
That separation helps explain the restraint of the room outside. The kitchen doesn’t need every function to announce itself because a considerable amount of storage and utility sits behind the panelled wall.
Building the kitchens for two sisters created an unusual brief. These weren’t two unrelated projects that happened to look alike. The similarity was intentional.
The same contrast between dark and light cabinetry, natural wood, strong linear detailing and concealed storage carries through both homes. Each kitchen belongs to its own house and homeowner, but the relationship between them is unmistakable.
Two homes. Two owners. One shared design language.
