- case study
6min
when the overlooked becomes unforgettable _
How an empty alcove became the first thing you notice
LOCATION
Yorkville, Toronto
SIZE
2,500 sq ft
SCOPE
Full Condo Design, Penthouse
Millworker
PROJECT
YEAR
2023
FIG. 01
Developer finishes give you a beautiful shell.
A built-in wine cabinet gave this one a story.
Our Yorkville project was a full condo design for a penthouse high above the Toronto skyline. The developer’s selections were already in place: diagonal marble floors in the foyer, rift-cut white oak in the kitchen, and marble counters throughout. Everything was finished. Nothing was personal. That part was ours to figure out, and it began with a built-in wine cabinet in a space nobody had a plan for.
From the moment we walked in, that alcove off the foyer had our attention.
FIG. 02
01
the sightline
The alcove nobody had a plan for,
The foyer had good bones. Black and white marble, laid on a diagonal, sets the tone before you reach the main living space.
The alcove sits just off the foyer, framed at the end of the hallway leading to the bedrooms. That kind of sightline is too good to waste.
Our client’s love of wine came up early in our conversations, and the two ideas connected immediately. A custom wine display built into that opening made sense on every level. The alcove stood more than 8 feet tall, enough height to give the piece real presence. Not an afterthought tucked into a corner. The anchor of the entry.
We designed the rest of the foyer around it and let the cabinet set the tone for everything that followed.
FIG. 03 – 04
Before: the alcove and the hallway leading to it
02
no outlet
The constraints we worked around,
There was no dedicated electrical outlet in that wall. Opening it up to run power for a refrigerated unit was not worth the disruption, and our client was happy to keep the cabinet unrefrigerated. That freed us to focus on the one thing that would make the biggest visual difference: lighting.
An existing potlight in the ceiling sat close enough to tap into for the dimmable LED strips inside the cabinet. It took some problem-solving to get there. The result looks deliberate.
We have seen this pattern before. In a waterfront condo, a tight floor plan led us to custom banquette seating that outperformed the freestanding table everyone expected. A hard limit forces a sharper answer.
That kind of sightline is too good to waste.
FIG. 05
Elevation: LED strips tied to the existing potlight
03
no spec sheet
Matching the built-in wine cabinet to the kitchen,
The electrical was one challenge. The millwork finish was another.
The kitchen cabinetry was already in place: rift-cut white oak with a specific tone and grain the developer had selected for the unit. There were no drawings or finish specifications to reference. We studied the existing cabinetry up close and specified an oak veneer, stained to match. Tuscan Woodworks fabricated the cabinet, with brushed aluminium pegs that hold bottles three deep.
The match mattered. If the tone came in even slightly off, the entry would feel added later instead of built in. Two spaces meant to feel connected would look like separate decisions, made at different times by different people.
The finish landed. The frameless glass doors keep the display open and light. The warm LED glow turns storage into a feature. From the hallway, the cabinet closes the corridor as we planned it.
FIG. 06
04
dead space, first impression
What this project reminded us about overlooked spaces
Every unit has them. The awkward alcove, the dead corner, the wall that came with no instructions. They are easy to walk past when bigger decisions are pulling your focus.
Those spaces are where some of the most personal moments in a home end up living. This built-in wine cabinet did not require tearing anything apart. It required reading what was already there, knowing who our client was, and problem-solving when the easy path was closed.
Spotting the overlooked space, and knowing what it wants to become, is the job our 90-minute design consultation was built for.
Today the cabinet is the first thing you see in this home, and it looks like it has been there from day one. That is the standard we hold every built-in to.
We would rather solve with what exists than demolish for what does not.
FIG. 07 – 08
05
the takeaways
Design takeaways
Walk the sightlines first.
The view down a hallway tells you where a feature belongs before any finish is chosen.Look up before you open a wall.
An existing fixture can power new lighting without the cost of new electrical.Match to what is built, not to a catalogue.
With no spec sheet, sample against the real cabinetry in the real light.Start with what the client loves.
A collection gives an empty corner a reason to exist.
Some of the best rooms in a home are not rooms at all.
A design consultation is where we find them.