Vicky Sanderson You know the kind of room you walk into and your eye rests for just a moment before your gaze flows effortlessly across space, only stopping here and there to notice lovely and interesting touches? When you leave, you feel both relaxed and invigorated. Brian Gluckstein has done that across the board in this year’s Princess Margaret Lottery Home Every room in the house is defined and enhanced with small but beautiful details. There are several examples below.
In kitchen and baths, attention to detail is combined with high-end functionality, meaning it looks good and works well. Here are some of the hard-working design elements that stood out for me.
Matte black punctuates and frames spaces throughout the home, using everything from black lighting fixtures to dark door hardware. In the Showhome kitchen, a Studio S Collection pull-down faucet from American Standard, shows a stand-alone sculptural effect (bottom row middle above). It works well for both.
Bold as Brass
Truly, I’m a big fan of matte black, but I’ve also recently seen brass fixtures used in spaces painted in on-trend buttery whites that I’ve liked a lot.
The Golden Era inspires several DXV collections, which reflect both the glitz and respect for artisanship common to jazz age design. Belshire’s restrained curves shape gracefully elegant bathrooms, while Pop offers straighter lines. Other soft lines include the Equility elongated one-piece toilet (below right).
American Standard Studio S Collection (below left) in matte black adds punch to kitchens. In baths, I like it on its own AND mixed with rounder lines.
The dog-washing station with the GROHE SmartActive hand shower (below) would be useful, I think, for more than shampooing Rover. I’d use one to rinse off awkward or large house plants, or clean their pots. I’d add a small foldable rail, and try it as spot to hang damp bathing suits, umbrellas, raincoats, and hand-washed items that need to air dry.
Sister brands GROHE, DXV, and American Standard have long supported the Princess Margaret Hospital Lottery Home, so design teams choose from an extensive range of styles, and product function. That’s a huge help in creating consistently great design in lottery homes over the years.
Add everyday luxury to kitchen and bath
A homeowner can do essentially the same thing, with a little help from a big box home store or kitchen and bath dealer. Often it’s a worthwhile spend—I’ve found that other than painting, faucet, fixture, or hardware changes have been among the simplest, least costly ways to improve the way my home looks and works. For a lot of it, I’ve used these three brands. In those cases, I know my home has design details Brian Gluckstein would likely approve of. That makes me at least luxury-adjacent, and well on my way to a dream home.
NOTE TO READERS: This is a sponsored post. It was neither reviewed or approved. I’ve been given and bought product over the years from all three brands. If I had to pick a favourite, it might be the SpaLet Bidet toilet. Maybe. I trust the product and I love the style. And that’s the truth.
