Todd Wood's kitchen for My Favourite Room. Toronto, Ontario, June 14, 2013.Fernando Morales/The Globe and Mail
As the head of design for BlackBerry, Todd Wood frequently commutes from his home in Toronto to the company's headquarters in Waterloo, Ont. But the 49-year-old, a native of Hamilton, Ont., wouldn't have it any other way. The Corktown home that he shares with his partner, Jennifer Mahoney, a landscape architect, was purchased off the blueprints four years ago, allowing Wood, who has a degree in industrial design from Carleton University in Ottawa, to tweak the interior design according to his own tastes. A lover of minimalist Scandinavian design, he asked the home's builder to install a modern kitchen by Antje Bulthaup, a scion of of the eponymous German kitchen brand who oversees a showroom in Toronto. With windows that look across to restauteur Jamie Kennedy's Gilead Café, providing endless hours of voyeuristic entertainment, the kitchen is Wood's favourite room in the house for more reasons than one. "It's beautiful and functional," he enthuses. "It embraces what in Danish culture is known as hygge, which roughly translates as coziness."
The espresso maker
"This is by Richard Sapper for Alessi. I got it when I was a student. Designed in the late 1970s, it's called the 9090 and was the first coffee machine in Alessi's history. It reminds me that the simplest object is often the most functional."
The all-white cabinetry
"This bulthaup b1 kitchen, designed by Antje, was inspired by minimalist sculpture. I love its proportional coherence and geometry, which blend perfectly with the architecture of the room. The key design element is the angled, ergonomic recess edge, which creates a consistent emphasis on the horizontal."
The floor
"It's light oak, and it blends perfectly with the white of the kitchen to create a kind of natural sensuality."
The jars
"These are When Objects Work jars by Vincent Van Duysen. I got them when I was living in Los Angeles."
The teapot
"The pot is from the Bella Tavola Collection by Ettore Sottsass. It has been a constant presence in every kitchen that Jennifer and I have lived in over the past 20 years."
The rolling board
"Made from three layers of cross-laminated solid maple, this bulthaup pasta rolling board is designed to prevent moisture from penetrating its surface. Its abutting edge and rear lip, along with four nubs on the underside, prevent the board from slipping on the worktop."
The chair
"This is an Elbow Chair by Hans Wagner, manufactured by Carl Hansen & Son. It is classic and timeless, embodying a minimalist aesthetic."
The lamp
"This is a PH5 pendant lamp by Poul Henningsen, manufactured by Louis Poulsen. It's the perfect lamp for the space. Light and unobtrusive, it floats above the table and casts a soft glow."
The table and bench
"Also designed by Antje, both pieces are constructed from solid oak and were made at LeftRight Designs in Toronto by Joel Dunkley and Pablo Pineda Willis. The table seats six, and the bench and chair mix lends a casual atmosphere to the room. The bench is the perfect vantage point [from which] to watch the meal come together – it's fun to see people slide onto it and cozy up behind the table to enjoy a drink and watch the show."