Favourite Room: How a Toronto couple turned their loft kitchen into a creative hub | Canada Voices

Erin Leydon and Mitch Syer are a photography power couple. She primarily wields the camera, and he typically edits the shots. Between the two of them, they’ve captured actors like Jay Baruchel and Annie Murphy, fashion icons like model Yasmine Warsame, and had their work published in magazines around the world (a wedding they shot in Italy appeared in Vogue Australia).

Their Toronto condo, a loft in a converted church, is command central. “I work here virtually every single day,” Syer says. It’s also where they unwind. “Wedding season is non-stop for us,” Leydon says. “When we’re at home, it’s very important that our space feels like us.”

When they bought the place in 2023, they liked the bones. It’s a bright, two-storey unit with side-by-side balconies off the main level and a skylit ceiling over the second-floor mezzanine. But Syer and Leydon both love to cook, and the kitchen had not been renovated in nearly 20 years. It was dated, with beige walls and ebony cabinets. “There was a stainless-steel countertop that felt almost clinical,” Syer says.

At first, they tried minor cosmetic upgrades, such as painting the cabinets white. But the half measures weren’t enough. “We shoot in a lot of beautiful spaces,” Leydon says. “We wanted our own home to be inspiring – the kind of place that makes us love to do our jobs.”

For a complete redesign, the couple worked with Nicci Harrison from Studio Cajole, a longtime friend. “Nicci is such a lovely person,” Leydon says. “She really understood what we were going for: warmth.”

“For the first time, I used a Pinterest board,” Syer adds. “I used it to collect inspiration for Nicci. I gathered a bunch of mid-century modern photos.”

The result is a contemporary take on Mad Men style. It’s a character-filled space with rich cherry cabinets custom-built by One Plus Kitchen. The reddish wood contrasts with soft white accents, such as the tiled backsplash and quartz counters (with a matching off-white sink), and glows under soft amber light from a series of wall-mounted glass sconces.

“Because we’re photographers, lighting is very important to us,” Leydon says. “Nothing is cold. There are no harsh fluorescent lights – those drive me nuts.”

Storage is key in any kitchen, and for many homeowners, more is more. Leydon and Syer, however, removed some of their upper cabinets, replacing them with twin cherry shelves to display pottery, as well as a tiled lip close to the counter for easy-to-grab kitchen essentials like salt and pepper. “We’re constantly changing what’s on the shelves,” Syer says. “We like to collect little pieces of pottery. It’s fun to look at.”

They replaced some of the lost storage space with a new island. They have also embraced the idea of living with less, keeping the kitchen clean and clutter-free (some of the cupboards have fluted glass doors that showcase what’s behind them, meaning any mess is impossible to hide). “We’re really conscious of what we’re accumulating,” Syer says. “We constantly ask ourselves: ‘do we need this? Where is it going to go?’ And if it doesn’t add to the space, we don’t bring it in.”

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