"I'm actually the cheapest client I've ever worked with," laughs Neil Banich as we tour the main floor of his 3,200-square-foot home. Banich, one of the principals behind Wensley Architecture, bought the mid-century bungalow in Vancouver's Shaughnessy neighbourhood in 2000 with his wife, Tracy. When their son, Tyler, came along later that year, they realized they'd soon need more space. "The problem is, we couldn’t build a very big house here," says Banich. “And, being Modernists, we didn’t want to waste square footage on anything we’d never use.” So when they rebuilt in June of 2006, the couple—who love to entertain, but don’t love to cook— decided to forgo the formal dining room and make their kitchen "disappear." A white ceramic cooktop blends into the white countertop, fold-down cupboards shelter small appliances and wood panels hide cooking vents. Add in a shelf-full of objects d'art and you might think you're in someone's living room or office. And you'd be right. The Banich "non-kitchen” is all of those things: living space, workspace, cooking space. "For us, the kitchen's the hub of the house," says Banich. "All the other rooms are just spokes."

By Matt O'Grady
Photos by John Gaucher

The Island Getaway
"Since we never used the old dining room, we decided to build this massive island instead," explains Banich. The white CaesarStone countertop, with its matching ceramic cooktop, has a three-quarter-inch edge to make it look more like a table. This is where Tyler does his homework, Neil rolls out his drawings and Tracy reads her morning paper. And here's the kicker for the family that doesn't cook: at 9 1/2 by 7 feet, the island (which also conceals an oven and double dishwasher) can seat 10. Their old dining room sat only six.

The Invisible Vent
While the cooktop is virtually invisible, its usage raises the question: how to vent the steam? To keep the design seamless, Banich hid the mechanics of a hood and fan into the ceiling; laser-cuts in the wood panels allow for ventilation. The walnut used in the vent panels is carried through to the panelling above the fireplace, as well as to the shelving above the sink, creating a kind of centre line for the house.

The Floating Fridge
The Baniches decided that, being taller folk, they'd lift their stainless steel fridge 15 inches off the ground to allow for easier access. ("It also gives us one shelf that our son can't reach. Yet." Nestled in a bay window-like enclosure, the fridge also protrudes 30 inches from the house's exterior—as far back as the City allows. "It's still not perfectly flush. I was kind of hoping to put up a track and have this oversized oil painting to slide over and cover 2."

The Designer Shelf
"In our old place, we had an open shelf where we kept our everyday dishes," says Banich. "But because we didn't want this to look like a kitchen, we've reserved this area for display items, small art pieces and a TV." As for the "everyday dishes," they're artfully hidden in the slide-out walnut cupboards and dark fir drawers that bookend the space. A pantry holds jars, cans and boxes.