Custom cabinetry and millwork in Scarborough
Post-war bungalows and back-splits, Bluffs-area houses, and a lot of secondary suites.
What we know about Scarborough
Scarborough was built out largely between the 1950s and the 1980s, and the housing reflects it: solid, practical family houses with kitchens sized for a very different way of cooking and storing food than most households now use.
Two things come up here more than anywhere else we work. The first is the second kitchen, whether for a basement apartment or for a multi-generational household. The second is heavy-use cooking — households that fry, steam and use large pots daily, which changes what the ventilation, the counter layout and the storage need to do.
What Scarborough is actually built of
The age and construction of a house determines almost everything about how cabinetry has to be designed for it.
- 01
Post-war bungalows and back-splits
Wexford, Bendale, Dorset Park and Agincourt were developed through the 1950s and 1960s. Original kitchens are small and closed, and the basements are typically full height, which is why so many have been converted to suites.
- 02
Guildwood and the Bluffs
Larger lots and more architecturally varied houses from the 1950s and 1960s, many with mature landscaping and original detailing worth keeping. These projects often involve millwork beyond the kitchen.
- 03
Malvern, Rouge and the eastern subdivisions
Later development, largely 1970s through the 2000s, with more conventional plans and builder-grade cabinetry now reaching the end of its useful life. Replacement in the existing footprint is common and cost-effective here.
- 04
Agincourt and the Sheppard corridor
A mix of original post-war housing and later infill, with a significant number of households cooking in ways that standard kitchen layouts do not serve well. Designing for that properly is straightforward once it is stated.
- 05
Scarborough Centre condominiums
Mid- and high-rise buildings around the town centre and along the transit corridor, with the compact-unit constraints common to condo work across the city.
Things that matter specifically in Scarborough
These are the constraints we actually encounter here, rather than a generic list.
- 01
Secondary-suite kitchens have their own requirements
A basement kitchen forming part of a legal second unit has to satisfy the requirements the city applies to secondary suites, which touch on egress, separation and services. We build the cabinetry to suit the approved layout, and we would always suggest confirming the requirements with the city or your designer before the design is fixed.
- 02
Heavy cooking changes the design brief
High-heat cooking needs serious ventilation and surfaces that tolerate it, and it often benefits from a separate prep or wok zone. Where that is the requirement, saying so at the first meeting produces a much better kitchen than adapting a standard layout afterwards.
- 03
Multi-generational households need storage planned differently
Bulk buying, separate storage for different cooks and a second refrigerator are common requirements. All are easy to design for and awkward to retrofit.
- 04
Basement head height limits tall cabinetry
Even where basements are full height, ducts and beams intrude. Tall units and the fridge position get planned around those, and we measure the true clear height rather than the nominal one.
- 05
Bungalow soffits and duct runs
As in the rest of post-war Toronto, the bulkhead above the wall cabinets may or may not carry services. It is inspected before the design assumes it can be removed.
What we are most often asked for in Scarborough
Kitchens
Kitchen cabinetry drawn to your room, your appliances and the way your household actually cooks.
Custom Kitchen CabinetsBuilt-ins
Cabinetry that fills the alcove properly — floor to ceiling, wall to wall, with no gap collecting dust behind it.
Built-In CabinetryVanities
Vanities made to the room's actual width, with drawer storage designed around the plumbing instead of blocked by it.
Bathroom VanitiesClosets
Closet interiors planned from an inventory of what you actually hang, fold and store — not from a standard kit.
Custom ClosetsLaundry rooms
Counters at the right height, storage above the machines you can actually reach, and somewhere for things to dry flat.
Laundry Room Cabinets
Scarborough: what people ask
Can you build a second kitchen for a basement apartment?
Yes, and it is one of the more common requests we get in Scarborough. We design and supply the cabinetry to fit the approved layout. Where the suite is being made legal, the requirements the city applies to secondary units affect the plan, so we would want to know the status before finalising drawings — and we would recommend confirming those requirements with the city or your designer.
I cook at high heat every day. What should the kitchen do differently?
Several things. Ventilation is the first and most important, and it usually needs to be specified by capacity rather than by appearance. Beyond that: surfaces near the cooktop that tolerate heat and repeated cleaning, deep drawers sized for large pots rather than standard ones, and where the space allows, a separate prep zone so the heavy cooking is contained.
Is it worth replacing 1990s builder cabinetry, or should I reface it?
It depends on the carcasses. If the boxes are sound and the layout works, refacing is a legitimate lower-cost route, though it locks you into the existing configuration. If the layout is the problem — and in most kitchens of that era it is — replacement lets you fix the sizing, the drawer arrangement and the storage, which is usually where the actual frustration lies.
Do you cover the eastern parts of Scarborough?
Yes, from the Bluffs through to West Hill, Rouge and Highland Creek. Scarborough is within our regular service area and there is no distance surcharge within it.
Other areas we cover
See all twelve service areas, each with notes on the local housing and what it means for cabinetry.
Planning something in Scarborough?
Tell us about the space and we will tell you what is involved, what it depends on, and whether we are the right people for it.