Designs For Elevated Living

In Toronto’s Castlefield Design District, NIICO’s sprawling new showroom, opening next spring, invites clients to experience luxury millwork firsthand. 

By Susan Semenak

If you step through the door at this Castlefield locale, you will enter an opulent kitchen with not one, but two half-round richly finished walnut islands. Continue on and you will wander through the dining area and into a luxurious living room with a bespoke wine cellar and custom buffet hutch. Next, immerse yourself in a spacious his-and-her wardrobe with lit-up cabinets and glassed-in jewelry cases.

What you are experiencing isn’t an envy-inducing high-end house, but the new showroom that NIICO Millwork Group is opening in Toronto’s Castlefield Design District next spring. The sprawling 6,100-square-foot showroom is designed to be a series of real-life spaces—including kitchens, closets, vanities and more—that allow homeowners to envision how millwork can transform their homes. “We want our clients to be able to see and touch and feel things,” says NIICO brand manager Praveena Nathan. “Designers and builders know how to read plans and layouts, but many homeowners find it challenging to  imagine how things will look when it is all done. We want to help with that.” 

NIICO’s cabinetry makes the spaces ergonomic and beautiful, drawing on the hard-earned skill of top industry experts. Closer to home, attentive white-glove service spans from the clients’ first visit to installation day and final inspection. 

 The NIICO flagship showroom will also feature a model condo kitchen and a massive library of door styles, accessories, hardware, paints, and finishes. And it will include a functional event kitchen where guest chefs host cooking demonstrations to show the kitchens in use. The company’s owners are also planning “lunch-and-learn” sessions where designers and homeowners are invited to learn about new trends and techniques. 

“Education is a big component of how we do business,” says Nathan, noting that the brand is set to open a second showroom in Juno Beach, Florida later next year. Joseph Marcantonio, a NIICO partner and its director of operations, says millwork is not just kitchen cabinets and bathroom vanities as it once was. Bespoke millwork now finds itself in all rooms of the home, from mudrooms and walk-in closets to family rooms, laundry rooms, lounges, wine cellars, and home offices.

Marcantonio says the company’s high-end custom millwork does not just conceal the components stored within them; it gives form and personality to the rooms it inhabits and is often equipped with the latest technology to make life easier. He points to the increasingly popular steamer appliances installed in mudrooms that allow homeowners to freshen up their clothes on the way out the door. Or the spa features that have become commonplace in principal ensuite bathrooms. Wardrobe elements such as central islands, leather or felt-lined cabinets, and glassed-in shoe cases make getting ready an indulgent experience. Most contemporary kitchens now have beverage centres, coffee stations and wine bars and camouflaged fridges and dishwashers—all of which require specialized millwork. “Houses today are no longer just spaces to live. They are places where we entertain, cook, gather, socialize; all of that has to fit and flow together,” Marcantonio says.

Handcrafted in Toronto by a team of local craftsmen, engineers, project managers, and designers using materials sourced from Italy, Austria, Germany, and Spain, NIICO’s cabinetry makes the spaces ergonomic and beautiful, drawing on the hard-earned skill of top industry experts. Closer to home, attentive white-glove service spans from the clients’ first visit to installation day and final inspection. 

Now, with the opening of the expansive Toronto showroom, NIICO’s client experience is elevated to new heights, inviting customers to be active participants in their own design journeys. Nathan says she hopes that people will find inspiration within the showroom’s thoughtfully crafted spaces and gain an appreciation not just for good design but also luxury craftsmanship. “Ultimately, it’s not just cabinetry we design at NIICO,” she says. “It’s how people feel in their homes.”