By Susan Kelly | Photography by Mike Chajecki
Two years ago, the five-bedroom property in the York Mills area of Toronto was not much to look at. “Like so many new-build houses you see today, the interior design was very generic, very boring, and in no way reflected the new owners’ personalities,” says designer Diana Rose, principal and creative director at Diana Rose Design. The good: There were grandly proportioned rooms in 6,500 square feet of living space spread over two storeys, plus a finished basement. Plenty of room to grow for the homeowner and her family, which includes four children of primary school age and younger.
Almost every room in the home originally featured walls and ceilings painted stark white, faux marble fireplace surrounds, and off-the-shelf built-in cabinetry. It would take more than a year to transform the cavernous, sterile house into the showstopper it is today. The homeowner resonated with the designer’s approachable style that deftly blends modern and transitional décor with a soupçon of Old-World elegance. “And the homeowner loves interior design and art, and has wonderful taste—and actually likes renovations,” Rose said. “We make a great team.”
” STYLE THAT DEFTLY BELNDS MODERN AND TRANSITIONAL DECOR WITH A SOUPÇON OF OLD-WORLD ELEGANCE.”
Worth keeping were the heated floors in the foyer and primary bathroom, made of large marble-look porcelain slabs. So was the medium taupe hardwood flooring that runs throughout the house. But the designer would have to add the architectural details that would bring the home’s design into proportion and add a sense of bespoke luxury. The primary bedroom’s dramatic transformation involved stripping everything down to the floorboards. Up went softly textured wall panels and coordinated moulding, along with a wallpapered accent wall. Above the custom-designed bed with an upholstered headboard, a pearlescent lacquered ceiling gleams. A private lounge area completes what is now a chic, elegant dove-grey and blush-pink oasis.
Rose meets with every client to determine what she calls their “design archetype,” or core style. For this homeowner, it is artistic, by which the designer means someone not afraid to use colour and imagery in inventive ways. “She also made bold choices,” Rose says. “Every time I would propose a really wild idea, she would say yes.” One such notion was to flank the living room fireplace with floor-to-ceiling grass-green Gucci murals depicting large herons. The comfortable, deep-seated furniture is in discreetly neutral colours. The exception: a custom bench topped with cheeky black-and-white houndstooth bolsters. Overhead, many of the excessive pot lights were removed and a striking brass chandelier and wall sconces added.
The living room lies between the formal dining room and informal breakfast area, and each is open to the other. Rose used different ceiling moulding details to define them. Over the breakfast nook, she installed a circle of plaster moulding covered with burnished gold foil wallpaper. From it hangs a chandelier over a marble-topped table, surrounded by floral velvet chairs on one side, and a large, curved bench under the bay window on the other. In contrast, the formal dining room’s ceiling features lightly textured, shimmery wallpaper. It’s just one way in which pattern and texture combine to create discreet design interest. The calm blue-grey colour scheme invites elegant dining. Abstract shapes grace wallpapered panels along the length of one wall. And one conceals a secret: a hidden door leading to the butler’s pantry and the kitchen beyond. The chairs’ emerald-green upholstery echoes the living room’s mural colour.
“IT TRULY IS A WARM AND INVITING HOME FOR ALL THE FAMILY TO ENJOY.”
One of the homeowner’s bold choices was a gracefully quirky topaz-blue glass standalone bathtub sourced in France. It would dictate the primary bedroom’s ensuite bathroom design. Rose wanted the space to have a jewel box look, designing the wall-length floating vanity to look more like furniture than a cabinet. Sophisticated brass inlays, one of the designer’s signatures, are echoed in Kate Spade wall sconces, while stone vessel sinks further elevate the look. Plaster ceiling moulding adds architectural detail. “To add softness to all the hard, polished surfaces, I chose the central chandelier because it resembles a pearl necklace,” says the designer. “Along with drapery, which is unusual for a bathroom.”
Variations on the above themes appear throughout the home and create continuity. The soft blue-grey drapes with white sheers also appear on the main floor, helping the eye connect the open dining-living-breakfast areas. Many of the lighting fixtures, each distinctive and often sourced by the homeowner, include a touch of pearly glass. Now that the home is completed, designer and homeowner are eyeing the pool house as a next project. “We became very close, working together to inject presence and elegance along with her unique style,” Rose says. “As well, it truly is a warm and inviting home for all the family to enjoy.”