styleathome.com

JUNE 2017 $5.99PM41557548

TVA PUBLICATIONS

MAKEOVERS TO INSPIRE

YOU

THE BEFORE & AFTER

ISSUE

plus

low?

CANADA’S

TINY VANCOUVER GETAWAY

highDISCOVER OUR DECORATING SAVES AND SPLURGES

OR

JILLIAN HARRIS’S DESIGNERS

SHARE THEIR BUDGET SECRETS!

38 | STYLEATHOME.COM JUNE 2017

PH

OTO

GR

AP

HY

XX

XX

XX

XX

XX

PH

OTO

GR

AP

HY

XX

XX

XX

XX

XX

There it was: the perfect bedroom. Natural light poured in through large windows, heritage mill-work flattered its doorways and spacious dimensions allowed more furniture than just a dresser and a bed. So why in the world was it so difficult to decorate? Baffled, the homeowner stood in the doorway and stared. After two years of decorating effort, the room still looked generic. “That’s when it occurred to me,” she says. “If I wanted a room with personality, I needed to make it about people – not objects.”

Enter a group of five cool design professionals. Long admired by the homeowner, each was invited to contribute his or her expertise – be it deco-rating, upholstery or artwork – to the room and had free rein to create something that would most enhance the space. The outcome was extraordinary, just as the trusting homeowner knew it would be.

Staci Edwards, the owner of design, upholstery and sewing shop Switch Studio in Missis-sauga, Ont., delivered a striking voluminous tufted headboard that earned centre stage in the room. Upholstery genius Jodie Merson of J&J Made in Toronto upcycled a faux-bamboo-framed bench that had a tattered woven seat using a sultry print that suggests world travel. Not to be outshone, Endeavour Neon’s

LEFT In a 1920s house, neon is delightfully unexpected, contrast- ing beautifully with the precise, tailored drapery beside it. A velvet-upholstered armchair sit- ting on a pale blue runner distin-guishes this cozy reading nook from the serene sleeping area.

Breezy linens offer instant serenity. Their soft mix of prints and hues – mostly greys and blues – echo the feather-like pattern of the wallpaper. Custom drapery and a tufted

headboard make large-scale statements. The bench fabric picks up on the natural tones in

the sisal rug, wood shelves and brass sconces.

DECORATING

TEXT BETHANY LYTTLE

PHOTOGRAPHY DONNA GRIFFITH

STYLING ANN MARIE FAVOT

splurgeA custom bed frame allows you to select your preferred plush-ness and the most fitting fabric for your space.

saveOnce destined for the trash, this bench was easily upcycled with a deep clean and a new cushion.

Want a room with dimension and personality? Don’t decorate alone.

IT TAKES A

STYLEATHOME.COM JUNE 2017 | 39

40 | STYLEATHOME.COM JUNE 2017

Andrew Hibbs of Surrey, B.C., hand-bent a cool wall sign that reads “Bisou” (“kiss”) in pretty loopy script. Part art, part light source, it gives off a subtle urban vibe. For Lindsay Woods of Q. Design Perfect Drapery and Shades in Mississauga, Ont., it was the room’s sharp angles that required attention. So she soft-ened the space with tailored

LEFT, TOP The elegant tufted headboard beautifully plays off the fanciful print wallpaper, brass industrial-edge sconces and a sisal rug that calls beach-side living to mind. The combi-nation strikes a perfect juxta- position of formal, whimsical, edgy and relaxed for a truly unique collected look.

drapery, embellishing the folds of the linens with a warm grey patterned trim.

To frame and flatter these unique furnishings, savvy designer Stacy Begg (a for- mer Style at Home staffer) stepped in to bring it all together with a backdrop of gentle greys and blues that evokes morning mist.

LEFT, CENTRE & BOTTOM In the anteroom, a slim-profile desk, a minimal modern stool and a bul-letin board fashioned from the frame of a broken mirror make for a chic workspace to check emails or write thank-you cards.

ABOVE Nestled between two custom bookcases, a plump

vintage settee entices readers and nappers alike. Graphic toss cushions with a circular print provide the perfect counterpoint to the large and linear water print overhead. To keep the aesthetic light and airy, the shelves were kept spare with objects in tones of white, blue and tan.

saveA big-box-store desk looks totally elegant alongside paint-erly wallpaper and a mod stool.

splurgeWhen you find a piece of art you absolutely love, it’s always worth saving up to buy it.

DECORATING

42 | STYLEATHOME.COM JUNE 2017 STYLEATHOME.COM JUNE 2017 | 43

DECORATING

CLOCKWISE FROM TOP LEFT On trend without being trendy, a brass light fixture casts a warm glow and matches the sconces flanking the bed; combining differ-ent picture frame finishes (gold, almond and featherwork) brings subtle variation to the streamlined gallery wall; in lieu of nightstands, minimalist floating shelves offer just enough space for bedtime necessities; a vase for fresh flowers, a succulent requiring minimal care and a shallow dish for everyday jewellery form a striking trio beside the bed; an open shelving unit is adorned with books and objets that reinforce the room’s palette; grey stripes, scallops and wovens mingle in the mix of bedding.

Blackened 2011 WALL PAINT, All White 2005 TRIM PAINT, Yukutori WALL-PAPER (in desk area), Farrow & Ball; Cole & Son Mimosa WALLPAPER (behind bed), Thom Filicia Fabius LUMBAR CUSHION FABRIC (on settee), T30628 DRAPERY TRIM FABRIC, Kravet Canada; Ellis Herringbone BED FRAME UPHOL-STERY FABRIC, Laundered Linen DRAP-ERY FABRIC, Juniper Ogee Embroidery TOSS CUSHION FABRIC (on settee), Thibaut at Kravet Canada; custom BED FRAME, Switch Studio; DESK, DESK LAMP, CARAFE, IKEA; STOOL, Muuto; DRAPERY SEWING & DRAPERY RODS, Q. Design Perfect Drapery and Shades; custom BENCH UPHOLSTERY, J&J Made; LIGHT FIXTURE, Schoolhouse Electric & Supply Co.; SCONCES, Rejuve-nation; NEON SIGN, Endeavour Neon; RUNNERS (in desk & sitting areas), Elte; BEDDING, Au Lit Fine Linens; TOSS & LUMBAR CUSHIONS (on bed and side-chair), PRINTS (above settee & on gallery wall), PICTURE LEDGES, Minted; VASE (on side table), THROW (on settee), H&M Home; brass and glass OBJET (on bed-side shelf), elephant PRINT, Indigo; blue SPEAKER (on bedside shelf), Vifa.

FOR SOURCES, SEE OUR WORKBOOK

From the subtle yet confident pattern play in the bedding and wallpapers to the luxe textures and open shelves that put per-sonality on display, it’s almost impossible to imagine this room as generic. The contributors made their mark with collective cleverness and great taste, and the bedroom now echoes the spirit of its makers. You might even say the decor has become a visual conversation – each design element talking to the others, none saying the same thing but all always in harmony.

5 SIMPLE STEPS to a gorgeous

Gallery WallMariam Naficy, founder of Minted (a favourite online

marketplace of works by artists around the world), tells us how to arrange art in a magazine-worthy way.

2. VARY THE SIZESVariety lends interest, so be sure to include pieces large and small, tall and short. And don’t overlook orientation – a mix of hori-zontal and vertical options keeps the eye engaged, advises the expert.

1. TAKE YOUR TIME“Rome wasn’t built in a day,” says Mariam Naficy, Minted’s founder. “And the same is true of a gallery wall.” Collecting takes time, espe-cially if you have an eye for expensive art. In the mean-time, build on the works you already own by using inex-pensive prints as fillers.

3. MAKE IT PERSONALIn addition to displaying meaningful artwork – such as something picked up on holiday – incorporate family photographs in your gallery wall. But avoid the standard pose with everyone simply smiling at the camera and instead select pictures that are candid and artistic.

4. PICK YOUR PALETTEHave a colour scheme in mind. Choose a piece with a strong signature colour and then find others that feature the same hue in a more subtle way. It’s also important to balance the light and the dark, even if you’re drawn to one over the other.

5. MIX OLD AND NEWFor a collected look, pair modern and vintage pieces. Mariam suggests even going a step further: “If you have a contemporary medium like a photograph, frame it with something vintage. And if you have a vintage medium like an oil painting, counter it with a more modern frame.”

A gallery wall of artwork leaned on shallow shelves offers the opportunity for ever-changing views from the bed. The velvet-upholstered chair cozies up to a timeless table that once belonged to the homeowner’s father.