Decorating & Design
January 10, 2022
9 Beautiful Spaces By Anne Hepfer, H&H’s 2021 Designer Of The Year
An ambassador for classic decorating and bold color, Toronto designer Anne Hepfer conjures designs that stand the test of time, beautifully. Chosen as the 2021 Designer of the Year, Anne’s history with H&H stretches back decades, and that kind of longevity isn’t an accident. This year Anne’s adding another feather to her professional cap with the release of her first book next summer, Mood: Interiors and Inspiration (Gibbs Smith, 2022).
Browse some of her standout spaces to see why Anne Hepfer topped our list for Designer of the Year!
This showstopping red library signals the arrival of Anne in the pages of H&H in 2008, and still has an iconic quality. The library in Anne’s own Toronto home is wrapped in tomato red grasscloth and features a giant suzani. It has remained virtually unchanged since it ran in the January 2008 issue. “I love that space; it’s our favorite room in the house,” says Anne. “It’s layered with so many things from our family’s past and our travels. I do the same thing for clients by examining who they are, how they live, their passions and what treasures they have.”
Anne’s Georgian home has a classic look, with 10-foot ceilings. In her dining room, a round table encourages conversation. For larger dinner parties, Anne squeezes in as many chairs as possible to create a sense of intimacy.
Lacquered cabinets give depth and dimension to the kitchen, where the couple’s twins, Jack and Charlie, enjoyed breakfast as kids back in 2008.
In 2009, H&H revealed Muskoka cottage, where she blends eclectic, cane furnishings and exotic batik-printed fabrics with white-painted vintage rattan. In the breakfast room, a white-lacquered Parsons table and vintage rattan keep the look simple. Blue-and-white leopard print seat cushions are an unexpected touch at the cottage.
Her boys’ punchy cottage bedroom could easily have run in last month’s issue, not in 2009. The boys’ room has a nautical theme, with caned headboards and a tripod lamp. The zigzag-pattern pillows and rug, both by Madeline Weinrib, add a graphic hit to the mix.
In 2011, Anne designed a 6,000-square-foot home for a young couple who’d just returned to Canada after a decade abroad. An ebonized wood island with a Carrara marble counter grounds the all-white kitchen. Pale blue leather upholstery injects a note of soft color and is also easy to wipe clean.
The built-in eating banquette sits adjacent to the kitchen; behind it is the mudroom, with storage for shoes cleverly hidden in the back of the banquette.
Anne used a restrained hand in the principal bedroom, opting for soothing shades and predominantly solid fabrics. Details such as the trimmed bedskirt and basketweave rug make the room feel tailored and enveloping.
The guest bathroom boasts plenty of built-in storage and a striking basketweave-tile floor. Eased roman shades have a black ribbon detail to add a note of contemporary contrast.
Anne designed this fortress-shaped home in Toronto in 2012 for archaeologist Trinity Jackman. “The goal of the renovation was to provide a beautiful landscape for Trinity’s art collection,” Anne says. The result is an icy grey palette and a clever juxtaposition of masculine and feminine, and traditional and modern elements. A mix of different patterns animates a neutral grey scheme, for a feeling of movement, while lacquered surfaces add opulence. Two cube ottomans work as additional seating when needed but tuck away neatly under a shagreen console.
The bold geometric-print rug helps define the dining room and gives it energy. Grey grasscloth walls and pinstripe fabric on the chairs are softened by the graceful, feminine curves of the Art Deco-style table and Murano glass chandelier. A mirrored wall visually doubles the size of the room.
Gold accents and mellow, brushed finishes give the oak panelled den a jewel-box vibe, explains Anne. “If you take them out, the room loses its lustre.” Gilt pineapple lamps function as “jewelry” while the mossy green velvet sofa adds to the clubby atmosphere.
A combination of marble slabs, brick tiles and mosaic flooring creates a cohesive look, while authentic period details such as Art Deco-inspired sconces create an indulgent, pampering tone.
This Toronto couple didn’t want to raze their 1,100-square-foot-home, so they looked to Anne to maximize its potential in 2014. In the 11′-x-15′ living room, Anne tucked in two streamlined linen-covered sofas to provide ample seating in a limited space. The onyx-faced fireplace is an original architectural feature of the 79-year-old home and the homeowners’ prized Persian rug pulls the space together.
For a more streamlined look, a single upholstered headboard links the twin beds in the guest bedroom. Repeating the same patterned two-tone fabric — Ziggurat in Mineral by Schumacher — makes the tiny room feel more spacious.
In a luxe Muskoka boathouse, Anne used the location on the shores of Lake Rosseau as inspiration for the color palette. In 2017, she used pops of watery blue to invigorate the boathouse’s white envelope. Back-to-back sofas provide ample seating, while an open-concept floor plan maximizes natural light and boasts uninterrupted views of the lake.
A pair of polished-nickel task lights mounted on either side of the island are the stars of the kitchen, and are a subtle nod to outdoor dock lighting.
In a boathouse breakfast nook, a fresh striped banquette matches the waves outside.
A pastel palette in this boathouse’s principal bedroom encourages guests to unwind and recharge — and soak in the panoramic view. “At dusk and dawn, you get purply hues in the sky that reflects on the water,” says Anne.
In 2018, Anne chose a tonal dove grey living room, sculptural furniture and cobalt upholstery to up the luxury factor for her clients’ Toronto home. “The day I visited Jardin Majorelle it was pouring rain,” says Anne, who was on vacation but thinking about a design dilemma back home. “I was wondering how we were going to bring our clients’ grey and white space to life. I saw the way the yellow and blue popped against the grey skies and it all sort of clicked.”
“If you invest in really beautiful, quality accent pieces, you can easily reupholster them down the road,” says Anne of the family room’s azure blue swivel chairs and throw pillows.
Cheerful yellow delights in the otherwise neutral kitchen. “We sent our clients paint chips for the pendants and, though they were a bit scared of the bright canary yellow, they trusted us,” says Anne.
The principal bedroom, with its suede, channel-pleated headboard, facetted mohair ottoman, wool drapery, smoked glass mirrors, white linen sofa and velvet lumbar pillows, is a master class in mixing materials.
Toronto real-estate broker Justine Deluce thrives on her frenetic city life, but at the end of the day all she really wanted was to get away from it all. She called on Anne to make her downtown pied-à-terre a refuge in 2020. In the living room, three different kinds of seating make the space flexible and functional. “Justine can seat a lot of people, but it doesn’t feel like a lot of furniture,” adds Anne.
The marble-topped table and pleather-covered banquette create the perfect spot for home-alone meals and casual dinner parties.
A big fan of wallpaper, Anne uses dramatic patterns like this updated botanical wallpaper to create an immersive experience.
The principal bathroom is enveloped in white porcelain outlined with black metal strips. “It’s similar to how a fashion designer might accentuate the seams of a couture dress,” says Anne.
In a neoclassical revival home belonging to a blended family with five teenagers, Anne’s signature touches are on full display. “This space is a bit of a throwback,” says Anne, referencing the Saarinen chairs in the breakfast room. “I used the rug as a canvas to make the sculptural shape of the chairs stand out.”
This family room is a major hub for gathering, with a pair of plush barrel-back chairs and vibrant custom art. The coffee table in the family room is prime real estate for books, objets and fresh flowers. “What I love about this house is that it’s sophisticated, but you can’t take it so seriously,” says Anne. “It’s a fun house, ready to host joyful family moments.”
The Toronto home, built in 2014, didn’t require a complete overhaul, but the bathrooms and flooring were updated and a new sauna was installed. “The project was more decorative,” says Anne. “We painted the entire house, and there’s new wallpaper, mirrors, furniture and lighting.”
The clients were willing to take risks and weren’t color shy, either, opting for bold yellow chairs in the dining room, a wow-factor chandelier, dark walls and ceiling, and the striped drapery. “I guess you could say the chairs are an Anne Hepfer move,” says the designer. “We kept the table and rug simple and quiet to let the other elements speak to each other.”
The principal bedroom is wrapped in a midnight blue patterned wallpaper with a navy ceiling (it’s like sleeping under a night sky). A pleated linen headboard and plush rug add pure luxury to the principal bedroom while textured metallic wallpaper makes the space cosy and sexy.