City Homes
A Designer Renovates Her Victorian As A Modern Ode To Subdued Hues
Updated on January 1, 2024
Great friends and colleagues are worth their weight in gold. In 2016, it was Veronica Martin’s design partner, Carrie Stinson, who found this house in Toronto for Veronica and her husband, Dave. The couple trusted Carrie so much that they bought the place sight unseen while they were still living in Ottawa. “It had good bones, and I knew Veronica would like the tall ceilings,” says Carrie of the house. Located in Toronto’s Roncesvalles area, it checked many boxes: the three-storey, 2,000-square-foot Victorian was detached, had a garage, a big yard and some distance from the neighbors. For three years, the house was especially busy. Veronica, Dave, their daughters, Lily and Ava, and their rescue pup, Nash, kept life humming, plus Veronica and Carrie’s design firm, Two Fold Interiors, was being run from the attic. On work days, clients would clomp up and down several flights of stairs for consultations, the kitchen doubled as a staff canteen and design meetings were often held at the dining room table.
Eventually, the design firm outgrew the space and Veronica and Carrie relocated their business. It was time to give the entire house a makeover. They considered a costly addition, but Veronica and Dave decided to keep the original footprint. “We saved about $500,000,” says Veronica. Besides, the idea was to design a home where the couple could age in place — so smaller was actually better. The year-long project entailed a full gut by construction firm Cliff and Evans. “One big goal was to have the kitchen open to the rest of the main floor for entertaining,” says Veronica. The showpiece kitchen was plunked into the centre of the house, and the dining room was moved up front, near the foyer. The designers splashed out on an expansive lounge at the back of the house that overlooks the leafy backyard — it’s the family’s most-used room.
This Victorian now lives firmly in the present. There’s nothing fussy and overly complicated here, despite the house’s heritage. “I’m modern and more tailored,” says Veronica. “I certainly love classic architectural details, but I also love layering in modern elements.” New windows with drywall returns blend in with original baseboards, ceiling medallions and mouldings, and the original staircase has also been left intact.
The family dog Nash in the entry. “We added a white oak archway as a buffer between the vestibule and the rest of the house,” says Veronica
The decorating palette is a testament to the beauty of neutrals. Tinged in brown, beige, black and ecru — with hits of pale oak to shake up things — it’s vastly different from its former self. “It used to be such a dark house,” says Veronica. “Carrie and I like to do floor-to-ceiling drapes on a modern ceiling track,” she says of the lounge. “In older homes, it’s a little unexpected.”
Dark wood panelling flanking the fireplace is pleasing in its symmetry. The black statement pendant casts a soft glow at night.
“At one point, I thought about doing a white or light wood kitchen because they’re popular and safe.” But Carrie vetoed that idea. “She said, ‘You love dark wood kitchens; just do it!’ Carrie knows my style and taste, so when I would veer off and want to do something different, she’d bring me back,” says Veronica. And she’s so glad she did. Dramatic and elegant, the kitchen has rich-hued wood cabinets that set off the marble double-waterfall-edge island. “The first thing you see in the house is that marble,” says Veronica. On the range side is a wine fridge and, in a cavity near the stools, is hidden storage for liquor bottles.
The domestic oak cabinets have a visible grain and texture that Veronica loves. “The modern slab wood doors mixed with the protruding gables creates an interesting detail.”
Full-height drapes are a rich backdrop for the sculptural dining table.
Designer and homeowner Veronica Martin in her pale and polished dining room.
Upstairs, they kept the principal bedroom on the second floor (minimizing travelling up another flight of stairs to the third-floor attic), but added generous custom closets to amp up storage.
A linen shower curtain and brass sconce are flourishes in the second-floor bathroom.
“Lily’s bedroom is light and bright, as per her request, so it’s primarily white,” says Veronica. The regal, French-style bed is fit for a queen.
And the attic, formerly the Two Fold Interiors office, has been transformed into a serene guest room. The beds are deliberately low to accommodate the charming slanted ceilings.
The final result is a thoroughly beautiful and functional modern home that works just as well for the couple on their own as it does for the whole family. “We worked within our existing walls but maximized the space and design to fit our lifestyle,” says Veronica. These calm, elegant interiors are a perfect backdrop for the hustle and bustle of family life, now and into the future.
Watch the video tour of this beautiful family home here.
Alex Lukey
House & Home
Two Fold Interiors