Decorating & Design
April 28, 2022
Inside A Toronto Victorian Updated With Contemporary Curves
Little did empty-nesters Jane Cooke-Lauder and Craig Lauder know what surprises lay ahead when they decided to sell their large family home and downsize to a smaller place downtown — but they were eager to find out. Such a move is the perfect excuse to start from scratch, leaving all remnants of your past behind. For those with no style skeletons in their closet, a reset can become a treasure hunt — a chance to pair brave new pieces with prized family heirlooms for a totally fresh look.
Jane and Craig knew they’d found The One the moment they stepped inside the 139-year-old Victorian home in Toronto’s Cabbagetown neighborhood. Free of their former house that was packed with sofas and chairs no one sat on except for their dog, Lexi, they camped out for three months in their newly purchased home — bare save for the two beds, kitchen table and chairs they had brought with them — and plotted their renovation. “We had a very clear idea of what we wanted to do, and living in the house just reinforced that,” says Jane, who turned to Toronto designer Andi Wheelband of Two Birds Design for help in making their vision a reality.
A third-floor deck the previous owner had added was unsafe and had to be rebuilt. “When you start to alter an old house, it becomes the art of the possible, not always exactly what you want.” They had to ditch their idea of gaining bonus space by digging out the shallow basement when they discovered it would double the cost of the renovation. The Lauders both own businesses and work from home, so the existing 2,500 square feet was quickly eaten up in creating the light and airy living space they craved. The couple wanted to create a second-floor guest room for visitors, a bedroom suite for their daughter, Lindsay, to come home to, and transform the entire third floor into a loft-like principal suite for themselves. The dumpster and sledgehammers arrived in January 2020, and the reno, smack-dab in the midst of the pandemic, took five months. The payoff is a reconfigured floor plan designed to fit their lifestyle.
Scroll down to see inside this contemporary-meets-classic Toronto home!
Both Andi and Jane agreed that they wanted to preserve the home’s Victorian-era details — the plaster moldings, soaring archways, nine-and- a-half-inch-tall baseboards, corbels and ceiling medallions that were reminders of the home’s elegant past. There were challenges, of course. Old houses often have a kind of perfect imperfection; things don’t always align, rooflines vary and there are quirky relationships between rooms.
The result of the reno is an edgy, unexpected mix of ornate, starched-collar Victoriana and chic modern minimalism, with a few visual curveballs that subtly reflect the couple’s South African roots. Freshly painted white walls complement the living room’s contemporary seating and fireplace surround.
The living room’s curvaceous pink sofa — picture a Tesla parked in the front parlour — proved to be an unexpected catalyst for the decorating. “It was one of the first things I showed the Lauders,” recalls Andi, with a smile. “Hesitant about what their reaction might be, I assured them that we could do it in another color, but they said, ‘Oh no, we love the pink!’ I think they were ready to have some fun, so everything flowed from there; the curves became the common element that pulled everything together.” Perched on the pink sofa (that Lexi also sits on when she thinks no one is looking), Jane observes: “This is us. It’s nothing like our previous house, but it’s where we are in our lives now. We live here. This just feels so right.”
A prized wildlife painting and an antique chest of drawers, a family heirloom, are reminders of the clients’ South African roots.
“We loved the high ceilings, ornate architectural details and stateliness of the rooms,” says Jane. “But the first floor was like a rabbit warren — there was an almost completely walled-off dining room and a long, narrow corridor leading to a dated kitchen that had been renovated in the ’80s.”
Down went the walls between the kitchen and dining room, opening up the long, dingy hallway. The entire back wall of the house was replaced with windows to let in light and create a cosy family room overlooking the garden. New hardwood floors were added on the first and third floors, and they removed the living room’s plum silk drapes. “The house definitely needed an aesthetic update to bring it into the 21st century,” says Andi.
The kitchen’s cream cabinets and backsplash are in sync with the home’s minimalist vibe.
Originally a dining area, the new workspace next to the kitchen is a perfect spot for emails and morning coffee.
Zebra wallpaper in the main-floor powder room adds another South Africa touch.
The palette in the third-floor principal bedroom is inspired by the vintage rug. Doors lead to
a new deck that overlooks the backyard.
A former bedroom was transformed into a spacious new dressing room adjacent to the principal bedroom.
The shower walls in the narrow principal bathroom are wrapped in glass and neutral tile.
Streamlined wood laminate cabinets add warmth to the principal bathroom.
Lauren Miller
House & Home
Andi Wheelband (Two Birds Design)
Architecture: Perspective Views