Decorating & Design
January 19, 2021
This Fashion Expert’s Victorian Home Is A Bohemian Dream
In her TV appearances, fashion expert and stylist Janice Meredith gives advice on reviving tired wardrobes that need an intervention. But in 2018, when she moved into her 3,000-square-foot Toronto century home in the Summerhill area, she delegated this intervention to another expert: designer Sam Sacks. “I love Sam’s style — she’s more boho than I am, and I wanted that edgy, eclectic look,” says Janice. “I had never renovated a house, and there were things I didn’t know about. Sam let me have what I wanted, and then made it better.”
The Victorian house had a layout that was too chopped up. A busy mother of four kids, Keeley, 17, Ronan, 14, and 11-year-old twins, Lachlan and Conall (and Sullivan, a boisterous English mastiff puppy), Janice needed a practical floor plan where everyone could hang out together. Sam led the six-month-long renovation. “Before this renovation, some of Janice’s pieces didn’t sing; you couldn’t see their amazingness,” says Sam.
Now, with more built-ins and three shelving units in the dining area, Janice can better display her treasured finds. “Sometimes, there’s a fine line between gaudy and fabulous, and I wasn’t always confident about where that line was when decorating,” says Janice. “In fashion, a 10-year-old beloved coat can still be on-trend — it’s just about how you wear it. When it came to the home’s accents, Sam reassured me in a similar way: if you love it, it will work!”
Scroll down to tour this eclectic Victorian home!
The garden was amped up with new shrubs, and the exterior window frames were painted black.
Janice had found a wrought-iron garden gate for the vestibule, but Sam convinced her to opt for this cleaner-looking steel and glass door for a Brooklyn brownstone look.
The marble fireplace and Tuareg rug were Sam’s ideas. “I was pushing for a slate fireplace, but this salvaged marble mantel really sets the tone for the room,” says Janice. She opted for Torlys white oak hardwood, nixing a more expensive wire-brushed finish after wine and grape juice halos were left on a test sample.
A black and white palette, exemplified by the two cabinet colors in the kitchen, is a nod to Janice’s fashion roots. “I wanted this house to reflect me and how I dress,” she says, pictured here with Sullivan. The Ikea kitchen cabinets rung in at only $8,000 and are balanced by a pricier composite counter and marble-look backsplash that will stand up to the demands of a young family.
Inspirational notes by the children appear on the Ingo Maurer chandelier in the dining room.
Janice brought all four kids to the store to scoop up a pair of white leather armchairs before another customer claimed them.
A custom bookshelf tucks into a niche and is backed in contrasting black.
The powder room’s enamel sink was a $130 Kijiji steal. “I knew I was going to spend money on windows and lighting, so I needed to save in other places,” says Janice. Sam chose the splattered gold wallpaper to tie in with the home’s brass accents.
Janice commissioned a fun riff on Warhol-style portraits of her children in the family room.
Stacey Brandford
House & Home December 2020
Sam Sacks