Real estate agent and Toronto restaurateur Wispy Boivin was leading a busy city life in Toronto’s West End with her chef husband, Christophe Boivin, and two young children, Huxley and Tennessee. But she’d long dreamed of wide-open spaces and a slower pace. When she listed a pretty farmhouse in Collingwood, Ontario, that came with more than nine tree-lined hectares, a barn, outbuildings, two donkeys and a pony, she ended up falling for it herself. But they needed to transform the little three-bedroom, two-bathroom farmhouse into a place big enough for a family of five, plus an ever-changing number of dogs.
They connected with the builder of the home, Robert Gerschwiler of Gerschwiler Building, and enlisted him to construct a two-storey, 500-square-foot addition. To strike a more modern tone throughout, the honey-toned pine floors were sanded and whitewashed to a Scandinavian blond, giving the farmhouse a fresh facelift. Whimsical prints on throw pillows and rugs, plus loads of painted furniture add personality and a curated touch. Click through for a look inside the idyllic space.