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Tag Archive | "House Tour"

Begged, Borrowed and Staged

Wednesday, October 26, 2011

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When home stager Dennis Battler showed me photos of his most recent project, a small semi in Toronto's Riverside neighbourhood, I was instantly struck by how much personality he had injected into the spaces. His blend of vintage furnishings from different eras mixed with industrial and rustic pieces revealed a very definite point of view that runs counter to everything you see on TV staging shows where the mantra is always, "neutralize, depersonalize and de-clutter." The house had been neglected and fallen into disrepair but Dennis and the real estate agent rallied friends and neighbours who pitched in to strip and clean the property. Furniture was then borrowed or purchased for as little as possible on Craigslist — the set of dining chairs were sourced for just $50 — and thrift stores. Dennis blended the wall colour himself from paint store mis-tints.

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Cleeve Horne House: That Sinking Feeling

Monday, October 3, 2011

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For the progeny of Cleeve and Jean Horne, this spectacular modernist home in a picturesque valley in Pickering, Ontario, is a seldom-used summer place, an after thought that has been allowed to slide into disrepair, if not disrepute. The house is tucked away behind the main residence and barn on a 200-acre family property and as one of the Horne's adult grandchildren told me yesterday during Doors Open Pickering, it's a challenge to hold onto the place in the face of rising taxes and land values. Seeing the state of the interior, I couldn't help thinking that this architectural gem might be better off in the hands of someone more invested in honouring its uniqueness.

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A Collector Restrained

Friday, September 30, 2011

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For an inveterate collector — her daughter calls her a hoarder — Larysa Fenyn is remarkably restrained. Her basement has become a storage facility, albeit a neat one, and if you open any of her numerous cabinets or credenzas you’ll find row upon row of high-quality trinkets. But on the surface at least, her centre hall home in Toronto’s Royal York neighbourhood is carefully curated. “I hate clutter,” she tells me as she leads me through her sunny rooms. On a sideboard stands a shimmering art glass plate and three shapely, black candle holders. Larysa has many others, some in teak, some white, but her display has been paired back to this. I admire her willingness to edit.

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Two Small Rooms

Sunday, September 18, 2011

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Yesterday, I had the pleasure of meeting Dennis Battler, a sometime retail stylist and home stager who rents two small rooms on the top floor of a house in Toronto's Riverdale neighbourhood. Dennis has lived large and now he doesn't. He's okay with that. In his 50s, he is actively learning to live with less. Dennis talks about the energy intrinsic in all things and has purged his life of the unnecessary and the negative and embraced the essential and the positive. He and his lovely Whippet, Shanti, occupy the bedroom, above, and a small sitting room with two chairs and a loveseat. He shares the kitchen, bathroom and laundry facilities with the homeowner but restricts his "living" to his own quarters in the attic.

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Suburban Style on the Cheap

Monday, September 12, 2011

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Considering how much time we both spend buying and selling on Craigslist, it was probably inevitable that my path would intersect with Denise Reed’s eventually. I met Denise on a CL call to buy a small desk/vanity that I intend to makeover as a styleNorth project in the weeks ahead. As we conducted the transaction in her foyer I remarked on how lovely her home was and in particular I admired a mid-century table and chairs visible from the entryway. Denise said she’d found the table at an auction and bought the chairs on Craigslist and that’s when I knew I’d be pitching her on letting me do a house tour.

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