Carolyn Gavin and her husband, Derek, were almost instantly charmed by this 1892 Victorian home’s 10-foot-high ceilings and narrow footprint — it’s only 13 feet wide. In the 14 years that the couple has lived in this Toronto, Canada, home, they have completely gutted, renovated and transformed it from the basement to the third floor. Throughout the process they’ve worked to maintain the home’s uniqueness and charm — slightly crooked floors and walls included. Derek has a great eye, and he actually designed the third floor space himself with three skylights and French doors to create an airy, light-filled oasis. Carolyn is the designer for ecojot, a stationery business she created with her family five years ago that is all designed and produced in Toronto. So it goes without saying that art and design are certainly important to the couple. They actually bought the paintings for their home before they could afford furniture. The paintings then influenced all the other choices in the house. The result is an easy, relaxed and certainly colorful style. Thank you, Carolyn! And a big thank you to Virginia Macdonald for the lovely photographs. — Amy Azzarito
Image above: The mood in the dining room is dictated by the fabulous Jeffrey Harrison painting, “Very China.” It’s 6 x 8 feet in size. My husband, Derek, chose it for my 40th birthday. It was supposed to be a surprise, and thinking I would be out of the house for a while, he and a friend went along to get the painting from the PARTS gallery near our house. They gingerly carried it all the way up our street and began measuring and figuring out where to hang it. To their surprise, I arrived home early to find them in the middle of placing it on the wall it! It was still a beautiful surprise but not the way intentionally planned! The chairs are imported from South Africa and can be purchased at Snob. I can’t resist throwing some unique African pieces into the mix, from my homeland. The chair fabric is the brightly colored fabric typically worn by the Shangaan tribal women of South Africa. I love the exotic colors and patterning!
Image above: This chair is a taller version of the dining room chairs. We have them around the kitchen island where we gather for family meals. I adore them, as they remind me of a set of Waterbuck or Kudu horns. The baskets are from South Africa, too. The chairs are called Nguni Bar Stools and are made from solid Kiaat wood with woven cord seating. The chair is actually named after the horns of the Nguni Cow.
See more of Carolyn’s Toronto home after the jump . . .
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