Leap of Faith
Classic details, modern touches and a mix of pattern and texture are the hallmarks of this townhouse makeover.
HAVING BUILT, DESIGNED OR REFINISHED six homes from Denver to Muskoka over the past 17 years, Aly and Alf Douglas are no strangers to intensive planning and process. But when they recently moved back to Toronto, the couple was keen to try something new: they wanted to live in an older urban home with easy access to shops, restaurants and walking paths — and they didn’t want to build it or decorate it themselves. They found an elegant, 1,900-square-foot red brick townhouse in Rosedale that perfectly fit the bill. But even though the 93-yearold, ivy-covered exterior was lovely and timeless, the interiors, which had been redone by a developer 10 years prior, needed some TLC. Enter designer Gillian Gillies. “I had never worked with a designer before, but I’ve messed up a lot in the past,” says Aly. “I just wanted one time to get it right from the start!” They loved Gillian’s style, her ability to make bold design elements work, and that her interiors cleverly used every inch of space. At the start, Aly asked
Gillian if she wanted to see photos of her favourite designs, but Gillian replied reassuringly, “Don’t worry — I’ll get your style by our second meeting!” Aly bravely handed over the reins, and without realizing it, immediately communicated a mixed message. “I said I wanted a classic New York or European brownstone feel, but I didn’t know exactly how to describe my vision,” says Aly. “Every time Gillian saw me, I was wearing black and white, so I guess I wasn’t hard to read!”
Gillian also intuitively understood the house; it made her recall elegant old townhouses she admired in Edinburgh as a child. Originally from Scotland and later an interior designer in Edinburgh, Gillian has been well-versed in homes with good bones. “It was just beautiful,” she says. “I loved the newel post and original stairs that gently turned at the bottom, the plaster crown mouldings and the deliciously high baseboards. So it was about taking what had been there for almost 100 years and really letting it shine whilst adding in modern touches.”
Over a six-month period, Gillian deftly revamped the interiors. New French oak floors laid in a herringbone pattern bring old world elegance to rooms, and original plaster walls are wallpapered — with an ulterior motive. “It makes sense,” says Alf. “Wallpaper hides a lot of plaster’s imperfections.” There were other practical
solutions, too: Gillian loves playing with texture but so, too, do cats, and the couple has both a cat and a dog. With that in mind, the designer clad the backs of chairs with fabrics like velvet so claws wouldn’t be able to hook into them. The living room sofa, a plum-coloured mohair sectional, is similarly difficult for the cat to scratch. “I never dreamed I’d have a large purple sofa,” says
Aly with a laugh, “but it’s become a real hallmark of the house.”
The overall effect is graceful and contemporary, a seamless dovetailing of the home’s classic features with a modern aesthetic, all against a black and white palette punctuated by hits of rich colour. “I love a mix of pattern and texture, so there’s not a time stamp for when rooms were designed,” says Gillian.
And that design planning and process that Aly and Alf have grown accustomed to over years of moving from one city to another, creating bespoke homes along the way? With Alf’s retirement nearing, the plan has now changed. “We’re finally staying put,” he says. “But Aly had so much fun during this project, she’d do it all again in a heartbeat.”
“IT WAS ABOUT TAKING WHAT HAD BEEN THERE FOR ALMOST 100 YEARS AND LETTING IT SHINE WHILST ADDING IN MODERN TOUCHES” — Gillian Gillies, designer