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VETERAN DESIGNER SHARON MIMRAN MAKES A SCENE IN HER ART-FILLED TORONTO CONDO.
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AS ANY SKILLED PAINTER WILL TELL YOU, emotional impact can come from a simple brushstroke or well-placed block of colour. While Sharon Mimran’s chosen medium isn’t paint, the veteran designer has built a successful career by applying these principles to projects across Canada, the U.S. and Europe. When it came time for Sharon to downsize to a two-bedroom condo in the new Four Seasons Private Residences Toronto, she took the lessons learned over her 35-year career to create an art-filled space defined by dramatic contrasts of black and white, playful accents and emotion.
“I take pride in being able to create a fresh look for every project, giving the client a design that’s theirs alone,” says Sharon, whose work has appeared regularly in House & Home over the years, including nine cover stories. “But for my own home, I wanted to make a bigger statement and take more risks.”
“I CHOSE THE PENSIVE PHOTO OF BOB DYLAN
BY JERRY SCHATZBERG BECAUSE I REALLY FELT
HIS EMOTIONAL BODY LANGUAGE”
To create a space that speaks uniquely to her tastes and personality, Sharon started from her favourite place: art. An avid collector as a young adult, the designer has a collection that spans genres and decades, from Joan Miró to Terry Richardson. Her 1,950-square-foot home contains a tightly curated selection of favourite works, with the overflow safely stored. “I’ve always had a keen eye for what artworks were classic and what investment pieces would stand the test of time,” she says. Sharon chose pieces for their emotional resonance and visual punch, using them to dictate the composition and mood of each room. Entering the condo, for example, visitors are welcomed by a series of nine life-size portraits by American figurative artist Alex Katz; the vibrant yellow backgrounds pop against the white walls and marble floor. “The bold colour makes the characters come alive,” says Sharon.
Moving into a condo from a succession of showpiece houses also meant that Sharon could only display a fraction of the furniture she had acquired over the years. She tackled this challenge — one every downsizer knows all too well — by carefully selecting meaningful heirlooms and splurging on a few new pieces to complement the layout. Among the antiques that made the cut were a bar cart and 1970s Lucite dining table, both handed down from Sharon’s mother, and a 1920s Murano glass chandelier. A black glass buffet and a graphic patterned rug, both new additions, work well with the high-contrast aesthetic of the main living area.
“It took me about three months to reinvent the layout using fewer pieces,” says Sharon, who arranged and rearranged the furniture and art in her mind until there were powerful sight lines and clever vignettes throughout.
Like an artist composing a scene, Sharon relied on the dramatic interplay of blacks and whites — including ebony-stained oak floors and white Carrara marble accented with black tile — to energize her space. While most of the walls are painted gallery white, she made deft use of black “drama walls” to accentuate two favourite artworks, both of legendary musicians. The largest piece in her collection, an oversized tapestry portrait of
Velvet Underground frontman Lou Reed by American photo-realist Chuck Close, presides over the ebony-walled foyer. Meanwhile, above the dining room buffet, a striking portrait of Bob Dylan by rock music chronicler and film director Jerry Schatzberg receives similar treatment, hung on a black wall for added moodiness. “Voilà!” says Sharon. “Impact!”