Serene IN THE CITY
Soft colours and pretty patterns blanket a Toronto bedroom with serene country charm.
“I’M A FARM GIRL AT HEART, so I really love that country-in-the-city look,”
says homeowner Raewyn Fahlenbock of the master bedroom in the Victoºrian home she shares with her husband, Charlie, their daughters, three-year-old Olive and 14-month-old Juniper, plus their dachshund mix, Bella.
“Colour used to be out of my comfort zone,” says Raewyn. But she trusted designer Margie Doyle White’s instincts so much that she even allowed the chic, sophisticated shades of lavender and pink to be employed on the main floor of her abode in Toronto’s Cabbagetown neighbourhood (featured in Style at Home’s May 2016 issue). “I generally lean toward neutrals and rarely use colour in a bedroom,” admits the designer. “But this big, bare master suite was just waiting to be kissed with colour.”
Before it was ready for that kiss, the 300-square-foot room required some serious romancing. It had worn carpeting, drab yellow-beige walls and uncovered windows. Working from the ground up, Margie
installed red oak floors and had them whitewashed to match the main level. “They have that pared-back country-style appeal Raewyn loves,” says the designer.
And like the rest of the house, the master bedroom was painted in Farrow & Ball’s Great White. “I call this shade my secret weapon,” says Margie. “It has lavender and pink undertones, but it’s not overtly feminine.”
The paint’s understated hues were the jumping-off point for the rest of the room’s look, which includes a soft tufted headboard, boho bedding and stunning linen drapery. “The drapes are the most exquisite lavender-grey shade, which creates tone-on-tone chemistry with the walls,” says Margie. “They’re tailored and slightly formal, but make a cozy statement high at its peak, was fitted with a dramatic 13-shade light fixture. The piece deftly combines city and country, juxtaposing a traditional chandelier configuration with simple shades reminiscent of milk glass. “I love the soft glow it gives off,” says homeowner Raewyn Fahlenbock. RIGHT, CENTRE A framed vintage horse print, a gift from Raewyn’s mom, quietly references the family’s horse-breeding operation. The drapery’s soft folds play well against the formal lines of the sidechair. The seat’s abstract Designers Guild fabric introduces a jolt of contemporary pattern and colour.