Great Spaces A young couple escape New York in search of square footage and find it aplenty in Forest Hill
Returning expats design their Toronto dream home
In 2015, Quinn Cooper, who runs her own interior design firm, and her husband, Mike Baker, an entrepreneur who sells merchandise at graduation ceremonies, were living in a rental in New York with their six-month-old daughter, Ryan. After a few weeks of tripping over her giant Exersaucer on the way to the bathroom, they were desperate for a bigger place—and, in any case, they wanted to be closer to family. They decided to move back to Toronto, their hometown, even though they had been away for a decade.
They found a 3,600-square-foot home in Forest Hill and hired StudioAC, a Toronto architecture firm, to head up a 10-month renovation. For a while, they lived with Mike’s parents, who also have a home in the neighbourhood. At the time, Quinn was four months pregnant with their second daughter, Cleo.
They knocked down some walls and built a new, open interior lined with Scandinavian-style pale wood. Quinn balanced flea market finds—like a trio of old paintings above the fireplace—with luxurious investment pieces. As a result, the home doesn’t feel homogenous or stuffy. “We host tons of play dates, and the kids can run around and be kids— no room is off limits,” says Quinn.