Design trends: A party-ready pad

National Post

6 days ago

Before designer Valerie Meghory got her hands on it, this two-storey semi in Seaton Village was perfect for a game of hide-and-seek.
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The front door opened to an enclosed porch followed by a narrow hallway that led to a maze of rooms. Upstairs, a rental apartment's nooks and crannies held more adventure.
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But the piecemeal layout was the pits for single-family living. The social couple, who have three young kids, couldn't entertain without banging elbows. Plus the 1,800-square-foot century house, nipped and tucked over the years, was dated.
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So they enlisted the principal designer of Valerie Meghory Interiors for a substantial revamp undertaken over 15 months. This included adding a third-floor sanctuary for the parents, with a swanky spa bathroom, office, walk-in closet and bedroom; the addition increased the house to 2,600 square feet overall. The architect on the project was Justin Sherry of Justin Sherry Design Studio with general contracting by Robert Cuch.
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In a lucky turn, the designer and the homeowners shared the same taste. 'They like simplicity and minimalism, so our aesthetics aligned,' says Meghory, who filled the home with soothing, easy-to-live-with tones and modern finishes, like oak veneer cabinetry, quartzite countertops and engineered white oak herringbone floors.
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Meghory's rule of thumb is to prioritize neutrals for tiles, cabinetry and other permanent design elements. 'Then we add colour in other ways that are easier to switch out to get a fresh look when you get bored of it.'
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But before any decorating, she tackled the main floor. She rejigged it to highlight the most important room in the house: the kitchen, which was built by Hays Woodworking.
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'We positioned the kitchen in the middle of the house, so it could be the centre of everything,' she says. 'They host a lot of people for holidays and parties.'
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For improved flow, Meghory shifted the staircase (formerly in the entranceway) to the back of the house, tucking it along the wall by the loungey new living room.
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'We did a long bench [for seating in the living room] to accommodate a lot of people,' says Meghory. The built-in is topped in a grey boucle cushion — perfect for perching with a cocktail — and has storage to keep the area shipshape. Display cubbies, a decorative slatted wall, fun pylon-shaped stair railings and an exposed red brick chimney trailing up to the second floor are embellishments that elevate the home.
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