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National Post

Home design: Downsizing, Paris-style

Yvonne Dametto's tastes are super specific. The semi-retired nurse is enamoured with everything old and French: Baroque dressers with tassels, burnished champagne buckets, Aubusson rugs and countryside oils depicting Provence in giltwood frames. Article content Her affection for French culture runs so deep she keeps a pied-à-terre in Paris, where she frequently travels. Article content Naturally, Dametto's home base in Guelph was also French-imbued, down to her extensive art collection. She raised her kids (who have kids of their own) in the 5,500-square-foot family home but when she became a widower, she downsized to a nearby townhouse nearly half that size. Article content Article content And so, alongside Bellamy Custom Homes, she recruited Cristina Kirby, the designer and visual curator with FOR Design, in Oakville, to overhaul the home into an enchanting refuge for herself and a pair of British short hair cats, Rupert and Angus. Article content Article content Dametto wanted to skew towards a femme fatale vibe, less countryish. 'She wanted something curated to express her new life,' says Kirby. Article content Article content The goal for the townhouse, Kirby continues, was to lean into the drama by embracing the opulence of the Beaux Arts. To create the effect, Kirby layered every level of the four-storey townhouse in a rich palette. Deep green hues, plummy-toned tapestry, mood-making wallpaper and sumptuous velvet and linen lend a nuanced and dynamic feel throughout the home. Article content Article content Dametto's art collection has also been weaved into the design scheme alongside newer pieces from FOR Living, the design studio's retail shops in Oakville and Guelph. Article content 'That's to balance the antique vibe,' says Kirby, 'and to make it curated. In all of my designs, I emphasize that everyone should have one piece of original art and one antique. It makes it feel like a collected home.' Article content Article content For better flow in the formerly cramped dwelling and to get rid of the golden-toned 1980s-era wood, the team at Bellamy Custom Homes stripped the house to the studs.