For 30-year-old Lauren Bunton, finding ways to modernize her conventional, century-old Toronto home and assortment of rustic antiques became her biggest remodeling challenge. “I walked to the living room one day and realized that it looked just like my grandma’s parlor,” says Bunton, who is vice president and manager of sales in Hosted Villas. “I have since worked to discover pieces of art, light and more lately flooring which keeps the space appearing fresh and modern — like a 30-year-old resides in, and not, stylish as she is, my 90-plus grandma”
By opening up rooms and revamping the kitchen, but still honoring the house’s traditional roots by adding century-old wainscoting, Bunton produced a cool space befitting her age. And it’s something in which even her grandma would feel right at home.
in a Glance
Who lives here: Lauren Bunton
Location: High Park neighborhood of Toronto
Size: 2,500 square feet; 4 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms
Jenn Hannotte / Hannotte Interiors
Bunton likes to have a handmade thing in each room in her house. She spends a lot of time searching down vintage fabrics to create pillows and fabrics for herself, friends and loved ones.
Pillow cloth: Ranked set by Erin Michael at Sky
Jenn Hannotte / Hannotte Interiors
This guest bedroom features a soothing color palette with original details like crown molding which frame modern pieces like an Eames rocker.
Eames rocker: Craigslist; light fixture: Home Depot
Jenn Hannotte / Hannotte Interiors
Still another guest bedroom reflects Bunton’s design philosophy and does double duty as a spot for watching tv or relaxing overnight guests. “For me personally, great layout is unexpected and not easily defined. It is about a certain style or one thing which could be pinpointed, and also much more regarding the way quite a few components come together to create something which simply feels right,” she says.
Pillows: West Elm
Jenn Hannotte / Hannotte Interiors
On the next floor, Bunton recently opened up a hallway and 2 small rooms to an open-layout office and studio space, separated from a major bedroom by sliding glass doors.
“With the majority of the house becoming more compartmentalized in layout, I wanted to create a feeling that the house opened up and actually transitioned into an area of lightness since you touched the next floor,” she says.
Jenn Hannotte / Hannotte Interiors
Bunton describes herself as a “trial-by-error decorator.”
“that I need to visit a concept fully realized to know if it works for me — or if it drives me mad,” she says. “This does mean a lot of patching and repainting, but for me personally it is the only method to specify exactly what I want. I’m made fun of my friends for pulling on decorating all-nighters, but I can not sleep if I know anything is away and can be made better.”
Bedding: Pintuck, West Elm; pillow fabric: Sarah Watson Indian Summer collection; floor lamp: Adjustable Metal Floor Lamp, West Elm
Jenn Hannotte / Hannotte Interiors
In her studio space, Bunton keeps clutter concealed in boxes and exhibits her favourite magazine, Kinfolk, on shelves above.
“After taking a look at an assortment of wallpaper alternatives, I understood that my funding called for something more modest and found that matte-finished vinyl was the perfect solution,” she says.
Wall coverings: vinyl, NouWall
Jenn Hannotte / Hannotte Interiors
On the opposite side of the room, a desk is tucked under a sloped alcove which Bunton painted with chalkboard paint. On the left she personalized Ikea cabinets with wallpaper to house her growing fabric collection.
Bookcases: Bestå, Ikea
Jenn Hannotte / Hannotte Interiors
Being nearly a century old, her house has revealed distinct components of its past. An overhaul of this basement discovered piles of old newspapers used as insulation. Bunton also discovered layers of paint — the trimming in the house was previously painted forest green — and a piece of old floral wallpaper left behind a kitchen cabinet.
Here, outside of her bedroom, Bunton artfully displays a few of these finds on a chest that belonged to her grandparents.
Jenn Hannotte / Hannotte Interiors
While the kitchen has become Bunton’s favourite spot in the house, it wasn’t necessarily the situation. When she purchased the house, it had chilly grey laminate countertops and was painted top to bottom in a color of pale yellow. She worked with her dad to repaint the cupboards and install birch butcher block.
Jenn Hannotte / Hannotte Interiors
A more recent addition to this house is the beautiful 150-year-old pine and hemlock wainscoting, designed and installed by Jake Bonnetta and Terence Sheard, founders of Woodchop in Toronto. “They chose to heart how I wanted the space to sense, and also how the wood would seem from the Mini Moderns Whitby wallpaper which hangs on the upper half of their walls,” she says. “Their incredible work is definitely to blame when each gathering at my place ends up being a kitchen party.”
Artwork: 2013 Cities calendar, Rifle Paper; vintage Hermès typerwriter ad
Jenn Hannotte / Hannotte Interiors
When Bunton moved, the kitchen also had white tile flooring which seemed dirty no matter how frequently it had been scrubbed. She replaced it with exactly the identical hardwood flooring which runs across the primary floor.
“Aside from my aesthetic love of this distance, the island has become a meeting place,” says Bunton, who often entertains her friends and loved ones. “Sitting in the kitchen tucked round the island, tales of love and heartbreak, challenge and success, have all been celebrated and mourned. It is a place for daydreaming and for great discussions, and all of those moments contribute to it being a wonderful space that is my favorite at house.”
Island: Stenstorp, Ikea
Jenn Hannotte / Hannotte Interiors
The entrance instantly offers insight into Bunton’s personality. Her job has her traveling the world in search of amazing new villas, so a vintage map of North America origins her back home.
Map: Arcadia Antiques; table: Craigslist; flooring: golden Taun hardwood
Jenn Hannotte / Hannotte Interiors
One of the design challenges of Bunton’s house was its first design: a very long space comprising many small rooms. To make it feel cohesive and less as a collection of smaller minutes, she utilized a consistent color palette in the majority of the house.
Enjoy chair: Elton, West Elm; mail bags: Etsy; ornamental windows: Habitat for Humanity ReStore
Jenn Hannotte / Hannotte Interiors
An original pocket in the living room is among Bunton’s treasured particulars. “How the previous wheels squeak and stall at times is a reminder of its age and the amount of those who have pulled its amazing weight slowly closed,” she says.
Jenn Hannotte / Hannotte Interiors
An accent wall of wide vertical stripes highlights a record set and functions as a focal point inside the living room.
How to Paint Perfect Wall Stripes
Jenn Hannotte / Hannotte Interiors
Bunton attributes a lot of her design art to growing up and hearing her parents talk about the flow and feel of their family home. “These conversations were not based on layout books or the latest trends, but were concentrated on developing a welcoming space that any individual could input and feel at home in,” she says.
Sideboard: Gadsby’s of Gravenhurst
Jenn Hannotte / Hannotte Interiors
“The scars on my hands still remind me of the work that went into creating this distance my very own,” Bunton says. “However, what I think I will remember most are the minutes which were lived in all these rooms, and how honored I am to have a house that allows them to be made.”
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