"The Modern Eclectics"
Agnieszka and
David live in an Edwardian style home with their two kitties Ellie and Bobbie
and their puppy Milo.
They moved
from a cookie cutter house in Mississauga to their century home in Hamilton,
which required extensive renovation, a true “blank slate”. Previously their
design aesthetic was very modern and minimalist, but owning an older home, they
wanted to restore it to its former glory. They added ceiling medallions, a reclaimed
wood dining table was purchased as a tribute to Hamilton’s industrial history, and
they exposed a brick wall in the dining room to up the character quota.
Design is Agnieszka’s
passion. She is an admitted eclectic (check out their kitchen backslash, "Smorkin'Labbits" by Frank Kozik whatisblik.com ) and loves decorating with colour and patterns. She follows
many design blogs (her favourites are theSocialiteFamily and Desiretoinspire)
and design magazines, especially those UK based such as LivingEtc . These
sources of inspiration fuel her many ideas, but she always asks David for his
input. And as their style aesthetics are very similar, they rarely disagree on
the final project. The two describe their style as modern eclectic, quirky and
fun.
Their go to
places for furniture are Restoration Hardware, Pottery Barn, Crate and Barrel,
IKEA and Cocoon Furnishings. For décor
they haunt HomeSense and, a local favourite, Canoe on Locke Street. Other Hamilton
gems include Pure Home Couture, Design Annex and Mixed Media. Agnieszka’s
recent favorite finds are ceramic handmade salt and pepper shakers with
hand painted space invaders from Canoe, and
pink polka dots tea towels with monkeys wearing glasses from Pure.
If they had
to choose a favourite room in your house they’d hands down select their
sumptuous all black painted Master Bedroom (including the ceiling and all the
trims). In Agnieszka’s words, “It has a great vibe, it’s very restful.” The two
enjoy spending lazy weekend mornings watching Netflix and chilling with their two
kittens and their puppy on the bed. The retreat also features Agnieszka’s
prized pair of limited prints by Junko Mizuno. Both she and David love art and
those prints were the first pieces of art purchased for their Hamilton home.
Also painted
black, the couple took bold moves with this colour in their front
entrance. This project was a labour of
love and took six months to complete. They removed carpet from the stairs and
painted the original wood banister black and white, removed floor tiles and
replaced with black and white marble, replaced the ceiling and added character
finishes from a large ceiling medallion to crown moulding. And the walls, which
were covered in 1970s style wallpaper, are now painted black with hand
stencilled silver stars.
Agnieszka and
David definitely agree that Hamiltonians have style. This was one of the factors which motivated their
move from Mississauga. They've seen a lot of really great homes listed for
sale, especially older ones downtown, uniquely designed and decorated.If money was
no object, David's next project would be to turn the garage into an outdoor
living space with a Nano door and a pool. Agnieszka’s would be to acquire
another fixer upper and start the renovations all over again!
Q&A with AGNIESZKA
Design signatures or obsessions?
"Home
accessories: throw pillows, blankets,
boxes and potted flowers, especially orchids. As I like to change my design
frequently, I think they are a great way to transform the look and feel of a
room easily and fairly inexpensively."
You have reclaimed wood dining table clean. looks clean and beautiful.
ReplyDelete