living House reflects a flair for fashion
Filed Under Kitchen Curtain | Posted on March 16, 2008
For 15 years, Robin Kay worked in Parkdale but lived elsewhere in the city. Seven years ago, the president of the Fashion Design Council of Canada and the executive director of L’Or%26eacute;al Fashion Week began looking for a family home in the Parkdale neighbourhood. I was attracted to this area because I used to be a designer, Kay says. My knitting mill was a few streets from here. I would drive by thinking the houses were so beautiful. The Winnipeg-born, Toronto fashion icon for more than 30 years found a three-storey, 3,000-square-foot, brown-brick, detached Victorian with five bedrooms, built in 1890, on a heavily treed street. I was looking for a house in the price range I could afford, and I found this house and it was perfect because it had enough bedrooms for my three kids and myself, Kay says. I used the main floor for the (Fashion Council) office for the first year until I got other digs.She lives in the home with her two small dogs Lulu and Grace Kelly. Her daughter Zoe, 17, lives with her part of the time, while daughter Brooklyn, 22, and son Jacob, 26, now live on their own. The former fashion designer decorated herself, but is trying now to avoid DIY projects. Previous ones haven’t worked well, so she’s looking for a handyman and blocking past disasters from her mind. She admits she can’t even hang a curtain rod. Her gardening skills are no better %26ndash; no green thumb here. Kay says she has a thriving money tree, but when pressed, admits it’s new and that the last one died.According to Kay, her home reflects her fashion sense because it is simple, co-ordinated and very peaceful. All the walls in the house are white. That’s what I have always done wherever I go %26ndash; in all my stores, factory and my homes. I had the perfect white %26ndash; Benjamin Moore 918 %26ndash; but then when I moved here, I switched to linen white, but now I’m thinking I want to switch back, she says. I’m always moving my furniture and art around. I’m a spontaneous person, so keeping things in the same palate at least looks like I have a plan. All the floors are blonde hardwood. The main floor living room is at the front of the house and semi-opens into the kitchen/dining room. The sun room at back is her dogs’ den. The kitchen cabinetry is white, the countertops are faux marble %26ndash; inherited with the house %26ndash; and the appliances are stainless steel.For the first year in the home, the Fashion Council office was in her front room, which then became the dining area. A few months ago, Kay switched her dining and living spaces at the urging of friends who insisted that because the fireplace was in the front room, it was meant to be the living area. The new living room space has become Kay’s favourite room. She enjoys sitting in the room and looking through new casement windows that open up to allow a cross breeze %26ndash; an alternative to air conditioning in the summer. Furniture includes a sand-colour linen couch and chair, a leather chaise in the same shade and a mid-century-style chair in a leopard fabric. There are two glass topside tables with round dark-wood bases designed by Todd Oldham for La-Z-Boy. On the tables are two vintage Oriental lamps %26ndash; one depicting a man, the other a woman %26ndash; with brass bases that Kay found at a lawn sale and bought for only $20 for the pair.There are four pieces of art in the living room: two pastel crayon landscapes by her favourite artist, New York-based Steven Lack; an abstract painting by Toronto’s Arni Brownstone; and a fantasy portrait painting of a Greek boy by local artist David Arathoon. Also in the room is a collection of white Mao Zedong figurines and two 15th-century bronze elephants.At the entrance to her front room are decor pieces Kay is fond of %26ndash; two mirrors each about 9 feet by 4 feet. Leaning against the wall, the blonde-wood, crown-moulded framed mirrors are from a store she once owned.The second floor has the office, bathroom, master bedroom and dressing room and den, the top floor two bedrooms and a bathroom. Kay says that all her friends are jealous of her master bedroom’s walk-in closet, not because of what’s in it but because of its size. Kay cautions others when buying an older home to be really clear-headed about the inspection. Even though I had a thorough inspection, there were so many things about this house that needed to be fixed %26ndash; the wiring and the plumbing. Being a single person, I am not at all wiring-sensitive or interested. So, for single women like me, have an inspection read by someone who understands all those things L’Or%26eacute;al Fashion Week begins Monday and runs till Saturday at Nathan Phillips Square. For tickets online: lorealfashionweek.ca. Do you know a celebrity who would like to be featured in At Home With. . .? Email real estate editor Stephen Wickens at swickens @ thestar.ca.
Tags: amp, becom, capes, curta, curtain, money, paces, real estate, turdRelated posts
Leave a Reply