A New Transitional Style for Collectors of Antiques and Art
In Toronto, a designer helps a couple integrate their traditional furniture into their modern condo
Becky Harris
April 29, 2019
Houzz Contributor. Hi there! I live in a 1940s cottage in Atlanta that I'll describe as "collected."
I got into design via Landscape Architecture, which I studied at the University of Virginia.
Houzz Contributor. Hi there! I live in a 1940s cottage in Atlanta that I'll describe... More
Photos by Joy von Tiedemann
Entry, Living and Dining Areas at a Glance
Who lives here: A couple who collect antiques and art
Location: Toronto
Designer: Emily Griffin Design
Moving from their traditional condo in Toronto to a larger and window-lined modern one meant that this couple needed more furniture. But they already had some key pieces that helped determine the style of their new entry and open-plan living-dining space.
“My clients had a lot of beautiful English antiques that had been passed down through their families, and an amazing art collection,” says interior designer Emily Griffin. “Every piece of art had meaning to them, whether it was from a local artist in a place they had lived, was made by an artist they knew or was picked up on their travels to remind them of a favorite place.”
While meeting with her clients in their former traditional home, Griffin observed that their fantastic art collection didn’t stand out against the furniture and finishes. She wanted to address that and take into account the views of Toronto’s modern skyline in their new place.
“We decided to go in a transitional direction. We did this by adding more modern pieces and with subdued colors on the walls,” she says. She also had most of the art reframed in a more streamlined way to reflect the new style. The project was mostly cosmetic, with new paint, furnishings and custom built-ins. The floors and recently renovated kitchen were in great shape and didn’t need to be improved.
Entry That Sums Up the Design
Griffin designed this entryway space last so that she could work out the rest of the home first and then use the entry to foreshadow the personal art collection, elegant yet comfortable seating, artful rugs and bursts of color elsewhere.
Look closely at the walls. They are covered in a subtle ombre wallpaper that goes from light at the ceiling down to dark at the floor and incorporates different hues from throughout the home. A half-moon console table provides a landing zone for keys, while a mirror provides a spot for last-minute face checks before the homeowners head out the door.
Trim paint: Paper White, Benjamin Moore; wallpaper: Designers Guild
Find a local interior designer on Houzz
Entry, Living and Dining Areas at a Glance
Who lives here: A couple who collect antiques and art
Location: Toronto
Designer: Emily Griffin Design
Moving from their traditional condo in Toronto to a larger and window-lined modern one meant that this couple needed more furniture. But they already had some key pieces that helped determine the style of their new entry and open-plan living-dining space.
“My clients had a lot of beautiful English antiques that had been passed down through their families, and an amazing art collection,” says interior designer Emily Griffin. “Every piece of art had meaning to them, whether it was from a local artist in a place they had lived, was made by an artist they knew or was picked up on their travels to remind them of a favorite place.”
While meeting with her clients in their former traditional home, Griffin observed that their fantastic art collection didn’t stand out against the furniture and finishes. She wanted to address that and take into account the views of Toronto’s modern skyline in their new place.
“We decided to go in a transitional direction. We did this by adding more modern pieces and with subdued colors on the walls,” she says. She also had most of the art reframed in a more streamlined way to reflect the new style. The project was mostly cosmetic, with new paint, furnishings and custom built-ins. The floors and recently renovated kitchen were in great shape and didn’t need to be improved.
Entry That Sums Up the Design
Griffin designed this entryway space last so that she could work out the rest of the home first and then use the entry to foreshadow the personal art collection, elegant yet comfortable seating, artful rugs and bursts of color elsewhere.
Look closely at the walls. They are covered in a subtle ombre wallpaper that goes from light at the ceiling down to dark at the floor and incorporates different hues from throughout the home. A half-moon console table provides a landing zone for keys, while a mirror provides a spot for last-minute face checks before the homeowners head out the door.
Trim paint: Paper White, Benjamin Moore; wallpaper: Designers Guild
Find a local interior designer on Houzz
Divide-and-Conquer Strategy
The main living area has spectacular sky-high views toward downtown Toronto and Lake Ontario. But Griffin knew that the expansive space with all the glass had the potential to skew cold and sterile. So she divided it into three parts: this main living area in the center around the fireplace, a library area to the left and a dining area to the right. Then she delineated the spaces with area rugs. They add warmth, as do the creamy walls, inviting furniture, layers of textures (silks, wools, linens), eye-catching light fixtures and well-placed artwork.
She centered everything in the living room symmetrically on the fireplace, which is topped by a snowy rural landscape painting. A contemporary chandelier and metal-and-glass coffee table reinforce the center of the long space.
Paint: Mayonnaise, Benjamin Moore
The main living area has spectacular sky-high views toward downtown Toronto and Lake Ontario. But Griffin knew that the expansive space with all the glass had the potential to skew cold and sterile. So she divided it into three parts: this main living area in the center around the fireplace, a library area to the left and a dining area to the right. Then she delineated the spaces with area rugs. They add warmth, as do the creamy walls, inviting furniture, layers of textures (silks, wools, linens), eye-catching light fixtures and well-placed artwork.
She centered everything in the living room symmetrically on the fireplace, which is topped by a snowy rural landscape painting. A contemporary chandelier and metal-and-glass coffee table reinforce the center of the long space.
Paint: Mayonnaise, Benjamin Moore
The homeowners love to entertain, so Griffin included plenty of comfortable seating with botanical throw pillows for color. The streamlined shapes of the upholstered chairs and sofas lean contemporary. But the mahogany finish ties into the antiques for a careful transitional balance.
Griffin designed the contemporary coffee tables herself with the antiques in mind. “We built off the antiques and didn’t want the color of the woods we used to deviate very far from them,” she says.
Shop for botanical pillows on Houzz
Griffin designed the contemporary coffee tables herself with the antiques in mind. “We built off the antiques and didn’t want the color of the woods we used to deviate very far from them,” she says.
Shop for botanical pillows on Houzz
Light-Filled Library
Griffin knew that this cozy library space could accommodate a livelier, more colorful rug because of all the natural light washing over the room. She designed built-in shelves for books and artwork. It’s just the spot for reading the Sunday morning paper over coffee or enjoying the skyline views with an evening cocktail.
Throughout the home, Griffin had the walls and millwork painted in the same color and sheen. “Before I started this project, I had traveled to the U.K. and I noticed how well the Brits do this,” Griffin says. “I thought it was a perfect approach for this project.”
Paint: Pavilion Gray, Farrow & Ball
Find a professional painter in your area
Griffin knew that this cozy library space could accommodate a livelier, more colorful rug because of all the natural light washing over the room. She designed built-in shelves for books and artwork. It’s just the spot for reading the Sunday morning paper over coffee or enjoying the skyline views with an evening cocktail.
Throughout the home, Griffin had the walls and millwork painted in the same color and sheen. “Before I started this project, I had traveled to the U.K. and I noticed how well the Brits do this,” Griffin says. “I thought it was a perfect approach for this project.”
Paint: Pavilion Gray, Farrow & Ball
Find a professional painter in your area
Favorite tomes rotate on and off the coffee table, while a side table between the two armchairs provides a spot for drinks.
Browse modern wood coffee tables in the Houzz Shop
Browse modern wood coffee tables in the Houzz Shop
English Antiques in the Dining Room
“I took a thorough inventory of my clients’ existing furniture, and we sat together to determine which pieces they wanted to bring to their new home,” Griffin says. The beautiful English dining room antiques — the table, chairs, buffet and beloved clock — were a shoo-in. Griffin updated the space with a contemporary glass chandelier that doesn’t steal the spotlight away from the antiques, and by again painting the millwork and walls in the same color and sheen.
The homeowners wanted visible window treatments only on the west-facing windows. The linen drapes soften the space and reduce early evening light without completely blacking it out. There are hidden roller blinds above the windows for additional light control.
A rug adds a subtle pattern atop the floor, while a fiddleleaf fig breathes life into the corner.
Paint: Lamp Room Gray, Farrow & Ball
See How Fiddleleaf Fig Trees Can Liven Up Your Decor
“I took a thorough inventory of my clients’ existing furniture, and we sat together to determine which pieces they wanted to bring to their new home,” Griffin says. The beautiful English dining room antiques — the table, chairs, buffet and beloved clock — were a shoo-in. Griffin updated the space with a contemporary glass chandelier that doesn’t steal the spotlight away from the antiques, and by again painting the millwork and walls in the same color and sheen.
The homeowners wanted visible window treatments only on the west-facing windows. The linen drapes soften the space and reduce early evening light without completely blacking it out. There are hidden roller blinds above the windows for additional light control.
A rug adds a subtle pattern atop the floor, while a fiddleleaf fig breathes life into the corner.
Paint: Lamp Room Gray, Farrow & Ball
See How Fiddleleaf Fig Trees Can Liven Up Your Decor
Bonus Sitting Area
Off the other side of the entry is this more casual sitting room. A small eat-in area and the kitchen are just out of view to the left. Griffin cozied up this room with an antique rug and comfortable upholstered furniture. The artwork, pink butterfly throw pillows and herringbone fabric on the chair add color and pattern to the room.
Takeaways
More on Houzz
How to Decorate a Living Room: 11 Designer Tips
Get more living room inspiration
Find a pro for your home project
Shop for living room products
Off the other side of the entry is this more casual sitting room. A small eat-in area and the kitchen are just out of view to the left. Griffin cozied up this room with an antique rug and comfortable upholstered furniture. The artwork, pink butterfly throw pillows and herringbone fabric on the chair add color and pattern to the room.
Takeaways
- If you are changing your style, you may want to change the frames on your favorite artwork to match.
- If you decorate the entry last, you will have a great grasp on your home’s style and be able to reflect it in this first-impression space.
- You can help integrate your space by matching the finish of your contemporary pieces to that of your antiques. Griffin used mahogany accents to tie the contemporary and antique items together.
- Painting walls and traditional millwork in the same color and sheen lends an updated transitional look.
More on Houzz
How to Decorate a Living Room: 11 Designer Tips
Get more living room inspiration
Find a pro for your home project
Shop for living room products
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I loved the dining room. Completely beautiful, graceful, elegant. It's perfect. Calling the other room a "library" is overstating the case. There were not that many books-reading room perhaps.
Beautifully done but am confused because you said owners had beautiful English Antiques ,where are they?????
@Camilla Blair, many of their English antiques are in the dining room.