WHO: John and Juli, two very discerning young people who are serious about design. A dream for John, the couple opened Mjolk almost a year ago, a contemporary design store in Toronto that gives a voice to current Scandinavian design.
John and Juli, at Mjolk
WHAT: A 1,000-square-foot, 1-bedroom, 1-bathroom apartment in a hundred-year-old building, above their design store, Mjolk.
WHERE: Toronto's Junction neighbourhood (west), home to an increasing number of hard core committed-to-staying-in-the-city denizens. Though real estate prices are running away faster than many young couples can handle, a still mixed commercial part of an old, main artery supports a neighbourhood of Victorian row houses and post WWI semis. Destination design stores are becoming a big draw for the area.
WHY: Well, EVERYONE is talking about them, for one, but also because they're just so darn into it! Whenever you get people that are this committed to what they love, more often than not their interior life turns out to be fascinating. Also, because they have this in the 'About' section of their website: "...we would spend our nights watching HGTV long distance over the phone." *heart*
This decal of a Dieter Rams quote translates to “Less, but better”, and pretty much sums up John and Juli's lifestyle philosophy.
HGTV: Can I ask how old you guys are? I’m sure
you’re younger than I and you intimidate me – is this kind of
reaction common?
J&J: No comment!
We just know what we like and maybe that makes people feel intimidated,
because it’s very hard to develop a personal aesthetic. We are lucky
because we are on the same page so it makes decisions in the home really
easy.
String shelving system, available through Mjolk.
HGTV: How did you develop a hankering for Scandi design?
John & Juli:
We really connect with the Northern aesthetic (and we’re surprised that
more people in Canada aren’t more on board with it). We have long
winters and changing seasons, so bright, light wood and high contrast
are important to making our home feel cozy. We barely have any windows
so it doesn’t make sense to have dark walls and floors.
1960s Borge Mogensen sofa; Hans Wegner Wishbone chairs, Rogue Gallery; vintage coffee table, Upsidedive; vintage berber rug.
HGTV: Is it fair to say Scandi style is your unwavering preference
when it comes to your personal aesthetic, or is this something you lean
toward more for the business, because it sells?
J&J:
It’s more of a lifestyle than a preference actually. The core values of
Scandinavian design are simplicity and functionality. We opened the
store because we connect with this style, and know that there are more
people out there who are like us, but are under serviced in the local
retail landscape.
HGTV: How do you know so much about it? What are your educational backgrounds?
J&J:
We travel a lot, and read books, magazines and blogs. Our varied
education has brought us to where we are – jobs in modern furniture
retail, publishing, art curation, photography etc.
Knoll Tulip table; Lento chairs; PH5 pendant lamp.
HGTV: Why did you decide to move in above the store as
opposed to a house? You seem like the kind of folk that would just love
to outfit and customize a home…
J&J: We wanted to
be close to the business and have control over it, so it was never an
option to rent. We were lucky enough to find this building which serves
our needs for the store and home all in one. There is plenty of
opportunity to customize the apartment over the years to come!
HGTV: It’s minimal but decidedly stylish. How did you manage to make nice? Any advice on how to make nice on a budget?
J&J:
There’s a certain warmth that comes from textiles: a nice vintage
berber rug in the living room and reindeer hides in the bedroom offer softness to a sparse room. Everything else is about keeping things
clean and simple. The most affordable thing anyone can do to change a
space is paint it.
Juli's mom's Poul Cadovious wall unit.
HGTV: Can you pick three of your fave pieces and tell me about them?
J&J: 1.
1960s Borge Mogensen sofa. It has been lovingly used for almost 50
years and it’s still in magnificent shape. It’s so honest in it’s
design: oak frame, quilted goose feather filling, and some of the nicest
leather available. It’s designed for generational use, we just hope our
children like modernism as much as we do.
2. Poul Cadovious wall
unit – Juli’s mom invested in the 70s to have a beautiful teak wall
unit and when it stopped working with her lifestyle Juli gave it a new
home. It’s an engineering feat! And still very practical: it holds our
tv, dvd player, and displays a lot of our books and collections.
3.
PH5 pendant light – no matter the budget we would still choose this
light for our dining table. The quality of light is unmatched, and
although it’s a design from the 1930s it’s still just as striking today
as it was then.
Hiroshima dining table as desk; vintage Jean Nouvel filing cabinets, Queen West Antiques.
HGTV: Is most of your stuff vintage? Where do you get it?
J&J:
We have a pretty good balance between new and vintage design in our
home. We get our pieces from all over: the sofa we got in Denmark before
we had the store; the Hans Wegner chairs we purchased from Rogue
Gallery on Queen St; and the coffee table was from Upside Dive. All of
our little collections come from travels, or when John had an online
auction addiction.
HGTV: Are there still deals to be had?
Or is everyone aware of what they can get for vintage out there? Any
tips on how to search out the goods?
J&J: It’s all
relative. Living in Toronto we’re lucky to have a lot of
modern vintage stores that carry a wide selection of quality, mid century
furniture. I would say with confidence that 95% of the vintage
furniture in the city is undervalued, so the way we see it, everything
is a deal. I would encourage people instead of just trying to find the
most value, find something that you absolutely love and are willing to
invest in. There’s still a good chance that you made out with a good
deal.
Libri shelf; crux blanket.
HGTV: What improvements have you made in your apartment and why?
J&J:
It doesn’t take much to transform a space: all we’ve done so far is
paint the walls and floors white, and add our furniture. The building is
easily over 100 years old and although
the façade of the building has stayed the same, none of the original
character was left on the inside. A bigger renovation will be on the way
eventually but as long as it’s just the two of us and our cat, there’s
no need for many changes.
HGTV: Where is all your stuff? You do have more stuff, don’t you? Are you really this pared down?
J&J:
We moved from a larger home to a small apartment, and in the process
you have to really take a look at your possessions and decide if they
are really necessary in your life. We’re surprised with how satisfied we
really are with the amount of things we have, and we’ve become
increasingly particular with what we invite into our home.
Baby Rocket stool as nightstand.
HGTV: What would your dream home look like?
J&J: Our dream home is more of a feeling than a place. We visited Alvar Aalto’s home in Helsinki and we felt such a warmth and modesty while we were there. You could tell it was a family home, and they had a simple and happy life. I think that’s the future we’d like to have.
HGTV: What's the most important thing for you when furnishing a space? What are your basic principles?
J&J: The use of light is very important, both artificial light and natural, and people often neglect it. The first thing we did was remove all the cheap flying saucer fixtures (typical of home improvement stores) and replaced them with simple ceramic fixtures with exposed bulbs. Then we added a few pendant lights and a lovely soft Noguchi floor light. In the future when we do a full renovation, natural light is going to play a huge role as right now we don’t get much. As for furniture, textiles are very important, as well as choosing pieces that you form a connection with.
See how they quashed all of my leading, hammy questions with their cool Scandinavian hammer of knowledge? The youth today...sheesh.
Stay tuned for a look at Mjolk shop, coming up next on Style Sheet!
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