One of my favourite pastimes: going for a walk after dinner as the neighbourhood’s houses light up with the advent of dusk, and sneaking a peek at other people’s interiors.  

My husband and I did this religiously in the last few months of my pregnancy, and I often wished I could actually get in to a few of my favourites.  

Well, I can’t believe I haven’t heard of this before – this being the 31st year of its occurrence – but you can actually go on a tour of other people’s houses in one of Toronto’s most revered historic neighbourhoods, Cabbagetown.  

Located in the south east end of the city, Cabbagetown was one of the first examples of a ‘mixed use’ neighbourhood – where workers’ cottages, shops and factories mixed with grand residences – and later became the locale of the Irish and Macedonian communities, made famous by Michael Ondaatje’s modern classic In The Skin of a Lion.

FYI, the “Cabbage” in Cabbagetown supposedly refers to the copious amounts of cabbage the two working class communities consumed, which they grew in their front yards.

Well this Sunday, 20th of September, you can take part in the annual Cabbagetown Tour of Homes, where several of the nabe’s best known and kept private Victorian residences open their doors for a complete interior tour -- it’s part history tour, part interior design show. Of particular note to our avid fans is 358 Wellesley, the kitchen in which was featured on a previous episode of Holmes on Homes.

If you can’t make it, check back next week for a photo gallery, because we’re going!

EVENT DETAILS

When: Sunday, 20th, 2009, 1:00 pm – 5:00 pm.

Tickets: $30 a person

More Info

Related: Home Tours on Style Sheet