This is How to Use Creative, Cool Decor to Create a Bespoke Home — No Renos Required

Jennifer and Cody bought their 1,500-square-foot home in 2017. The house – which is centrally located just west of Toronto’s Junction neighbourhood and north of Bloor West Village – offers a great, walkable location and space for their family, which now includes their rescue pup, Gracie, and their son, Bodhi.

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The couple’s style – which gravitates towards a mix of vintage and contemporary pieces – is apparent straight from the home’s enclosed entryway. Here, they’ve combined old pieces (like the artfully placed branch, a found treasure from a canoeing trip around an uninhabited island in Dog Lake) with new, functional details (like the cheerful series of round hooks from CB2).

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Making the most of the enclosed porch, a built-in bench adds storage and style. A mix of cozy accents (including a pillow from Africa that was a gift from Jennifer’s grandmother and a blanket from a trip to Mexico) add colour and comfort to the space – making it an ideal spot for relaxing as a family. “It’s a great spot for window watching,” Jennifer says. “We live across the street from an elementary school, so my son will often stand on the bench and watch the kids playing outside during recess.”

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When it comes to the home’s design, the process is a collaboration. “Cody and I split this task 50/50,” Jennifer says. “I’m always looking at new trends (because of my job), and he’s great at figuring out where things should go. He used to be a set decorator in his early film days, so he’s got a knack for making a room feel complete.”

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Vibrant green wall art makes a statement in the living room, creating a feature wall behind the couch. “This was the first piece of art Cody and I purchased together about six or seven years ago,” Jennifer notes. “It’s from the Queen West Antique Centre in Parkdale.” Want more ideas for bold living room wall art? Here are some ideas that go beyond basic.

The living room – which features mid-century influences and personal touches – is a master class in making the pieces you already home feel distinctively styled. “Our motto is to kind of just always work with what we’ve got,” Jennifer says. “Cody and I had a lot of furniture between us when we moved in together, so we haven’t purchased much.” One special feature in the space, a vintage Thorens record player that was gifted to Cody by his father as a housewarming gift, allows the couple to make their record collection moonlight as art on the media console.

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While Jennifer’s work as an HGTV Canada editor keeps her up-to-date on the latest in home decor, the style influence of her uncle John and his partner Nelson are threads woven through the house. “They have the best style (think Art Deco meshed with modern vibes),” Jennifer says, “and when I was single and living alone in my Queen West condo, they helped me decorate my space on the cheap. They scored me so many deals on items because of Nelson’s job as a set designer and helped with DIY projects like painting this vintage lamp.”

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Between the living and dining rooms, a staircase with contemporary black railings (which were installed by the home’s previous owners) makes a statement and creates a sense of distinct spaces in the open-concept area. To make the staircase feel more to the family’s taste, Jennifer layers on patterned blankets for a warmer feel. “I love warming a space up using a variety of textures,” she says. “Whether it be wood, bamboo or even wool (as seen with the two alpaca wool Cambie blankets!).”

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Moving into the dining room, Jennifer created a custom look by mixing wooden chairs (a Kijiji find) with a white glass table she scored from her set designer uncle. “It’s made in Italy and such high quality,” she says.

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Jennifer and Cody’s dining room, again, mixes old and new for a character-rich finish. The Society6 wall art, for example, is new, while the stained glass is a one-of-a-kind vintage piece with family value. “The stained glass hanging in the window is from my grandparents’ old cottage,” Jennifer explains. “When they sold it many years ago, they opted to keep two stained glass windows and not include them in the sale. Recently, for Christmas, they gifted me with one of them. It obviously is very sentimental and brings back some of my happiest memories!”

The galley-style kitchen has not been renovated since the couple moved in, but they added a few clever touches to modernize the look and make it their own. The cabinets, for example, got an inexpensive DIY refresh with new metallic handles ordered online from Amazon. “The hardware before was super dated, and I love how something so inexpensive could give the cupboards a completely new look,” Jennifer says.

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A selection of cookbooks doubles as countertop decor – while keeping delicious plant-based inspo on hand. “We mostly try to eat vegan (on weekends we’ll splurge and eat cheese), so a lot of those cookbooks are related to vegan food, as we’re always looking for new ideas and inspiration,” Jennifer says.

The sunny kitchen is also an ideal space to incorporate plants for a fresh feel that speaks to the couple’s love for greenery. “Plants are huge for us – they’re such a great pick me up,” Jennifer says. “I don’t think there’s a room in our house that doesn’t have a plant in it.”

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The home’s primary bedroom is designed to be a calm and relaxing space. “For the bedroom, we wanted to leave it light and breezy and free of clutter, as we’re big on sleep and clutter stresses both of us out,” Jennifer says. Above the bed, a handmade art piece from a trip to Sayulita, Mexico, adds soft dimension and a personal touch.

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A mix of functional details (like a television) and stylish accents (like the colour-pop red area rug, a vintage find from the Christie Antique Show in Dundas) bring plenty of character to the space, without overwhelming the calming feel. Want to channel the stylish vibes in your own sleep space? Here are 10 ways to add personality and character to your bedroom.

In the hallway, just outside of the master bedroom, more souvenirs from past travels are on display. The decorative terracotta cow skulls are from Punta de Mita, Mexico, while the colourful hand-embroidered pillows are from India. The oversized wicker basket is a second-hand score from an Instagram shop called Bephi Home. “I love how bright and cheery the hallway is, thanks to all the pops of colour,” Jennifer says.

The black-and-white bathroom took some time for Jennifer to love, but the addition of plants and special touches made it feel like home. “We didn’t renovate the bathroom,” she says. “This is one room I would have loved to renovate when we first moved in, but the black slate tiles are starting to grow on me. We added a little colour with the eucalyptus bundle and bathmat to make it feel a little more welcoming.” For ideas on the best plants to add to your own bathroom, here are some humidity-reducing options.

The home’s office is the perfect mix of practical and creative. “We wanted to keep this room simple and free of clutter, but also inspiring – so we picked things that inspire us like the prints on the wall and pops of green,” Jennifer says. To this end, a curated gallery wall combines sentimental accents and artistic detail. The diamond-shaped neon light, originally from Urban Outfitters, adds a pop of whimsy.

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The beautiful grain of the vintage teak desk can be seen in this close-up shot, an item Jennifer and Cody purchased from a second-hand store in Toronto’s east end. “The desk was heavily discounted because of the water ring mark on its top,” says Jennifer. “The watermark didn’t bother us one bit – we loved the character it gave the piece.” The cane chair in the corner was another vintage find from Bephi Home. The print on the wall was shot by Jennifer’s uncle John, who used to be a fashion photographer in the 80s.

The home office flows into a spare bedroom, which the couple has designed to be bright, clean and white with a few distinctive touches like a hanging art piece over the bed.

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On the window, Jennifer customized the window treatment for an organic feel and personal touch. “The window coverings are from a small store in Sayulita, Mexico, and I decided to hang them from a branch I found while walking my dog to keep it natural looking,” she explains. “It wouldn’t feel right hanging them from a steel rod.”

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The backyard, accessed via a walkout from the kitchen, takes you away from the city thanks to mature trees that provide a spectacular canopy of green. The couple snagged this outdoor teak dining set on Kijiji for $200 and have zero regrets. “It’s really difficult to find patio furniture that’s both high quality and affordable, so I was happy to pay what I did for this set,” Jennifer explains.

The backyard is a shady, low-maintenance oasis, as it came with artificial turf already in place from the previous owners. “I swore I would get rid of it immediately upon moving in, but I don’t hate it anymore,” Jennifer says. “It’s too easy to care for to hate.” For outdoor seating, a duo of tangerine-hued chairs snagged from the Christie Antique and Vintage Show offer a comfortable, cheerful place to relax.

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