This Designer’s Parisian-Inspired Family Home Will Make You Swoon

It should come as no surprise that the Guelph, ON, home of interior designer Ines Mazzotta is jaw-droppingly gorgeous. After all, she and her husband Peter, a contractor and craftsman, are the dream team behind Kelly Hopter Interiors; they create beautiful spaces for a living. When they relocated from Toronto in 2014 with their two young sons, the duo wasted no time putting their own elegant spin on the 19th-century house, located in Guelph’s historic Exhibition Park neighbourhood. The result? A serene, family-friendly home that wouldn’t look out of place in Paris’s chicest arrondissements.

Ines and Peter were drawn to the home’s century character, which included high ceilings, original floors and large windows. And while the house lacked proper flow between the kitchen, dining room and living room – an issue they addressed right away – Ines loved the square-shaped layout of the living room. “It allowed us to create a wonderfully intimate seating area around the fireplace that works really well both just for us on a daily basis and also when we entertain,” she says. “Even though we have a family room, this is where we actually spend the most time.”

“I love creating truly warm, comfortable interiors with a little bit of drama,” says Ines, who relies on layers of texture, striking works of art, cozy furniture and just the slightest hint of colour. “While I am not afraid to use colour in client projects, the palette of our own home is very neutral; I work with colour all day long and need to come home to a more restful space.”

“I’m a big lover of art and a firm believer that great artwork is a key element that brings a space to life,” says Ines, whose home is filled with a myriad of eye-catching, gallery-worthy pieces. “While I love original artwork of course, I also have lots of prints and vintage finds. All that matters is that a piece speaks to me,” she says. To see another home full of prints and vintage finds, check out this one-of-a-kind T.O. rental.

In the Mazzottas’ entryway, a capiz-shell pendant from CB2 mingles with a flea-market chair and a vintage portrait in an ornate gilded frame.

To see another home filled with kitschy collectibles salvaged from flea markets, check out this designer Toronto loft.

The beautifully asymmetric dresser that sits in the foyer is an Elte MKT find.

While some people bring back keychains or snow globes as travel souvenirs, Ines tends to favour more unique mementos. Case in point: “The plaster heads are scaled-down replicas of sculptures found in a coffered ceiling in a European castle we visited years ago,” she says. “We were afraid they would break if we had them shipped so we bought an extra suitcase and carried them with us for the rest of the trip, lovingly wrapped in layers of tissue!”

While renovating the house, Ines and Peter installed wall mouldings and ceiling medallions, in keeping with the home’s original 19th-century character. The dining table and chairs are pieces they’ve owned for ages (“They are just so functional and comfortable, it’s hard to part with them!” says Ines) while the faux-sheepskin throws are from HomeSense. Designers, they’re just like us.

“I love the drama a black wall creates in an otherwise bright space,” says Ines, who used Benjamin Moore’s Black Satin 2131-10 to paint one wall of the family room, creating a striking backdrop for various framed works of art. The gallery wall is Ines’s favourite family room feature, but the oversized sectional runs a close second. “It seats 10 and is the most comfortable sofa you’ve ever sat on, with its extra deep cushions and down fill,” she says. “This is where we watch movies and where the kids have their friends over.”

Ines describes her beloved gallery wall as a “serendipitous accident. When we moved to the new house, we had a number of pieces that didn’t find a place elsewhere in the home,” she says. “I liked them too much to put them away, so I decided to create a gallery wall out of them. Now it’s one of my favourite walls in the house!”

Creating a soothing space was Ines’s top priority when designing the master bedroom. “This is where we retire at the end of a long day,” she says. She mixed warm neutrals in the form of luxe drapes and bedding with off-white walls and pops of black and animal print to create visual interest.

The bedroom’s serene wall mural is a wallpaper from Anewall. “We wanted something very soothing on the wall opposite our bed – this is what we see when reading in bed in the evening,” says Ines. “When we saw this mural, we knew it was the perfect choice. What’s more soothing than forest-covered mountains enveloped in morning mist?”
Love wall murals? This Danforth home is full of them!

When asked what she loves most about her family home, Ines gives an unexpected answer: its layout. “It allows us to have our ‘adult’ spaces on one side of the house and the boys’ rooms on the other,” she explains. “It’s a godsend when the boys have all their friends over!” she laughs.