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Great Spaces
Cable Guy
A west-end collector finds a place to hang his hat—and almost everything else By Veronica Maddocks
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To live in a tree was a long-time dream for Jamie Cheveldeyoff, the owner of Koma Designs, an artists’ collective and home furnishings store on West Queen West. He entertained the idea of buying a large property with a sturdy walnut tree in the yard, intending to rent out the house and build a treehouse as his year-round home. Logic prevailed when he realized the city would never issue a permit for it. Instead, he bought a Parkdale semi on a treeless lot and began to create a sense of suspension inside. “I love the calm of hanging things,” he says, “and the feeling of floating.”
Mirrors, lights, countertop and staircase dangle from the ceiling like fruit in an orchard, balanced with counterweights and cables. Below them are pieces from estate sales, auctions and scrapyards, which he scoured regularly during his previous career as a music video set designer and art director.
Cheveldeyoff is at peace in his unusual house. He knows it’s not for everyone. “I like things that most people don’t,” he says, “like huge chunks of metal.” Fulfilling his vision for the space has demanded detailed, time-consuming handiwork and patience: he spent days on his hands and knees, scraping solidified puddles of cat pee from the floors with a putty knife. Then he painted the nicotine-stained walls, culled his decor collection down to his favourite items, and transformed his home into a living portfolio.
Photographs by Michael Graydon
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