Extreme Makeover: a designer brings old Hollywood glamour to a drab Rosedale home
Extreme Makeover: a designer brings old Hollywood glamour to a drab Rosedale home
By Meaghan Binstock | March 4, 2013
By Meaghan Binstock | 03/04/2013
By Meaghan Binstock | Photography by Michael Graydon
Interior designer Theresa Casey lives for large-scale projects. So when she and her husband, graphic designer Robert Gray, began a house hunt, her goal was “to buy a box and make it our own.” A 1930s brick Rosedale home with a forgettable interior was the ideal big, messy job. Among its dysfunctions: a cumbersome wall divided the main floor down the middle, and Moroccan arches made rooms heavy and funereal. The sole, tiny bathroom was at the top of the stairs. After the space was gutted, Casey sourced all-new decor and had much of it custom made. She explored a period design, mixing traditional elements with 1930s modernism. The master bath now has smoky, Old World glamour, with black glass and Negro Marquina marble, cherrywood accents and vintage brass faucets. The petite kitchen is modelled after the galley in a cabin on a luxury ocean liner, with Statuario marble and unlacquered brass. Casey brought in vintage hardware and custom cherry doors for all the entranceways. The dining room’s grillwork is salvaged from the Eaton’s College Park building (now the Carlu), another dramatic art deco touch.
193882 Interior designer Theresa Casey and her husband Robert Gray gutted a 1930s brick Rosedale home and made it their own (Image: Michael Graydon) Extreme Makeover: North Rosedale Extreme Makeover: North Rosedale https://torontolife.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/03/home-renovation-1930s-1-96x96.jpg https://torontolife.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/03/home-renovation-1930s-1.jpg https://torontolife.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/03/home-renovation-1930s-1.jpg 460 624 [] https://torontolife.com/style/before-and-after-1930s-homage/slide/home-renovation-1930s-1/ home-renovation-1930s-1 0 0
(Image: Michael Graydon)
193881 <strong>Before: </strong>The pre-war house came with a tiny kitchen with lacklustre cabinets Extreme Makeover: North Rosedale Extreme Makeover: North Rosedale https://torontolife.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/03/home-renovation-1930s-2-96x96.jpg https://torontolife.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/03/home-renovation-1930s-2.jpg https://torontolife.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/03/home-renovation-1930s-2.jpg 460 624 [] https://torontolife.com/style/before-and-after-1930s-homage/slide/home-renovation-1930s-2/ home-renovation-1930s-2 0 0
193880 <strong>Before: </strong>A weird Moroccan arch divided the living and dining rooms Extreme Makeover: North Rosedale Extreme Makeover: North Rosedale https://torontolife.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/03/home-renovation-1930s-3-96x96.jpg https://torontolife.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/03/home-renovation-1930s-3.jpg https://torontolife.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/03/home-renovation-1930s-3.jpg 624 460 [] https://torontolife.com/style/before-and-after-1930s-homage/slide/home-renovation-1930s-3/ home-renovation-1930s-3 0 0
193879 <strong>Before: </strong>The drab interior before the renovation Extreme Makeover: North Rosedale Extreme Makeover: North Rosedale https://torontolife.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/03/home-renovation-1930s-4-96x96.jpg https://torontolife.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/03/home-renovation-1930s-4.jpg https://torontolife.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/03/home-renovation-1930s-4.jpg 624 460 [] https://torontolife.com/style/before-and-after-1930s-homage/slide/home-renovation-1930s-4/ home-renovation-1930s-4 0 0
193878 <strong>After: </strong>Casey used a mix of lush textures and art deco design in the dining room (Image: Michael Graydon) Extreme Makeover: North Rosedale Extreme Makeover: North Rosedale https://torontolife.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/03/home-renovation-1930s-5-96x96.jpg https://torontolife.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/03/home-renovation-1930s-5.jpg https://torontolife.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/03/home-renovation-1930s-5.jpg 624 460 [] https://torontolife.com/style/before-and-after-1930s-homage/slide/home-renovation-1930s-5/ home-renovation-1930s-5 0 0
(Image: Michael Graydon)
193877 <strong>After: </strong>The glamorous kitchen is modelled after a galley on a luxury ocean liner (Image: Michael Graydon) Extreme Makeover: North Rosedale Extreme Makeover: North Rosedale https://torontolife.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/03/home-renovation-1930s-6-96x96.jpg https://torontolife.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/03/home-renovation-1930s-6.jpg https://torontolife.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/03/home-renovation-1930s-6.jpg 460 624 [] https://torontolife.com/style/before-and-after-1930s-homage/slide/home-renovation-1930s-6/ home-renovation-1930s-6 0 0
(Image: Michael Graydon)
193875 <strong>After: </strong>A peacock-feathered wall in the foyer (Image: Michael Graydon) Extreme Makeover: North Rosedale Extreme Makeover: North Rosedale https://torontolife.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/03/home-renovation-1930s-8-96x96.jpg https://torontolife.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/03/home-renovation-1930s-8.jpg https://torontolife.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/03/home-renovation-1930s-8.jpg 460 624 [] https://torontolife.com/style/before-and-after-1930s-homage/slide/home-renovation-1930s-8/ home-renovation-1930s-8 0 0
(Image: Michael Graydon)
193876 <strong>After: </strong>The art in the living room (Image: Michael Graydon) Extreme Makeover: North Rosedale Extreme Makeover: North Rosedale https://torontolife.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/03/home-renovation-1930s-7-96x96.jpg https://torontolife.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/03/home-renovation-1930s-7.jpg https://torontolife.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/03/home-renovation-1930s-7.jpg 460 624 [] https://torontolife.com/style/before-and-after-1930s-homage/slide/home-renovation-1930s-7/ home-renovation-1930s-7 0 0
(Image: Michael Graydon)
193874 <strong>After: </strong>The bedroom (Image: Michael Graydon) Extreme Makeover: North Rosedale Extreme Makeover: North Rosedale https://torontolife.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/03/home-renovation-1930s-9-96x96.jpg https://torontolife.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/03/home-renovation-1930s-9.jpg https://torontolife.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/03/home-renovation-1930s-9.jpg 460 624 [] https://torontolife.com/style/before-and-after-1930s-homage/slide/home-renovation-1930s-9/ home-renovation-1930s-9 0 0
(Image: Michael Graydon)
dark and drab.
designers? this is ugly. So dark and too many patterns everywhere. This will go out of style so fast…uh hold on, it was never in style. Will never hire them to design anything
While I’m admittedly a mid-century minimalist for the most part (I know, so original!), I have to say I found the designer’s strong POV very refreshing. Such bold and confident choices are rare to come by in the so-neutral-it’s-boring/Dwell magazine/Design Within Reach catalogue world we’ve been living in for the past several years. Well done!
Harsh comments. Perhaps jealousy?
I love how different and interesting this updated home is. Truly unique. Nice to see something outside of the usual tones of beige/grey and matching throw pillow homes we’re used to seeing. Also I LOVE Rosedale! Beautiful area of Toronto.