09/16/2026
When I first stepped into this room during our viewing, there was something about it that stayed with me. The light, original plaster details, French pocket doors. It was soft and romantic. More than anything, I could picture our family living here. The boys around the table, Sunday breakfasts, dinners with friends, holidays, homework, spills.
All of it.
The fireplace was something I knew I eventually wanted to revisit. My original plan was to restore the brick, but underneath the old mantle, the brick was crumbling. I made a quick decision about what came next. I wanted the new design to feel subdued and soft, slightly feminine and a little formal, but still belonged to a house that has stood for more than a hundred years.
Now, in the latest phase of our renovation, the floors have gone in and they might be my favourite addition yet.
I designed them as a French-inspired stone checkerboard, with tiny black cabochon details at the intersections. It’s subtle, but I think it’s what makes the floor. It breaks up the pattern, gives it that old world feeling.
I kept coming back to the floors you see in old French country houses. They’re beautiful and elegant, but they’re also meant to be lived on. Stone gets worn, edges soften, chairs scrape across it, dogs wander through. Life leaves its signature.
That’s really what I want for our home.
I have two little boys. They eat, colour and spill in here; and, inevitably, bring half of the playroom to the dinner table. But I also love hosting: setting a beautiful table, dinners that go on for hours. I don’t think those two things need to be incompatible. I want a home that can do both.
There is still so much layering to come. The fireplace needs its marble hearth, and then, it’s curtains, fabrics, art and all of those little layers that give a room warmth.
I want it to be enveloping in the winter, and lighter, fresher and more playful in the spring. Romantic and beautiful, but never so precious that my children can’t really live in it.
Because, ultimately, I’m not trying to create a perfect home. I’m trying to create a home that feels like it has always been here. My family’s story is just its next chapter.
