Extreme Makeover: a ho-hum Roncesvalles Victorian gets a rustic-modern overhaul

By Meaghan Binstock | Photography by Michael Graydon

Not long ago, Emma Reddington and Myles McCutcheon—she’s an interior designer, he’s a photo editor—were on the hunt for a character-rich historic house in the west end. But they didn’t want to tear down too many walls to make it livable. They finally chose a tired but solid Roncey Victorian with original details, including a stained glass transom and a cast iron claw-foot tub. Reddington, co-owner of the firm Marion Melbourne and founder of the design blog The Marion House Book, planned a makeover that would highlight the home’s pedigree and reflect her vintage-meets-metropolitan style. She decided to sand and oil the oak floors and re-plaster and whitewash the faded yellow walls to create a neutral backdrop for her rustic decor. Many of these items were architectural reclamation finds from the Dundas West shop Post and Beam, and antiques from the St. Lawrence Market. The only room that was demolished was the kitchen, which gained a 36-inch industrial stove and an elegant Calacatta marble wall. Reddington designed a walnut shelving unit to give the room its warmth and painted one wall black for contrast. Her work on the house isn’t done; “We just flipped the dining room and living room,” Reddington says. They have a three-year-old son, Henry, and she’s redoing the guest room for baby number two. “If I live here for 20 years, it’ll be a 20-year project.”

See the before and after photos »