Great Spaces: Inside a Leslieville painter’s Berlin-inspired studio
“My rooftop in Germany was so bright—I wanted to replicate it”
Who: Kate Hollett, a multimedia artist Where: near Dundas and Carlaw
In 2010, Kate Hollett moved from Toronto to Berlin, where she lived and worked for a decade. While overseas, she rented out the live-work Leslieville loft she’d owned for over 20 years. She also had the place renovated, redoing the floors, kitchen, bathroom and staircase as well as adding a third floor plus a rooftop deck. “I wanted it to be clean and simple and white, like my flat in Berlin,” Kate says. (The walls were formerly painted sage green, harvest yellow and hunting-coat red.) “My rooftop in Germany was so bright—I wanted to replicate it.”
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Kate returned to Toronto in January of 2020, and when the pandemic hit, she already had a fantastic shelter-and-work-in-place set-up ready. Gallerywhite walls are a perfect backdrop to showcase Kate’s vibrant paintings. She divides her time between the rooftop, where she sprays and stretches canvases, and the main dining area downstairs, where she paints using acrylics.
For Kate, her live-work space is the best place to be. “I pop up to the roof several times a day,” she says. “I drink a latte, sketch ideas and listen to the sounds of the city.”
Iris Benaroia is a contributing writer to Toronto Life with a focus on interior design and lifestyle. Her stories also appear in House & Home, Style at Home, the National Post, Maclean’s, Elle Gourmet and HGTV.
