This interior designer is bringing the idyll of Prince Edward County to Roncesvalles

Last summer, interior designer Kate Crothers stumbled across an image on Pinterest from the 1940s, of a Parisian woman carrying an oversized baguette and juggling six bottles of wine, that changed her life. She was struck by both the humour and the humanity the photo contained. “I thought she looked like a hardworking but stylish woman, but the comical size of the baguette indicates she doesn’t take life too seriously and enjoys simple pleasures,” Crothers says.

At the time, Crothers was living in Prince Edward County, running her interior design firm and flipping houses after moving from the city in 2019. But, ironically, something about the idyllic photo made her want to return to Toronto, to bring her sense of craftsmanship and slow living back to the city. After six years of flower foraging, picnicking and gardening in PEC, she was ready to move back to Roncesvalles, her beloved former neighbourhood, and make her long-time dream of opening a small storefront come true.

In December, she opened House of Iris, a full-service design studio meets cottagecore boutique selling antiques alongside candles, block-printed lampshades, handmade pottery, and linen and silk textiles like scarves, shirts and kitchen cloths.

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Crothers wants to carve out a space for intentional living, something that came naturally to her in PEC. “The House of Iris ethos is all about making the mundane special and getting the most out of life,” she says. In addition to selling artisanal handcrafted homewares, the store has also collaborated with the Royal Hotel in Picton to create a signature crusty baguette named the House of Iris loaf. A fresh dozen are sent to the store every Friday, always wrapped in a satin bow.

“When you visit the county, you find yourself touring roads that make you feel like you’ve stepped back in time. Being surrounded by this scenery and lasting craftsmanship ignited my desire to engage in restoration over renovation,” she says. House of Iris is a reflection of this philosophy: Crothers painstakingly revived the building’s original wood floors and re-installed vintage stained glass above the front display window. “Moving back to a rural lifestyle taught me an even greater appreciation for nature in its wild form, the study of a field or a forest, and moving through the colour palettes of every season has been the biggest influence in my design work.”

In addition to home goods and delicious carbs, Crothers is bringing that deliberate PEC slowness and sense of connection to Toronto through events such as natural dye workshops and design lectures. “Soon, we’re starting a seasonal floral program. The flowers will be grown on my farm in Ameliasburgh, and we will also be hosting a series of workshops on seasonal floral arranging, seed starting and more.”

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“I have been curating spaces for design clients for years and have had a first-hand view of how being surrounded by meaningful objects in a well-curated home can change the way people live their lives,” says Crothers. “So much time is spent doing mundane tasks in the home, and rather than moving through it on autopilot, I want to help people to connect with the art of daily living.”