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How one couple transformed a Thornbury schoolhouse into a moody-chic abode

Built in 1873, the property features 20-foot ceilings, hefty ceiling beams and a half-acre overlooking a pond

By Iris Benaroia| Photography by Brett Williams
How one couple transformed a Thornbury schoolhouse into a moody-chic abode

Who: Bret Williams, a product and lighting designer, and Julian Lo, finance director at a lighting company Where: Thornbury Year built: 1873


In 2018, Bret Williams and her husband, Julian Lo, bought a loft in Mimico. But Bret never felt entirely at home there—it was too sleek, too white. She favoured moody homes with eclectic yet traditional vibes. Her dream was to live in a converted church or schoolhouse, maybe in her hometown of Thornbury.

When Bret couldn’t find suitable flush-mount lights for the condo, she designed her own, and her business, Huey Lightshop, was born. She hand-makes lighting in fanciful shapes like scallops, pleats and hourglasses. By 2021, with business picking up, the condo felt smaller than ever. So the couple sold it and rented a cottage in Thornbury while planning their next move. Related: This converted Wellington County schoolhouse is a wood-filled oasis

In 2022, Bret viewed a converted schoolhouse with 20-foot ceilings and hefty ceiling beams. The wood building sat on a bucolic half-acre overlooking a pond. She loved its charm and put in an offer hours after her viewing. The structure was solid, but the conventional interior felt too pedestrian for the designer. The couple gutted the space, removing mouldy carpets, redoing the layout to carve out three bedrooms in the loft, and replacing the lath-and-plaster walls with drywall.

Bret and Julian love their new lifestyle. “There are hip little restaurants, whiskey bars, coffee shops and an amazing school system,” says Bret.

Bret designed most of the furniture in the house, including the oval art piece, which serves as a TV cabinet. “The TV is the first thing you see when you walk in, so I wanted to disguise it,” she says. She also designed the waffled credenza below.
Bret designed most of the furniture in the house, including the oval art piece, which serves as a TV cabinet. “The TV is the first thing you see when you walk in, so I wanted to disguise it,” she says. She also designed the waffled credenza below.
The schoolhouse ran until the 1970s. “People who went to school here stop by to see inside and reminisce,” says Bret.
The schoolhouse ran until the 1970s. “People who went to school here stop by to see inside and reminisce,” says Bret.
The kitchen island is topped with Calacatta marble.
The kitchen island is topped with Calacatta marble.
How one couple transformed a Thornbury schoolhouse into a moody-chic abode
Bret sourced this limestone sink from Etsy. The vanity is from the Round Top Antiques Fair in Texas.
Bret sourced this limestone sink from Etsy. The vanity is from the Round Top Antiques Fair in Texas.
How one couple transformed a Thornbury schoolhouse into a moody-chic abode

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