After living in her 1890s Toronto house for nearly 30 years, illustrator Jamie Bennett decided it was finally time to make her dream home. She and her husband, Alex Wittholz, creative director at Helios Design Labs, enlisted the assistance of Toronto interior designer Mazen El-Abdallah after gushing on the transformation that he did of Wittholz’s brother’s house.
The three of them took walls down, inserted a rear addition with a wood-burning fireplace and drew on Bennett and Wittholz’s design wallpapers to make an interior that incorporates bright colours, eye-popping graphics and smart patterns.
in a Glance
Who lives here: Alex Wittholz, Jamie Bennett and their son, Felix
Location: Downtown Toronto
Size: 1,800 square feet
; 3 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms plus a studio
Andrew Snow Photography
Bennett originally purchased the brick townhouse with a buddy in 1984; she and Wittholz purchased the friend out after they got married. Their latest renovation maintained the majority of the street-facing facade. They replaced only the doorway, landscaping and windows.
Andrew Snow Photography
The back facade, on the other hand, was changed immensely. A uniform wall of charcoal-stained bamboo planks frames two large expanses of glass behind which lie the primary living area and the upstairs main bedroom.
A low-maintenance garden allows the household to spend more time relaxing outside than performing maintenance.
Andrew Snow Photography
At the primary living area, the floor-to-ceiling sliding glass doors assist flooding the house in western sunshine every afternoon. Bennett’s father was a sign painter, and her love for hammering and typography shows in almost every room. She and Wittholz purchased the classic Chicago store signal in the Toronto flea market.
The home includes a mix-and-match decorative, with quirky finds, classic furniture and modern pieces. By way of example, an industrial cupboard and tree stump stools set together with midcentury icons from Eames and George Nelson here.
Mats: Strong Teak Stool, EQ3; side chair: Eames Plastic Swivel; java table: Nelson Platform Bench, Herman Miller
Andrew Snow Photography
Stained cedar planks like those used on the back exterior make up this accent wall and fireplace surround. A classic taxidermy deer head in the 1950s awarded to Bennett by a buddy hangs over a statue from Southeast Asia, where Wittholz lived as a kid.
Andrew Snow Photography
For your kitchen El-Abdallah made a storage system that includes Ikea cabinets for pantry items and a concrete-capped stone hearth below that holds logs to your wood-burning fireplace. To the right of that, joists salvaged in the renovation today make up open shelving for books.
Butcher block and stainless steel counters top grey lacquer cabinets from Ikea.
Andrew Snow Photography
The kitchen sits in the heart of the main floor. (Wittholz is an avid cook) The couple decided not to install upper cupboards to keep the room open. The double-sided island and Ikea pantry provide lots of storage.
Andrew Snow Photography
Andrew Snow Photography
Vintage drafting stools line the butcher block peninsula. A row of pastel-hued ceramic bowls sits atop the pantry.
Andrew Snow Photography
Dark slate tile defines the living and kitchen space, while white walnut hardwood clads the front half of the house. Bennett and Wittholz completed the floor themselves with a lye and white oil treatment according to a Scandinavian process.
Andrew Snow Photography
A classic eight-person tanker table, originally utilized in a financial institution boardroom, anchors the dining space, which links to a small living space just inside the front door.
The household leaves messages on a chalkboard that also shows a growing collection of photo-booth strips, which they have used for household portraits because Felix was born.
Andrew Snow Photography
The small living room includes a coffee table on casters, a charcoal sofa bed from Ligne Roset plus a wall-mounted floating screen shelf.
Andrew Snow Photography
A jolting blue wall and also a painting by Bennett welcomes the household each morning as they make their way downstairs.
Andrew Snow Photography
The exact same white oak on the ground forms the open-tread staircase, with painted steel stringers and handrails.
Bennett’s most important desire for the renovation was for more mild, therefore glass guards allow light from the skylight to reach the ground floor.
Andrew Snow Photography
Multiple wood types mix in Bennett’s home office at the peak of the staircase. In addition to the white oak floors, repurposed joists salvaged from the renovation hold books, figures and other items. Butcher block on altered Ikea cabinets transitions in the desk to the counter and window seat.
Chair: Panton Chair Classic, Vitra
Andrew Snow Photography
The primary wall of the workplace is home to an range of pieces sourced from many places. Collected over time and grouped together, they form a cohesive gallery that arouses Bennett while she’s working.
Andrew Snow Photography
Bennett generates all her illustrations in this classic drawing desk. A portrait of this illustrator, performed by her dad, hangs to the left.
Andrew Snow Photography
A large skylight illuminates a small market near, in which a painted wooden turtle is paired with a bold-colored road sign.
Andrew Snow Photography
The primary bathroom combines dark stone floors, the house’s first claw-foot bathtub and crisp white subway tiles. Preserving the bathtub was an important consideration for your family, because it is a visual reference to this history of the home.
Andrew Snow Photography
Day sunlight spills into the primary bedroom. The tones of fading golden light and plentiful greenery are echoed in the color choices. Striped bed linens, a bright green rug and classic paint-by-number canine paintings increase the merry and restful feeling.
Andrew Snow Photography
A floating countertop and classic Panton chair make up Bennett’s dressing area.
jamie-bennett. squarespace.com
This illustration by Bennett depicts the household.
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