Most of the home tours you see featured here are born out of one picture; one picture that tugged a heart string. This time it was this beautiful bedroom, and boy, was I eager to see more.
Welcome to the home of Wendy, who delights us with squares of her home on Instagram at @thekwendyhome. The Instagram handle is an amalgamation of Wendy and her husband’s name. Wendy is a flight attendant by profession.
Location: Toronto, Canada
Size:1770 sq ft
Years lived in: Less than six month
Design aesthetic: a combination of eclectic, bohemian, and mid-century
There are two things that she said that make this home even more beautiful: 1) hospitality is at the center of it, and 2) there are many things you can change about a home, but not its location or natural light. Now, that’s wisdom. For all of you who ask , what you should keep in mind when buying a home, your answer is right there.
It’s not just how a home looks, it’s how it is decorated to make someone feel. And you can seldom go wrong, when it is designed with hospitality in mind. On that note, over to Wendy as she takes us through the home.
Kindly describe your home. How did you decide on this house?
We bought this house because it was in a good neighborhood close to my family and this house gets a ton of natural light. What they say is true, buy a house for things you can’t change like its’ location and light. You can always change what you don’t like about it, but you can’t make you commute shorter or have the sun shine a different angle.
This house was built in the 70’s and we were looking for a fixer upper that we could gut. So I would describe this house as very us. Nothing is original save for the sun room’s structure. I think everything has been redone and redesigned.
What’s your decorating style?
My last house was very farmhouse because of budget restraints. I did a lot of second hand shopping and thrift shopping, and this has influenced how I designed this house. I do a lot of thrifting and collect a lot of items from my travels from work and when we go on vacation. The current house can be described eclectic, a little Bohemian, a little mid-century as a result.
Kitchen advice given that it is a white kitchen — how is it working out? How do you keep it organized?
This is my second white kitchen thus far and I love it. I think it’s less maintenance then people might think and if I see anything on it I wipe it right away. I find dark cabinets show more oil stains. One thing I do recommend for a white kitchen is to use real wood cabinets because I’ve seen white laminate yellow due to sun exposure in less than a year.
My kitchen is open concept to the entire main floor so I have to keep the surfaces free except for some decor and plant items. I also designed the kitchen with more drawers so that the storage will be better utilized. I find that cabinets prevent you from using the space behind and so drawers help because you pull the entire unit out.
To make sure the white kitchen isn’t too sterile, I had warm wooden open shelves installed and styled it with beautiful everyday items. When styling open shelves, it is important to place useful items that will be utilized regularly and it’ll double as decor if it they are beautiful pieces.
One item that you have indulged on.
One item I have indulged in is the dining table we bought for this home. My first dining set was bought third hand and I repainted all the table and chairs. I collected six different chairs from garage sales, off the side of the road and second hand from family. It was very very economical but in this house we decided to purchase a beautiful table. As you can imagine it felt like such a splurge after paying less than $100 Canadian for the entire set. My husband urged me to pick something substantial for the new house because it’ll last us a lifetime. It is a beautiful warm wooden piece that is made of reclaim wood from India. I cannot be happier with it.
Is that wallpaper on the stair and behind the master bedroom. That’s lovely. Where is it from?
The wallpaper in the stairwell is an Etsy (an online collection of independent makers) purchase and the “wallpaper” in the master bedroom is actually a stencil. It took a few days and a lot of eyestrain to make that feature wall. I used water based sharpies to complete this project.
A proud DIY moment.
The stencil feature wall in the master bedroom is the biggest impact diy in this house but I think I’m most proud of the fireplace I refaced on my own. I didn’t like the raw red brick and decided to smear speckle over it to give it that distressed European look.
This is a simple DIY thrift idea for finding affordable art. Don’t trash those calendars. Instead frame them to make a gallery wall. Here you have one for places around the world that also makes the bathroom interesting, don’t you think? I also loved it when Wendy had this on the staircase landing in her previous home.
What are the things you love about the home?
One of my favorite structural things about my home is the sun room. It is a crowd-pleaser and people always gravitate towards it because of the plants and cozy twinkle lights. I love it especially when it rains and we sit there to talk and to read with a cup of tea.
I also love the fact that my home is very casual, cozy and comfortable. I want everyone who enters and sees photographs of this place to know that they are welcome.I designed this home with hospitality in mind and that’s what I love about this home!
A few pictures from Wendy’s previous home I absolutely adore:
A thrift find you are proud of.
My best score is a little mid century modern side table I found at the side of the road when I was a teenager. It was free and has followed me everywhere since! I have a lot of furniture that use to live in my childhood home and I can name them all. Thirfting has definitely changed in recent years because it has become so popular. I use to be able to just take a walk in my neighborhood and find really great stuff!
Your favorite shopping destination for furniture.
I love shopping online and with the help of bloggers and other Instagram friends I can do pretty good research on comfort and durability. I have used Wayfair extensively for furniture and lighting fixtures in this current home. My personal favorite furniture purchase is the Article Sven couch I got online. Ikea also has to be mentioned for some really good staple pieces like our two bed frames. I’m a millennial, what can I say?
Key takeaways:
Frame art from old calendar to make a gallery wall.
Invest in real wood for a white kitchen instead of laminates.
When buying a house, focus on its location and the amount of natural light it receives.
To decorate on a budget, look for thrift items.
I must also add that this is the quickest turnaround I have had for a home tour in all these years of blogging. Thank you Wendy for welcoming us in.
