obi Fairley
remodeled her twostorey, 2,500
sq. ft. home with a desire to create
a gracious living space for her
husband and daughter. She also
wanted well-groomed rooms to
entertain in — especially during
the holidays.
“The first thing I do is select the
upholstery and the one fabric
pattern in a room that will be
dominant. It could be a fabric
with the boldest or the biggest
pattern,” Tobi observes. For a
pattern palette that works, Tobi
advises using varying scales of
patterns “or they will fight each
other.” Tobi chooses her floor
coverings last. “It should definitely
coordinate with the colours and
patterns in the room, but it should
be more subtle. You don’t want to
constantly draw the eye down to
the floor.”
Tobi’s entry hall gives visitors
an exuberant welcome. On the
hall’s right hand side is a gracious
staircase. Its wood detailing is
outfitted in crisp white paint that
frames the oversized white and
black toile wallpaper. “I added the
moulding under each riser to give
it some architectural interest,” Tobi
notes. She and her husband chose
the 1970s era home because it
was “built with care and a lot of
detail.”
“When I design a home, I like to
have the rooms flow well and a
good colour story is one way to
do that.” In these rooms, green is a
fresh, vibrant accent colour. “The
inspiration for the living room was
the gorgeous green wing chairs,”
Tobi comments. The living room,
on the entry hall’s left side, blends
traditional with contemporary
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