Mixing It Up in a Century-Old Edwardian | Bedford NY Real Estate

e get to see the results of designers’ hard work for their clients here on Houzz, but we don’t often get to peek into their own homes. For interior designer Shirley Meisels, her house is a reflection of her family’s lifestyle and collections, and it also serves as a design laboratory where she can experiment with ideas and test products and materials.
“Over the years I have had the opportunity to collect various objects and furnishings that I love — since this has happened over time, my home has an eclectic, almost ‘accidental,’ feeling,” she says. In her work she strives to give her clients’ homes that same casual yet pulled-together, collected-over-time look.
Meisels and her blended family moved into this hundred-year-old Edwardian house in Toronto in early 2013. They chose it because it was the right size, it was structurally sound and it had a nice flow. It only needed a facelift, which she pushed hard to complete in six weeks. Here’s how this self-confessed “clutter nut” has chicly organized and designed the house for family life.
Houzz at a Glance Who lives here: Shirley Meisels and her blended family: her husband and his two kids, ages 9 and 11, and her daughter, 10. Location: Midtown Toronto Size: 2,850 square feet; 4 bedrooms plus office, 4 bathrooms
Photography by Stephani Buchman

Shirley Meisels

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“We love the flow of the house and that it has the perfect amount of space when we are all together, enough to feel spacious but not vast. I hate the idea of heating rooms that no one uses,” Meisels says.
She makes the space work by having a place for everything. In the entryway she insists upon a designated place to drop bags, keys, mail, coats and shoes. A custom wardrobe by Mhouse serves as a coat closet.
“At the same time I like some kind of dramatic design detail that will wow guests as they first enter — in this case the oversized mirror really has impact,” she says. A Sputnik chandelier foreshadows more retro style moves in the rest of the house.
Console table: Ikea; rug: Elte

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The home originally had transitional style, with yellow walls and oak trim. Meisels painted everything with Benjamin Moore’s Chantilly Lace, using washable flat on the walls and satin finish on the trim.
In addition to all of that painting, renovations included replacing all the flooring, cutting a window and sidelights into the front door, adding air conditioning, renovating the powder room, replacing radiators, completing a master bathroom that had been roughed in, working on the kitchen (more on that later), adding built-ins and reconfiguring closets. Later on the couple dug down and finished the basement, which took another six weeks.

Shirley Meisels

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AFTER: Through the entryway a glimpse of a wall mural by Lulie Wallace draws you into the house. “I thought that would be a fun corner to add a pop of color and pattern without overwhelming the hallway,” Meisels says.

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Just off the entryway, the living room features a beautiful bay window and fireplace. This is the old furniture and rug setup.

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Robert Paul

Robert is a realtor in Bedford NY. He has been successfully working with buyers and sellers for years. His local area of expertise includes Bedford, Pound Ridge, Armonk, Lewisboro, Chappaqua and Katonah. When you have a local real estate question please call 914-325-5758.