How the Traditional Layout of This 1930s Toronto Home Was Made to Work for Modern Family Life – 'We Embraced the Intimacy'

When renovating an old home, there is often an important decision to make right at the start: do you keep the original layout intact or modernize it with open-plan living? For this charming 1930s family home in Rosedale, Toronto, it was the former. Lovingly restored by interior designer Cynthia Ferguson, the traditional layout provided the starting point to work with, not against.

'We deliberately retained the existing walls and the home’s traditional sequence of rooms,' Cynthia explains. 'The family wasn’t looking to impose a completely new identity on the house; they wanted to uncover its character, restore its architectural integrity, and bring it back to its original glory.'

Home to a family of four, including two young girls, functionality was crucial. Not only was this to be a home full of color with nods to English cottage style, but it also needed to seamlessly respond to the needs of daily life. 'We wanted the rooms to support both the rhythms of everyday family life and the pleasure of entertaining,' Cynthia tells Homes & Gardens. 'The house needed to feel welcoming and comfortable – beautiful enough to inspire, but relaxed enough that everyone could truly enjoy it.'

And while the open flow of modern homes can easily have you think a more traditional closed-concept layout is outdated, this home proves the opposite. A hardworking kitchen of humble size adjoins a separate dining room, while the living room has its own identity. 'The original floor plan naturally creates rooms with distinct purposes and moods,' says Cynthia. 'Rather than opening everything up, we embraced that intimacy.'

'It was never about imposing a new identity on the house; it was about revealing its best self, restoring its beauty, and preparing it for its next chapter,' Cynthia says.

Restoring an old property isn't without its challenges. 'Every modern requirement – from updated building systems to storage and the practical needs of a young family – had to be thoughtfully integrated within the original footprint,' Cynthia explains. 'We couldn’t simply move walls whenever a space presented a challenge; we had to find more imaginative solutions.' One such challenge was finding space for a powder room downstairs – which was cleverly created from an existing cupboard space.

Another important early step in the restoration process was adding back architectural features that had been previously removed. 'The crown moldings and trim had been replaced with profiles that weren’t sympathetic to the period, the walls had been covered in stucco and were missing their decorative moldings, and the fireplaces had been changed,' Cynthia says. 'Our goal was to reintroduce elements that felt appropriate to a house built in 1930 – not to create a rigid historical reproduction, but to restore the sense of craftsmanship, proportion, and permanence that had been lost. We reinstated more substantial crown moldings, trim, and wall detailing, and reconsidered the fireplaces so they would once again feel like natural architectural anchors within the rooms.'

When it came to the decor, the goal was for each room to feel 'layered and collected rather than newly decorated all at once,' Cynthia recalls. To realize this vision, the designer turned to playful but traditional color ideas, antiques, and decorating with patterns, all of which were intended to feel sympathetic to the home's historic architectural style.

'There are elements of classic English country – the layered patterns, antique rugs, rich color, natural materials, and mix of old and new – but the result feels more urban and tailored,' the designer explains. 'Sculptural contemporary lighting and art create a lively tension with the traditional millwork, marble, leaded glass, vintage furniture, and antique finds.'

'We wanted the house to feel warm, joyful, and deeply personal – the kind of home that immediately puts people at ease,' she adds. 'Although the interiors are layered and thoughtfully detailed, they were never intended to feel formal or precious.'

'Above all, the house was designed to feel accumulated rather than decorated,' Cynthia notes. 'Nothing is overly matched or tied to a single period. It is romantic, individual, and slightly eccentric, with the warmth and character of a home that has evolved naturally over time.'

True to the heart of the restoration, the entryway sets the tone with Farrow & Ball's 'Minster Green'. 'The vestibule may be a small, transitional space, but its deep green palette, leaded glass, and jewel-like atmosphere create a memorable first impression,' Cynthia says. 'It signals immediately that this is a house with history, confidence, and a playful point of view.'

'We added leaded-glass doors to the closet, creating a beautiful dialogue with the home’s period character,' Cynthia adds. 'We also sourced and reintroduced period-appropriate door hardware wherever the original pieces had disappeared. Details such as glass knobs, aged metalwork, moldings, and leaded glass may seem small individually, but together they restore the rhythm and soul of an older home. The intention was for these additions to feel as though they had always belonged there.'

The living room is softer, but just as impactful. The delicate pink paint pairs effortlessly with the vintage decor. 'The color is romantic but not overly precious, and the room still feels sophisticated, comfortable, and wonderfully relaxed,' the designer says.

The decor is layered and eclectic, from the vintage chandelier to the patterned drapery fabric by McLaurin & Piercy. 'Nothing in it was forced; it came together naturally, which I think is why it feels so effortless,' Cynthia adds. 'The blend of color, pattern, traditional architecture, and more contemporary elements gives it a personality entirely its own.'

'Vintage furnishings were fundamental to the character of the house,' she continues. 'The clients already owned the majority of their furniture and were committed to using it in their new home. Fortunately, they have wonderful taste, and I genuinely loved what they had collected. Rather than starting over, we moved a few pieces between rooms and added surprisingly little.'

The dining room was modernized so that it wasn't just a place for entertaining, but a space for the family to enjoy meals together each day. Rather than anything too formal, the decor feels relaxed and welcoming, starting with the modern, large-scale wallpaper.

'The clients already owned all of the furniture, yet once it was placed against the oversized wallpaper and paired with the vintage light fixtures, everything looked as though it had been planned together from the beginning,' Cynthia says.

The dining room color scheme is an example of how intentional the color choices were throughout the home. 'Our aim was never to select colors in isolation,' she explains. 'We considered how one room would be glimpsed from another and how the palette would unfold as the family moved through the house.'

Next to the dining room is the kitchen, a room that offers function and charm in equal measure. Although it's not an expansive space, it includes a kitchen island where breakfast can be enjoyed.

A neutral color scheme gives the space a timeless, calm feel against the richer color palettes elsewhere in the home. 'The kitchen is quieter and more grounded, allowing the oxblood-and-cream checkerboard tile, natural wood, and brass details to become the focus,' Cynthia explains.

And although this color scheme is more understated, plenty of thought went into choosing the best neutral paints. 'Rather than relying on one neutral carried from room to room, we chose nuanced shades that respond to the architecture, natural light, and intended mood of each space,' she says.

While the majority of the home's original layout remained intact throughout the restoration, a new purpose was needed for an underused, long room behind the kitchen and dining room. 'We divided and repurposed this area: the portion behind the kitchen became a pantry, while the section behind the dining room became a sitting room with doors opening onto the back deck,' Cynthia explains. 'This gave the family significantly more utility while also bringing additional natural light into the dining room.'

The pantry provides ample storage space for practical items, while it feels like an extension of the kitchen with the same paint shade, Farrow & Ball's 'Old White', throughout.

Since the home was without a powder room when Cynthia embarked on the project, some creative thinking was needed to find space for one. 'We borrowed a small amount of space from the kitchen and converted an existing closet, creating a much-needed amenity without significantly disrupting the original floor plan,' she explains.

Given its small proportions, it provided an opportunity to have fun with color and pattern. 'Working within that very limited space required careful planning, but the constraint ultimately produced something far more memorable,' she says.

Upstairs, the girls' bathroom is filled with pops of uplifting color, turning what can so often be a purely functional room into one that sparks joy.

The main bedroom takes on a much moodier feel than the rooms downstairs. The walls are coated with a hushed blue paint, 'Angel's Wings' by Benjamin Moore, while the richer 'Three-Piece-Suit' brings architectural depth to the trim and ceiling. The fabrics echo the theme of blue, while a pop of yellow on the bed adds interest.

The bedroom color palette speaks to Cynthia's summary of the whole home's color palette: 'rich but not loud, and playful without feeling youthful.'

In the main bathroom upstairs, a sophisticated, equally moody dark red-brown leads the way. Paired with brass hardware and timeless off-white walls, it has been designed to feel elevated yet understated.

In an era of trend fatigue, homes that feel truly personal are more important than ever, and that's exactly what this one is. 'It doesn’t look newly decorated or as though everything arrived at once; it feels layered, personal, and shaped by the family who lives there,' Cynthia reflects.

'The house is not a showpiece,' she adds. 'It is the setting for busy mornings, homework at the dining table, quiet reading, shared meals, celebrations, and all the ordinary moments that eventually become a family’s memories.'

There's also a lesson to take from this home on the often overlooked value of smaller, closed-concept layouts. 'Today, houses can be so large that entire spaces are rarely used, but this project is a lovely reminder that we don’t necessarily need more space; we need space that works harder and feels meaningful,' says Cynthia.

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