My Place
Happy Home
BY Alex Laws March 26, 2008 14:03
WHO: Farah and Martin Perelmuter, both 38, co-founders of Speakers’ Spotlight, a company that specializes in supplying public speakers for events (for more information, see www.speakers.ca); their daughter Jade, 7; son Cole, 5; cats Angel, 10, and Asha, 8.
WHAT: A 3,400-square-foot art deco–style three-bedroom-plus-den single-family detached home at Avenue and Lawrence. The large, creatively conceived home features an entrance hall with an 18-foot ceiling and mezzanine level, an open-plan main living area and sunken lounge, an eat-in kitchen/family room and a kids’ area in the basement, complete with homemade stage and blackboard backdrop for drawn-on scene changes.
THE STORY: Stepping into the Perelmuters’ entrance hall you are bowled over by the grand scale of the house. The openness and immediately visible Asian influence make you feel that you could’ve been transported to a boutique hotel in Indonesia. Indeed, the couple fell in love with that part of the world while backpacking before they were married. (It’s no coincidence that their daughter is named Jade.) They were so struck by the philosophy of happiness they experienced there, they’ve surrounded themselves with reminders of their travels. Heavy wooden and cast-iron Chinese temple doors hang decoratively at the entrance to the basement and to the right of the front door you are welcomed by an enormous metallic hanging of the praying Buddha, which came from Kuda (340 Dufferin, www.kudafurniture.com), as did many other focal points, such as the two chairs made from dismantled Indian camel carts in front of the living room window. “My whole house came from Kuda and Winners!” says Farah with a laugh. “You can get a lot without spending a fortune.”
625 Church St, 6th Floor, Toronto M4Y 2G1
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