Matthew House is small, downtown Toronto shelter that welcomes newly arrived refugees from all over the globe, offering safe haven and a new beginning. It's truly an amazing place.
As a physical space, Matthew House is a semi-detached dwelling that has seen better days. Always at capacity with 12 refugee residents, it often has more people during mealtimes, when volunteers help out and former residents visit. The cramped living and dining room are action central, but years of wear and tear and a hodge-podge of worn-out furniture made the space look drab.
The goal of the small staff is to offer the residents of Matthew House peace and hope, and restored dignity. So I wanted to make this welcoming place look as special as it is.
I kicked off the makeover by knocking down a wall in the dining room to expand the space. Worn-out flooring was ripped up; recessed and track lighting put in, a sleek stainless steel gas fireplace was installed at the perfect height to enjoy from anywhere in the space, and the walls painted a warm creamy shade to lighten and brighten.
When people come from turmoil and uncertainty it's important that a space have a feeling of permanence and stability, so I started with a hard-wearing vinyl floor that looks just like century-old, reclaimed wood … kind of like it's been here forever. Around the fireplace, I placed a timeless wall of natural stacked stone.
I packed a lot of seating and function into the small living room. At the front, I tucked a brown velvet, tufted-back settee into the bay window and placed a small, round, dark wood table by the fireplace. With distressed leather club chairs, some cute little Louis chairs, and two tall bookcases, the area is perfect for reading, homework and quiet conversations. Further down the narrow room, a super long, spoon-back sofa sits across from a flat screen TV mounted on the wall above an antiqued blue console with lots of storage for toys, games and DVDs.
This is no ordinary family that gathers at mealtimes. So, with the wall gone, I was able to bring in a fabulous 80-inch round, dark wood pedestal table, and enough wasabi green leather chairs to comfortably seat 12 to 16 people. A large mirror on the blue accent wall expands the space, and since the residents of Matthew House have a whole new world to get to know, we hung a huge, framed map of Toronto to help give them the lay of the land.
All the windows received a simple treatment of ivory vinyl shades and ready-made ivory damask drapery panels that we customized by adding a band of blue linen. And to really punch up the rich, dark colours of the eclectic mix of furnishings, I filled the whole space with pillows, throws, dishes and serving platters with lots of great splashes of colour.
Lighting added a wow factor, from the spectacular crystal chandelier in the dining room to the sconces flanking the television. The smaller chandelier in the front window was installed as a beacon of hope to light the way.
Matthew House deserved a new beginning. So with lots of inspiration from caring and compassionate people, and an eclectic mix of new elements, we made a warm and welcoming place to call home. Now that's divine!
To see where Candice shopped for Matthew House (matthewhouse.ca), you can find the resource guide at www.divinedesign.tv