Retired neuropsychologist Dr. Larry Freedman in his new rental home.Jack Gifford Photography
Tucked in behind the old Imperial Oil building on St. Clair Avenue West near Avenue Road and floating high above midtown, there is change, but there is also continuity.
Twenty-five storeys up, retired “brain guy” Dr. Larry Freedman can stand at big windows and gaze upon distant tower-clusters – and there are always new ones popping up in this ever-changing city – or he can let his eyes rest on the familiar objects around him. Familiar, but different. Different because they needed to be.
“When Joy knew she was ill, you told me that she told you that you’d better work with me to get a new place,” says interior designer Shelley Kirsch as she smiles at Dr. Freedman. Behind him, sunlight pings off the windows of Imperial Plaza.
“She said, ‘Sell the house … and let Shelley make it beautiful,’” says the neuropsychologist, returning the smile.
Dr. Freedman decided against buying a small house and opted instead for a luxury rental.Jack Gifford Photography
In June, 2023, Dr. Freedman lost his wife, Joy Rosen, 65, to cancer. And when that devastating, numbing loss became distant enough to make that sort of big decision, he did. But the house on Lyndhurst Crescent was big too, about 6,000 square feet, and crammed with all manner of fine art, furniture, books, sculptures and the odd tchotchke, since, at one time, a family of five lived there. So, how to decide what to bring to a new life alone?
Some furniture remained the same while others were refreshed with new upholstery.Jack Gifford Photography
“Larry really rose to the occasion,” says Ms. Kirsch. “Most people would’ve crumbled.”
A walnut end piece with drawers was added to the existing kitchen island.Jack Gifford Photography
It helps when your designer has been with you for “decades,” adds Dr. Freedman. One who has become a trusted family friend, and therefore knows what you need, design-wise, before you do. Ms. Kirsch said she had a measuring tape at the ready the minute the good doctor decided against purchasing a small house and opted instead for a luxury rental.
Once he’d chosen which suite to call his new home, Ms. Kirsch had a draftsperson draw up a floor plan. That way she could figure out, to the millimetre, what to bring, what would need to be rejigged, and what would be relegated to storage.
Standing in the big living room, Ms. Kirsch points to a handsome wall unit sporting a checkerboard of golden walnut and whitewashed drawers. It’s populated with vases, books, framed photographs and a vintage typewriter. “The piece was able to come here intact [but] we added the upper storey because it was a credenza before,” she explains. His desk, on the far wall, had been L-shaped, so it, too, was modified to fit the new space.
Some things stayed the same, like the Kirsch-designed coffee table, a few short stools, and the pair of exquisite cane chairs from Italy’s Flexform. “In my opinion that company produces the best furniture in the world,” says Ms. Kirsch.
Other things, such as the sofa and the two smaller chairs by the window, were refreshed with new upholstery fabric. Which means that when Dr. Freedman looks around, he sees old things in a new light, a few new things and old things wearing new clothes. Not as dramatic as a phoenix rising from the ashes. Perhaps more like the design equivalent of a lotus flower rising from muddy water.
In the kitchen, which was already nicely tricked-out by the builder, Camrost Felcorp, Ms. Kirsch found storage lacking, so, with permission, she seamlessly added a walnut end piece with drawers to the existing island. To increase legroom for the counter-height stools coming from the old house, a long, projecting cap extends the full length. Ms. Kirsch also designed a rounded-top, free-standing pantry and had it fabricated.
The rental spanned 1,750 square feet, allowing plenty of space.Jack Gifford Photography
Speaking of fabrication, Ms. Kirsch asked Siggi Buhler, a man she calls “North America’s most prominent wood carver,” to create a wall sculpture for Dr. Freedman, which now hangs on the structural column beside the island. The abstract shapes in the attractive sculpture echo those on the one-of-a-kind hallway carpet, which Ms. Kirsch designed and had made by Creative Matters Inc.
Colour and pattern reign supreme in Dr. Freedman’s den. Here, silvery-blue grass cloth strikes up a conversation with the artwork it holds and with the small sofa-bed below. On the other wall, another transformation. “This was a chest of drawers in Larry and Joy’s bedroom, and I added the upper part so that we could have more storage.”
“This is my favourite little room in the house,” Dr. Freedman beams. “It’s a sanctuary.”
The principal bedroom in the 1,750-square-foot unit was big enough to accommodate the bed and night tables Ms. Kirsch had designed for the Lyndhurst house, along with the carpets underfoot and the lighting fixture overhead. And, on the wall (again with the rental building’s permission), Ms. Kirsch hung wallpaper with an ikat pattern.
Wallpaper with an ikat pattern hangs above the bed in the primary bedroom.Jack Gifford Photography
The den is Dr. Freedman's 'favourite little room' in the new rental.Jack Gifford Photography
“It’s part of the vernacular in textiles, and it originates in India,” she says. To match, the linens on the bed are block-printed in India (and purchased at Kiska Textiles). In the ensuite bathroom, Ms. Kirsch added Venetian stucco finish to add visual texture and tactility.
Twenty-five floors up and with sky and clouds as neighbours, there is, ironically, a sheltering warmth here. The reason, of course, is that an experienced designer has considered the tangibles, such as textiles, millwork, and furniture placement, but also the intangibles, such as memory, loss and healing. By mixing (and remixing) old stuff with new, Ms. Kirsch has gifted Dr. Freedman a place to write his next chapter.
“Shelley is terrific, and her professionalism is exceptional, and I respect that because I was a professional too,” says Dr. Freedman.
“It’s an emotional relationship,” finishes Ms. Kirsch, “and you have to understand where the perimeters are.”