Powder room too close to the dining area? Throw up a partition. Living room in need of a refresh? Paint a wall blue. Built-in desk in the wrong place? Rethink that use of space.
For Toronto homeowner Miranda Caldwell and her husband Jeff Heckbert, making a house homey is all about making it work for you. And that sometimes means trial and error. “One hundred per cent!” agrees Caldwell.
“I’m not afraid to make mistakes — it’s an ever-evolving process!” But the DIYer keeps it light, describing projects in her century-old semi as “playtime.” When she and Heckbert bought the two-storey house in 2019, it “felt solid” having already undergone a builder-grade renovation, says Caldwell. However, in a previous life, it was inhabited by raccoons and “one of the worst-kept houses on the block.
” The couple approached their 1,500-square-foot living space, which they share with pet pooch, Cayman, as a “blank canvas” to infuse with style and personality, says Caldwell, a realtor who documents her home improvement projects and . Heckbert, a carpenter and furniture-maker whose business name is , has made a number of built-ins and pieces for their house. Admittedly, not all the homeowners’ ideas are winners.
The room with the wall-to-wall desk, for instance, proved unsuitable for a home office. So now they use a smaller desk in the living room, with plans to repurpose the old office as a mud room. “We’re happy with our space now, but in all honesty it’s ta.
