Carolyn Gavin and her husband, Derek, were almost instantly charmed by this 1892 Victorian home’s 10-foot-high ceilings and narrow footprint — it’s only 13 feet wide. In the 14 years that the couple has lived in this Toronto, Canada, home, they have completely gutted, renovated and transformed it from the basement to the third floor. Throughout the process they’ve worked to maintain the home’s uniqueness and charm — slightly crooked floors and walls included. Derek has a great eye, and he actually designed the third floor space himself with three skylights and French doors to create an airy, light-filled oasis. Carolyn is the designer for ecojot, a stationery business she created with her family five years ago that is all designed and produced in Toronto. So it goes without saying that art and design are certainly important to the couple. They actually bought the paintings for their home before they could afford furniture. The paintings then influenced all the other choices in the house. The result is an easy, relaxed and certainly colorful style. Thank you, Carolyn! And a big thank you to Virginia Macdonald for the lovely photographs. — Amy Azzarito

Image above: The mood in the dining room is dictated by the fabulous Jeffrey Harrison painting, “Very China.” It’s 6 x 8 feet in size. My husband, Derek, chose it for my 40th birthday. It was supposed to be a surprise, and thinking I would be out of the house for a while, he and a friend went along to get the painting from the PARTS gallery near our house. They gingerly carried it all the way up our street and began measuring and figuring out where to hang it. To their surprise, I arrived home early to find them in the middle of placing it on the wall it! It was still a beautiful surprise but not the way intentionally planned! The chairs are imported from South Africa and can be purchased at Snob. I can’t resist throwing some unique African pieces into the mix, from my homeland. The chair fabric is the brightly colored fabric typically worn by the Shangaan tribal women of South Africa. I love the exotic colors and patterning!

Image above: This chair is a taller version of the dining room chairs. We have them around the kitchen island where we gather for family meals. I adore them, as they remind me of a set of Waterbuck or Kudu horns. The baskets are from South Africa, too. The chairs are called Nguni Bar Stools and are made from solid Kiaat wood with woven cord seating. The chair is actually named after the horns of the Nguni Cow.

See more of Carolyn’s Toronto home after the jump . . .

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Artist Lauren Spencer King’s work focuses on the intensity of color and detail, as expressed through watercolor and cut glass. These themes are apparent throughout her Silverlake, Los Angeles, apartment, where she’s managed to create a meaningful and artistic home — a place for her to collect and curate her favorite things. The space already had loads of character with its Art Deco details (the apartment was built in 1922), and it has only been enhanced with artwork made by her mother and grandmother. Mixed in with these treasured pieces are countless books, crystals and travel mementos. In addition to being an artist, Lauren spends her days running Spencer Studio, where she designs bespoke wedding invitations, logos, book covers and more. She sells some of her drawings on Spencer Studio’s Etsy site and also has a blog, The Sphinx & the Milky Way. Thank you Lauren, and thanks to Kate Danson for the beautiful photographs! — Shannon

Image above: I feel like this is the altar of my home. It contains all the kinds of things I hold close to my heart and that are important to me. I love books, and have collected art books from many corners of the world. This bookcase also holds the bulk of my gem and mineral collection. Above it hangs an arrangement of family photos and other special things such as a poster from one of my mum’s jewelry shows in the 70s, a drawing of me that my grandmother did on a Chanel newspaper ad, as well as a few of her mushroom paintings, and an amazing Native American pipe pouch that used to be my mum’s. I love looking at this wall and thinking about how inspired I am by the women in my family.

Image above: I love the large window in my living room!

See more of Lauren Spencer King’s Los Angeles home after the jump . . .

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Designer Megan Price (of Mr.PS) and illustrator Robert Shadbolt have lived in 4 cities, and 5 different houses over the past 5 years so they were thrilled to find this Victorian home which is walking distance from the vibrant, cultural city of Manchester, England. They bought it two years ago in an empty, neglected state, so it’s been a long, slow processes fixing it up themselves while working and running their own freelance businesses. Gradually they are making it a light, bright space and breathing new life into it with clean, simple colors, and filling it with their collections of ceramics, books and graphic ephemera. So far they’ve tackled the kitchen, main living area and one of the bedrooms, while the rest of the house remains it its original shabby chic style. Thanks Megan and Robert! –Anne

Image above: We were stuck with this fireplace when we moved in, and so I thought we’d better make a feature of it, hence the eggplant paint. It’s a great place to arrange our jugs and vases. The Ed Carpenter Pigeon Light is from Utility Design.

Image above: The bedroom is painted in skylon grey, which is calm, as surprisingly warm. The G-Plan wardrobe, chest of drawers and bedside tables were a hand-me-down wedding present from some family friends, who themselves had been given them as a wedding present 25 years previously. They were looking to update, so we were thrilled to give them a new lease of life. The woven Lloyd Loom chair we picked up at a garage sale. The previous owners had spray painted it gold, and I was planning to neutralise it, but the gold has grown on me. The curtains are Greenwich Village by Designers Guild, the printed leaves are in shades of grey, black, green and gold.

More images of Megan and Robert’s home continue after the jump!

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