Grafton, Ontario is a sweet, well-maintained hamlet just east of Toronto. It doesn’t necessarily have a signature architectural style, so many homes are beautiful but unassuming. For designer Barbara Wigmore and her clients, it was all about creating that “wow factor” the moment you walked in the front door of their ‘90s bungalow.

Her clients both work in real estate, and the wife had actually shown this property to potential buyers back in 2017. She drove by in 2019 and it appeared to be vacant—the yard was overgrown and neglected, but she remembered the property’s sheer potential. The couple closed on the house in January 2020 with plans to renovate and move in by the end of March 2020. Obviously, that timeline shifted a bit with the lockdown and impending supply chain issues. Luckily, Wigmore was at the ready to keep things running as efficiently as possible, and the end result is a stunner. 

“To me a house is all about the personality of the individuals living there,” she shares. “My clients have a great personal style and over the top energy. However-they ran out of steam when the pandemic hit. When they hired me, they weren’t throwing in the towel…they just needed someone to point them in the right direction and help realize their vision.”

The house is modern with a sprinkle of classic details. “From the moment you walk in the front door, there’s a clear connection between the spaces,” Wigmore says. “I wanted all the rooms to feel layered, textured, and comfortable. When I proposed a neutral palette of whites, beiges, blacks and touches of amber, my client was on board with the direction.” With the exception of the dining room, the house is painted top to bottom in Benjamin Moore’s Chantilly Lace, the perfect canvas to highlight their which contemporary art collection.

In the slideshow, the designer walks us through the space, sharing details that the homeowners love. “She walked through the door and cried…he had the biggest grin on his face,” she recalls. “Despite the stress of the reno, it was finally a place that they were proud of. A place that they can relax in and able to say, we really love our house.”