Story Heather Wright

Photography Gordon King

A tour around Karen and Don Hnatyshin’s show-stopping Stittsville home reveals a network of luxuriously designed and decorated spaces.

There is wow factor around every corner with bold colours, prints with pizzazz and sumptuously rich accent pieces. While each space is distinct, (“not every room in your home has to look the same,” says Karen) they mesh together like pieces in a perfectly placed puzzle – a product of nearly two decades of thoughtful curation by a homeowner who is both inspired and inspiring.

*Karen’s design sensibilities have been influenced by Chinoiserie – and she loves ginger jars, both of which play a role in the formal dining room.*

With the level of detail painstakingly assigned to each item in her home, it comes as no surprise that Karen studied interior design. But what is remarkable is not just how beautiful this home is, but the patience and perseverance that Karen has dedicated in pursuit of that “perfect piece” to add to her décor.

The journey began 19 years ago, when Karen worked with Land Ark Homes to create the American Federal-style home she had envisioned. “They were amenable to making that happen, even though the rest of the neighbourhood had a very different style,” she says.

*This stately home brims with impacting curb appeal, with sitting areas and a network of gardens.*

And while this home is opulent, the secret to Karen’s luxurious style is less about purchases with high price tags and more about searching, sourcing and re-purposing key design and décor items – transformed with refreshingly down-to-earth elbow grease.

Under Karen’s trained eye, this home personifies the look of a design diva, with the heart and soul of a bargain hunter. And as any bargain hunter will tell you, the only thing better than scoring a sweet deal is sharing the story of that acquisition with others.

*“I’m inspired by the beach, and I try to emulate the feeling of being there,” says Karen, who used colour and texture in the family room to emit a beach vibe.*

“I see the vision in everything,” says Karen, who has been interviewed a number of times by local newspapers that have chronicled her shopping trips to local second-hand and thrift stores and then breathing new life and superior style into her finds.

*The influences here are beachy, with aquas and a unique beach-themed chandelier in the dining room adjacent to the kitchen.*

While her furniture pieces, accent items and décor emit a high-end patina, many have been sourced from second-hand, thrift, antique and big-box stores, Facebook Marketplace, eBay, Wayfair and through private sales. And these items are seamlessly mixed in with authentic designer pieces, like the Hermès scarf on the wall in the living room, framed locally by Walkerworks Picture Framing.

*Karen has cultivated and curated her aesthetic over 19 years, with the den being the most recent room to receive a makeover – into a sweet home office during the pandemic.*

Karen will routinely scour social media looking for inspiration and when something catches her eye, she starts the second-hand circuit to see if she can replicate the item for a fraction of the price. It’s not uncommon for her to drive to other cities to pick up or to have items shipped.

“I love colour,” says Karen and that is evident as you move from room to room. With the Florida-inspired corals in the living room, deep blues and Chinoiserie in the dining room and entry, beachy aquas in the kitchen and family room, the frequent and impacting pops of colour are delightful and different from each other. Other favourites include ginger jars and florals, which are displayed in numerous rooms.

*Bold wallpaper makes a statement in the powder room. The vanity pictured here is one of the items that Karen sourced out and re-purposed to blend seamlessly into her décor.*

The powder room has floral-print wallpaper and a rich vanity, which is one of Karen’s second-hand finds that received a new and coveted starring role in this dramatic corner of the main floor.

Upstairs, the primary bedroom is a dreamy sanctuary. “I wanted a soft, serene room with bling, but spa-like,” says Karen.

When decorating your home, the primary bedroom is an important starting point, she advises her clients and friends. “Do your bedroom first. You want a place to call your own, especially if you have children. Be good to yourself first by creating a beautiful primary suite.” And for an extra style tip, “Keep bedding white and use accents and throws for colour,” she adds.

The kitchen has gone through several iterations over the years, and while it is undeniably beautiful, its design was driven by pragmatism. It was originally a typical French country kitchen. Karen considered remodelling completely, but decided the best option was the more cost-effective one. She replaced the counters and the cabinet doors with more subtle tones, changed the fixtures and hardware (Restoration Hardware), paint (Axcell Painting) and added decadent wallpaper, which ultimately was “half the price of a new kitchen,” says Karen.

Rather than doing a full kitchen reno to re-invent the space, Karen opted for switching out counters, cabinet colours and accents, including indulging in high-end wallpaper to add elegance and richness to the décor.

Once a typical teenager’s room, her now-adult daughter’s room was re-imagined in old Hollywood glamour, with yellow and black plush linens, upholstered cabinets and furry pillows. Portraits of ingenues Lauren Bacall and Olivia de Havilland elegantly grace the walls (a nod to her daughter Olivia Lauren’s namesakes). And these photos were printed with Karen’s home computer and framed DIY-style. The stylish en suite conjures up images of a glamorous Paris hotel, but there is DIY here too with pages taken from magazines and framed. Shower rings have been spray-painted gold.

*This secondary bedroom has been gracefully done in homage to old-time Hollywood, with DIY-prints of Lauren Bacall and Olivia de Havilland done by Karen.*

Karen cites Ralph Lauren as one of her major inspirations, and that influence is seen in a number of rooms throughout this sprawling home. One area that is particularly Lauren-esque is the home-office den, which received its makeover during the pandemic. While this room is perhaps the least colourful in the home, its creams and brown hues are a definite nod to Ralph Lauren, as are the animal prints and antler chandelier. While there are a number of higher-end pieces here, you might be surprised to learn that the saddle-leather chandelier was sourced online at a fraction of the price of the original Lauren piece. The office chair that is tucked into a dining table that serves as a desk was inspired by a Ralph Lauren design that caught Karen’s eye. She sifted through a number of different fabrics, until deciding that cowhide was the perfect choice. She then went to Fleshers Upholstery to complete her vision.

*The main-floor office has equestrian influences, with horse prints and polo equipment, a nod to Ralph Lauren- one of Karen’s major influences.*

The rich layers of this design take not only incredible skill and an eye for timeless elegance, but also time to let style germinate and evolve naturally, so that adding to the aesthetic isn’t patchwork, but rather emphasizes the underlying style statement. OH

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