Personal Style
STORY MERRILYN PATTERSON
PHOTOGRAPHY JASON HARTOG
Starting a new chapter in her life, Julia Correia, Owner and Principal Designer of Julia Correia Design, bought and renovated a three-bedroom, two-storey home in Elmira.
Born in Portugal, Julia’s love of design was influenced by elaborate churches, magnificent castles, aged cobblestone paths and blue-and-white tiled facades. In her new home, her goal was to create a space where she could be herself with no compromises. Her home is unabashedly pretty and feminine.
Blue-and-white is a common element in Portuguese facades and blue is, not surprisingly, Julia’s favourite colour. Blended with a love of chinoiserie, these themes are repeated throughout her home.
Bold, whimsical nature scenes with pavilions, birds and rambling floral motifs are popular in the chinoiserie style. Birds and lush florals ramble and play on cherry blossom wallpaper in Julia’s powder room and in accent pieces elsewhere. Fretwork – carved ornamental designs – show up in furniture and on the custom-designed back panels of the kitchen island. Graphic and geometric patterns make a show in mirrors and artwork. Many of the décor pieces in the home are vintage and you can find Julia shopping for unique pieces at antique markets, secondhand stores and just about anywhere that looks like they may have interesting pieces.
When Julia bought the house, the kitchen was blocked off from the rest of the house and not at all functional. She took down the walls and opened the space. A central island was installed to allow better flow and sight lines. She chose a durable quartz countertop that mimics marble from Chervin Kitchen & Bath. Curated vignettes of chinoiserie porcelain vases, ginger jars and blue-and- white tableware, accented with sparkling crystal and natural floral displays add Julia’s warm personality to the space.
Julia’s design aesthetic dictates that “No room is ever finished without window treatments.” She advises addressing the functionality of a room first, then adding personality and softness with fabric. In the open-concept kitchen/living space, she softened the space with cream linen curtains by It’s Curtains For You, splurging on a blue geometric trim by Mary Macdonald, featuring the Greek key motif.
The furniture and décor in Julia’s home
are mainly vintage or custom. “I like to have unique pieces that you won’t find anywhere else,” she says. In some cases she has furniture professionally painted and sometimes she refreshes them herself. She painted a set of vintage chairs using Annie Sloan chalk paint from Kathie Jordan Design. Accent chairs were reupholstered by Acadian Upholstery and case goods were professionally sprayed by Riley Painting Corp. Julia says
she gravitates to “timeless designs and craftsmanship from years gone by.” She’s at home and in her element now with all of the things she loves surrounding her.
