Simply White
STORY RACHAEL HAVENS
PHOTOGRAPHY SANDY MACKAY
“For years and years, I dreamed of having an old house,” Anne Armstrong reveals. In 2011, that dream came true. Anne has spent more than a decade making the home, built in 1881, her own. It’s located in the historic part of Barrie known as The Grove, a fitting name. Just a short walk to the lake, mature trees tower over beautiful old brick homes. Some, like Anne’s, are painted white.
White is a theme that runs throughout the house. “I’ve always loved antiques,” Anne explains. She has been painting antiques for more than a decade. “It just completely changes the look of the piece and makes things bright and fresh,” particularly when painted a distressed white, as are many pieces in Anne’s home.
“When I bought this house, the minute I walked in the front door, I knew,” she says “and I knew immediately I want ed it to be white.” Anne has been painting ever since, both her own pieces and those for clients. Painting furniture to give it a new life is what she loves to do. “It doesn’t have to be white,” she laughs, though it is certainly her favourite hue. A close second is pale blue and, lately, she has been leaning toward soft pink. She also sell s painted furniture at her store Summer House, for which she and her business partner Dale Raaphorst are currently seeking a new location.
An important design tenet has also been paring back, as inspired by the podcast Millennial Minimalists that Anne started listening to in 2020. From then on, she says “I started editing and asking myself ‘why am I keeping this if I don’t love it?’ It does something to you – you take stuff away and you breathe.”
Anne has a love affair with antique furniture and keeping only her most loved pieces has been a welcome challenge. One collection that is staying put is her bunny rabbits. They are tucked away all over the house, inconspicuously hidden everywhere, from the china cabinet to the windowsill. Anne estimates there are 30 or so and they are a delightful surprise to spot.
Many pieces have been collected over time. “I get an idea in my head and I wait patiently,” she explains, pointing to the kitchen island. Found on a Sunday morning walk around a local antique mall, it was army green with a sparkly yellow linoleum top. Anne knew it was her island. It just needed a coat or two of white paint. A farmhouse sink completes the kitchen, and a Smeg fridge remains on Anne’s list.
Anne also pulled out all the upper cupboards in the kitchen to make way for a big window looking out into the garden. “Gardening is a passion, it’s been a passion for a long time,” Anne says. It started when she was home with her first son. She took a few classes and knew she had found a calling. After years spent working in a nursery, she maintains a handful of clients. “I spend as much time as I can in the garden,” she says, whether early in the morning or in the evening.
Anne’s garden is a sanctuary, filled with everything from her favourite hydrangeas to black-eyed Susans. The daylily holds a special place in her heart, especially the Stella D’Oro, which bloom continuously. A process of trial and error has taught her tricks of the trade, like deadheading delphiniums allows them to rebloom from late summer into early fall. She has a true green thumb, even keeping a client’s roses blooming into November last year.
Anne’s two grown boys love to come home. She recalls her youngest son saying “Mom, I just love your house. It’s so warm and cosy and quiet and peaceful.” She agrees wholeheartedly. “That’s the feeling I get when I walk in – that my home is giving me a big hug.”
Music is always playing in Anne’s home. The table is set with heirloom Limoges Autumn Asters china from France. There are vases full of flowers and soft slip-covered furniture. It’s all in the details, and the details are lovely. OH
