Designer Lori Morris's home livable luxury

Designer Lori Morris doesn't take sides: she sees beauty and merit in luxurious traditional styles of decorating, and yet she appreciates just as intensely the sleek glamour of a clean-lined modern room. Her portfolio indicates that she is proficient in either look. Still, when it came to designing her own Toronto townhouse she went traditional: specifically, the lush, detail-rich tradition of elegant French Country. “I'm surrounded by beautiful things in my work,” she explains in the downtown office of Lori Morris Designs, which, to be sure, is crowded to the rafters with an eclectic collection of impressive furniture and fine objets. “It's all inspiring to me. So I want to be around that at home too. It's my comfort zone.”

In the lakefront residence of Morris and her partner, Jeremy Tumber, owner of Asti's Limousine Service, the designer used the building's old brick, slate and limestone, and the old world, European look of the architecture as a springboard for a brand of French Country she deems sophisticated enough to work for city living. It includes formal antiques, oversized furnishings for comfort and livability, and a mix of textures and patterns – florals and soft prints with suedes and leathers – that create an easy informality.

For example, a “Monet-inspired garden chenille” fabric on the large, comfortable living room sofa is dotted invitingly with plush cushions in a sporty fishing motif; an antique wingback bergère with needlepoint front and striped velvet back is paired casually with a deep leather armchair. A “crusty, old” coffee table with hand-painted iron base, carved-wood apron and fossil-stone top and an ornately carved eight-foot-high mirror are conversation pieces, which “every room should have,” Morris states. “The interior architecture and millwork set the tone of a space. But then you can't just put in a sofa,” she says. “There have to be paintings, or accessories that are individual and personal. Everything has to be interesting – and beautiful.”

NOT SHOWN: An antique French Country table and buffet, with antique Persian rug, create a formal space for dining. The sterling silver and marble Tiffany clock was an auction find. The floral painting is by Canadian artist Michael Reeves.