What do you get when two creatives and friends collaborate on a home’s interior? A “million texts,” hundreds of decisions and a crisp, clean-lined contemporary family home within an Edwardian façade. When photographer Jenna Wakani and her husband purchased a circa 1910 duplex in west Toronto, her first call was to close friend, architect Deborah Wang. “She asked me to see the house before they bought it so we could evaluate its potential together,” Wang says.
“As a photographer, I stare at images all day and a white backdrop at home is a necessary respite,” Wakani says. Her husband works from home and loves to cook for Wakani and their two children. The kitchen had to do much of the home’s heavy lifting while visually receding against the adjacent family room. Wang designed an oversized 8.5-foot by 6.5-foot island to accommodate a cooktop, sink, plenty of storage and seating so the whole family can face one another during meal prep.
Retailers and restaurants have taken notice. “I love where my work has landed,” she says, listing collaborations with Toronto-based homeware retailer Elte and online ceramic destination Vessels + Sticks. She’s also had inquiries from noted Canadian and American chefs looking for unique, artisanal serving dishes. “The idea of serving their art on my art is exciting,” she says.Stylish, affordable lighting is hard to find.
Despite the growth, Rondeau remains rooted in her community. In 2019, she and her husband bought an old grocery store in Cowansville and filled its 55,000 square feet with a Luminare Authentik factory, a café and space for other design businesses to set up showrooms. In 2022, she launched the brand’s latest must-have, a collection of contemporary exterior lights that are “a minimalist Scandinavian aesthetic but Quebec-proof,” she says of how they respond to her province’s varied weather.
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