Name: Angelique Lalonde, Catherine Lalonde, Jessica Ziakin
Location: East Burnside, Victoria, British Columbia, Canada
Size: 3 Bedrooms
Years lived in: 3 years rented
Our friend and photographer Phillip was recently in Victoria, B.C. visiting his friend Angelique. During his stay he learned that the landlord was selling the house and that Angelique, her sister Catherine and roommate Jessica would soon have to move out and find new homes. Phillip -- who has always loved the place for its charming, homey feel and the wonderful times he's spent in it -- decided to document it, so he could always revisit his dear friend's former home, and so he could share it with you.
This house tour is not like most because Angelique did not prepare and clean her home for it to be showcased. What you see is her home, in its natural state, which is fitting for her free-spirited personality and lifestyle. While not a modern showcase home, Angelique's former abode (they moved out on September 1) is a family home -- a place where all four Lalonde sisters lived in at one time in their lives, a place their mother came to stay for visits, a place where two dogs (John Black and Jobe) and one cat (Mortimer) co-existed and were friends, a place in which babies were born and a roommate/friend was married. An artist and part time yoga teacher who is getting a Ph.D. in anthropology, Angelique is more off-the-grid than connected, and definitely more country than city slicker (her dream is to live on a farm). Cool and vibrant blues and greens dominate her home's color palate, which makes sense for a nature lover. Her surroundings, like her, are whimsical, mysterious and alluring, yet welcoming and not contrived.
AT Survey:
My/Our style: Eclectic Overgrown
Inspiration: Light, time, things that draw the interior attention in the exterior world
Favorite Element: Charm verging on dilapidation and the fact that this allows me to hang drawings and paintings pretty much wherever I want.
Biggest Challenge: The tension between things, consumption and space and the relationships things mediate/express/create, the line between the weight of things and the comforts they create
What Friends Say: You have a lot of things, your plants are amazing.
Biggest Embarrassment: The gross stained carpet in the basement used to be embarrassing, but it’s gone now.
Proudest DIY: I think my sister did an amazing job turning a disgusting basement room with fluorescent bar lights, a tiny barred window, and a stained carpet (we won’t go into details) into a livable space: re-wiring, painting, removing carpet and laying rugs down on cement.
Biggest Indulgence: Lately it has been the garden for me, I spend money on dirt and pots. The other thing I spend money on is food and vintage tablecloths and dish cloths.
Best advice: It’s a rental, which means you may have to leave it sometime. Houses get bought and sold and even though they are homes, they are also things that are bought and sold.
Dream source: I like stuff that is inexpensive, discovered, given or free. We sometimes drive to a little town just North of Victoria where a lot of elderly people live to thrift store shop. I have found some pretty good treasures there. We also enjoy kitchen consignment stores.
Resources:
Appliances: All-Temp Appliances
Hardware: Was here when we moved in.
Furniture: Usedvictoria.com, my mom, various thrift stores
Accessories: travels around the city and other cities, garage sales, thrift stores, craft group
Lighting: lots of found lamps, we heart lamps and incandescent lights
Paint: the Re-Store (cheap leftover paint from renos or mistints, proceeds to Habitat for Humanity), Canadian Tire
Flooring: Old scuffed up hardwood, off-white laminate, cement floors in basement, and there is some really neat old 50s laminate in the bedroom upstairs which was super water-stained and had a moldy carpet on it. I took up the carpet and painted the laminate blue, leaving a rectangular patch like a window in the floor where the laminate wasn’t too damaged.
Rugs and Carpets: we really like those little rug/wall hangings that you can get from thrift stores with British Colonial scenes on them. We have two black dogs who shed everywhere so not having carpets and having washable rugs is handy
Beds: I have a memory foam bed, which I really like, although I find sometimes it doesn’t breathe super well
Artwork: Most of the artwork is mine, or the work of friends. I have hosted two art shows at my house, the last of which was a group show highlighting the work of the women I have spent the last 5 years crafting with. Hosting art shows at home provides the impetus to clear space and redecorate around the art pieces.
(Thanks, Angelique!)
Images: Phillip Maisel
Before & After: Emily Henderson Transforms a Senior's Studio Space
Monica & Austin's Charming Bungalow
Good Food to Share 
The Big Book of Small, Cool Spaces 
Apartment Therapy Presents 
The Eight-Step Home Cure 
White Enamel Four-P...
How To Cook Fluffy, Tasty Quinoa
True Greek Recipe: Paximadi Bread Salad with Tomatoes, Feta and Capers
It was obviously much loved and cared for...so sad that they had to move out. Please tell me they found a place that they will love just as much!?
lovely and warm looking. how quaint: a place that looks like people actually live in it.
question from a neighbour (we live in nanaimo, bc) - i love the pea-green colour in the dining room! what is it?
Hello! I'm curious where the green ampersand behind the boots came from? I saw one in another post recently in white and fell in love a bit!! Thx :D
-Weefi
www.wee-fi.blogspot.com
Fun! The kitchen nook is gorgeous.
Finally, a place that looks as 'lived-in' as mine! Loving the kitchen. Good luck creating a new nest... you should do well, wherever you land.
This place reflects a 'freestyle' sense of style, not following any formula of style or trend. It shows Angelique's spirit and personality with a lot of whimsy. I think it's very interesting...and refreshing!
I love the eclectic mix in this home. How sad for them to have to pack up and move. But, on the bright side, I hope they find another place that they can make their own as well as they did for this place. Will be stealing ideas from you. ;)
BTW, what's your secret for the beautiful plants? So far I only have a handle on those that like some neglect.
I'm in love with everything about this place -- it's so charming and unpretentious, yet nicely put together. Great wall colors, too!
Way to represent the beautiful capitol city of ***VICTORIA***!!
Nothing compares to the amazingness of *island living*... good on ya!
Oh wow, I love this.
I don't know how I feel about all the plants, but the rest of the home is so incredible. SO INCREDIBLE. Probably my favourite house tour yet. :)
Cute dinosaur. Great sense of humor and style in this place.
This might be one of the best house tours I have seen in a while on here. I prefer them to be unexpected rather than with that staged feeling. I also appreciate being able to see a room, the flow of the house and the close ups. Thanks!
i was totally just looking at videos on youtube about playing the saw before i saw this post, no joke! i'm gonna take it as a sign that i need to learn how. :)
love the place. i hope the new home(s) are just as cozy and colorful.
nice!..refreshing to see a house tour which is not an ode to MCM trends... :)
How sad you had to move! What a lovely and vibrant home. Love the colors used and all the fun vintage finds. Definitely a unique home filled with lots of inspiring ideas. Hopefully you will be able to recreate this wonderful vibe in your new place.
This is my all-time favorite house tour. Wonderful. It makes me feel so good to know that a lived-in house can look beautiful, too.
I think the home has a lot of good ideas. What a wonderful environment for children! Nothing too precious ... and something to stimulate the imagination everywhere.
I hope the new home works out well for this family ...
I think the comments about how owning doesn't necessarily represent permanency are wise. I rented one apartment for my daughter's entire childhood. Is she going to live anywhere else for eighteen years? Maybe ... but it was a solid experience.
I love the colors!!!!
I can only agree with the previous comments. Wonderful colours and so nice to see a real home among all the stage sets.
What a wonderful house tour!
Love it! Especially the final garden shot. But tell me, do you actually have backyard chickens? If so, how does that work in a rental? I'm very curious ...
so comfortable and welcoming!
Lovely, too bad they have to move on. Quick question, I am also interested in anthropology, particularly cultural. Recently divorced and older than I care to say, I'm trying to find out what steps to take, and what kind of job I can hope to get?
Thank you!
omordah
Seems a little too cluttered and garage-saleish to me. I love the boot and ampersand setup though.
This is probably my favorite house tour so far - it looks real and it looks lived in and loved.
Yes, it could use some editing, yes, it probably is a thrifted for some, but I wouldn't be afraid to eat in it, or flop down on a bed.
Lovely, lots of character!
A extremely personal decor. Could not live in it myself though! It would make my head spin.
Very personal art too... but all over the place? It's like living with your bowels inside out.
A well-lived and well-loved space where everyone looks welcome. Bravo!
i love it!! a real home - and one in bc!! best wishes to them in their new home
Sorry, my thoughts are that this is either a joke or a test.
I loved its boho, loved and cozy feel. I wasn't wild about the saw on the wall but the rest of the house was really adorable. Wishing Angelique all the best. Any house will be lucky to have her.
Josephina, in case you weren't aware, the saw on the wall is a musical saw. Like this one from the movie Delicatessen
love!
Great color and character. The kitchen looks really authentic.
I Love that they have had the courage to be simply themselves and haven't felt the need to conform to anybody else's ideas on what is right. Thank you for showing us something original.
I really love that this house is neat without being crazy immaculate. It makes it feel like you're actually entering someone's house, not a magazine shoot.
Great colors in the kitchen. Looking at the post just made me realize where I want to hang a collection of small red framed pictures I've been wondering what to do with.
I wish all House Tours displayed homes in their natural state. I think it's much more appealing to see how these kinds of spaces are lived in. Some of the other House Tours seem so sterile and uninteresting. Or interesting, but museum-like. It's refreshing to see a beautiful home in use, and in all its glory. This one is absolutely wonderful. Thanks.
Emily
Um..you are kidding right? How did this ever make it to apartment Therapy?
BonnieSchulte, lalachris, and Betty14, you guys sound like absolute jerks! The house isn't dirty at all, Betty! Where do you live? In an airtight container with no soul or heart? I think I'd probably hate to see any of your apartments. I'm sure they're clean and maybe modern, but probably boring as all hell. You should be ashamed of being such snobs.
I love the fact that AT doesn't simply cover weekend houses in the Hamptons with Sub-Zero's & farm sinks, but this may be a bit excessive, no? A plastic dog crate with a sheet over it?
I enjoyed seeing this home. There is way to much for me personally to maintain. I would push a minimalist over the edge. But in the end it's about personal style, and I give these folks credit for not being afraid to push the limits a bit.
I love this! So beautiful and sunshiny and loved. Please tell us about the green paint color! Thank you!
The dining area is just wonderful. Love the table, the plants, the green walls.
This is fantastic! I love how this home reminds me of my apt now and every place I've ever lived in and hopefully ever will. Also makes me think I won't have to stage my "lived in" place in order to submit it to AT.
Based on the comments, it's obviously how different all of our personal styles are–I wouldn't be quite so excited about an ultra modern interior–but that's what makes AT so interesting...
fthats
This home works, not how I'd decorate myself, but it feels real and that's what matters. And I'd love to stop by for a cup or glass of something.
The only, true disappointment on AT - and elsewhere too for that matter - are people who are unable to criticize kindly. This means to stay constructive and respectful, so go throw your daggers somewhere else already. I registered two days ago and I'm already tired of being confronted with so much nastiness. I suggest for all the besserwissers to start commenting on each others' homes only and leave the rest of the house tours alone.
P.S. <3 the dinosaur!
Gorgeous, simply gorgeous. The mix of styles, all the color, the kokeshi, the & letter, the plants, the tags in the plants. All the mess... I just love it :)
I like the kitchen nook ! and all the houseplants too.
I like the kitchen nook ! and all the houseplants !
new to this site, from washington state.
WOW, I love this home! So much character. I feel like I know these women now.
I have been obsessing over this home since I first saw it. It is, without doubt, my favourite house tour!
I love the balance between feeling like home and feeling like a place with so much to discover. It has a wonderful vintage 70's vibe without out seeming outdated. Everything looks as though it just sort of grew into existence over time, nothing was intentional yet it all beautifully fell into place.
I would really love to see where these ladies are living now (hint,hint: maybe another house tour soon?)
I stumbled, late, across this house tour....or should I say home tour? It is so unstudied and intimate, and the colors are pure joy. You can't learn that. I'm paraphrasing a quote I read somewhere, but charm like this is all you need--and if you don't have it, it doesn't matter what else you've got.
I'm sure the ladies' new home will also grow a soul, and fast.
This looks like the homes of my best friends...interesting people with artistic ideas who like to read, go thrift-shopping, watch old movies... It is very homey and comfortable. If you lived closer, I'd bring over some shortbread cookies and we'd have tea...talk about our latest "finds" from the restore or Goodwill and how much we'd like to have chickens but the neighbors would probably complain...
I love how free and effortless this feels- seems like everything has been placed with a natural eye but decorating is not a stressful, over-thought, forced, perfection-seeking activity. Love all the plants and the trinkets in them.
this is so quintessentially Victoria. I love it! It reminds me of the place I used to share with my old roommate. I live in an extremely edited down version of it now, but this type of style has soul
I love that it is real. I appreciate that she is so proud of her "Overgrown Eclectic" style. A true sense of who she is and making the space what they are happy with- that is what this is about. It may not be for everybody, but she's probably got an opinion or two about your spaces too! Love the freedom. Great light, and good pictures showing the HOUSE, not so many close ups of buttons in a jar.
I'm so jealous of your dining nook.
Oh! I love all those plants!
I've just revisited/re-toured (it's now Aug/2012) and I love this even more than I did the first time. Any chance of a piece on where and how the ladies are living now?
Magical!