Name: Frederic
Location: Toronto, Canada
Size: 575 square feet
Years lived in: 8
Frederic has mastered the layout for single-room living. Of course, the small space is enhanced by his excellent abstract paintings and his careful choices of furniture highly practical with the right amount of personality. If you have been looking for a paradigm of a studio apartment check out Chic & Petit in Toronto.
Frederic is one of those people who has a never-ending lists of skills; he paints, he's a marketing expert, he's a tailor (Caviar20 is waiting for his fur pillows), he's an excellent English-to-French translator and the type of friend who is always willing to help out in a pinch. His apartment reflects his ingenuity, creativity and versatility. The space is modern and uplifting. Unconsciously he has mixed pieces (such as the large oak table from Quebec and the Tiffany-inspired lamp) that allude to different eras, styles and price-points. White-painted chairs cleverly covered with IKEA tea-towels have a Swedish Gustavian vibe. The apartment is Swiss-laboratory clean and organized. When asked how he manages to keep his space clutter-free he replies "Clutter doesn't get through the front door".
Perhaps the biggest success of the studio is the layout. Major pieces are placed flush against walls. The large table creates a division for the sleeping area and functions as a versatile eating place/work station. Frederic's apartment is further evidence of how enjoyable it is to live with art. Braden Labonte is one fo his favorite artists, not only a talented illustrator, but his multi-layered pieces are executed on vellum! In the entry hall Frederic created the polaroid grid made up of street shots taken from his old 5th floor apartment. Taken at various times of the day, they show pedestrians coming in and out of a peep-show. Not so different then a House Tour, really.
Apartment Therapy Survey:
Inspiration: Amazing designers like Andree Putman and artists like William Steiger leave me breathless. Traveling is an inexhaustible source of inspiration. Friends (and seeing their places), books, art and movies all feed me, challenge me and force me to view things in a different way.
Favorite Element: This is a difficult question as each piece that comes into my apartment is carefully chosen. The table/desk, coat rack and large vintage photo come from my grandfather. They are very dear to me. I would probably have to choose my Tiffany lamp (reproduction), as it was the first big indulgence I bought for my place years ago. It set me on defining my own style.
Biggest Challenge: Not having a separate bedroom is certainly a challenge. I don't want to see my bed from my living space so I used a big oak desk (my grandfather's work desk) as a dining table and a visual separation from the other section of my apartment. Seems to work!
What Friends Say: I live in a very modest and spare apartment — not everyone likes that style or that way of living. It's either a hit or a miss with them, but the bottom line is I live here — they don't.
Biggest Embarrassment: Choosing the right paint color might be a simple decision but it is not as easy as it seems. I have painted my apartment many times over since I have been here (8 years) to get it right. The Toronto Paint Store helped me find the perfect colors.
Proudest DIY: I'm lucky to have obtained a visual art degree and having been painting for over 20 years. The pieces I haven't been able to sell or my favorites stays on my walls. I have also painted and recovered my chairs with IKEA tea towels, I think they are great. Next on my to-do-list: wallpaper.
Biggest Indulgence: Having original art is not a cheap hobby but to me it is the most rewarding. Finding a young artist and getting pieces once in a while is my way to get around this costly past-time. I've been following Braden Labonte for years and always enjoy getting a piece from his latest show. I also managed to get a painting from Nada Sesar-Raffay represented by Toronto's amazing Edward Day Gallery in exchange for making her a skirt. Also one of my best friends Kirk Mechar is a great artist, who used me as a model in the past and I have been collecting some of his work for a few years now.
Best Advice: Keep it simple! I don't like a lot of trinkets. Clutter stays outside my door.
Dream Sources: Anything from Canadian design superstar Tom Deacon, Dwell Studio, Fluff Designs, Gus Modern, Style-Files, Designer Fabrics, Centre Pompidou and Room & Board.
Thanks Frederic!
Images: Troy Seidman
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One question-is Frederic single?
WOW! So clean, so orderly...but not cold or pretentious at all! Kudos.
kitchen?
that painting with the multi-coloured dots is very very cool-i can't help but to keep looking at it :)
Whitlin!! You can't have him. I want him!
I love his place. Simple and clean living. I do as he does and leave clutter outside my door. I have no use for trinkets and baubles and all surfaces remain clear of anything that is not art. It keeps me calm and centered.
Um...sorry I'm not following. There's a bed on a floor, and a table, and a chair, and a cool painting on the wall. Sort of like every single college dude's apartment I've ever seen. I guess I don't "get it."
If I was using a utilitarian "bed on the floor", I would have to screen it with something more than a table. Sorry, but for me that bed just doesn't fit. Different strokes. I guess it might be a guy thing. Rest is nice.
How on earth is this 575 sq feet? Must have a big kitchen?
I love most of the artwork - great abstracts. But the pic of the big face looking at you in the bathroom is a little creepy to me. Funny, but creepy at the same time.
Simple. Clean. Amazing art and the DIY chair covers are really well done. Thanks for the inspiration.
I love the simplicity, the color choices, the art, and the sofa. Not sure I could ever live quite this pared down, but I appreciate those who can! I think there's a spectrum of "busyness," and for me something this bare would feel like a nice office but a little too stark for comfort. But it's artfully done and it suits him, which is really all that matters!
Am I the only one who thought the coat rack looked like a duck? Lol. I know that building (I'm from Toronto). It's attached to an underground shopping concourse with a cinema, book store (think Barne's and Noble), supermarket, high-end shoppes, the subway. coffe shoppes galore, etc, etc, etc. A bachelor apartment (studio) is perfect for that area. The key, though, is simple colours and layout. Nice. x
I love art in the bathroom. Great!
When are we getting Apartment Therapy: Toronto?
Sorry, no, this looks just like my first apartment just out of college. I'm not impressed.
Other than the art, this place looks marginal.
The paintings really attracted me to it...not much of a furnishing here though.A LOT OF THERAPY IS NEEDED FOR THIS ONE.
To those who said it looks like a typical college dude flat? No kids, most would be FAR more strategic about anything blocking the bed... hehe.
Then again... it does feel awfully nostalgic of my art school days. i.e. a replica of countless art kid apartments I lounged in. Hm. I guess he did go to art school. Maybe he's nostalgic for the days of hunger and sparsity. Aren't we all? (not really)
I don't mind the spareness of the apartment, but the fact that there's nothing on the walls surrounding the bed (no color, no artwork) makes it feel like an afterthought or an embarrassment tucked away in a corner. Also, the desk doesn't really conceal the bed as much as I think Frederic thinks it does (Sorry, Frederic!). I say either put up curtains/screens and really "hide" the bed or embrace its inclusion in the open space by giving the bed some kind of focal point. Love that blue on the walls, by the way.
wow, I recognize the view of BMO. I also know which building this is. I really like the setup but if this qualifies for apt therapy then my first condo rental is even better. My condo was only 400 sq ft and I had to fit 30 pairs of shoes plus bags, winter coats etc. And it didn't look cluttered but rather empty.
It seems a shame that all that art is paired with garage sale furniture. It really looks temporary. Toronto has no shortage of cool, reasonably priced vintage furniture stores. Why not upgrade a little and give the art a more attractive setting?
I think the temporary feeling is what sums it up. I can definitely appreciate and respect sparsity and minimalism - but maybe I've just see it done in a way that still feels "settled" and well..like home.
echoing greyv... let's get an AT toronto!
nice place, fredric. hope you you have ample studio space elsewhere!
Sorry but it looks like the typical first apartment when one's budget was less than a couple hundred bucks and stuff gotten from dumpster diving.
I'm not really sure why this made it on AT- there's nothing special about it in the least.
Love the way the cat gray couch (definitely NOT a dumpster find) fits in its blue niche--and also all the art. Not so sure about the little white and orange chairs. IMO they are nice enough in themselves but don't quite work with all the deep rich colours and gray. Would like to see them clad in some of the bolder colours of the art above them.
other than that bed. it's OK. I mean, at least make the bed neatly to show off?
i love the photos pinned to the wall. it is a little boring but i like simple things.