Since she and husband Jeff bought their house in 2004, Michelle Pollock, decorator at AMR Design, has renovated the Valleyview split-level home not once, but twice. For the first renovation, having moved from a Westmount home with white tile throughout the entire space, Pollock opted for an Asian-inspired look with warm tones and darker colours. For the second renovation, nearly a decade later, she decided to go back to the home’s mid-century roots.
The entire home is painted white, with pops of colour that fit the mid-century modern palette, such as the turquoise backsplash in the kitchen that references the original kitchen, as well as the green shade on the front and back door – fittingly called “retro avocado.” Pollock also placed an emphasis on unique light fixtures, such as the Nelson bubble saucer pendant above the dining room table. “I love that light fixture like a child,” says Pollock. “When we started to change over [the look of the house] , I started replacing a few things, and that was sort of an iconic fixture that made me feel like this is achievable.”
While there have been countless updates throughout the space, mid-century modern touches return it to its roots. “We haven’t changed the overall feel of the house or the spirit of the house,” says Pollock. Original details, such as the brick fireplaces and wood window valances, have been refinished or painted to freshen them up. To add warmth, Pollock incorporated woods such as walnut in the built-in cabinetry throughout the home.
When it came time to decorate her home for the holiday season, Michelle Pollock was stumped. “With mid-century style, the whole point of it is to be really clean and minimalist, and I found it super hard to decorate,” she says. Instead of fighint her home’s overall aesthetic, she embraced it and looked to an earlier time period for inspiration.
“Usually, even if you Google mid-century Christmas, you see drinks, there’s a fireplace, a fire’s going, its about entertaining, cocktail parties.” Pollock recommends keeping that spirit in mind and setting up a tray of drinks and cocktail glasses, perhaps with a few ornaments sprinkled amongst them, to create a festive look.
It’s also a misconception that you need to go all out with classic elements like a fully decorated tree — Pollock’s all white Christmas tree doesn’t have a single ornament on it. Instead, she’s opted to keep the tree simple, and place a bowl of full ornaments on her dining room table.
If images of reindeer and sleigh bells aren’t your cup of tea, a great way to incorporate the holiday spirit into your home is through typography. Pollock designed decals with holiday phrases that were placed on mirrored and glass surfaces, as well as light up signs placed on a credenza in the living room, for a suble homage to the holiday season.
