Page 60 - 07_Sept-2025

TREASURE BOX
This unassuming 100-year-old brick house is
equal parts gallery and home — beginning in
the front yard. Works by the prolific England-born
sculptor and painter Roy Leadbeater, a long-time
neighbour and close friend of the home’s current
resident, are on display from the front yard all the
way through the home. Many of the works were
commissioned by the occupant of the home.
“I’ve always been a collector,” the current renter
and art enthusiast says.
A lifetime art lover and collector, the current
resident moved his art (and other belongings) into
the home in May, and quickly filled the walls, nooks
and crannies with paintings and sculptures. In the
dining room hang three striking Emma Jensen
portraits, along with vintage radios from Switzerland
— among many more sculptures and paintings.
“Roy Leadbeater changed my life,” the renter says
of his late friend, who passed away in 2017. Tucked
behind the kitchen, in the back of the home, is a
room dedicated to Leadbeater’s work. Paintings line
the walls and sculptures sit on pedestals, a gallery
exclusively filled with Leadbeaters.
Previously, the renter owned a condo on Jasper
Ave, before moving to the west end, convinced he
wouldn’t move back downtown — until he found
this Wîhkwêntôwin home. “I like a house, I like a
yard,” he says. Luckily, this home has a great yard —
surely the envy of his neighbours.
Art doesn’t just hang on the walls or sit on
shelves — many of the steel and glass tables
throughout the home are works of art themselves,
with sculptural details and engaging shapes and
colours. This home is really a canvas for art.
“Art is about the experience,” he says. Each
piece in this home has a story, and the resident is
happy to share each of them, encouraging guests to
interact with the art.
This treasure chest of a home proves even a rental
can be filled with character and beauty. HT
See these homes
in person
SEPT 13/14
PURCHASE TICKETS
10 BE Home Tour 2025