Artful Move

Ines and Peter Mazzotta transformed their period home with sleek lines and striking art

- Emma J Page

Designers Ines and Peter Mazzotta were keen to leave behind the frenetic pace of Toronto when they made the move an hour west, to the historic university town of Guelph, just over four years ago. ‘Although we craved a calmer lifestyle, we still wanted to be part of a lively community, and this town has a wonderful cultural, food and music scene,’ says Ines. ‘But, being smaller, it is easier to navigate. We were also drawn to the period architecture, as many of the properties here date from the late 1800s.’

The one-storey building the couple and their two sons, Luca, now 14, and Jake, 10, came across is a case in point. ‘At first, the layout seemed a little unusual to us, as we were used to multi-level living,’ says Ines. ‘But the period features and high ceilings soon won us over.’ Nonetheless, the house needed a few tweaks to suit family living. ‘The flow needed adjusting, as there were three separate entryways to the dining room, and no clear access from there to the kitchen,’ Ines explains. So the couple closed off two of the doorways, knocked through between the existing dining room and kitchen to create an open-plan space, and added generous floor-to-ceiling French doors to provide easy access to the garden.