This designer updated her two-bedroom Victorian rental with boho touches and Scandi hardwood floors
DIY makeover: This designer updated her two-bedroom Victorian rental with boho accents and Scandi hardwood floors
Tenant: Alexandra Gater, YouTuber and interior designer, and Noah Margot Dermer, Head of Sales for the Furniture Branch
outer space: Two-bedroom apartment on two levels in the annex
budget: Less than $5,000
Soon after graduating from the University of Toronto, Alexandra Gater landed her dream job at the University of Toronto Chatelain—initially as an intern, eventually working her way up to a home editor. “I’ve always loved the process of creating something, especially photography and writing,” she says. When he called a video of her affordable decor series Prime Home The way forward became clear.
In 2018 Alexandra began using her decorating skills to restore her friends’ homes and filming the results for her fledgling YouTube channel. “It started out not knowing how to hang a shelf or put in a hole. It was really just trial and error. Now, the same channel has more than 500,000 subscribers and six full-time employees, and Alexandra is one of the most recognized names in interior design in Canada. Her first book, Own your spacea compendium of drool-worthy, renter-friendly decor ideas, hit shelves in late April.
“A lot of people think they need to get an interior design degree or spend $50,000 on a kitchen renovation to have a nice home,” she says. “My goal is to break down that barrier and show people that it’s possible to make small changes that make a big impact.” Alexandra specializes in renovating studio apartments and small spaces into livable nooks, performing magic like separating the bed from the living space in a 150-square-foot apartment and adding peel-and-stick wallpaper to transform a 30-square-foot bathroom. To a 70s inspired paradise Palm Beach.
In addition to playing the Fairy Godmother in other people’s temporary spaces, Alexandra is a renter herself, and began documenting her home’s upgrades in 2019 for a series called Rent my Renault. She began by sprucing up the one-bedroom apartment in the annex I inherited from friends, nicknamed the Treehouse, with a pink tile backsplash in the kitchen and banana leaf wallpaper in the bedroom closet-turned-office. I used the pandemic’s stay-at-home orders as an opportunity to redecorate, picking up enough content for a second season.
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By 2021, she had outgrown the Treehouse and was looking for a more spacious place to settle down with her partner, Noah. In May of that year, the couple moved into a bright and airy two-bedroom apartment on the top floor of a Victorian house in the Annex. “I love how the light streams through the windows,” she says, “and all the homey touches that have been preserved throughout the century, like the stained glass and crown molding.”
As a seasoned interior designer, Alexandra received permission from her landlord to make some alterations that were less tenant-friendly than her usual rate. First, she and Noah removed the dingy gray carpet covering the 150-year-old staircase and refinished the steps with a matte black paint ($120) and a natural jute-trimmed runner rug ($300). On the landing, they installed black brick tiles ($145) to create a modern, minimalist space before entering the apartment. Inside, they ripped out the living room’s faux-wood vinyl flooring and replaced it with blond Scandinavian hardwood from Stuga (Alexandra has a sponsorship deal with the brand).
Alexandra’s dad came all the way from England to help out in Reno’s kitchen. They replaced the plain white pantry doors leading into the space with a single, solid wood door that features curved glass inlay and a crystal knob, sourced for $100 from Facebook Marketplace. Then they removed the kitchen cabinets above the sink to add a white Moroccan tile backsplash (curated) and open shelving (handcrafted by Alexandra’s dad), painted the remaining cabinets green, and added gold hardware knobs ($105 for hex knobs, $29 for pulls). The sunny reading nook in the corner came with blue pillows that Alexandra reupholstered in a gray gingham pattern ($216).
For the second bedroom, which serves as Noah’s home office, Alexandra challenged herself to purchase just one new item, with the rest furnished with pre-owned items from their homes. I settled on an industrial pipe bookshelf, custom made by someone I found in Kijiji for only $300.
To draw attention to the bedroom’s natural wood floors, Alexandra chose to keep the space simple and serene. The biggest change was painting the “cloakroom pink” mood wall to add a pop of color to the space.
“I’d describe my signature style as a mix of boho and eclectic,” she says. While she admits that the original apartment had “cool bones,” she likes being inside the space even more now because it reflects her experimental style, with lots of color and patterns. “It was kind of a testament to the idea that if you really want something to feel like you, with a little flab, you can completely transform a space.”
She is completely satisfied with the changes she has made to her home. “Often, people describe grooming as something frivolous, but I’ve just seen how much a difference someone’s space makes to their life and mood on a day-to-day basis,” she says. “Even though I don’t own the apartment, I feel like I’m free and comfortable to express myself here.”
Currently, Alexandra has no plans to relocate and would rather the idea of buying a small townhouse outside the city than owning a home in Toronto. “I’m not ready to take responsibility yet,” she says. “I love that, when the stove breaks, the owner has to deal with it. I can’t imagine buying a house and then having to replace the roof for $30,000.”
