henhouse

In life and in decorating, making a great first impression starts with personality. We set the tone for this young family’s front hall with wallpaper. The print? A charming collection of historical home styles. In the living room, mustard trim and wainscotting frame up the entrance view with warmth and confidence. The result feels like a hug—welcome home!

Lead designer: Sappho Griffin
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Powder rooms are meant to pop. With some “wow” wallpaper, a custom vanity, and the right accessories, this wee gem of a room can easily become your favourite space in the house.

Lead designer: Sappho Griffin
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Heading into the August long weekend means fall is just around the corner (hey, don’t be mad at the messenger)! If you have a big project in mind—like the top-to-bottom reno we did for our Halifax clients, featured in the June issue of Style at Home—or even a one-room refresh, do get in touch with our team using the “Contact Us” form on henhouse.ca. We love nothing more than helping to transform your home from “before” to “after.”

Lead designer: Sappho Griffin
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Sometimes it’s the small moments that bring a smile. We reupholstered and relocated our clients’ vintage bobbin chair to a prime sightline directly opposite the front door and stacked a couple of pretty paintings above it. Now, this vertical vignette feels soulful, serene and collected.

Lead designer: Sappho Griffin
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A newly created ensuite wouldn’t be complete without a big soaker tub, some luxe stone, a custom vanity with inset reeded panels, and of course, finishing touches like a fabric roman blind. You may have noticed we love to install art in unexpected places and a bathroom is no exception! An original painting by F. Scott MacLeod beautifully brings in the colours of the primary bedroom and makes the view just a little more special when relaxing in the bath.

Lead designer: Sappho Griffin
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Powder rooms are one of our favourite spaces to design—a spot to push the design boundaries without a big commitment. We went dark and dramatic in this powder for a young family, but kept the mood playful with a dusty-red custom vanity. Brass accents and a small oil painting add warmth and personality but don’t compete with the lively wallpaper.

Lead designer: Sappho Griffin
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When kitchen space is limited, we keep things streamlined. Too many doors and high-contrast trim add to the visual clutter and make a small kitchen feel claustrophobic. In this case, we integrated the fridge with panels that match the cabinetry and created a custom basement door (can you spot it?) from the same tongue-and-groove panelling that wraps around the walls. No visible hardware or hinges and a vintage oil painting help conceal its identity, too. Swipe to see what a difference a secret door makes!

Lead designers: Sappho Griffin &
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At Henhouse, we love all interior styles—from clean and modern to layered and classic—and don’t believe in design-by-formula. With every project, we listen to the clients as well as the house (yes, it speaks!) to determine what feels right. Über-traditional was the way to go for this sweet bay window in our clients’ primary bedroom. With an upholstered valance, pleated drapes, and a pile of pillows in sophisticated tones of rust, cream, and pale blue, it’s a pretty focal point and practical spot for reading with a cup of tea.

Lead designer: Sappho Griffin
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We’re thrilled to share that our big, bold reno project is published in the June issue of Style at Home! You’ve seen glimpses of these rooms, now pick up an issue at a newsstand near you to learn about the tranformation of this multi-hued Halifax home.

Big thanks to photographer Stacey Brandford and writer Katie Hayden for capturing the home with such care and attention to detail. And even bigger thanks to our wonderful (and patient!) clients for letting us invade their home as we prepped for the shoot at the end of last year.

So honoured to be mama to these three souls. All so different and unique in their own ways and talents. Love you .starzomski .starzomski and Arlo! 💕

Serene, all-white spa bathrooms are great but gosh, we love a little quirk from time to time. Here are a few touches that make this one unique (oh, and swipe for the before; it’s a doozy!):

• Pink, articulating non-bathroom sconces
• Ceramic shells mounted to the wall
• Full-height shower curtains that part in the centre like living room drapes
• A vintage painting, picture light, and tile pattern behind the toilet, of all things
• A vintage bamboo magazine rack in place of a wall-mounted toilet paper holder

This combo wouldn’t be everyone’s cup of tea, but isn’t that the point? Design is—and should be—personal. Even bathrooms!

Lead designers: Sappho Griffin &
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When it comes to your bedroom are you Team Light & Serene? Or Team Moody & Saturated? These colour-loving clients voted for dusky teal walls and playful punches of coral on the bedding and rug. A neutral custom bedframe, light bedding, and a solid-toned ottoman inject an element of grounding calm among the pattern and rich hues.

Lead designer: Sappho Griffin
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Kitchen trends come and go, but a classic bistro kitchen never goes out of style. For surfaces, we chose marble counters and faceted subway tiles (which add more interest and sparkle than flat ones) with staying power. A mix of metals (nickel and brass) and whites (warm and cool) give the space coziness and patina. Though this reno was completed years ago, we think its appeal is timeless.

Lead designer: Sappho Griffin
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There’s no science to creating a vignette (we wish!). But to our eyes, the best ones contain some symmetry (a pair of antique candlestick lamps), some matchy-matchy bits (the celadon vase with the green leaves in the wallpaper), a colour that comes out of nowhere (the zingy yellow lemons and craspedia), and a modern-meets-trad moment (a contemporary painting against floral wallpaper). When it all comes together? 😍

Lead designers: Sappho Griffin &
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How to make a grand entrance? Think big! We loved our client’s rustic table and wall sconces (swipe for the before), but the scale of the mirror and runner felt too small and were throwing the space off-balance. We added an antique French mantel mirror — a find hidden in the back room of a local dealer — an antique kilim runner, some vintage trunks, and a marble bird bath turned into a planter, plus a few other one-of-a-kind accessories. Now, our client’s entry hall makes the kind of first impression worthy of its architecture.

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Consulting designer: Sappho Griffin
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This fresh living room embodies our philosophy about getting the mix just right. When designing, we include furniture and accessories with different textures (velvet, bouclé, linen), varied prints (large-scale floral on the rug, stripes on the blind, small patterns on the pilows), and multiple eras (from antique to mid-century modern and contemporary) to create spaces that feel custom and collected over time, even when they’re new!

Lead designer: Sappho Griffin
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Here’s a fresh and inviting dining room to welcome Easter Sunday. We recovered our client’s end chairs with a leaf-green performance velvet to wake up the elegant space. We happen to think green’s a neutral that’s always welcome, just like the tulips and daffodils starting to poke up through the garden on days like this. Happy Easter from Henhouse!

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Consulting designer: Sappho Griffin
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We love a bold, personal kitchen. For the transformation of her own (swipe to see the dramatic before!), Henhouse Senior Decorator & Stylist Beth Hitchcock worked closely with Sappho to pick the perfect warm green for the tongue-and-groove panelling on the walls and range hood, with mushroom cabinets as a calm counterpoint. The counters and backsplash behind the range were a “go for it” moment; the quartzite with swirling shades of purple and pink tied in with the smokey purple accents in the fabric already chosen for the window treatments. Unique art (yes, art in a kitchen), ceramics and a vintage rug add the finishing touches.

Lead designers: Sappho Griffin and
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Spring has spring, but our weather app tells us it’s still fireplace season for a few more weeks! Swipe to see the complicated but totally worth-it journey to convert a non-functioning 100-year-old coal burner to a beautiful, useable propane fireplace. With a great team and willing clients, we raised the lintel, lined the chimney, routed the propane, and installed fresh but era-appropriate tile. It took some figuring out, but the glow-up speaks for itself!

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Styling: Sappho Griffin &
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On this , just a reminder that hallways deserve attention, too. We loved both the freshness and the scale (a 36” vertical repeat) of this stylized Indian flower print. It turned a short passageway linking our client’s bedroom, closet, and bath into a destination. A vintage hand-carved chair acts as a sculptural focal point to give the eye a place to stop — an important consideration when dealing with a bold pattern!

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Consulting designer: Sappho Griffin
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Sundays are better with a soaker tub, don’t you think? Our client had a beautiful principal bathroom; it just needed some warming up. A vintage pedestal, wood urn, painting and rug, and ta da! The quick transformation is complete. If you’ve got a shiny new room that needs warming up, let us know. We’ve got plenty of vintage treasures in our inventory and are always happy to hunt for more.

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Consulting designer: Sappho Griffin
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Happy Friday! It’s almost time to put your feet up and relax. This airy room for a young family is part of a new addition that also houses a powder room and laundry/mudroom. Statement-making drapes with a modern print warm up a wall of windows, while a soft blue sectional and leather ottoman (perfect for wiping up kid spills) offer plenty of seating. Walnut accents on the ceiling fixture speak to the kitchen’s walnut hood, just visible in the background. Cohesive and comfy — just the way our clients like it!
Lead designer: Sappho Griffin
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A fresh and fully tiled (yes, that’s tile on the top half of the wall) principal bath to start your day of scrolling. We believe bathrooms should be decorated just like any other room in the house, so add some art, throw down a great rug, and hang a vintage mirror in an unlikely spot. These are the touches that make a room memorable!

Lead designer: Sappho Griffin
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“Spring forward” makes us think of this pretty bedroom wrapped in floral wallpaper. (Swipe for a closer look at the lily of the valley print.) The vintage rug was the starting point for a palette of dusty teal, pink, and mustard we pulled up into the pillows and relaxed roman shades. In a small room with an angled ceiling, it made sense to lean into a small, nostalgic print, brown furniture, and quirky vintage art. Call it or —we just call it cozy! All the better for napping on a DST kind of day when the clock steals an hour of sleep.

Lead designers: Sappho Griffin &
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Hands up if you love the charm of a café curtain! (Even better when it’s in a cute nook, right?) We put a fresh twist on the traditional style with a cool print that looks like a painter’s palette and a single pinch pleat at the top. It’s the ideal final flourish at the top of the stairs in a 1930s house, especially when flanked by pink-hued trim and doors.

Lead designers: Sappho Griffin &
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There’s nothing like a strong cushion game to make a neutral sofa come to life and, in this case, allow our clients’ art to shine. We leaned into the painting’s earth tones with nutmeg linen, grey and nutmeg cut velvet, and one graphic painterly print to throw it all off just a bit. We also love how the rug and two chunky square tables keep the room feeling earthy and grounded.

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Consulting designer: Sappho Griffin
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We love painted kitchen cabinets, but there’s something delicious about timeless wood tones, too. In this hardworking kitchen for a young family, Sappho chose classic walnut for just the range wall and hood to inject some warmth and set it apart from the rest of the room’s creamy millwork. Fun, geometric tiles make the final design *chef’s kiss* 😘🤌

Lead designer: Sappho Griffin
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Curtain Call! One of our favourite ways to add polish and personality to a room is with custom drapery. This cozy den was already painted the perfect shade of dark blue, so we chose a print with a lighter ground and some other sumptuous colours to pull from, like rust, green, and mushroom. Doubling up on rugs and adding cushions are other great ways to add lush, decorative layers.

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Consulting designer: Sappho Griffin
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We’ve shared our love of a gallery wall, but the object wall (is that a thing? It should be!) is a contender, too. A collection of vintage Imari plates offered a sophisticated way to warm up the wall in the corner of our clients’ cozy living room while playing on some of the blues and corals already in place.

Lead designer: Sappho Griffin
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And now, for one of the more dramatic Before & Afters you’ll see on our feed… 👀

When Henhouse Senior Decorator & Stylist Beth Hitchcock purchased her 1930s era home, it was well cared for but dated. Working closely with Sappho, she leaned into her love of colour and pattern to give the room a cozy, English cottagey feel. The tongue-and-groove ceiling was split into thirds using faux beams; a chevron pattern in the centre adds architectural interest. Staining the floors a darker tone and using a two-tone approach to the paint helped layer in some charm as well. The rest, dear friends, is decorating!

Lead designers: Sappho Griffin &
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