Today, I thought we’d do something different: a case study!

We’re going to look at a model home that I designed and decorated for Cachet Homes. The community is called Cachet Beamsville, and it’s located in Beamsville, Ontario.

Via Cachet Homes:

Rich in history and located on the Niagara Peninsula, the charming town of Beamsville is an Ontario treasure. This winemaking region is known for its sophisticated way of life, focused on great food, delicious wine and breathtaking vineyard vistas. With a vibrant community culture and quick access to the Greater Golden Horseshoe, Beamsville is becoming the ideal location for growing families.

Founded in 1788, Beamsville was established by Jacob Beam, for whom the town is named. He was a United Empire Loyalist and arrived in the Niagara Region with his family after the American Revolutionary War. Mr. Beam’s homes, circa 1790s, still exist and are part of the region’s rich colonial heritage.

Today, the Niagara Peninsula is home to world-class wineries that have transformed the Beamsville Bench and the whole Niagara Peninsula into one of the world’s great vinicultural regions and in the process have nurtured a lifestyle unlike any other in the country.

Practical and unique, Beamsville is a hometown like no other. With its wineries, cozy country inns, restaurants and of course, the friendly residents who have called Beamsville home for centuries, the Greater Golden Horseshoe is a place you want to call home.

For those of us who live in Toronto or the Greater Toronto Area (GTA), Beamsville feels like a different world. It’s very rural and small, but also cozy and quaint. It’s a place with a strong sense of community and loads of charm.

As GTA real estate prices continue to climb, home buyers are increasingly moving out of big urban centres and into these smaller, further-out and more rural cities, towns and villages. Beamsville is surrounded by farms and green space, but it has a beautiful downtown main street full of cute little boutiques run by local merchants, and is still close to all of the conveniences that today’s busy families need. As such, it’s a great place for families who are looking for a bit more space. Whether it’s more bedrooms for a growing family, a backyard for kids and the dog, or just a community that feels safer and cleaner, the draw to move to a more rural location is strong for many GTA and Golden Horseshoe families.

Understanding this background is important. Given the location and target market for Cachet Beamsville (mostly families looking to get more space and to enjoy a more rustic, rural lifestyle), this is the direction that I wanted to go with the model home:

• Family-oriented
• Comfortable, cozy
• Transitional style – very contemporary to appeal to modern families, while also mixing traditional old world charm and modern styles 
• Neutrals and light, bright spaces, which feel calming and welcoming
• Dark accents, which feel grounding and chic

With this mix of elements, the model home was designed to appeal to busy and growing families. Places like the family room and dining room were important to emphasize, showing potential home buyers that there is plenty of space for them to comfortably live, host and entertain. Bedrooms were welcoming and charming, and bathrooms were designed to feel like personal oases and spas.

Rustic elements like the shiplap wall in the family room – wall siding with long planks, mounted horizontally and painted a beautiful grey – keep the home grounded in its rural setting. This is an interior design element that feels timeless and cozy. It’s not something you typically see in a Toronto home or condo. It stands out and feels unique, and is rustic and traditional, while also feeling chic and modern. This is the same way that we want people to feel about moving to Beamsville.

I love how this design turned out, and think it was perfect for the location and target market.

Questions? Comments? Connect with me on Instagram or Facebook, and let me know!