Resident: Sharon Pompey, 48, Wholesale Business Representative and Aesthetician
Space: Detached one-bedroom cottage-style house
Location: Leslieville
Price: $310,000
Sharon Pompey’s first memory as a child is walking through her grandmother’s garden, helping her pick corn.
“I was holding onto her skirt, sucking my thumb,” she said. “It was just her and I for a long period of time, so I used to spend my time walking through the garden.”
It’s from that memory Pompey believes she grew her green-thumbed passion. “I could live all my life just gardening … and not working,” she said with a laugh. And while both her front and back yards are full of lush flora, she hasn’t left the garden feel outside.
“My love for the garden has moved inward, so even in the winter, there’s a sense of garden around,” she said. “The vibrant colours I’ve chosen make me feel like I’m still outdoors. It’s alive and very homey.”
The feeling sprouts into her kitchen, distinguished by a large poppy portrait hanging on the wall and the poppy dishware sitting atop a bistro table.
But among the garden theme lies a second overarching influence, induced by Pompey’s sense that she’s from a different period — the South of France.
“The whole look of it — the narrow streets, the cobblestone — always inspired me to retire there,” she said, “or, if I can’t retire there, try to create a space that gives a feeling that I’m there.”
The region is reflected in Pompey’s space by the hardwood floors, antique chests and classic-looking faux-fireplace she created with a window from an old church in Singapore on the main level, and continues upstairs.
“In France, they tend to keep their boudoir white, soft and romantic,” said Pompey. Her entire bedroom is clad in white, from the old linen bedding, through the walls, to the modern picture frames she scuffed up and painted to appear aged.
“It’s always about making things brighter, beautiful and more appealing no matter what I do.”
