Resident: Mark Stenabaugh, 45, former TV and radio personality
Space: One-bedroom apartment
Location: Church-Wellesley Village
Price: $958.50/month (plus hydro)
He’s not a head of state or member of any aristocracy, but that didn’t stop Mark Stenabaugh’s friends from dubbing his apartment, “Wellesley Palace.”
Remnants of regality run through the main room in his space, from the moment you open the front door. Upon his granite, slate and marble entranceway floor interlaced with jewel chips sits a pre-Maple Leaf, Canadian Red Ensign flag, aside a near-50-year-old portrait of the Queen that originally hung in his grandmother’s living room. “I’m a huge monarchist,” said Stenabaugh, who holds two medals from the Queen.
But he’s not quick to boast about his achievements or even himself. Stenabaugh keeps any awards he’s received in a chest in the centre of his living room and only has two personal photographs on display. “I just don’t think you need to have a shrine to yourself in your home,” he said. “I go to peoples’ homes and think, ‘Do you need to prove to everyone who you are?’”
Instead, the walls in his living and dining area are strewn with paintings by friends and those by Canadian artists like Gina Godfrey and Jane Hall, gifted to him for hosting various charitable events.
Any hint of a running theme is hushed, however, once you get to the bedroom.
Mismatched masks — 128 of them, which he’s amassed from Asia, Africa, Europe, and North and South America — line the dark red walls in his sleeping quarters. Stenabaugh can’t explain the motivation behind his 30-year collection, but said, “I was once told by a psychiatrist that they represent the many faces I have in public.”
Another different face of Stenabaugh’s space is his bathroom, which he calls the “jungle room.” Using an outdoor fountain from his previous apartment as an anchor, he’s added faux-plants and a wild animal theme to fill the oversized lavatory. “I have friends who come here for parties, and they sit in here forever, thinking and listening to the water run,” he said.
