20 questions with Elana Safronsky

If you haven't seen or read Elana Safronsky's work yet, what are you waiting for? She's been all over the interior design scene, having written for Canadian House & Home, Nuvo and, now, HGTV. She's clearly proven her passion for interior design at work and at home. As the owner of a 100-year-old home, she combines her design aesthetic with her fabulous home renovations. She shares her reno journey on HGTV's Style Sheet blog and has caught the eye of other interior design and home decor blogs, too! Now Elana chats with Style at Home to dish about her inspiration, home reno tips and how she relaxes at home.


While Elana dubs her living room "a cheap hodgepodge," it's an impressive and stylish collection of vintage finds that have been reworked.

1 If you could shadow any designer for a day, who would it be?
Elana Safronsky: This is a bit like saying Michelangelo is my favourite painter - WAY too obvious - but I'll have to say Andree Putnam. She is a titan. Virtually all contemporary decorating pursuits can be traced back to her singularly elevated understanding of visual form. When you're starting out in any field, the greats dazzle and intimidate you. When you build up experience in your field, you come to love those same greats for a totally different reason: you start to understand them.

2 Where do you look for an obscure source of inspiration?
ES: Honestly, everywhere BUT design. I like to steal aesthetics from things that are not primarily or consciously concerned with appearances or designs. Otherwise it's just rehashing.

3 Favourite restaurant?
ES: Oh so many! Love Tutti Matti (Tuscan) and Cava (Spanish/Tapas). Also love Woodlot, Campagnolo and Enoteca Sociale (three "it" spots that I can never really get into).

4 What's your favourite room to decorate?
ES: Well, I don't have a room, but I love chairs and any room that can handle an overabundance of chairs is the room I most like to decorate.

5 What's your current paint colour obsession?
ES: Seafoam. I like it matte, I like it glossy, and I like it off beat - it's got to be a bit odd and vintage looking. It can't look minty or grassy, but more like a Bakelite or an old Formica. I guess I'm referring to the old plastics because they go a little yellowish with time, giving that old seafoam green the perfect warmth.