Darcy Killeen moved into his 120-year-old semi-detached home in Toronto's Dufferin Grove area in 2001, first renovating it and then decorating it with furniture made by his industrial-designer wife, Kirsten White. She is the reason the Ottawa native relocated 10 years ago. He had been working as a trader on Wall Street when they first met and followed her back to Canada in 2005, planning a transfer to Bay Street. Instead, he gave up commerce for art and became the executive director of the Scotiabank CONTACT Photography Festival. Now in its 19th year, the world's largest photography event will next take place throughout May at 175 locations across the GTA. In preparation, Killeen has spent much of the past 12 months travelling the world in search of photos to include. To relax, he retreats to the streamlined living room he also shares with a school-age daughter and a cat named Monte to crash on the couch or read. "It's the nicest room in the home," he says. "It's beautifully lit."
The couch
“There has been a couch in the house for the 14 years we’ve lived here. But because we were always renovating, it was an IKEA couch or a broken couch – nothing we thought to keep for very long. This is one my wife has wanted for a long time. It’s by Ligne Roset. We got it on King Street East. We bought it for the simplicity of its lines, its elegant beauty and comfort.”
The print
“The artist’s name is Joseph Love. He was a priest who eventually gave up his vocation, married and moved to Japan, where he learned to be a printmaker. He later moved back to New York, where he became a protégé of painter Hans Hofmann. This print belonged to him, and it was one of 75 found in a suitcase in an old monastery in Quebec during a garage sale. I now have the entire collection. They are among my most prized possessions.”
The photograph
“That’s by Edward Burtynsky and it’s from his Stepwell series. Ed’s a board member of CONTACT and an endless supporter of the festival. He gave this to me as a gift. We love all his work. My wife and I are big outdoorsy people and his work is close to our hearts.”
The fireplace
“We recently tore down a wall separating the living room from the dining room to open up the space and ripped out the old, ugly mantel around the fireplace to create a cleaner look. We’ve kept it very raw and bare. We wanted a clean white line.”
The coffee table
“The Two-Tier Coffee Table was designed by my wife and manufactured by Pure Design, which was in Edmonton. It’s wood with a veneer. We actually have several of this design. We rotate them.”
The chairs
“They came as a set and were the first pieces of furniture we bought during the first 10 years in the house. We bought them at Quasi Modo on Queen Street West. They came red like that, and we always thought we’d have them reupholstered but we never did get around to it. We like the cantilevered lines and the fact that they look good from all sides.”