Seeing as we're featuring loft buildings in Gastown this month, we decided to make a housecall to one of our favourite clients – Tonia Mattu. This vivacious gal is the founder of YUOLOGY – “a step by step framework that gives you confidence in who you are, clarity in what you want, and the courage to design your dream life”. This is the philosophy behind her latest endeavor, YuSchool, which launched via Kickstarter on November 15th. YuSchool is an online course consisting of 37 professional videos, step-by-step exercises, a 100 page workbook, meditations, visualizations, a private Facebook group, and weekly Q&A’s with Mattu herself. She helps her clients create confidence and clarity in designing their dream life – which in our opinion, is pretty bad-ass.

How you choose to style and decorate your home is a major outlet of self-expression, and one of the best parts of our job is getting to see the creative and inspiring spaces that our clients have created. To Tonia, designing your home and designing your life are two sides of the same coin. According to her philosophy, you must go within yourself to learn about who you are (your values) and design your life with intention. This intention naturally trickles down into the design of your home, your personal style, and more.

Take a quick look around Tonia’s gorgeous double-height loft, and it’s not hard to see her intention at play. A floor-to-ceiling bookshelf is adorned with photos of her travels around the world, and each piece of art has been carefully selected for its meaning. There’s a painting by a New York artist that she met briefly, only to serendipitously bump into him seven years later (so she had to buy a piece of his work, of course!), and a Laura Moshi print that was hanging in the Gastown boutique where she first started giving her YUOLOGY talks.

A veteran of four years in the Big Apple, Tonia loves Gastown for its history and urban edgy vibe. The hood is constantly changing, and there are always new restaurants, coffee shops, and boutiques to explore. A few of Tonia’s recommended spots in the area include Nemesis Coffee, L’Atelier Home, Nicli Pizzeria and Milano. Suggestions that we will be taking to heart!