Designer and Artist Tom Deacon Goes Back to the Drawing Board to Re-Renovate His Home and Studio
You’ve probably sat in one of his renowned office chairs, but his revamped Toronto residence is more about art than ergonomics.
![Designer and Artist Tom Deacon Goes Back to the Drawing Board to Re-Renovate His Home and Studio](https://images.dwell.com/photos-6063391372700811264/6906272777488134144-small/furniture-designer-tom-deacon-teamed-up-with-pal-and-architect-andrew-jones-to-renovate-his-toronto-townhouse-architects-tend-to-think-of-the-building-first-the-interiors-second-and-last-the-furniture-our-approach-was-the-opposite-jones-says.jpg?#)
You’ve probably sat in one of his renowned office chairs, but his revamped Toronto residence is more about art than ergonomics.
![Furniture designer Tom Deacon teamed up with pal and architect Andrew Jones to renovate his Toronto townhouse.](https://images.dwell.com/photos-6063391372700811264/6906272777488134144-large/furniture-designer-tom-deacon-teamed-up-with-pal-and-architect-andrew-jones-to-renovate-his-toronto-townhouse-architects-tend-to-think-of-the-building-first-the-interiors-second-and-last-the-furniture-our-approach-was-the-opposite-jones-says.jpg)
Tom Deacon’s life, like his work, is a mix of old and new, indoors and out. An architect by training, he became renowned as a furniture designer, leading Canadian manufacturer Keilhauer to its first mass-produced chair, the Tom, an innovation in high-tech plastic, and then back into upholstered fame with his Danforth chair, for a time the official seat in the White House Situation Room.
![Furniture designer Tom Deacon teamed up with pal and architect Andrew Jones to renovate his Toronto townhouse.](https://images.dwell.com/photos-6063391372700811264/6906272777488134144-medium/furniture-designer-tom-deacon-teamed-up-with-pal-and-architect-andrew-jones-to-renovate-his-toronto-townhouse-architects-tend-to-think-of-the-building-first-the-interiors-second-and-last-the-furniture-our-approach-was-the-opposite-jones-says.jpg)
Furniture designer and artist Tom Deacon teamed up with friend and architect Andrew Jones to renovate his Toronto townhouse.
![In the living room, CH22 Wishbone chairs by Hans Wegner for Carl Hansen & Søn and a vintage steamer lounge flank a custom marble coffee table. The Horse Fair, by Dutch painter Willem Carel Nakken, rests on the fireplace, and antique grain shovels lean nearby.](https://images.dwell.com/photos-6063391372700811264/6906272735837339648-medium/in-the-living-room-ch22-wishbone-chairs-by-hans-wegner-for-carl-hansen-andamp-son-and-a-vintage-steamer-lounge-flank-a-custom-marble-coffee-table-the-horse-fair-by-dutch-painter-willem-carel-nakken-rests-on-the-fireplace-and-antique-grain-shovels-lean-nea.jpg)
In the living room, CH22 Wishbone chairs by Hans Wegner for Carl Hansen & Søn and a vintage steamer lounge flank a custom marble coffee table. The Horse Fair, by Dutch painter Willem Carel Nakken, rests on the fireplace, and antique grain shovels lean nearby.
With a thriving practice based in Toronto, Tom bought a tall Victorian there in 1987, which he and his then partner renovated to give it a wide-open interior. In 2000 he left it all behind to dig in the dirt on land he owns in the countryside, creating intricate gardens and landscapes.
![A window frames a Gupta Buddha torso from northern India. The Tolomeo reading lamp is by Michele De Lucchi for Artemide.](https://images.dwell.com/photos-6063391372700811264/6906272762380484608-medium/a-window-frames-a-gupta-buddha-torso-from-northern-india-the-tolomeo-reading-lamp-is-by-michele-de-lucchi-for-artemide.jpg)
A window frames a Gupta Buddha torso from northern India. The Tolomeo reading lamp is by Michele De Lucchi for Artemide.
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