I’m Steve Fudge and I’m celebrating over three decades as a realtor, property consultant, and proud resident of Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Today, I’m sharing one of the recent blogs from my sister site, Urbaneer.com!
Read on!
Have you ever walked past a house, spying something familiar, unusual or downright weird about the facade or decor? Did it make you think, ‘I wonder who lives THERE?’
A Fountain Featuring Jesus & Friends On Burnfield Avenue Near Dupont & Ossington In Toronto
Back in the mid to late 1990s, after completing my M.E.S. at York University, which focused on Planning Housing Environments and establishing a specialty in the concept, sales, and marketing of boutique loft conversions, I resided in The Button Factory on Clinton Street and operated Urbaneer.com in the Movie House on Euclid Avenue. Situated in Toronto’s ‘Little Italy‘ neighbourhood, located just north of beloved Trinity Bellwoods Park, the neighbourhood is loosely within the quadrant spanning Dundas West to Bloor and west of Bathurst to Ossington Avenue.
Over the 2 decades I developed an enormous affection for this area for many reasons, but one I found particularly charming was how Italian households frequently displayed their religious and cultural affiliation on their homes and, in doing so, their pride of ownership. Their display often included decorative tiles of the Virgin Mary or saints attached to the facade next to the house number, an abundance of wrought iron fencing wrapping a manicured front yard, and on every block, at least one homemade garden grotto with a water fountain featuring Jesus & friends.
I love it when our homes tell a story. Our homes, of course, shelter us, but they also provide us with a unique canvas, inside and out, to express ourselves. We all have the opportunity to style our interior to reflect our taste and fill it with contents that have meaning and memories. For those who live in houses free of rules regulating exterior aesthetics (unlike communities with homeowner associations, suburbs with restrictive covenants, and most condominiums, whether they be townhouses or high rises, which aim for uniformity through visual cohesion), our gardens and exterior facades offer residents the opportunity to present who they are to the world, whether by their cultural affiliation, their faith, their favourite sports team, or even their love for reading, with the outside world.
I’ve long been fascinated with how our housing is a symbol of self. Research on housing and identity suggests that owning a home, as part of the Canadian Dream, is perceived as a symbol of financial and personal success, as well as reflecting one’s life as “biographically on schedule.” The location of the dwelling can reflect its occupant’s social values and their affiliation with the community. Our housing choice can also reflect our age, status, identity and family size.
In my post, Realtor Steven Fudge Has a Nose for Leslieville, on Toronto’s East Side, I write about my Undergraduate Research on gentrification in South Riverdale and the correlation I found between the presentation of dwellings from the street and the socio-economic standing of their occupants. In this post, ‘ Housing As A Symbol Of Self,’ I write about three condominiums on Bloor Street West (in the section once promoted as Toronto’s ‘Mink Mile’) that developers marketed to three affluent cultural groups.
Even unwittingly, people reflect who they are by the facade of their house, their garden, and what’s in it. And the clues can provide precise information when you pay attention. The next time you stroll down a residential street, see whether the style of the house, its condition, or landscaping reveals any clues about its residents. Also, take note of the objects around the property, such as a flag hung over the front porch, bikes tethered to the stairs, or a collection of lawn ornaments. All of these can give even more insight into the residents’ personalities or their lifestyles.
Where we live is not only intrinsically involved with our self-expression but is often an extension of our belief system. I wrote about common home superstitions in this post – Dear Urbaneer: What Are Some Of The Most Common Real Estate Superstitions – and about self-expression in these posts: What Does Your Home Say About You? & Chapters of Life: The Value of ‘Home.’
Here is a rundown of some of the better-known exterior decorations with cultural, religious, spiritual, political, or other affiliations, as well as some thought to bring the household good luck.
The Canadian Flag
While in the current political environment, with the tariff war ongoing, the Canadian flag has seen a resurgence as a political symbol, but its roots, decor-wise, are more patriotic. It’s common to see Canadian flags displayed proudly on a home’s exterior. Whether on a property flag pole, or hung across a porch, on a doormat or with mini-flags in the garden or lining a driveway, there are lots of ways to display the red-and-white!
Beyond the actual flag, some homeowners get more creative, creating gardens with red-and-white flowers, or red-and-white mailboxes or stepping stones.
There are usually more Canadian flags displayed around Canada day, but in the current elbows up atmosphere, the Maple Leaf is a year-round fixture on many homes, including my own.
The Many Pride Flags
Brightly coloured and fueled by affirmation, the original Pride flag, designed by Gilbert Baker in 1978, represents at its core inclusivity, acceptance, solidarity, celebration, and community. Placing one on your property is a way to express your support publicly. The rainbow of colours is intentional and has meaning. There have been several iterations since, with the Progress Pride Flag, seen above, being the most recent rendition, dating back to June 20, 2018.
Fly your flag atop a flagpole, on the porch rail, in the window, or beside the front door.
Religious Exterior Decor
At Catholic homes a generation ago, a standard year-round fixture was a statue of the Virgin Mary, often located in a garden grotto with a fountain, similar to the one on Burnfield Avenue seen in the photo above. Religious items demonstrated the faith of the home’s inhabitants and also blessed the household.
As a realtor, it’s not unusual to see a mezuzah – a small parchment scroll containing the Shema prayer from the Torah placed in a decorative case – affixed to the doorframe of a Jewish residence. It serves as a symbol of faith and a physical representation of the mitzvah (commandment) to affix a mezuzah on the right side of the doorway frame of one’s dwelling.
Lion Statues
Lion statues, in addition to being stately guardians in front of a home, actually carry symbolic significance with several different meanings depending on cultural affiliation. For some, the lions represent strength and protection. For others, they’re a wealth status marker.
In the province of Quebec, Canada, homeowners traditionally place lion statues in front of their homes to signify that they have paid off their mortgage. In the suburbs of Toronto, Ontario, lions are also commonly placed on either side of the driveway by Italian and Portuguese immigrant families to symbolize financial freedom, accomplishment and the prestige associated with owning a home outright.
Front Door Colours
It’s common to choose the colour of the front door for decorative purposes and to enhance curb appeal – as I wrote in Hello, Front Door! I’d Like To Buy You! – but did you know that different colours have different meanings?
For example, red is considered a symbol of good luck in Asian culture and is often used as a way to ward off evil spirits.
Blue doors (and porches) have spiritual meaning, too, specifically a shade called “haint blue.” Folklore says that evil spirits can’t cross water, so people used to paint their doors and areas at the entrance of their homes to replicate water, confusing the spirits and keeping them out of their homes.
According to Feng Shui, a black front door will attract energy, yellow represents balance, and green represents growth, so colour choice lets you choose your strength.
Horseshoes
Who couldn’t use a little good luck? A horseshoe placed over a front door is said to bring luck, with roots in Celtic culture, that keeps evil outside your home. The story goes that the devil visited a blacksmith to ask for horseshoes for his hoofs but found them very painful and ran away immediately.
Hand of Fatima
The Hand of Fatima door knocker has meaning for both Islamic and Jewish communities as a symbol of protection against evil. The door knocker is hand-shaped, sometimes with two thumbs on either side.
In Islam, the hand is named after Fatima Zahra, the daughter of the Prophet Muhammad, while in Judaism, it is named after Miriam, the sister of Moses. It’s a talisman that signifies the faith of the home’s occupants and also wards off evil from the household.
Wind Chimes
Hanging wind chimes outside your home provide soothing, wind-powered music, but there are cultural affiliations with them, too.
In Asian culture, wind chimes are believed to attract positive energy and ward off evil.
In some cultures, wind chimes are hung in remembrance of a lost loved one, with the sound of the wind through the chimes representing their continued ethereal presence.
The Acadian Star
On my student mentorship site, Canadian Real Estate, Housing & Home, Emily Stringer posted her piece about “The Acadian Star: A History of Home.” Here’s a section:
The Acadians were French colonists who settled in Acadia (encompassing Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, Prince Edward Island, and parts of Quebec, Canada today) in the 17th century. As fishermen and farmers, they lived primarily along the shores of the Bay of Fundy before the British conquered Acadia in 1710.
Continued resistance after this time led the British to impose the Great Expulsion of 1755-1764 on the Acadians. All Acadians were forced to sign an oath of allegiance to Britain, and those who refused were deported. Their homes were burned, and about one-third of the 11,500 Acadians died as a result of the conditions of the exportation (ex., disease and starvation on boats). Check out CBC’s in-depth look at this history.
Today, there is an area known as “the French Quarter.” This is where many descendants of Acadians still live or return to. Acadian stars can be seen prominently posted on the sides of many houses in this area, as well as in P.E.I and New Brunswick. In Nova Scotia, they have a strong presence from the Bay of Fundy to Cape Sable Island. The star can also be found on homes in New England, Boston, and Louisiana areas, as this is where many Acadians were relocated.
Little Free Libraries
I am a massive fan of the Little Free Libraries that dot the streetscapes of not just Toronto but around the globe. What started in 2009 as a memorial to his mother, a teacher who loved to read, Todd Bol from Hudson, Wisconsin, constructed a small schoolhouse structure, filled it with books, and placed it on his front lawn, inviting passersby to ‘Take a book, share a book.’
As the Little Free Library website states, “What started as a simple act of sharing books with his neighbours sparked a global movement.” Today, Little Free Library is a nonprofit organization based in St. Paul, Minnesota, with over 200,000 Little Free Libraries in operation. They are committed to expanding book access for all through these volunteer-led Little Free Library book-exchange boxes while inspiring readers and effecting change at the community level.
