Find sustainable vintage decor on a simple Sunday Stroll

When she first started repurposing used and vintage decor and furniture in the “freshman year” of the pandemic, Toronto-based Jessica Russell wasn’t planning on building a business. “I was trying to pass time and have fun,” she says, adding that she turned to it “because I couldn’t watch Netflix all day and I’m not good at baking.” Deciding that if she had to be stuck at home, she may as well put some love into it, Russell started by painting the main floor all white. The switch instantly changed the whole mood, she says.

“I finished that job quickly, and then I looked around and thought okay, maybe I’ll change the colour of this dresser or put some Mactac on that table. I was just experimenting with different medium.”

Eventually, she ran out of pieces to work on. “When I started to look online for things, I also noticed that other people were doing what I was doing. And lots of people were taking this time at home as an opportunity to change aspects of their homes.”

At the same time, there was a wave of decluttering. “That meant there was a lot of curbside clutter that people were getting rid of,” says Russell. Seeing it as “free inventory”, she scooped it up, took it home, and gave it a refresh.

Visions of vintage

Often, her vision of how a vintage decor piece should be reimagined is immediate. “In a lot of cases I see things and I think right away, okay I want to see that pink with gold hardware or like something in a Wes Andersen movie,” she explains.

Now, three years into Covid, Russell’s full-time gig is Sunday Stroll, the online décor store that arose from her first, tentative DIY projects. It’s got a terrific rotating selection of furniture, accessories, lighting, and table/cook ware, and a great-looking, inspirational Instagram feed.

Sustainable style

Russell has learned some valuable lessons about vintage decor since those first days.

“I was not saying no to much at the start,” she says. “But over time I learned what people like, and what kind of headaches come with some pieces. There was a time when if a piece came from a smoker’s home, I would think that there was for sure a solution for that. Now I know there isn’t, so even amazing teak credenza that everyone in the world wants, I would still say no today if it came from a smoker’s home. Because when there’s smoke in furniture, there’s no coming back.”

Great spaces are founded, Russell says, on an eclectic blend that she arrives by playing with pieces. “I don’t have a recipe for mixing having a vase from the 1950s with Afghan throw from the 1960s, but things from different design eras can create their aesthetic. That mixing and matching is where the fun begins.”