If you’re Canadian, chances are you’re familiar with the name Jake Gold.
Much of his career has centred on his passion for music. In his late twenties, he and his business partner heard about a small Kingston band called The Tragically Hip, liked their style and signed them, only to manage them for 18 years, with 12 JUNOs under the band’s belt. Currently, he’s the CEO of The Management Trust.
All photos courtesy of Joel Levy.
Gold became a household name thanks to his stint as a judge on Canadian Idol, which he tells me was the #1 Canadian show of all time, in terms of ratings. The tennis lover and design enthusiast continues to travel all around the world for conferences, gigs and tennis, yet home is where he feels most at ease.
His gallery-inspired space is in Old Toronto, near the St. Lawrence Market.
“I wanted to live in an urban environment like I did in New York City in the late ’90s and early 2000s,” says Gold. “It’s a two storey hard loft, with 11” ceilings on the main floor and 12” ceilings upstairs, complete with a large terrace with great city views.”
The style is mid-century modern mixed with eclectic art. I’ve had the pleasure of being friends with Gold for the past eight years and I’ve seen his collection of art and furniture evolve.
“I buy stuff that speaks to me,” says Gold. “I’ve been collecting since 1998 and I’ve gotten to know a lot of people that deal in this kind of furniture and some have become good friends. I do a lot of buying and selling with Jake Keck from Machine Age Modern on Queen Street East.”
To kick off 2019, he decided to pick up a DIY project and reno his closet and master suite washroom.
“I wanted to expand the closet and the bathroom area and modernize it,” explained Gold. “I built a wall with a pocket door and took out two doors to open the space up. It’s a passion of mine to do things and create things, I feel a sense of accomplishment when I do that kind of stuff and it’s a fun project to do.”
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His reno inspiration? Why, Pinterest, of course!
“I went on Pinterest to look at upholstered headboards and found something I really liked,” shares Gold. “I had been thinking about building a headboard, and having really high ceilings allowed me to do something tall and grand. I had built upholstered headboards before, found the one I liked, did my research to find suppliers that would deliver to me. I ordered all the stuff I needed, and within two days, I built it and set it up.”
Gold also wanted to make take advantage of the space in his master bedroom, so he extended an existing wall to create a bigger closet, and then installed a pull-out door in his washroom.
He then re-did the washroom to maximize storage and make it look less diminutive. He took the doors off the bathroom and closet and opened right up to the ceiling, building a wall to make the bathroom and closet one space (almost like a bathroom/dressing area separate from the bedroom.)
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“It didn’t feel as big when the closet was in the bedroom,” says Gold. “I put a giant dressing mirror in and there’s more hanging space, now. It’s a better use of the space and I didn’t lose any space in my bedroom because I extended an existing wall,”
Gold then found a wallpaper with a design that spoke to him, and put that up in the washroom himself.
This is a testament to his work ethic. When Gold has a project, he’s all in and hits the ground running without missing a beat. Which is why it comes as no surprise that his office is actually in his home.
Says Gold, “I sit down at my desk at 10 o’clock every morning and at 6 o’ clock every night – unless I’m still on a phone call - I get up from the desk, shut all the lights off and leave the area. I treat it like I’m going to my office every day. It’s just a much shorter commute.”
Speaking of a commute, Jake decided to get rid of his car just over a year ago and admits it’s one of the best decisions he’s made. For him, it’s all about living an urban lifestyle.
“I can get anywhere really fast either with Uber, Lyft, the streetcar or the subway,” Gold says. “You don’t realize how much of a bubble you’re in when you’re just going from the parking lot, into your car, and to the next place; you’re not really interacting with anybody in the city in which you live.”
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Gold also says he gets more work done during transit because he’s no longer driving.
When asked if he’d ever leave this area, he says – without missing a beat – “Only if I was leaving the country.”
If he’s not at home working, cooking or hosting friends for dinner parties in his dining room or on his terrace, you can find Gold hitting up Soho House, breaking bread for breakfast at Le Petit Dejeuner, or having dinner at Mongia & Bevi.
