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When I covered the 2009 Junior League Showhouse back in May, I noted that staff discouraged me from taking photographs. Naturally, I shot surreptitiously whenever their backs were turned but I elected not to post my images because Canadian House and Home is the media sponsor of the event and has an exclusive arrangement with the organizers. (Note to the JLT, if you’re serious about restricting photography post signs at the entrance and include the restriction on the ticket.)

Well, H&H’s coverage of the showhouse is on newsstands now so I’m finally free to reveal the images I captured while I was there. This is just a taste of the scrumptious interiors; 70 designers dressed nearly 50 rooms and hallways and for a decor junkie like me it felt a little like Christmas morning.

There were lots of fantastic spaces but months later the two rooms that stand out most in my mind are Brian Gluckstein’s study, above, and Kimberly Seldon’s master suite, below. Gluckstein’s room had two main focal points, a luxe Fortuny pendant hung above a chaise in the bay window opposite the doorway (shown in H&H) and an imposing Coromandel screen that anchored the main seating area. The space was a study (sorry) in contrasts between dark and light, masculine and feminine.

Seldon’s suite, on the other hand, was distinctly feminine. Pretty and pale, the ivory, lavender and gray scheme neatly distilled the colour story found over and over again in other rooms throughout the house.

Restraint is not a word that came to mind in Chapman Design Group’s exuberant West Wing kitchen with its striking acid yellow walls and quirky Murano chandelier. Elaborate millwork was another hallmark of the space — recessed appliances were wrapped in lush surrounds topped with stylized broken pediments, a detail that was literally over-the-top.

Another highly successful space was Joseph Cheng’s darkly elegant dining room, below. Twenty-seven years ago, the JLT’s first charity showhouse was this same building (McLean House in north Toronto) and Cheng designed the same room. For 2009 he and his team incorporated modern lighting with a framed silver-leaf ceiling panel and two-tone, wingback chairs that are at once traditional and contemporary.

Like Chapman’s kitchen, Patricia Halpin’s nursery was whimsical, bold and a little OTT. The wallpaper motif was echoed in the laser-cut radiator cover; a fluffy white area rug and soft roman blinds added layers of texture and luxury.

One of my favorite spaces was Anne Hepfer’s homage to Chanel, a black-and-white dressing room tucked up in the eaves. The designer mirrored the dormers and trimmed the walls and window coverings in black grosgrain ribbon. The pattern in the graphic carpet is subtly referenced in the shimmery, tone-on-tone wallpaper.

These are by no means the only noteworthy rooms, just the ones I was lucky enough to get decent pictures of. The next time JLT does a showhouse, don’t miss it!