Innehållsförteckning för Spring 2016 från DESIGNLINES

Name: Elizabeth Pagliacolo What have you done for us lately? I profiled five creative local talents (p. 71). I especially loved getting to peek inside Kathryn Walter’s backyard studio, where all of her felt projects take shape. The walls were alive with the array of tools she uses. What is one example of great design in Toronto? I love Corktown Common (155 Bayview Ave) – it was designed with everything in mind, from delivering a wonderful user experience to acting as a resilient buffer for storms. Name: Kathryn Hayward What have you done for us lately? I covered Joe and Sarah Knight’s dramatic two-faced house in Etobicoke (p. 62). When I arrived, their son was heading to school and their twins were running every which way. You could see how…

1 SHOW YOU THE DOOR Blu Interni’s doorways transform the ordinary room barrier into a striking, richly textured canvas. Part of the Italian manufacturer’s B-Line collection of designs that close flush to the wall, this Pietra finish mimics the rugged look of stone. FROM $3550, AT ITALIAN ART INTERIOR, 124 LAIRD DR ITALIANARTINTERIOR.COM 2 BOOM BOX The genius Cube side table–slash-stereo system by La Boite Concept is fully tuned into modern listening habits. Rest your laptop on the top shelf, or DJ wirelessly from a smartphone. Six speakers direct crisp audio to every corner of a room. $1795, AT STYLEGARAGE, 78 OSSINGTON AVE STYLEGARAGE.COM 3 TOP-TIER LADDER Designed by Toronto’s MSDS Studio for Assembly, a concept collection envisioned in collaboration with industry breakouts, EQ3’s Rack props up against bathroom walls…

On his dining room wall, physician Charlie Guiang displays a monumental canvas by artist Mitchell Clark Meller, which features a disassembling body created with oil, household paint, resin, pencil, chalk, and pastels. Guiang was drawn by its mixed-media sensibilities, which isn’t surprising: his new home – four floors in a converted Bloorcourt Village church – is itself a mixed-media wonder. Inside, a tasteful combination of textures and finishes forms an intriguing contrast with the structure’s architecture. Guiang’s is one of only 17 units in the converted Neo-Gothic church, a project by architect Asen Vitko, co-owner of Dog Day Developers. Vitko wanted to repurpose the site without obliterating its history. “I didn’t cover any of the original structure with drywall,” he says. He restored the stained-glass windows and blasted the wooden…

Whether they shock with their spiky rock ’n’ roll vibe or seduce with their sensuous lines, the silhouettes of Sid Neigum’s womenswear designs are as architectural as they are rebellious. Nicholas Mellamphy, the buying director of the Room at Hudson’s Bay, has displayed the collection alongside Rodarte and Junya Watanabe, and proclaimed Neigum “the most exciting Canadian designer to hit the runway in a long time.” And yet, when we catch up with Neigum after his spring 2016 show – presented to a packed house during Toronto Fashion Week – the Fashion Incubator’s designer-inresidence is as humble as can be. Chalk it up to his small-town Alberta upbringing. “Definitely not a lot of fashion in Drayton Valley,” Neigum jokes. But a job in retail stirred his passion, and he quit…

Peter Coolican stands on the footrest of his Palmerston stool, the full weight of his body bearing down on the seemingly dainty spindle. “People are always like, ‘My kids will destroy that,’” he says. “But these things are bulletproof.” We’re at the Coolican & Company retail space, a pristine splash of white in an otherwise industrial warehouse on Sterling Road. On the other side of the wall is a communal workshop, where he has been assembling Windsor-style chairs for Kit and Ace’s Oakville location. To keep prices down, Coolican sells his Shaker and midcentury– inspired furniture online, but after his debut at last year’s Interior Design Show, he decided to open this showroom so that customers could get a feel for his quiet craftsmanship. The Morrisburg, Ontario, native had always…

Antique Door & Hardware Looking for better-than-big-box options for your house numbers, latches, doorknobs and pulls? ADH has been in the biz for 46 years and offers tried-and-true solutions from the pros – Baldwin, Emtek, Richelieu and Rocky Mountain – in styles ranging from traditional to contemporary. Standouts include modern house numbers by Atlas Homewares, invisible hinges by Simonswerk and super-slim pulls by Top Knobs. 1750 AVENUE RD 647 496 1968 MON-FRI 9-5, SAT 9-2 ADHHARDWARE.CA Bergo Designs Boasting accessories from top Danish, German, Italian and Swiss manufacturers, Bergo is where you’ll find the city’s largest collection of Alessi and Eva Solo kitchen accessories, including the latter’s shapely carafes encased in fashionable covers to keep things cold. Don’t overlook the jewellery (Georg Jensen watches!) or the kids’ section – Areaware…

Advice from a Caterpillar This business is a family affair: Susan Dyer and her daughters Elizabeth and Emily frequently jet off to Paris to keep this stylish store for tots well stocked. Danish furniture from Leander includes a high chair and crib designed to grow with your child. Keep bedrooms clutter-free with Wool Fabrique’s storage hampers and bags. 8 PRICE ST 416 960 2223 MON-SAT 10-6 ADVICEFROMACATERPILLAR.CA Baby on the Hip Buzzing with Leslieville families, BOTH is frequented for its eco-friendly furniture, toys and pint-sized clothing, such as the silky bamboo Kyte sleep sacks. Other make-life-easier items include the BPA-free Lollacup sippy cup with its flexible straw and signature rooster lid; and the Bumbleride Indie, a lightweight and foldable jogging stroller that features a large canopy. 969 QUEEN ST E…

Andrew Richard Designs Tropical plants, canopies and waterfalls provide a perfect backdrop for a wide assortment of outdoor dining furniture, lounge seating, daybeds, umbrellas and accessories. Available in a range of materials (including its patented all-weather Solartex weave), the selection has something to suit every sunbather and shade lover. Many of the latest wares pair reclaimed teak with stainless steel. 571 ADELAIDE ST E 416 601 1451 MON-WED & SAT 10-6, THU & FRI 10-7, SUN 12-5 ANDREWRICHARDDESIGNS.COM ARD Outdoor A spin-off of the luxurious Andrew Richard Designs brand, this sunny 1,200-square-metre showroom shines thanks to its diversification of materials and styles – and its price points. We love the pairing of woven poly-fibres with teak, cast aluminum, stainless steel, concrete and resin in its huge range of sectionals, loungers…

Are & Be Merike and Stephen Bauer stock wallpaper and floor coverings otherwise impossible to find in the city. Object Carpet’s six-pattern Supergraphic High Class collection makes a statement on the floor with loud lime-green stripes and jarring geometrics. For the walls, try Think Tank’s room-sized, picture-book illustrations or Elli Popp’s Victorian dreamscapes with a neo-romantic twist. 1213 BATHURST ST 416 533 3203 THU 12-5:30 OR BY APPT AREANDBE.COM Farrow & Ball Known for quality paints and wallpapers, F&B epitomizes British style. Elegant and classy remains its bread and butter, but the brand is now offering more modern options, including new hues in its heritage collection and wallpaper that embraces slightly more avant-garde motifs. See Tourbillon: its segmented circles could be deco or fresh modern-day, depending on the colourway. 1054…

B Sq. Design Studio Inc. Robert Boltman and Alex Bartlett are the Tiger Woods and Arnold Palmer of landscape design, which is to say that they regularly place in Japan’s Gardening World Cup. The firm won gold for a project in Nagasaki that included a pond, a giant twine-wrapped bench and a metal globe with a waterfall. Closer to home, they recently refreshed a cramped Annex yard with a cedar fence that flows seamlessly into the matching garage and deck. 416 364 4840 BSQDESIGN.COM Fox Whyte Landscape Architecture & Design Inc. The crisp front yard Kate Fox-Whyte designed for a Scarborough Bluffs home by Taylor Smyth Architects has inspired some gawking. Filled with neat arrangements of shrubbery and intersected by an Algonquin stone walkway, it’s a lesson in how to…

While touring the home of Joy Walker, a Toronto curator, artist and fabric-technology expert, I found myself staring at a black-and-white photo of a man on a snowmobile. “That’s my dad,” said Joy. “He invented the Ski-Doo suit.” I was shocked – I’d never given any thought to who might have created such an iconic piece of Canadiana. I knew about Bombardier, the Ski-Doo’s manufacturer, but I knew nothing about this man. Turns out very few do. Growing up in Montreal in the ‘30s, Walker, an Anglophone and son of Jewish immigrants, was a resourceful and scrappy child. The youngest in a walk-up packed with extended family, Walker slept in an unfinished room above the porch, blanketed with warm coats every winter. Just a decade earlier in the nearby Eastern…

Balancing on Alissa Coe’s worktable, a porcelain sculpture resembling a giant curl of white tree bark awaits its final finish – a silver lining that should develop a warm tarnish over time. For Coe, the process often points the way. “Ideas come out of the actual making,” she says. “It just is what it is.” One of the city’s most sought-after ceramicists, she conjured the ethereal dandelion spores that dangle above the Four Seasons’ reception area, as well as the hexagonal vases that line the shelves at Mjölk. “I’m drawn to elemental forms, sharp angles and clean lines. But at the same time, my biggest inspiration is nature.” The wood-like sculpture she’s completing now was made by folding a rolled porcelain sheet cylindrically and carving away at its skin with…

B.O.F.F. Wall Bed This Murphy bed manufacturer serves spacestarved condo dwellers. Scores of vignettes illustrate customizable wall beds, home office systems and for-anywhere cabinets. And there are endless possibilities for shelving, hardware, door finishes and panel styles – from Shaker to modern. All-in-one bed units can incorporate a desk, a bookcase and even a sofa. 4249 STEELES AVE W, VAUGHAN 416 636 2633 TUE-THU & SAT 10-5, FRI 10-7, SUN 12-5 BOFFWALLBEDS.CA California Closets Make your dream walk-in closet a reality. At this flagship store, consultants take you through space-saving solutions for the bedroom, kitchen, garage and media room. Drawer and door fronts are available in finishes for every taste. The Ecoresin line encases leaves in translucent panels, while the Tesoro Collection features linen and herringbone textures. 1400 CASTLEFIELD AVE…

Cambria This downtown space showcases only the stone countertop brand’s gleaming surfaces, but staff members are happy to direct visitors to local kitchen and bath dealers that carry its natural (mined in Canada) quartz slabs. The showroom artfully displays 46 of 103 colour options through easy-to-peruse framed samples, plus vignettes of shimmering kitchen countertops, bathtubs and custom sink inlays. 91 PARLIAMENT ST 416 363 8801 MON-FRI 9-6, SAT 11-4 CAMBRIACANADA.COM Centura Tile Founded in 1933, this flooring specialist sets itself apart with a high-fashion approach in its flagship store, designed by Kneider Architects. Two-storey windows soak the showroom – and upscale European lines like Mirage, Atlas Concorde and Italgraniti – in natural light. Displays line the perimeter and flaunt the latest trends: large-format tiles for seamless-looking floors and artisanal porcelain…

Amati Canada AC’s kitchen and bath products range from the traditional to the contemporary – everything from LED-lit, painted-glass vanities to Japanesestyle, barrel-sized soaker tubs. Carrying 50-plus brands, the store offers faucets by Blanco and Hansgrohe, rain showers by Aquabrass and Dornbracht, commercial-grade sinks by Elkay, Porcher’s elegant freestanding soaker tubs and wall-mounted Duravit toilets designed by Philippe Starck. 105 DONCASTER AVE, THORNHILL 905 709 0881 MON-FRI 9-6, SAT 9-5 AMATICANADA.COM Appliance Canada With more than 60 electronic brands, AC has pretty much every appliance a home could need: Thermador’s high-performance range with built-in steam and convection oven; LG’s turbo washers; Avantgarde’s wine coolers with generous bottle capacity; and the standout, La Cornue’s spectacular island range. Crafted in France in cast iron, brass and enamel, it looks fit for a…

Amala Carpets Offering the most authentic Nepalese wool and Thai silk rugs you’re likely to find in Toronto, Amala’s award-winning pieces pair ancient weaving techniques with sustainable innovations. The butterfly inspired Nabi I, for example, is made with hand-reeled zee silk; Parda, which evokes the water reflection of a forest, is made of hand-carded Himalayan sheep wool. 990 ROSELAWN AVE 416 482 0998 MON-FRI 9-6, SAT & SUN BY APPT ONLY AMALACARPETS.COM Flor The modular and sustainable carpet tiles at Flor make it easy to jazz up any room. The vast array of textures and styles can be configured in any shape or size to create one-of-a-kind rugs, runners or wall-to-wall designs. Patterns range from It’s Snow Problem’s multi-level loops in subtle hues to Floweret’s flower print in 14 mix-and-match…

1925 Workbench 1925 makes barn doors – in woods ranging from pine to teak and complete with craftedright-here hardware – for clients across North America. Recent projects include a stained-pine model with frosted glass, designed to hide a home office while still allowing light in, and a two-metre-wide poplar version, painted dandelion yellow with a hand-forged metal rail and horseshoe-style brackets. 30 ST. MARKS RD 416 878 1869 BY APPT ONLY 1925WORKBENCH.COM Alleens The pros here have window treatments for every need and budget, so let them guide you through textiles by Robert Allen, Joanne Fabrics and Kravet; shutters from Eclipse; and numerous shoji screens. There are also motorized skylight blinds by Hunter Douglas, wall coverings by Crown Wallpaper and retractable awnings by Somfy. 444 YONGE ST 416 847 0947…

Augustus Jones Much like the 19th-century Toronto land surveyor it’s named for, Augustus Jones the retailer thrives in uncharted territory. Stocking a choice selection of European brands, the boutique showroom deals in high-end office, living and dining room furniture that can’t be found anywhere else in the city. Originally a graphic designer, store founder Cliff Smith discovered an opportunity to indulge his lifelong passion for fine, contemporary furnishings while sourcing pieces for his weekend getaway, a canning factory he was renovating in Grafton, Ontario. He became so passionate, in fact, that he acquired the Canadian distribution rights for Belgium’s Vincent Sheppard and carved a showroom for the manufacturer’s paper-wrapped steel seating from his dramatic countryside retreat. Now partnered with Jacques Trédille, a furniture industry vet who’s established showrooms in both…

Family Storytime Modish Master Suite Condo-Sized Sanctuary…

Akroyd Furniture Visitors to this Distillery District studio will find a range of custom furnishings crafted from walnut, cherry, white oak and maple – all sourced from regional woodlots. The company’s wares boast a timeless aesthetic in everything from built-in media cabinetry to slab dining tables and platform beds with storage drawers. 15 CASE GOODS LN, STE #101-102 416 367 5757 WED-SUN 12-5 OR BY APPT AKROYDFURNITURE.CA ALX Home This family business has nearly 40 years of experience in custom furniture, and its commercial portfolio boasts casegoods for the Drake General Store. This retail outpost focuses on built-to-order condo basics made from local wood. Platform beds, in walnut or cherry, are equipped with as many as six integrated drawers. 100 FOUR VALLEY DR, UNIT D, VAUGHAN 905 738 2307 MON-SAT…

Bang & Olufsen High fidelity meets high design at this wellappointed showroom. The Danish electronics brand offers stylish speakers, home-theatre setups and even telephones. BeoVision’s Avant 4K TV adjusts for ambient light levels to maintain an always-vivid picture, while the BeoPlay A9 one-point music system on legs is crafted like a piece of fine Nordic furniture. 175 AVENUE RD 416 935 1919 MON-SAT 10-6 BANG-OLUFSEN.COM Bay Bloor Radio Home to Canada’s first Bose store, this threefloor showroom now houses the brand’s complete range of products. Other highlights include UHD/4K TVs from Samsung, Sony and Panasonic; music-streaming systems from Sonos; speakers from Totem Acoustic and Sonance; and audio equipment from McIntosh, Naim, NAD, Yamaha and Arcam. Customization, consultation and installation are available. 55 BLOOR ST W 416 967 1122 MON-WED 10-7,…

AM Studio Each of this studio’s exquisite lights has either been sourced from local and Israeli artists or created on site. The fixtures, many of which are LED, are crafted from Swarovski crystal, metal and handmade glass and made into dramatic sculptural forms – chandeliers of cascading plates and clusters of globes in frosted silver, amber or bronze. 1270 CASTLEFIELD AVE 416 783 4100 MON-FRI 10-5, SAT 12-5, SUN BY APPT AMSTUDIO.CA Artemide This Italian lighting manufacturer’s glass-walled, wedge-shaped showroom is an architectural gem in itself. Inside, the selection includes innovative dynamic pendants, outdoor fixtures and everything in between. Among the recent additions to the LED offerings: the Scopas pendant that resembles Darth Vader’s Death Star; and Ilio, an aluminum floor lamp available in seven vibrant hues. 5 MILL ST…

Artemano Discover handcrafted wooden furniture sourced from India, Indonesia and Thailand in this Zen-like space. You won’t find anything lacquered here; the wood is in its most natural state. Bed frames, sideboards and dining tables come in both simple and live-edge styles. Look for teak-root bases fashioned into coffee tables and bookcases crafted from fishing boats. 698 CALEDONIA RD 416 548 7818 MON-SAT 10-6, SUN 11-6 ARTEMANO.CA Atomic Design Lawrence Blairs packs his store with Scandinavian glass, architectural jewellery and 20th-century modern furniture and accessories by such iconic designers as Charles and Ray Eames and Eero Saarinen. Latest finds include a conical pendant by Swedish designer Hans Agne Jakobsson and a Kundalini suspension lamp that evokes droplets of molten fibreglass in motion. 965 QUEEN ST W 416 912 2358 SUN…

Haworth In a sprawling glass-walled showroom that channels the Pearson Hardman office from Suits, Haworth offers task chairs and desk sets with verve, courtesy of designers Patricia Urquiola, Marcel Wanders and Jasper Morrison. The paper clip–shaped chartreuse Windowseat features a built-in privacy screen, while the Workware View easel is mobile, making it perfect for on-the-fly multimedia presentations. 55 UNIVERSITY AVE 416 363 3486 MON-FRI 9-5 HAWORTH.COM Humanscale The LEED gold-certified Canadian HQ of this manufacturer boasts a wealth of furnishings and lighting options suitable for the workplace and home, including ergonomic desk chairs and LED table lamps (many of them award winning) made with sustainable materials. A recent fan favourite is the Niels Diffrient Freedom chair, which features weight-sensitive recline and synchronously adjustable armrests. 488 WELLINGTON ST W, 6TH FL…

Festivals Winter Stations Feb 13-Mar 19 Zip up your parka and head to the Beach for this mid-winter pick-me-up showcasing designs by local and international architecture firms, as well as students, artists and design professionals. Thirteen large-scale installations, each built around a utilitarian lifeguard stand, respond to the theme “Freeze/Thaw.” Last year’s stations included a pine cone–shaped, geodesic structure and a monolithic black shelter with soundproofed walls. FREE. KEW-BALMY BEACH, 360 LAKE FRONT WINTERSTATIONS.COM The Artist Project Feb 18-21 Artists run their own booths at this annual fair, giving collectors and admirers a unique opportunity to gain raw insights into the paintings, prints and sculptures on display. Learn the deeper meaning behind an abstract work, or discover the person in that striking portrait. Influential curators will also be on hand…