Innehållsförteckning för Issue 3, 2019: Best New Homes & Condos från DESIGNLINES

Sometimes, when we close an issue, we can’t help but think, “What next?” It has been 18 years, after all, since this local magazine came to be. And after 18 years of publishing projects by GTA-only architects and designers, you’d think we’d have seen it all. It’s simply not the case. New-to-us studios pop up all the time, surprising us with their ingenuity, while stalwart firms restore our wonder again and again as they shake up the standards. This issue, our redesigned Best New Builds edition, is no exception. How could I have guessed that we’d be covering a Connecticut-style modern, straight out of the ’40s, in cookie-cutter Burlington? Yet newbie Ben Homes came calling. Nor would I have bet that Etobicoke could be home to a hyper-contemporary faceted residence…

At the foot of Liberty Village, a towering wooden door stands mysteriously among the crumbling, graffitied walls of an alleyway. Once, it led to a secret sex club overlooking the Gardiner – and before that, a foundry and warehouse for The Canada Metal Company. Those pasts are a far cry from the elegant sights that now live within. Today, the door opens onto the transformative studio of Paolo Ferrari. Although only three years into his own practice, the interior and furniture designer can hardly be labelled a novice. He reigned as design director of the risk-taking firm Yabu Pushelberg for six years before breaking out on his own, citing a desire to harness the unique possibilities available to a globally minded designer in a city like Toronto. True to plan,…

2001: A magazine’s odyssey begins. About the size of a CD case (remember those?), the cover of our little publication had two prominent features: a giant capital D, and the logo of our publisher, Azure, in the top left corner. Designed by Concrete, the book relied on the simplicity of Helvetica and a minimal palette of clashy colours. Available only at select shops downtown, Designlines had a scarcity that made it covetable, and a following began. Azure, having recognized the city’s need for a modern shelter magazine, had hit on something big in teeny-tiny format. Over the years, we honed Designlines’s identity, branding it as Toronto’s Ultimate Guide to Design. We grew to digest-size and Sali Tabacchi performed our first redesign, changing our ALL-CAPS logo twice. The first one saw…

Alexandra Caufin What have you done for us lately? I interviewed the Toronto-born-and-raised designer Paolo Ferrari (p.57). What struck you the most as you toured his studio? His spaces and furniture feel like gateways to other worlds. I love when design has that kind of magic. His mohair sofa–chair, for instance, is a real stunner. For me, it encapsulates Ferrari’s imaginative approach: it’s a single chair that can probably seat 10 people. Arash Moallemi What have you done for us lately? I went on an enjoyable quest to photograph three beautiful and interesting homes. Were there any architectural features you hadn’t seen before? In Great Lake Studio’s home (p.76), the living room is on the third floor. A bit unusual, but once you’re there, you realize how nice it is…

Taste of Design Where to eat and drink in style Our favourite boites treat design as much more than a side dish. Take Milky’s Coffee (760 Dundas West), for instance. Its interior, by Batay-Csorba, is wrapped – flooring, walls and ceiling – in diamond-shaped Matita wood from Relative Space, creating a cohesive “loud minimalist” geometry perfect for sipping high-rev bevvies in Anony-designed cups. Read all about it – and such other style-forward hot spots as Casa La Palma, Kōjin and Aloette – on our website. 1. Perfect pour In a bipartisan move, Jamie Wolfond, founder of Good Thing, launched the Diametric jug. The stoneware prototype unites two opposing styles: ancient pottery and the Bauhaus movement. JAMIEWOLFOND.COM 2. Supporting role Joy Charbonneau and Derek McLeod reinvented the humble coat rack for…

Boychuk Fuller Boychuk Fuller’s goal for this redesign: simple, functional and squeaky clean. The secret to its subtlety is in its soft edges: glazed porcelain penny round tiles flow from floor to wall, creating a gradual shading under dimmable lighting for a soothing ambience. The softened outline is a practical way of preventing dirt and dust from gathering in the corners, and provides light that is gentle on the eyes at night when washed with at-floor LEDs concealed behind the vanity. The room’s white-as-snow aesthetic continues with a thin envelope of Corian that marries tub and shower, seamlessly wrapping the wet areas. For a perfectly uncluttered appearance, the same material tops the wall-mounted vanity, which is outfitted with eight touch-latch drawers. With extra storage in the expansive mirror cabinet and…

“Interior designers often find they’re doing things to fix bad interior architecture,” says David Grant-Rubash, principal of Toronto’s Phaedrus Studio. By working on both together, as he prefers to do, the results are simpatico. “You end up with a better, more thoughtful space that’s part of a comprehensive experience.” At Tesseract House, a new home in Long Branch, the interior and exterior are playfully in sync. Designed by Phaedrus Studio with architect Jeff Geldart, the 280-square-metre house pairs a striking facade with an interior of light-filled rooms and artful, unexpected geometry. From the street, four windows set into trapezoidal frames of corrugated steel and pale wood meet the gaze of onlookers. These are unusual at a glance, but the longer you stare at them, the more their shapes begin to…

TO THE LIGHTHOUSE Named after a beacon on the coast of Brittany, this glossy luminaire creates an intense and unified downward spotlight – perfect for reading. Binic, by Foscarini, 7 colours, $185 at Kiosk ROOM SERVICE Designed by Arne Jacobsen in 1960 for a Copenhagen hotel, this Louis Poulsen icon has been released anew in zippy colours. AJ Lamp, by Louis Poulsen, 10 colours, $1550 at Klaus BALANCING ACT A mini version of a 1932 Gio Ponti design, Bilia features a softly glowing glass orb that rests on a chromatic cone for a sharp, timeless look. Bilia Mini, by FontanaArte, 10 colours, $325 at LightForm THINK PINK A pink dimmer disk conceals an LED bulb while casting a diffuse, Old-Hollywood glow in any room. Blooper, by Please Wait to be…

From the windows of our West End office, downtown skyscrapers – and construction cranes – unfold across the horizon in dramatic peaks, framing a foreground of low-slung houses. Our city leads the continent in high-rise residential construction, and it shows. And as towers transform Toronto, the two diametric extremes of soaring condominiums and single-family dwellings are beginning to characterize the city. Enter the residential mid-rise. Mid-rise buildings are a transitional presence bridging the urban divide, offering transit- and pedestrian-friendly density at the human scale. Significantly taller than the celebrated “missing middle” typologies (like stacked townhouses and duplexes), these structures introduce substantial density at a pleasantly European measure. There’s a sense of variety – and adventure – among the designs, which range from Oben Flats Castlefield (whose deft street-level articulation picks…

Closet Systems 83 Contemporary Furniture 83 Design Accessories 89 Flooring, Surfacing & Tiles 92 Home Entertainment Systems 95 Kids’ Furniture 95 Kitchen & Bath 96 Lighting 98 Outdoor Furniture 99 Rugs & Carpeting 100 Textiles 100 Vintage & Reclaimed Furniture 102 Wallcoverings & Paint 104 Windows, Doors & Fireplaces 104 Workplace Furniture 105 Alphabetical Index 106 Closet Systems California Closets CC’s customized organization and storage solutions maximize the potential of your home’s rooms and closets. Think: Murphy beds, garage workbenches, tailored wardrobes with adjustable shelving, baskets and pullout hampers. For touches of colour, try doors with back-painted glass inserts, and pulls in graphite or gold. Media centres featuring cubbies, integrated lighting and concealed wiring keep lived-in spaces tidy. 1400 CASTLEFIELD AVE 416 342 1717 (ALSO: 158 DAVENPORT RD 416 342…