Toronto

One of the oldest homes in Toronto becomes the site of true balance, between landmark preservation and reimagination, between the past and the present. The home’s stately Italianate exterior, largely preserved and restored, down to the oatmeal color of the brick; its interior, fully remained and reconfigured.

The home’s original lozenge-shaped windows, present in the entry glass and transom, become a guiding theme. This elliptical form guides the walls, softened into curves, or gets spliced into the fireplace surround as if embossed; ceilings form into generous arcs, amplifying the securing sense of enclosure. A cabochon-shaped skylight, deeply set into the ceiling at the top of the stair, adds a touch of James Turrell Light-and-Space celestial awareness, a creative solution for a sloped roof that functions as a two-way mirror: drinking in natural light, and opening the home to the heavens. 

Small details reveal themselves. The library, clad in rich wood and sprouting bulbous globe fixtures from its vaulted ceiling, centers a double-height fireplace of curved, hand-hewn tile fabricated in New York. It is flanked by shelving and window casing that sports a subtle saw detail whose simplicity belies its intensive engineering, as well as a discreet office secreted off to the side.

A lower level sitting room offers a sophisticated take on the man cave. Custom millwork creating built-in shelving rises into a newly formed barrel-vaulted ceiling, all painted a contiguous deep marine. It is a space at once plush and steely, channeling the turned-down loucheness of the 1970s, pulled into the present by one of Rashid Johnson’s “Anxious Men,” as well as a custom Devon Turnbull Ojas Hi-Fi audio system. On the same level, a cinema room studded with plush modular seating wrapping around an ovoid-ceilinged sauna (literally) round out the home’s invitations to comfort.