DESIGNLINES

Where our intrepid DL explorers uncovered neighbourhood charms What is your name? Myriam Couturier What have you done for us lately? I walked around the King West, Liberty Village and Queen West areas, visiting stores and showrooms, chatting with own

Designers Neri&Hu rendered their poetic interpretation of swallows taking flight in brass with featherweight glass heads. The loosely caged bird is enclosed in a crystal cloche. YANZI PENDANT BY ARTEMIDE, $2135, AT KIOSK, 288 KING ST E KIOSKDESIGN.CA

Available in mint and peach colours with grey-dipped bottoms, the leather strap on these tie-dye-style Danish beanbags can be removed for easy washing. Made from 100 per cent cotton. MIMI’S CIRCUS BEAN BAG, $250, AT ADVICE FROM A CATERPILLAR, 8 PRICE

Leave it to Yoko Ono to find Zen in broken coffee cups. Mend Piece, first created in 1966, asks visitors to reassemble porcelain pieces with tape, string and glue while sipping freshly brewed coffee in an all-white room. Two concurrent installations,

WHAT THE CLIENTS HAD: a 116-year-old Period Revival home near Casa Loma. What they wanted: a “modern art gallery” aesthetic. Enter Audax into a situation where duelling needs had to be met: the homeowners’ checklist of wants – including one large fam

1 DUE PROGRESS Paris, New York and now, Hogtown. The new Toronto Courthouse is the first project in Canada for the celebrated Renzo Piano Building Workshop, whose resume boasts cultural landmarks like the Centre Pompidou and The New York Times Buildi

IT WAS ONCE A STATELY VICTORIAN FAMILY HOME full of fireplaces and crown moulding, but the years had not been kind. Chopped into odd little apartments with poky rooms, hardware store light fixtures and acres of dark carpet, it had suffered an untold

“HOW CAN YOU HAVE an integral garage and habitable basement on a narrow lot and still be able to have a living room that connects to the backyard?” This was the primary challenge Ja Architecture Studio faced with this new build on Briar Hill Avenue,

IT’S THE MODERN HOMEOWNER’S DILEMMA: they want a quintessential Victorian’s quirky details and nooks to explore, but none of its drafts and dearth of closets. The best approach is to embellish the old bits, then blend them into a new look. Alison Mil

DECOR AND INTERIOR DESIGN TRENDS COME AND GO. Remember waterbeds, shag carpeting and wall-to-wall wood panelling? Or the sunken living rooms of the ’70s, as seen on the Mary Tyler Moore Show? Fashionable or not, step-down family rooms make good sense

With an economical approach to design, EQ3 produces intelligently crafted and retro-sleek furniture and accessories. Its latest collection introduces the Replay sofa with configurable seat options, the Arie ottoman and the Chiara Lounge Chair in waln

Visitors here peruse a range of bespoke mod furnishings in walnut, cherry, white oak and maple, all sourced from regional woodlots and crafted on site. Check out the media cabinets with slatted doors, platform beds that boast cantilevered side tables

Drawing its name from a 19th-century Upper Canada land surveyor, Augustus Jones specializes in bringing stunning European furnishings to the New World. Its fresh white interior provides a pleasant contrast to the bold selection of indoor and outdoor

Refined and cozy with a rustic edge, this Rosedale boutique carries everything that caters to the design-loving parent. Personalize your nursery with linens, rugs and throws from artist-turned-designer Caroline Z Hurley, and painted woven baskets wit

Lawrence Blairs recently expanded his collection of mid-century pieces (heavy on the Eameses, Verner Panton and Pierre Paulin) to include more recent selections; it now comprises refurbished 1950s and ’60s originals and postmodern designs from the ’7

AL specializes in premium built-in appliances from top brands, with an emphasis on smart features. Just look to under-mount ovens with panelled warming drawers by Wolf, wine and Monolith fridges from Liebherr, Miele’s silent dishwashers and the Urban

Designers flock here for exclusive continental furniture and lighting that leans more toward chic hotels than the comforts of home. The showroom packs avant-garde Spanish seating from Beltá, OI Side and CasaDesús alongside poufs, benches and poolside

It’s difficult to understand the work of Philip Beesley – the analytical mind wants to give meaning to his strangely beautiful and wildly mesmerizing 3D veils made of tiny polymer nodes that are wired to respond to human presence, fluttering and shif