Issue 1, 2021: Designer of the Year

DESIGNLINES

Your ultimate guide to Toronto's best contemporary design destinations

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Designlines Magazine
Vol. 20, No. 1 designlinesmagazine.com Editor-In-Chief Tory Healy Associate Editor Gregory Furgala Contributors David Agnew Veronika Aquila Stephanie Calvet Alexandra Caufin Matthew Hague Simon Lewsen Stefan Novakovic Elizabeth Pagliacolo Amrit Phull
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The Outlook Is Good
A new year. Phew. Here’s hoping that 2021 brings us all a little levity. But while we wait for the vaccine to roll out, we must keep carrying on as “normally” as possible, looking after ourselves and others the best we can. While speaking with retail
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One Thing
“Cute, fun and memorable.” Two of these words do not describe 2020, but all three certainly characterize Huey, a Toronto-born lighting studio in its infancy. And Cherub, shown here, is Huey’s aptly named first product. Because what better, dear home
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The DL
Odami conjures up a home office from thin air Is anything more anathema to design lovers than wasted space? Tasked with providing an Edwardian with an aesthetic and functional refresh, Odami – the team behind Sara restaurant – took on the living room
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Bridging the Gap
photo of Cherry Street North bridge by WATERFRONT TORONTO/VID INGELEVICS/RYAN WALKER ■
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Bathing Beauties
For busy parents to four young children, the convenience of a spa a few steps from the bed is something precious. Akb Architects cleverly packs a potentially chaotic list of luxurious features into streamlined and seamless volumes. The vanity, a glor
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A Creative Spirit at Large
Even though it spans 2,400 square metres, you’d be forgiven for missing C-Horse, a massive mural by Toronto-based, eagle-helmetwearing street artist birdO. Unlike his towering illustrations of wildlife in Deer Park, The Grange and elsewhere, this sea
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Brick by Brick
There is no separation of art and design for Ekow Nimako. Through his Lego-made creations, the artist masterfully reimagines African architecture and artifacts, and sometimes disregards them entirely to engineer his own, with futuristic themes. With
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Case Study
In the early ’90s, when architects Brigitte Shim and Howard Sutcliffe set out to design a laneway house, there was little legal precedent. A few years earlier, Daniels Faculty architecture professor Jeffrey Stinson had built a house on a back alley i
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Tiny Dancer
When creative director Stéphane Monnet crowded himself out of his Argyle Street house – renting out the top floor to a tenant, turning the ground floor into an office – he was not the victim of his own bad planning. Living part-time in Rotterdam, he
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Glam Garage
The dichotomy often found in laneway housing – part garage and part living space, all in one tiny footprint – is disconcerting for some. Garages, with their aluminum doors and raw concrete walls, tend to be drafty. For one of Craig Race’s recent clie
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Green Goddess
While laneway housing tends to cost more, there is an inherent environmental payback. The homes are compact and counterbalance urban sprawl, gently adding density to the city core. When conceiving a prefab laneway concept called Laneway Suite 1.0, ar
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Punk Rock Granny Flat
Check out even more stories on laneway housing at dlm.ag/LanewayHomes The benefits of multi-generational living are manifold. The challenge, though, is comfortably fitting everyone into an urban home. In 2016, architect Vanessa Fong tried to solve th
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Craft And Classicism
In 2016, architect Drew Mandel, principal of his eponymous firm, was hired to retrofit a heritage home for a family of five. The original house, built in 1924, is both classical and folksy. It has the hallmarks of Georgian Revival architecture – Pall
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Closet Systems
CC’s customized organization and storage solutions maximize the potential of your rooms and closets. Think: Murphy beds, garage workbenches, tailored wardrobes with adjustable shelving, baskets and pullout hampers. Go beyond utilitarian and appoint a
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Contemporary Furniture
Anazao designs, builds and installs fine custom wood furniture and decor, as well as architectural millwork and handcrafted steel. Homeowners and designers will find contemporary bespoke beds, dining tables, vanities and dressers made from single sla
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Design Accessories
Brothers Chris and Mark Siemicki agree: “Home is where the heart is.” The two opened 313 in their childhood abode to house their shared passion: fun and playful design-forward objects by cool international brands. Home accessories from Dusen Dusen, M
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Bataycsorba Architects
Amid the Victorian mansions of Parkdale – remnants of the neighbourhood’s 19th-century past as an upscale suburb – two modern homes beg pause from passersby. A brise-soleil creates an eye-catching screen and a secret art installation for the public:
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Flooring, Surfacing & Tiles
Consult Caesarstone professionals on your desired applications of their proprietary quartz slabs; this global innovator’s Toronto showroom features 62 varieties. Use Piatto’s deep black hues for dramatic kitchen islands and backsplashes. Calacatta’s
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Home Entertainment Systems
A long-standing institution, BBR is a centre for sight and sound from the world’s leading brands. Drawing on the best TVs from Sony and Samsung, high-fidelity sound options in a range of price points and a topnotch selection of headphones and turntab
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Kids’ Furniture
This Yorkville lifestyle boutique caters to the designloving parent and child. Personalize your nursery with blankets from Autumn Paris, seagrass changing baskets from Olli Ella and beautiful rattan doll furniture from Bonton. Lovely home decor aboun
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Kitchen & Bath
AC’s focus is squarely on kitchen and bathroom fixtures. Among the 50-plus brands in store are faucets by Blanco and Hansgrohe, rain showers by Aquabrass and Dornbracht, commercial-grade sinks by Elkay, elegant free-standing soaker tubs by Porcher an
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Lighting
Here’s something a little different: innovative luminaires in a lovingly restored and fully furnished heritage home where consumers and industry pros alike can explore functional vignettes of architectural and decorative lighting. Good ideas abound:
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Rugs & Carpeting
ARC’s newly renovated 1,300-square-metre showroom boasts a staggering selection of versatile contemporary flooring solutions, from carpet and area rugs to hardwood, cork, laminate and luxury vinyl. Here, you’ll find contemporary solutions perfectly s
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Outdoor Furniture
ARD Outdoor has all the upscale patio furnishings and accessories you’ll need to transform your backyard or balcony into a resort-inspired retreat, including newly added European line Vondom. Seating abounds – sectionals, loveseats, accent chairs and
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Vintage & Reclaimed Furniture
Lawrence Blairs’s compact boutique presents a tightly curated, high-end collection of authentic vintage art and design restored to glory. Current exceptional offerings include Hans Wegner’s iconic black leather Wing Chair, Tobia Scarpa’s architectura
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Textiles
This trade-only showroom specializes in fabric and drapery from such high-end brands as MissoniHome, Scalamandré, Ashley Wilde, Pindler and Maxwell. JF&C’s equally impressive wallcovering collection features sumptuous silks, grasscloth, paper weaves,
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Wallcoverings & Paint
Loft living without the cost and hassle of bricklaying: CA’s seven-millimetre-thick pre-engineered brick veneer wall panels affix to a mesh backing, making them a cinch to install. Locally hand-cast from gypsum to replicate the look and feel of centu
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Windows, Doors & Fireplaces
This charming maker-studio builds custom handcrafted wooden doors and furniture in white oak, walnut, poplar, fir and pine, all finished with brass, stainless steel or heavy metal hardware. Highlights include patented single-track bypass barn-door ha
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Workplace Furniture
Klaus, the famous showroom run by Klaus Nienkämper, has reinvented itself. Büro Klaus carries contemporary and classic designs by such esteemed manufacturers as Lambert & Fils, e15, COR, Fredericia and &Tradition, as well as an in-house line that inc
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Arch Angels
For the past 12 months, the outdoors has been a haven, the city’s public spaces our collective balm. Now that winter – and a new year – is here, the city needs us just as much as we need it: Getting outside keeps it alive. And so, it makes perfect po

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