Issue 2, 2022

DESIGNLINES

Your ultimate guide to Toronto's best contemporary design destinations

DESIGNLINES1 min read
Designlines Magazine CA
Editor-In-Chief Catherine MacIntosh Web Editor/Assistant Editor Elena Sénéchal-Becker Copy Editor David Agnew Contributors François Abbott Veronika Aquila Iris Benaroia Stephanie Calvet B.F. Dawes David Gillespie Silvana Longo Carolyn Pioro Emily Smi
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DL turns 21!
Over the past two decades, Designlines has grown and changed alongside the city’s design scene — from our initial issues tucked inside our sister publication Azure to a digest size and now the issue you see today. In an era when print magazines are o
DESIGNLINES1 min read
21 Years Old
As we move ahead, we asked our contributors to share their thoughts on the next 21 years. (Flip to the back page to read them all.) Here, a lovely vision of Toronto from our friends at Wayback Architects: “How about a city of midrise garden landscape
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The DL
Designlines launched in 2001 as a comprehensive guide listing the best modern showrooms, galleries, bars and restaurants in town. Bundled with our sister publication, Azure, it was small in size but mighty in impact – readers would tuck it into their
DESIGNLINES1 min read
Pretty Panes
With structural silicone joints and a silicone corner, these windows from Alumilex (seen here in Naturehumaine’s La Brèche in Eastman, Quebec) optimize natural light from every vantage point, fully embracing the surrounding landscape. Custom pricing
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Opening Doors
If bringing the great outdoors inside is your thing, consider this pivoting door by Andersen. Paired with coordinating windows, the blurred boundary is sure to turn heads. Custom pricing is available upon request, at Andersen. This window takes a cus
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The DL Lightbulb Moment
While some designers ideate at a desk, others come up with entire collections on the go. ZeedLight founder Bernhard Dietz describes the Tapermoon collection’s origin story – the spark, if you will – as a serendipitous “Aha!” moment that came about wh
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Hot Ticket
Our recent history has been plagued with threats to the air we breathe. From WWII chemical weapons to carbon emissions, forest fires and the ongoing respiratory pandemic, even racial and political injustice, a host of factors threaten the deeply nece
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Against the Grain
Although Toronto is her neck of the woods, furniture designer Mary Ratcliffe’s influence has a broad reach. The only Canadian designer featured in Phaidon’s Woman Made anthology, Ratcliffe has made a name for herself worldwide through appearances at
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Secret Garden
Montreal import François Abbott wants to change the landscape of Toronto for the better. The architect heads up Fabrication Studio, the city’s first architecture practice solely dedicated to garden and laneway suites. The studio also acts as an educa
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Restful Nights
Melissa Agostino and her husband, Henry Tyminski, set up shop (and home) in an 1,800 square-foot abode, a former warehouse located in Little Portugal. While the first floor houses their branding design agency, Sali Tabacchi, the top two floors were t
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Party in the Back
“Maybe this is silly, but I always thought of residential streets as a type of party,” says Martin Kohn, principal and founding partner at Kohn Shnier Architects. “The street is the social construct,” he says, and the houses guests. What they “wear”
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Future Perfect
Designlines: What was the vision for this? Gloria Apostolou: The owners like both modern and traditional homes. When this one came up, we realized it offered them an option to have both. We proposed to build a black, modern, boxy addition to the side
DESIGNLINES2 min readArchitecture
New Order
Teaching new tricks to an old house is part of the renovation process, but this charmer, located in the city’s Beach neighbourhood, already had a few tricks up its sleeve: an addition with a bold skylight and clerestory glass in the kitchen, rustic w
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Hidden Gem
Architect Lia Maston was sitting in her old studio on Beverley Street with friends one evening when artist Charles Pachter popped his head through the door. He had seen her “Specializing in laneway houses” sign out front. Pachter – a celebrated Canad
DESIGNLINES1 min readArchitecture
Shop Guide
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
DESIGNLINES18 min read
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,
DESIGNLINES9 min readArchitecture
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 design-loving 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 abou
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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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Outdoor Furniture
Transforming your backyard or balcony into a resort-inspired retreat? ARD Outdoor has all the upscale patio furnishings and accessories you’ll need, including futuristic European line Vondom. Seating abounds in colourful Sunbrella fabrics – sectional
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Rugs & Carpeting
ARC’s newly renovated 1,263-square-metre showroom boasts a staggering selection of versatile flooring solutions suited to home and office environments. This long-standing family-owned business – one of Toronto’s largest carpet and flooring showrooms
DESIGNLINES2 min read
Textiles
This trade-only showroom specializes in fabric and drapery from such high-end brands as MissoniHome, Scalamandré, Ashley Wilde, Pindler and Maxwell, as well as its own in-house collection. JF&C’s equally impressive wallcovering collection features su
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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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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
DESIGNLINES6 min readArchitecture
Windows, Doors & Fireplaces
A true love of craft – for solid wood and traditional techniques – is on full display at 1925, with its studio in the front, workshop in the back. And the specialty: handcrafted solid wooden doors and furniture, panel and glass doors, and hand-welded
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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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What’s Next?
“I want to see more fun, more daring, more pink! I am totally in love and influenced by the new Webster store right now.” – JENNIFER KOMINEK, INTERIOR DESIGNER “Toronto deserves nice things!” – MELISSA AGOSTINO, CREATIVE DIRECTOR, SALI TABACCHI “We s

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