ADDRESS: 8 Colborne St., Unit 2702

NEIGHBOURHOOD: Church-Yonge Corridor

AGENT: Corinne Pencer, Slavens and Associates

PRICE: $1,799,000

THE PLACE: A penthouse condo on the 27th floor of the Cosmopolitan, a boutique hotel that’s been singled out on the Condé Nast Traveler Hot List and comes equipped with a gym, business centre, spa and wine bar. Before going on the market as a condo, the penthouse was available for $3,500 a night.

BRAGGING RIGHTS: Kate Hudson, Queen Latifah, Vince Vaughn and Kevin Costner all spent the night back when the space was still a hotel suite.

BIG SELLING POINT: Sure, you no longer get a mint on your pillow, but the condo does come fully furnished. The suite starred in an episode HGTV’s Designer Guys, and the show’s Allen Chan, Anwar Mukhayesh and Matt Davis are responsible for the layout and design of the entire space—they hand-picked everything, from the artwork to the one-of-a-kind dining room table.

POSSIBLE DEAL BREAKER: Your guests will probably tire of you telling them that they’re sitting on the white leather sofa that Kate Hudson sat on once upon a time.

BY THE NUMBERS:
• $1,799,000
• $1,615.44 in monthly fees
• 1,450 square feet
• 450-square-foot terrace
• 24-foot ceilings
• 2 bedrooms
• 2 full bathrooms
• 1 balcony
• 1 solarium

ADDRESS: 136 Glen Road

NEIGHBOURHOOD: Rosedale-Moore Park

AGENT: James Strathy Warren, Royal LePage J&D Division, Brokerage

PRICE: $7,495,000

THE PLACE: An enormous near-century-old mansion nestled deep within Rosedale’s twisting roads that stands as a reminder of Toronto’s regal past.

BRAGGING RIGHTS: A home with a true sense of local history. Built in 1929 for the Burton family—patriarch Charles was the president of the erstwhile retailer Simpsons before son Edgar took over in 1948—the turn-of-the-century version of the Rogers clan spared no expense (despite the larger market forces of the time).

BIG SELLING POINT: With a reflecting pool, a two-storey coach house, a sun-soaked conservatory and a media room (that used to be an in-house stage), this home would be perfect to host your Great Gatsby society conventions or one epic game of Clue (you could even do your accusing in the actual rooms).

POSSIBLE DEAL BREAKER: With a dining room this spectacular, you just know you’re going to become the go-to family for hosting every family get-together. Better bone up on how to brine a turkey—fast.

BY THE NUMBERS:
• $7,495,000
• $32,885.16 in 2010 taxes
• 82 years old
• 8 bathrooms
• 7 bedrooms
• 6 fireplaces
• 3 storeys
• 2.5-inch-thick mahogany doors
• 1 coach house with kitchen, bathroom and sitting room

ADDRESS: West Shore Road, Kennisis Lake

NEIGHBOURHOOD: Kennisis Lake

AGENT: Gary F. Vasey, Lynne Tate and Ross Jarvis, Gary F. Vasey Ltd., Brokerage.

PRICE: $1,895,000

THE PLACE: Situated on Kennisis Lake midway between Huntsville and Bancroft, this cottage is large, spacious, sun filled and fully equipped with modern features in every room.

BRAGGING RIGHTS: The six-acre property includes not one but two private islands with 2,100 feet of lakefront views. One island already has a deck and docking area, ideal for a sipping a cocktail and taking in the sunset.

BIG SELLING POINT: The open-concept dining room, kitchen and living room are perfect for dinner parties. The gourmet kitchen features a six-burner Wolf stove, an oversized fridge, granite counters, a wine fridge and even a Miele dishwasher to clean up the mess. The living room’s cathedral ceiling and stacked-stone fireplace, meanwhile, are sure to impress.

POSSIBLE DEAL BREAKER: There’s an office at the cottage—perfect for enabling any workaholic.

BY THE NUMBERS:
• $1,895,000
• 2,100 feet of lake views
• 6 acres
• 4 bedrooms
• 3 bathrooms
• 2 private islands
• 1 powder room

After three years of restaurant restraint, Aria and Toca, two unabashedly flashy new spots, are giving diners a reason to get dressed up again By Chris Nuttall-Smith

Opulence, I missed you. I missed high thread-count table linens and hand-blown water glasses and even edible gold leaf a little. I missed the dining rooms whose owners gave carte blanche to talented designers, insisting only on “something grand.” But mostly, I missed gasping when I walked into restaurants—having to stop to take a space in, to admire. Though restraint wasn’t all bad for dining culture these past few years, it wasn’t always easy on the eyes.

Two ambitious, expensive, flashy new dining rooms have opened downtown in recent months, one of them from a hotel chain that’s synonymous with conspicuous luxury, the other from a pair of neighbourhood restaurateurs who’ve come out shooting for the moon. Both are fine dining (more or less), and both are likely to make you gasp when you enter.

Aria, the star tenant in the new Telus Tower, at Maple Leaf Square, is the sister restaurant to Noce, a beloved, understated Italian place near Trinity Bellwoods. The new room looks exactly nothing like its sibling, or like any other restaurant for that matter. There is more height than square footage to the space: three extravagant storeys of glass on the south and west sides, a 4,000-bottle, floor-to-ceiling wine tower and enormous soft-focus paintings of opera house chandeliers on the walls. All of this is framing for the magnificent centrepiece: sculptor Dennis Lin’s streaming, undulating waves of bent walnut that rise, like an aria, through the room’s 30 feet toward a constellation of pinpoint-lit chandeliers. The room, by Stephen R. Pile Architects, is glamorous, modern, resolutely elegant. There are linens on the tables, and fish forks when they’re needed. The hand-blown water glasses are from Murano. Aria is easily the most beautiful restaurant in town.

One night, there was a youngish man in a handmade suit, sitting with a tanned and jewel-laden woman who looked as though she was born in this sort of place. Not far from them, a middle-aged couple, he in faded jeans, a T-shirt and laceless sneakers, his bleach blonde wife drinking a Creemore with her chitarrine al pomodoro e basilico. You could almost smell the Trans-Am. Another evening there were crowds of young, casually dressed downtown desk monkeys amid the high-rolling corporates. Every table seemed as welcome as the next. You can drop $3,000 on a double magnum of 2007 Solaia, or $50 on a good Soave. There’s a $96 tomahawk rib steak for two, and an $18 bowl of noodles portioned more like a main than a mid. Planning a fine dining restaurant during a recession had to be a nightmare. It’s opulent, but Guido Saldini and Elena Morelli, Aria’s owners, have also made it accessible. Smart.

And the cooking? Brilliant, a lot of it. The baby cuttlefish crudo, for instance: mild, guileless, creamy, just barely dressed with lemon, dried chili threads and thin red shavings of bird’s-eye chili for gentle lift. Or the long, lithe, lightly battered strands of crisp zucchini fritti that turn up dark green, white, yellow and deep golden, tangled in a porcelain bowl like a ball of multicoloured yarn. The dish exudes sunshine and abundance, like a backyard garden in Little Italy on a late August afternoon.

The seared striped bass fillet is perfect. The lobster salad is excellent and the wild mushroom ravioli are worth a special trip. The potatoes that come with the beef tenderloin are mixed with fennel and gorgonzola cheese and topped with sweet, tangy braised cippolini. You feel devastated once you’ve finished potatoes this good.

The kitchen at Aria is almost overrun with talent. The chef, Eron Novalski, who was in charge at Noce, spent four years at Senses (the old, great Senses on Bloor Street) at the height of its run. His sous-chef, Matthew Doerner, was hired out of Colborne Lane. Novalski has also brought over Steve Song, one of the city’s best pastry chefs, who cooked at Senses and Ultra.

Still, I’m not crazy about a few of the dishes: the deboned quail and the Tamshire pork chop are cooked to well done, the way most Italians would eat them. The quail is good, but I’d rather have it more moist. As for the pork, enough with the authenticity: they could at least ask me if I’d like it cardboard dry.

The chitarrine comes slicked in a tomato sauce that’s too dark and swampy, and the noodles are al dente to the extreme. These are rare missteps, however, far outweighed by the dishes that are indisputably great.

Song’s desserts are mostly excellent, particularly the opera cake, which is his most opulent and apropos. It’s a voluptuous tranche of almond sponge soaked in coffee and layered with coffee buttercream, ganache and chocolate, with sour cherries on the side. Song writes “Aria” in chocolate on top of each piece. It’s a dessert and a celebration—it seems wrong to eat it without a glass of good champagne. There’s a gold leaf on top, of course.

(Image: Jess Baumung)

Victor’s new semi-private dining room

With upscale bars and restaurants popping up in new hotels in and around King West, Victor, an operation that staked an early claim to the area, has given itself a makeover. Long-time general manager Michael Sullivan and chef David Chrystian recently stepped in as the new owners of the restaurant, located in the Hôtel Le Germain, and have relaunched it with a new menu and a contemporary facelift by Jenny Francis Design.

The expanded lounge space remains cozy, with plush velvet couches and oversize lampshades by the windows overlooking Mercer Street, while the zinc-topped herringbone-patterned bar lines the opposite side of the room. The reconfigured space includes a new semi-private dining room, which has an art deco feel and Escher-inspired flooring and can seat up to 40 guests.

The revamped “Taste Toronto” menu is designed for sharing, with a selection of dishes reflecting the various ethnic pockets around the GTA. The seven options change weekly, ideal for those who want to snack on a variety of cuisines without leaving King West. Highlights include the channa masala with mango chutney from Little India and the arepas with carne asada, salted onions, avocado and pepitas from Kensington Market ($14 per dish, three for $36, four for $48, five for $60 or all seven for $79).

The main menu features sustainable seafood options like marinated sardines with shaved bean salad and crisp potatoes ($14), as well as mains like the roasted elk and venison sausage and loin with braised cabbage, mustard and sweet potato tart ($28). Decidedly unusual twists on classic cocktails include the Bourbon Cosmopolitan ($15) and a “Manhattan” with Clase Azul tequila ($18).

Victor Restaurant, 30 Mercer St. (in the Hôtel Le Germain), 416-883-3431, victorrestaurant.com

Guu Sakabar’s open kitchen (Image: Gizelle Lau)

Despite rumours last week that the opening of Guu Sakabar (a.k.a. Guu 2) would be delayed due to the lack of a liquor licence, we’re happy to report that Toronto’s second Guu location opened this weekend. (Sakabar was originally set to open a couple weeks back, but was delayed due to a broken water tank). After almost a year of renovations, owner James Hyun-Soo Kim and Sakabar manager Natsuhiko Sugimoto, an eight-year veteran of Guu in Vancouver, are both eager to begin serving the Annex clientele.

Inside, the restaurant that was once a Burger King has been completely redesigned by Bennett Lo of Dialogue 38 (Guu Izakaya, Spring Rolls). The low-key exterior and main entrance of the Sakabar feature slate, barnwood and tiny boxed windows, just like the Church Street location. Inside, bare Edison light bulbs hang from the ceiling in the main dining room over six large wooden communal tables, complete with bench seating. Bar seating is also available for those who don’t mind the famous yelled greetings that the kitchen staff offer to patrons as they enter and exit. Unlike the original Guu, Sakabar also features a zashiki room, with a raised pine floor and tatami mats imported from Japan. The tables are lowered into the floor, providing ample space for your legs. Guests are required to remove their shoes and are offered a pair of indoor slippers.

Also setting itself apart from its sister restaurant, Sakabar is helmed by Japanese chef Ippei Iwata, who offers new dishes like the kushiage, Japanese-style deep-fried kebabs that come in seven variations—ham, bacon, quail egg, lotus root, potato, onion and mushroom ($1.90 each, $7.80 for five choices). A handful of new udon styles are available, including the unlikely carbonara udon, featuring bacon, onion and a half-boiled egg ($8.30). Another new dish straight out of Japan is the rice burger: a pair of rice patties sandwiching ginger pork, cabbage and garlic mayo ($5.80). To finish things off, the menu includes more extensive dessert selections, including sake tiramisù ($5).

In true Izakaya fashion, the drinks menu is extensive, including a house Gekkeikan sake ($5 small, $8.50 large), as well as a more extensive classic sake menu by the glass ($9.50–$10) or bottle (from $22 for 375 mL).  Other offerings include shochu, Guu original vodka soda, cocktails (like a sake mojito), plum wine and Sapporo on tap. Beers like Asahi, Kirin and even Mill Street Tankhouse Ale are also available.

The thing we love the most about Sakabar? There’s now an indoor corridor at the entrance so you don’t have to wait in the rain, sleet or snow for a table at Guu. And, in case you’re wondering, “Yes, there’s still a no reservation policy,” says Natsu, adding cheekily, “for now.”

Guu Sakabar, 559 Bloor St. W. (east of Bathurst St.), 647-343-1101, guu-izakaya.com

The dining room at Blowfish on Bay features a chandelier crafted from Pyrex tubes (Image: Catherine Pan)

The owners of King West Asian fusion resto-lounge Blowfish are banking on the Bay Street crowd with their newest venture, Blowfish on Bay, an expansive new restaurant in the Bay-Adelaide Centre. The new location boasts a more refined take on the look than the King Street original—think business lunches and after-work cocktails instead of late dinner and drinks.

Originally geared towards retail, the 3,500-square-foot space was a challenge to configure, says designer Johnson Chou, who outfitted the space in metal and dark woods for a glamorous but stately look that exemplifies Blowfish’s east-meets-west vibe. “We wanted to create a flow through the space, and a feel that is evocative of being underwater,” Chou says. A bronze-walled walkway leads diners into the main room, where the bar area and dining room are divided by a backlit translucent screen. At the far end of the bar, in-house sushi chefs will work behind a station featuring a Hoshizaki countertop cooler. The dining room features several eye-catching elements, from the gilded, round 10-seat private booth to a chandelier crafted from crystal-filled Pyrex tubes. Custom-made walnut tables and plush banquettes in chocolate tones give the space a more polished look than the King Street location.

Much of Blowfish’s original menu remains intact, along with the kitchen’s focus on “tying Asian flavours into everything,” says co-owner Joseph Siahou. To that end, Blowfish on Bay will feature a full lunch menu (including two prix fixe options) and several new dishes created specifically for this location. At dinnertime, executive chef G.Q. Pan’s offerings include Angus beef striploin with Yukon mash in a port wine reduction ($22) and Kobe beef tartare with miso and pickled ginger ($20). The lunch menu offers lighter options, like the goji berry salad with baby greens, lotus root and Asian pear, tossed in a kelp-infused orange vinaigrette ($12) and tuna tacos in crispy won ton wrappers ($18). A new take on the signature ebi shooter hand roll features tiger prawn tempura, mango, lettuce, avocado and golden tobiko wrapped in soy paper ($16).

Pastry chef Angela Jane McLeod says the new location will offer more dessert options, like her latest creation: cinnamon doughnuts filled with yuzu-flavoured cream ($6). Mixologist Nishan Nepulangoda (who won the Toronto edition of the international Made With Love cocktail competition earlier this week) is taking advantage of the larger space to make his own fruit cordials and bitters for a new lineup of cocktails (the signature fruity saketinis also remain on the menu), including a few virgin offerings ($6) made from fresh herbs and juices for the lunchtime crowd. Unexpected ingredients, like tamarind purée, lend the Thirsty Traveller cocktail ($16) a smoky-sweet flavour, while the Yuzuka ($13) combines coconut and lemongrass sake with rum, yuzu and milky Calpico.

Blowfish on Bay, 333 Bay St., 416-860-0606, blowfishrestaurant.com.

(Image: Renée Suen)

After 16 years at the top, Canoe, one of the city’s culinary beacons, closed its doors on New Year’s Day for a renovation. Unlike most restaurants, they actually completed it on schedule. Although we previewed Canoe’s overhauled space during its Winterlicious opening, the Oliver and Bonacini flagship officially relaunched last week with a completed dining room and revamped menu, so we thought we’d take a closer look.

The most dramatic change in the million-dollar facelift is the conversion of the minimalistic Yabu Pushelberg design to a warmer room with a palette of browns and taupes. Anacleto Design, responsible for the change, is the same group behind Oliver and Bonacini Café Grill and recent renovations to Biff’s Bistro (the husband-and-wife team are Yabu Pushelberg alums).

In the dining room, the upper-level dividing walls have been removed to open up the space, and a hand-beaten copper backdrop adds a bit of flair. Bare walnut tabletops replace linens, accompanied by mohair-upholstered Saarinen-style chairs. Tipplers can belly up to a dramatic soapstone bar or grab a seat along the window counter for a view of Lake Ontario. Canoe’s two private dining rooms (with capacity for 30 and 40, respectively) were also upgraded with better soundproofing and a unified look.

Notable nods to Canadiana are scattered throughout. The bar sports a pair of caribou-head etchings inspired by the design on the quarter, as well as 150 beaver-embossed porcelain jars. Three custom-carved antler chandeliers by Brothers Dressler dangle in the main room, while an eye-catching topographical bronze and copper wall map of Canada by Unit Five dominates the private room.

Executive chef Anthony Walsh and chef de cuisine John Horne have added some new plates to their regionally focused menu. Classics, like the hand-chopped Cumbrae Farms steak tartare ($24 at dinner) and the popular corn nut–hazelnut milk chocolate cake ($12) are joined by braised short ribs with a tree syrup–glaze ($28). Slices of medium-rare venison are paired with Soma chocolate ($47), and foie gras is served with tea-smoked duck breast ($44). The PB&J sandwich, a lunchbox staple, is reinvented with baker David Wilson’s buttery brioche, Brampton-grown Kernal peanuts, house-preserved Concord grape jelly and a seared slice of La Ferme foie gras ($27). Come springtime, expect fiddleheads, morels and other seasonal finds to make their way onto plates and the ever-changing six-course tasting menu ($100 per person).

Canoe, 66 Wellington St. W. (at Bay), 54th Floor, 416-364-0054, oliverbonacini.com/Canoe.aspx

Back in October, we reported that chef Tom Brodi (formerly of Canoe, North 44 and Gramercy Tavern in New York, under Tom Colicchio) would be behind the new Ritz-Carlton’s signature restaurant. When the luxury hotel opened last week, we got our first glimpse at Brodi’s year-long project, Toca (the name is a play on TOronto, CAnada).

Brodi describes his vision as “humble, farm-to-table Canadiana cuisine that supports local farmers and producers.” Going local is nothing new to the chef, who was one of the driving forces behind using sustainable, local food at Canoe. To that end, the restaurant will be working with purveyors like Afrim Pristine from the Cheese Boutique (80 percent will be Canadian cheeses; 20 percent will be international); Balzac’s in the Distillery District for coffee; and Marc Thuet, whose Thuet Fine Foods will supply some of the bread at Toca. In March, Brodi will begin planting Toca’s own garden at Matchbox Garden & Seed Co. in Vaughan.

In the dining room, Canadian walnut floors create a warm space, dotted with works by Ontario artists and red glass chandeliers by Toronto glass maker Jeff Goodman. In one of the kitchen’s nooks is the chef’s table: a massive 1,400-pound black granite countertop (it took 11 workers to carry it into the restaurant). Here, Brodi offers four-to-six-course tasting menus for up to eight people (at a minimum of $1,800 in food and drinks).

In the kitchen, Brodi’s team turns out appetizers like B.C. Dungeness crab with bone marrow ($20), Wolfhead smoked salmon on top of a Hungarian flatbread ($16 or $28) and a “fancy fish and chips” ($20 or $32), featuring beer-battered Nova Scotia lobster. Mains include a glazed B.C. black cod ($36), pan-seared East Coast scallops ($34) and Alberta and Angus beef ($44–$68), aged for 30- to 45 days.

Toca’s wine program is run by Taylor Thompson, formerly of Jamie Kennedy Wine Bar and Reds. The restaurant offers 50 wines by the glass; house-labelled wines by Niagara’s Stratus Vineyards, Flat Rock Cellars and Cave Springs Cellars; and hard-to-find bottles of Ace of Spades Champagne by Armand de Brignac at $650 per bottle (endorsed by Jay-Z and Beyoncé, no less).

Downstairs, Toca Bar will bring sophisticated cocktails to the Ritz-Carlton. The Latin-themed space includes a raw bar with ceviche, B.C. Dungeness crab salad, Malpeque oysters and sustainable sturgeon caviar from New Brunswick.

Toca, 181 Wellington St. W. (at Simcoe St.), 416-585-2500, tocarestaurant.com.

(Image: uhuru1701)

The era of high-tech kitchens is fading, but it seems as though gizmos are now colonizing the dining room. Stacked: Food Built Well, a food chain from Southern California, has announced that iPads will be replacing menus and waiters as a means for customers to order their meals. As USA Today reports, a burger-hungry diner can sit down, select the bun, meat and toppings by dragging items on the iPad, and a runner will bring the creation to his or her table. Theft will be checked by an alarm that sounds whenever an iPad is carried out the door.

Turns out that Stacked isn’t the first restaurant with iPad ordering. We know that Toronto’s E11even has been using iPads to show off their wine list, and, according to USA Today, the devices are becoming more and more common in North American eateries:

Others have tried iPads. Restaurants by Delta Air Lines gates at New York’s John F. Kennedy and LaGuardia airport installed iPads at tables that let guests custom-order meals. Bone’s Restaurant in Atlanta uses iPads for its wine list. Co-owner Richard Lewis says wine sales jumped 20% since the iPads were added six months ago. Someday, they’ll be at all restaurants, Lewis says. “It’s the future.”

At this rate, when we’re old and grey, we can tell our grandchildren about these old-fashioned slips of paper, known as menus, that we had to consult before asking for food from non-robots.

• iPads replacing restaurant menus, staff [USA Today]

A caribou etching adorns the wall near the soapstone bar (Image: Suresh Doss)

Last December we reported that Canoe would be closing up shop for a million-dollar facelift. Unlike most construction projects in the city, the restaurant was remodeled on schedule, and opened last night with insiders reporting (ok, tweeting) its down-to-the-wire progress. We snagged some images at the start of yesterday’s service for this first look at Canoe’s new digs.

The first thing to note in the Anacleto-designed space is an explosion of browns and taupes flooding the room. Hardwood floors and walnut tabletops are complimented by neutral upholstery. Moving a half-step more casual, linens are replaced with place mats and runners. Canadiana tributes dominate the dining room, with dangling antler-like fixtures and a large caribou—lifted from the face of the quarter—etched into the wall near the soapstone bar.

Although the current a la carte menu is limited, with Winterlicious as its primary focus, a full menu launch is expected after Valentine’s weekend. Same goes for the much-coveted Chef’s table.

Having just renewed their 15-year lease on the flagship Oliver and Bonacini spot, the partners felt it was time for a facelift or, as Bonacini puts it, “to come out with a left hook at Canoe.” O&B is working with Ana Cleto Design on a new look: a paint job, hardwood floors, banquettes, a soapstone bar, walnut tabletops and chandeliers are all planned. Flatware, staff uniforms and service areas will also get a make-over. The two private dining rooms will be soundproofed for optimal canoodling and for “serious lawyers who are not in the mood to party,” says Bonacini.

As for the CanCon touches, the new bar will be embellished with a computer numerical cutting (CNC) of the 25 cent coin caribou. Wool carpets will sport designs inspired by pine cones, birch bark and moss. On the elevator landing, a custom entranceway is being created by Vancouver’s Heyday Design from 150 vintage porcelain replicas of the classic beaver-embossed sealer jar. In the main dining room, a raised platform of brass, bronze and copper foil will create an organic moss-like effect, and an image wall will feature a CNC topographical map of Canada by Unit 5.

In the kitchen, chef de cuisine John Horne is looking to make his mark. “He wants to put his stamp on the menu at Canoe. We’ve basically said to John that now is the time to do it.” He and executive chef Anthony Walsh will work to come up with such new and innovative items as “wacky” cheese boards and possibly a fresh fish display—though the staple lobster club will remain. “It’s a rebirth of the place,” Walsh told us last week. “Fifteen years of doing huge business beats the crap out of something.”

The new Canoe is slated to open at the end of January, just in time for Winterlicious. Unfortunately, the renovation will not make getting a table during the city’s food fest any easier.

By 2008, Victoria Jackman and Bruce Kuwabara, Toronto’s artsiest power couple, decided their family of four had outgrown their Admiral Road Victorian. Neither Jackman, executive director of the Hal Jackman Foundation, nor Kuwabara, the architect and co-founder of KPMB, wanted to leave the Annex, but Kuwabara wasn’t wild about renovating another Victorian—the predominant architectural style in the neighbourhood.

Then they saw this Lowther Avenue house built in 1893 by Edmund Burke, the same architect who designed the Bloor Viaduct and The Bay on Queen (back when it was Simpson’s). The 5,500-square-foot house had been converted into a warren of lawyer’s offices, but once Kuwabara got his hands on the 100-year-old blueprints, he was impressed by the building’s great bones. It wasn’t far from the Av and Dav flower stores Jackman loves, and Kuwabara, who refuses to get a driver’s licence, likes that they can still walk to their favourite restaurants (Sotto Sotto and Joso’s) and to such cultural institutions as the ROM and the Gardiner. They decided to buy the place and gut it.

The couple wanted an open, bright and calming space.

They chose a white-on-white palette and a minimalist aesthetic, including a kitchen by Bulthaup, the German design company known for sleek cabinet configurations. To say Kuwabara was obsessive about the details is a vast understatement: he shudders at the mess of wires and brackets that comes along with installing a wall-mounted flat-screen television, for example, so he had custom credenzas built as bases for the TVs in the family room and in the upstairs study. They threw out numerous sketches before Kuwabara felt the proportions were right.

While Kuwabara would have cleared out the home’s ornate historical details without a second thought, Jackman was adamant about preserving them. She insisted they keep the original leaded doors and stained glass windows, as well as restore the crumbling plaster mouldings and baseboards. As the 18-month reno progressed, Kuwabara came around. “I began to find great beauty in things that I never thought I would appreciate,” he says. “Like mouldings.”

Hardwood ladders like this one were used by the Dogon tribe in Mali to access cliff dwellings. Jackman and Kuwabara admire that the design is both sculpturally beautiful and, at one time, functional. They bought it at Hollace Cluny.

The Charles sofa by Antonio Citterio is Jackman’s favourite place to sit and read. She saw it in Elle Décor, knew it would work well in the living room, and sourced the design from Kiosk.

The white oak Xilos coffee table is also by Antonio Citterio, at Kiosk.

The floor lamp is by Julie Prisca, available at Hollace Cluny.

As art collectors, Jackman and Kuwabara are interested in text-based conceptual pieces. In this photo series by John Massey, naked Adam and Eve figures are tattooed with words.

The gold-leaf matching vases are also from Kiosk. They were designed by Nicole Aebischer, with multi-faceted surfaces that catch the light.

Kuwabara and Jackman converted the original coal fireplace to a wood-burning one. They kept the carved wood mantle and added a new limestone hearth.

Photographer Scott McFarland’s piece “The Granite Bowl in the Berlin Lustgarten” is from the Clark and Faria gallery. McFarland, who is a friend and neighbour of the couple, superimposes several shots taken from different angles. Kuwabara has also visited this site in Berlin and took his own photograph of it, which he likes to show to visitors.

See more photos of the home >>

Calligaris is home to sleek, multifunctional Italian-made furniture

The place: Toronto’s largest selection of Calligaris merchandise is housed in a heritage building, originally built in 1907 for the Sovereign Bank of Canada, on King Street just east of Jarvis. Of course, King East needs more furniture stores like Queens Quay needs more condo buildings, but this Italian import offers a sleek alternative to the more traditional styles of Up Country and the antique stores that dot the strip.

The stuff: Designed and manufactured in Italy, Calligaris pieces are all about being multifunctional. The newest design, the Odyssey ($5,286) table, is a circular table for four that, with a simple pull, swivels into an oval that seats 10; the Mascot ($1,278) doubles as a coffee table and by adding height and folding out; and the Airport ($3,834), in sleek black glass, is a dining room table that pulls out to seat a whopping 16 guests. Sticker prices are certainly not cheap, but condo dwellers who value saving space will appreciate the innovative designs.

The shoppers: The store opened just last week, but European design junkies are already flocking for the collection of convertible pieces with a look similar to (though scads cheaper than) Roche-Bobois (sadly, everything in the store costs much more than anything from IKEA).

Our favourite things: Look past the tables (and there are a lot to check out) to the selection of luxe sofas. Our favourites were the Grace Romantic ($5,631), a burlap-coloured oversized throne ideal for watching television or taking a cozy nap, and the Upgrade in slate with adjustable headrests. The Teflon-treated cushions repel stains, allowing for carefree rowdy holiday parties and pass-out spots. For a more pocketbook-friendly taste of Italy, the teak Memorabilia coat rack ($573), with wide wooden hooks, is modern and makes for a better hanger than the floor or kitchen chair.

Calligaris, 170 King St. E., 416-504-2959, calligaristoronto.ca.

Lewis is something of an expert at reinvention. One of his many career incarnations—retail store owner, graphic designer, restaurant entrepreneur, fashion designer—was as an interior designer, so he was eager to take on the project. He installed a new IKEA kitchen himself and hired a company called Concrete Evidence to finish and epoxy the floors. His landlord took out the bathtub and built him a simple shower. As for furniture, Lewis took it slow: he didn’t entertain very much the first year, so he didn’t bother to buy a dining room table. When he felt like having company, he went out and bought one. As Lewis has adapted the space from industrial to residential, the neighbourhood has also been transforming. The once pothole-riddled streets are newly paved, and Lewis stops in at Jamie Kennedy’s Gilead Café, just a few steps away, for his morning coffee.

Lewis opens the pull-down garage door whenever it’s sunny; he keeps café chairs and tables outside on the sidewalk.

He uses these Molteni and C. storage shelves from Italinteriors to store everything from kitchen supplies to clothes.

The E15 Bigfoot dining table is from Klaus by Nienkämper. He used to see it in the window on his way to work every day and fell in love.

The orange Moooi AVL Shaker chairs are also from Klaus by Nienkämper.

The sliding side door, original to the space, is fire-safe reinforced steel.

Lewis’s desk chair is a Saarinen Executive by Knoll, shipped from Metro Retro in Texas.

A Le Corbusier LC6 table purchased from Palazzetti doubles as a desk; the style reminds Lewis of his uncle’s modernist villa in Barbados.

The Jieldé Signal desk lamp is from Inside Modern Living.

Lewis commissioned the fluorescent light tube sculpture from Valentina Giacomelli for a Home Atelier window display he was working on. Giaco­melli designed it as an ode to minimalist artist Dan Flavin.

The couch is a Berkley sofa from Klaus by Nienkämper.

The Eames stools, which Lewis uses as side tables, footrests and stand-alone objects, are from UpCountry.

The streetcar painting is by Jon Reed, a 28-year-old U of T architecture grad and the younger brother of one of Lewis’s friends.

The simple white B and B Italia coffee table is from Kiosk.

The aluminum Eames loungers are from Quasi Modo. “Having a chocolate brown leather Eames chair was a childhood dream of mine,” Lewis says.

The Saarinen Tulip side table, another iconic ’50s design he has always admired, is from Filter.

Lewis bought the matching cylindrical black metal floor lamps in 1995 from a mover named Fast Eddie, who said they came from the lobby of Pillsbury’s Canadian headquarters. (They’re stamped with the Pillsbury logo.)

Lewis calls his Geneva sound system an “iPod dock on steroids.” He listens to a lot of trip-hop and jazz at home.

The teak credenza, purchased from Inside Modern Living, reminds Lewis of the house he grew up in—his father is a teak-obsessed furniture maker.

(Images: Michael Graydon)