The Real Estate section is sponsored by:
Great Spaces
Modern Love
Turning a run-down Cabbagetown home into a paean to contemporary design By Veronica Maddocks
Scroll over squares for details
Just past the point where Wellesley Street abandons its concrete towers for gingerbread cottages and pear trees is a small grey-brick house belonging to Stephan Weishaupt and Kevin Hill. Shortly after the couple bought the Edwardian home, the staircase caved in. It was, says Weishaupt, "in need of serious loving."
He was on the brink of launching his high-design furniture store Avenue Road as he and Hill intrepidly proceeded with the reno. Two and a half years later, the house now sports all the requisite upgrades (a new kitchen, new bathroom and new staircase), plus a backyard koi pond and a host of pieces from Avenue Road. "I look for things I have an emotional connection with," he says, “then I end up wanting them in my personal environment."
Weishaupt’s Munich childhood, surrounded by the contemporary art collections of his parents and grandparents and the design ideas of his architect father, reveals the genesis of his perfectionism. Hill, a personal trainer and purist in his own right, is obviously in sync. He inspects the upholstery stitching on the impeccable couch and declares it wanting, but the $4,000 coffee table book he received as a gift from Weishaupt is "perfect."
Photographs: Raina & Wilson
Comments
Comment on this story
Neither Veronica Maddocks nor Toronto Life necessarily agree with the comments posted here. Editors will not correct spelling or grammar. Toronto Life reserves the right to edit or delete comments entirely. Read our full policy
Some articles on this site require that you have a Torontolife.com account in order to comment, and this is one of them. If you do not have an account, you can register now.
Related
More Great Spaces Articles
- Up in the Air
- Mod Men
- Living History
- Immaculate Concept
- A Room of Their Own
- Cable Guy
- Lakeside DIY
- Home Made
- Gut Feeling
- Industrial Strength
See all Great Spaces articles »