(Images: Liam Mogan)
The Bang and Olufsen BeoPlay A9 plays music wirelessly from iTunes or any music streaming service, and it plays it loudly—a killer bass reflex and typically crisp B&O sound quality will put your current iPod dock to shame. But why do we really love it? Because unlike most speakers, which are designed to be inconspicuous, this one is self-consciously stylish. It looks like an audio version of the iconic Eames DSW chair, and it’s about the same size as one when mounted on its teak (or beech or oak) tripod. That is, the A9 is a significant piece of furniture in its own right—possibly the most exciting piece of furniture in your house. $2,999. Bang and Olufsen, 175 Avenue Rd., 416-935-1919.
With all the talk of condo bubbles, over-the-top bidding wars and failed flips, wading into Toronto’s housing market requires equal parts bravery and real estate savvy. To help with the latter, we decided to dish when the properties we profile in our 
Jason Halter and Anita Matusevics met in architecture school at U of T 25 years ago. They got married, had two kids and landed jobs as designers at Bruce Mau’s office, collaborating with the likes of Frank Gehry and Rem Koolhaas. For the past decade, the couple have been strictly freelance, and their work has taken them to places like Italy and Africa. During their travels, they accumulated a startling collection of art—Picassos, Burtynskys, Basquiats—and designer furniture, which is showcased in their 3,300-square-foot Edwardian house near Avenue and St. Clair. The house had been given a mediocre renovation in the ’90s, so when they bought it in 2005, they gutted it with the help of Halter’s old friend John Shnier of Kohn Shnier Architects. There’s now a sleek galley kitchen with slate floors, a master bath with a shower that has a skylight (one day they hope to add a retractable skylight for showering in the rain), and a surprisingly large basement office where Halter and Matusevics do most of their work. Halter’s latest venture was inspired by the house. He and his tree biologist brother, Reese (who’s crashing in the sunroom for a while), are collaborating on water-efficient and bee-sensitive landscaping. Why? People keep knocking on the door to ask who designed their front yard. 
In the summer of 2007, Anna Zalewski quit her job as a Bay Street lawyer, sold her house in Riverdale and moved to Barcelona. Her plan was to decompress, soak up the sun, and maybe learn some Spanish. A year into her stay, she met another ex-lawyer, a Colombian-born man named Felipe Gil, who was studying human rights at the University of Barcelona. They fell in love. A year later, Zalewski was getting homesick, and Gil was eager to settle in Canada. Neither had a steady job in Spain, so they decided to plant roots in
At the opening of EQ3’s new store in Liberty Village, servers passed out mini beaver tails and cocktails made from Canadian Club and maple syrup (lest anyone not already know the company is Canadian). The Winnipeg-based furniture maker’s second Toronto store (its first remains open on King Street East) spans two floors in a 100-year-old building on Hanna Avenue. Expect EQ3’s own lines of furniture and home accessories, a selection from brands like Herman Miller and Alessi and a collection done in collaboration with Marimekko, the Finnish design house known for its cheerful, colourful prints (shoppers can even have their EQ3 furniture upholstered in Marimekko textiles). We imagine West Elm and Casalife aren’t exactly thrilled about the new arrival, but the rampant development in the area should provide enough furniture shoppers to go around.
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