Architecture Wednesday: 1914 Neo-Gothic Church

This magnificent four-floor condo-townhome was carved out of a 1914 Neo-Gothic Church in Toronto.

Meticulously restored, the designers preserved the historical details such as original wooden beams and stonework while incorporating modern glitzy updates; even the old bell tower was retained. The townhome is tucked away in a discreet courtyard and offers soaring cathedral ceilings, original intricate wooden details, exposed original brick masonry, wooden trusses, stone columns and gothic brick arches.

The first floor is where you’ll find the dining area, the living room and a modern kitchen. On the second floor an illuminated catwalk leads from the gym and office to a guest bedroom, while the third floor features the spacious primary bedroom with a luxurious fifth floor ensuite bath and custom built-in storage spaces. The basement level has a mudroom and storage area with direct access to the private, underground parking space set up for electric charging. 

As always, click to emBIGGERate …

 Sotheby's Realty

Architecture Wednesday: House Within a House

The "house within a house" in Toronto is the brainchild of architect Michael Hatch, who designed and built the home in 1982. The Cabbagetown residence offers spacious living areas, effortless indoor/outdoor flow and a restored Victorian cottage façade inside its multilevel interior.

Hatch felt a need to preserve the 1860s cottage structure by designing a new dwelling around it, and blending the two eras inside. He installed refinished hardwood floors and ran them throughout the ground level to connect the living spaces. 

Spread across three levels, the property presents a spacious layout, with the main living areas nestled on the ground floor, with dining room and sitting area located in what might have once been the front yard of the cottage, while the new kitchen and living areas were built behind the old façade. At the rear of the living room is a wall of windows which open to  a deck, a large fenced-in yard and a detached two-car garage with a TESLA charging station.

But step back into the dining room and step up the stairs in the light-filled atrium, a steel-and-glass staircase that unites the various levels and is a juxtaposition of industrial chic set against the 160-year-old cottage.

On the second floor, behind the original cottage walls is the primary suite, with an ensuite bath whose frosted windows appear on the cottage façade, as well  as the sleeping area with skylights and roof top deck. A second bedroom is also on the floor, while a third is up the staircase, under the eaves of the new home.

I love the industrial nature of the house mixed with the old cottage still façade between the dining and living areas. It’s the best of the old and the new.

As always, click to emBIGGERate ...

Dwell

Toronto Police Officer Luke Watson: Pretty In Pink

How I missed this, I don’t know. I must be a Bad Gay, or at the very least, a Bad Gay Blogger.

Last Wednesday was the International Day of Pink — an event that occurs the second Wednesday of April, every year — where communities around the world, unite in celebrating diversity and raising awareness to stop homophobia, transphobia, transmisogyny, and all forms of bullying.

The International Day of Pink was started in Nova Scotia when two straight high school students saw a gay student wearing a pink shirt being bullied. Those two students intervened, but wanted to do more to prevent LGBTQ bullying, so they decided to buy pink shirts and then have everyone at school wearing pink in solidarity. That school took a stand and began working to end homophobic & transphobic bullying, and this year, well, it got even hotter, and cuter …

The Toronto Police force decided to take a stand against bullying as well, and it’s a novel approach. Toronto police officers Ryan Willmer and Luke Watson [above] were trying to raise awareness for the Day of Pink, so Officer Willmer went on Twitter and promised that his beefy, tattooed … and quite hot  … colleague Luke Watson would dye his hair pink if the post got 500 reTweets with the hashtag #stopbullyingnow and #dayofpink.

In an instant there were 560 reTweets and, well, Luke Watson, well, pardon the pun, dyed.

The two officers attended the Day of Pink rally at Forest Hills Collegiate Institute in Toronto and, along with their fellow officers, arrived in a pink police cruiser wearing pink T-shirts. It was such a hit, Willmer and Watson decided to step it up on Twitter by promising Watson would keep his pink hair for seven days with 1,000 reTweets and an additional day for every 100 reTweets on top of it — to date there have been more than 3000 reTweets.

One question, though … why didn’t Ryan Willmer dye his own hair pink?

“He lacks in the hair department, so I am the guinea pig.” — Luke Watson.

I guess a spray-painted pink scalp was out of the question? Still, I love this story; I love the police officers, and Ryan and Luke, taking such a bold, very public stance.

And I like the reminder — especially in light of recent events in Charleston —that not all police officers are bad; many, very many, do the right thing, and go above and beyond to serve and protect.

And, on a personally superficial and shallow note for Officer Watson:

"Cuff me, Officer, I've been a bad bad boy."

sources

Yahoo
Day of Pink

Architecture Wednesday: 20 Taylorwood Drive

Gorgeous. Modern, Contemporary. Sleek.

20 Taylorwood overlooks a private ravine on a 30,000 square foot lot with over 7500 square feet of living space inside, all sleek and clean and bright. There are 5 bedrooms, 7 bathrooms, including the spa like master bath, a gourmet chef’s kitchen, the perfect wine room, gym, nanny's room, and incredible entertaining space.

And it’s yours for $3.6 million …. Click to emBIGGERate.

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