Look Book
Three architecture studios elevate the ho-hum living room with elegant layouts and comfy solutions BY TORY HEALY
Live large in the living room with help from the pros BY TORY HEALY
WHAT THE CLIENTS HAD: a 116-year-old Period Revival home near Casa Loma. What they wanted: a “modern art gallery” aesthetic. Enter Audax into a situation where duelling needs had to be met: the homeowners’ checklist of wants – including one large family space that connects the living, dining and kitchen together while opening to the rear yard and covered terrace – and the city’s requirement to maintain the front half of the heritage building.
Inside, Audax aligned the main axis of the living room, dining area and kitchen lengthwise along the main rear wall of the ground floor facing the garden. A concrete wall marks the junction between heritage property and contemporary addition. Responding to the homeowners’ desire for a raw, gallery-style space, Audax left the material in its natural state. “Rather than spend a lot of money to make it look finished,” principal Gianpiero Pugliese says, “we let it be true to what it was. All the imperfections and honesty of construction allowed it to become a great backdrop for the open-concept room.”
Here, favourite artifacts are displayed on a wallspanning custom storage unit created by Commute Design. A slit of a window intersects this to introduce southern light without sacrificing privacy. Black metal panelling behind some of the shelves helps visually balance the dark mass of the television, while walnut trim coordinates with the nearby dining table – a perfect match. AUDAX.CA