Designlines

Symphony of Style

A Forest Hill home finds harmony with high-contrast architectu­res, generous curves and coyly remixed Victorian detailing

- By ALEXANDRA CAUFIN

In Forest Hill, Reigo & Bauer give a home a much-needed black-tie makeover

The timelessne­ss of a tuxedo. It’s the visual that Merike Bauer of Reigo & Bauer had in mind while reimaginin­g Forest Hill House, a grey-stoned Midtown estate. As it was one of the first homes built in the neighbourh­ood, Bauer and her clients agreed that a tear-down wasn’t an option. But after decades of hodgepodge renovation­s, the 650-squaremetr­e home was in dire need of holistic interventi­on.

Unity begins with Bauer’s stunning sculptural staircase, which exiles a dark foyer and allows light to pour in from west-facing windows. The gesture anchors Bauer’s massive reconfigur­ation of the main floor, in which a two-car garage replaces redundant formal dining, and a warren of rooms was cleared to become a sprawling open-concept kitchen, dining and sunken living room – generous spaces in which the owners’ large extended family could happily gather.

A sharp black and white palette dominates these areas, first establishe­d by the statuesque, three-storey spiral. Dark window and door frames and thick black oak thresholds draw the eye to the home’s essential lines, bringing dramatic ceiling slopes and well-establishe­d dimensions straight into the spotlight.

To balance this dichromati­c starkness, Bauer filled the rooms with velvety furnishing­s and rounded forms that harken to the Fibonacci-like staircase. “Nothing has structural corners,” she explains. “Everything is soft, things you can touch and feel.”

To tailor this tuxedo, the firm worked with long-time collaborat­or Michael Amantea of Amantea Architects for intensive integrated millwork that creates poetic flow between spaces. Transformi­ng a liminal gap between kitchen and living room, Amantea and Bauer inserted a memorable stone divider – one part bench, one part wet bar. Wide stairs lead to the sunken seating area and trace seamlessly toward an angled marble fireplace. You won’t find any overlooked joints here; the various materials twist and turn in the space, fusing in moments of connection as if grown together.

Meanwhile, to situate the kitchen amid the main floor’s gallery-like demeanour, the designers overturn expectatio­ns, using pewter-toned driftwood to clad the walls, reserving white for the main cabinetry. Headon, the materials offer an illusory interplay of depth, fusion and contrast.

For a house defined by bold architectu­res, details become an integral part of Bauer’s design strategy. Shadow-play is everywhere, from powder-coated grips on kitchen cabinets to illusion-framed mirrors. Transposed Shakerstyl­e doors and angled wall planes reinterpre­t the home’s Victorian past in a modern context.

Such moments fuse the polish of a perfectly tailored tuxedo with any home’s most basic necessity: comfort. Detailing that poses, in Bauer’s own words, an important question: is there a modernism for a broader public? In tracing where the mode can meet traditiona­l counterpoi­nts, Bauer proves just that by transformi­ng austere into familiar, stark into wonderfull­y livable. REIGOANDBA­UER.COM; AMARCHITEC­TS.CA

 ??  ?? THIS PAGE The central spiral staircase was made by Stockridge Constructi­on and consists of laminated layers of curved plywood and steel rods. It is blanketed with black Object carpeting available through Are & Be.
OPPOSITE Glass and steel sliding doors (made by Filo Timo) divide the dining room and sunken living room. Here, the palette is black and white with driftwood accents. Smoked oak flooring from Moncer; sofa from Kiosk.
THIS PAGE The central spiral staircase was made by Stockridge Constructi­on and consists of laminated layers of curved plywood and steel rods. It is blanketed with black Object carpeting available through Are & Be. OPPOSITE Glass and steel sliding doors (made by Filo Timo) divide the dining room and sunken living room. Here, the palette is black and white with driftwood accents. Smoked oak flooring from Moncer; sofa from Kiosk.
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 ??  ?? LEFT A strategica­lly placed arched mirror shares views of the front and back of the house with diners. Mirror and Gubi chairs from Hollace Cluny; table by More; bench by Arper.
BELOW An extended sequence of wide platforms by Amantea Architects clarifies the shift from ipê dining terrace to limestone patio to lawn and pool below. Plantings by Tina Mcmullen.
LEFT A strategica­lly placed arched mirror shares views of the front and back of the house with diners. Mirror and Gubi chairs from Hollace Cluny; table by More; bench by Arper. BELOW An extended sequence of wide platforms by Amantea Architects clarifies the shift from ipê dining terrace to limestone patio to lawn and pool below. Plantings by Tina Mcmullen.
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 ??  ?? ABOVE A generous bay window in the living room overlooks the new stepped landscapin­g in the backyard. Black marble surrounds the wood-burning fireplace, whose plaster over-mantle slips behind the drywall of the adjoining wall. Coffee table from Klaus; wall-hung television by Samsung; rug from Are & Be.
BELOW Not shy of bold swaths of colour, Reigo & Bauer dressed the ground floor powder room in black and shades of mauve. Sink by Catalano; wallpaper by Area Environmen­ts; wall accessorie­s by Miniforms.
ABOVE A generous bay window in the living room overlooks the new stepped landscapin­g in the backyard. Black marble surrounds the wood-burning fireplace, whose plaster over-mantle slips behind the drywall of the adjoining wall. Coffee table from Klaus; wall-hung television by Samsung; rug from Are & Be. BELOW Not shy of bold swaths of colour, Reigo & Bauer dressed the ground floor powder room in black and shades of mauve. Sink by Catalano; wallpaper by Area Environmen­ts; wall accessorie­s by Miniforms.

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