House & Home of the Month The Big Picture

A TORONTO COUPLE WHO LIVES FOR ART DESIGNS THEIR CONDO AROUND A GALLERYWORTHY COLLECTION.

A Toronto condo is designed around a stunning collection of art.

It TOOK SIX YEARS TO MOVE IN. Six years of anticipation and imagination. That’s how much studying, reading and research went into the layout and planning of Alan and Alison Schwartz’s two-storey, 4,200-squarefoot condo overlooking the rooftops of Toronto’s Annex neighbourhood. With a private collection of more than 100 international pieces by contemporary artists, Alan, an executive, and his partner, Alison, found themselves empty-nesters in 2011 with time to finally plan the home they had always wanted, but never quite achieved in any of their past residences. When a new seven-storey condo development designed by Hariri Pontarini Architects came on the market nearly a decade ago, the Schwartzes bought two units on the fifth and sixth floors during preconstruction. Enter Daniel Harland, the couple’s longtime interior design partner, and his team at Roundabout Studio. The design firm had recently finished a reno on Alan and Alison’s kitchen and bathroom in their former home in Toronto’s leafy Forest Hill neighbourhood when

The home’s flooring is an engineered tumbled and chattered French oak. Hardwood flooring (throughout), Moncer Specialty Flooring.

Alan called Daniel and asked, “Are you sitting down?” The owners and designer soon visited the condo’s sales centre and, during construction, had many walk-throughs. “We started with an empty canvas,” says Alan. “Because we combined two units, it was raw space and we had the advantage of there being no floor plan.”

Imagine the Schwartz’s glee at being totally free to design how they wanted to live in the space. In Alison’s words: “You walk in and there’s a reveal that says, ‘We’re people who love art and take art seriously, and there’s going to be a lot of it!’”

By this point, Daniel knew the Schwartzes wouldn’t be interested in an entry with wall hooks for coats, an umbrella stand and a demilune table topped with flowers. “No, the art starts at the front door,” says Alison. Every design decision beyond the entry would support the art throughout the condo. “Some pieces have been with the Schwartzes for decades and are very dear to them, while others are rotated in and out,” says Daniel. “For us, how they approached their collection was one of the defining characteristics of this project.”

With that in mind, the design team was sure to keep sight lines open. “We wanted to curate views that would work for multiple pieces,” says Daniel. That meant creating spaces that led into one another. The lone exception: at Alison’s request, Daniel closed off the kitchen with a half wall. This provided additional wall space for art (like the Oscar Murillo checkered canvas) while keeping eyes away from food prep.

Furniture was chosen and grouped to ensure that there were no visual distractions competing with views of the paintings and sculptures, but also that nothing physically got in the way of the art, either. Furniture heights and colour choices were taken into consideration: the palette is neutral, a mix of greys, whites and blacks. “Keeping things simple is part of setting the stage for the art,” says Daniel. Other small details like the placement of electrical outlets, switches and thermostats were crucial given the number of large-scale pieces in the collection. Daniel either dropped the outlets to a few inches above the floor or installed them on supporting columns at the periphery of the main living spaces.

Elements such as textured French oak floors and castconcrete surfaces bring warmth and speak to domesticity. “We do modern,” says Daniel, “but it’s livable, not stark and commercial.” He also connected different parts of the condo using the same materials. A patinated blackened steel repeats throughout the home and carries you from one space to the next. It’s on the key-drop cabinet in the entry, the large black frame around the fireplace, the island facing near the dining area and the handrail leading upstairs.

When the project was done, Daniel took a step back and let the emotive quality of the whole place sink in. “It really suits the Schwartzes,” he says, and Alison agrees: “We both love our home. It has the calm elegance we like to be surrounded by.” From sight lines to space planning, the eye is consistently led back to where it should be — the art. “There’s a curatorial story here. It isn’t just what fits where; it’s a dialogue in the same way a gallery would do a show.”

In the living room, designer Daniel Harland paired a curving sectional with a smaller sofa to create a more intimate space. He also avoided angled gallery lighting. “Designing lighting that would illuminate specific paintings meant that if they changed the art placement, it might not work,” says Daniel. Homeowners Alan and Alison Schwartz opted for recessed pot lights and linear lighting that streaks across the ceiling instead.

In the past, Alan and Alison bought houses and spent years “trying to make them feel like us.” They never completely succeeded until now. The couple bought these accent tables in the 1980s, and they’ve had them in every house since then. Armchair by Yabu Pushelberg, Avenue Road; art, “10 Year Massacre (and its Retelling)” by Kara Walker.

“We originally designed an open-concept kitchen, then decided against it,” says Daniel. Alan and Alison wanted something more private. The space is simply done, small and efficient, and hides anything practical. The counters, backsplash and sink are all-white Corian, which matches the cabinet fronts. A few framed prints by visual activist Zanele Muholi are showcased on one wall in lieu of uppers. Faucet by Zucchetti, Taps Bath Centre; grey ceramic bowls by Mud Australia, The Salt & Pepper Catering Co.; lavender bowl by Martha Sturdy, Hollace Cluny; mortar and pestle, The Spice Trader.

Alan chose a tile piece by Rashid Johnson (far right) to complement the grey palette dictated by the den’s furniture. “It took four guys to lift it onto the wall,” he says. Rug, Avenue Road; accent table, Hollis+Morris; throw pillow, Elte. OPPOSITE: In a recessed corner off the den are streamlined wood shelves with a powder-coated finish that were custom designed to handle Alan’s art monographs and catalogues. The colour-coded organization of the book spines is meant to create the effect of a woven pattern. Alan’s wood desk is from Donald Judd Furniture. “Very few people own them because they think they’re uncomfortable,” says Alan, “but I love them.” Shelving design, Roundabout Studio; shelving fabrication, Filo Timo and Gibson Greenwood; shelving installation, Gibson Greenwood.

“The Schwartzes are one of the few clients I have whose home looks like this every time you go there,” says Daniel. In the principal bedroom, every item has its place. The bed frame is upholstered in black leather, and the art above by Rachel Whiteread represents an inverted bookshelf that’s symbolic of forgotten history and memory. Bed frame, Molteni&C; accent tables by Flexform, Italinteriors; table lamp by Flos, LightForm; throw, Hauser & Wirth.