Pied-à-terre designed by dkstudio architects inc. is a compact condo situated in Downtown Toronto’s densely populated Bloor Street corridor. On the edge of iconic Yorkville, the condo is surrounded by chic shopping and some of Toronto’s finest dining. The design responds to the urban conditions of the neighbourhood through a series of simple, custom design moves, all confined in a tight 900 sq. ft. shell. Photography by Andrew Manson.

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Designed for a Hong Kong couple who visits their children studying in Canada on holidays, custom rift cut white oak wall panels define the entry and dining areas. These lead seamlessly into the main living space, which flows freely from kitchen to the dining room, to the family lounge. A custom solid oak table is supported on oil rubbed bronze legs and framed by a custom bench made of oak, bronze, and leather. The bench morphs seamlessly into a vertical display unit made of oak and mirrors, with bronze frames and trims. The unit becomes a composition in itself and is the main feature of the pied-à-terre.

The kitchen is a tight gauntlet plan flanked in a white palette of Calacatta marble walls and counters. Intense Venetian blue marble walls drape the narrow bathrooms in an explosion of colour, blending the veins and fissures of rich blue, grey and white. Original watercolour artwork pieces by Berlin-based artist Marc Bowditch adds an urban intensity in some moments, and introspective calm (The Celestial Cloud) in others, to a home tucked in the bustling core of Toronto.