Toronto Interiors, a new kitchen – and a ‘dragon’
PLANT projects featured in Toronto Interiors book
We are excited to have four of our recent residential projects included in Catherine MacIntosh’s beautiful new book, Toronto Interiors. Published by Figure 1 and now available at bookstores across Canada and internationally, this volume highlights the work of 30 established and emerging Toronto-based design practices. MacIntosh, a former Designlines editor-in-chief with more than 25 years’ experience covering interior design, art, and architecture, characterizes PLANT's work as “designs that seamlessly connect the past, present, and future – spaces that evolve gracefully over time, remaining flexible and enduringly relevant.”
Toronto Interiors is proof that residential design is thriving in Canada’s largest city. We’re proud to have PLANT's Dilworth, Airdrie Road, Booth Avenue, and First Avenue residences featured in this high-calibre context.
What’s new at First Avenue
As noted above, First Avenue is one of our projects featured in the new Toronto Interiors book. We’re happy to share the very first look at our second phase of interior renovations to this residence: here’s a peek into the just-completed kitchen. As with our previous phase of renovations on the upper floors of this townhouse in what was originally a 19th-century dairy, wood surrounds of the tall, arched windows (and entry door, in the kitchen’s case) create a ‘curio cabinet’ interior for the home of two passionate art collectors. This is actually our third project for the owners: our first was the design of their garden, back in 2011. It has been a fascinating process to work with the same great clients on successive occasions and design for their changing needs over time. On the latest round of renovations, they wanted closed, clean-lined cabinetry for what had previously been an open-shelf kitchen. We’re eager to show off the new cupboards and curvaceous marble countertop, and we’ll be able to do so quite soon.
Shingle all the way: two PLANT partners unveil their ‘dragon-scaled’ garage and workshop
While we’re on the subject of residential projects, we want to show one that PLANT partners Lisa Rapoport and Chris Pommer recently designed for themselves. When their old laneway garage was nearing the end of its life, they decided to replace it with a new, larger structure that, in addition to sheltering their car and bikes, would provide more workshop space for their art projects. With off-the-shelf cedar shingles in an assortment of shapes and a grass-green waterproofing finish, they gave the structure a look that they describe as “gnarly old dragon.” End result: the Dragon, a structure that delivers the maximum zoning-permitted quantity of garage/workshop space, without dominating their compact urban backyard. The infinity curve at the point where the facade meets the roof is one of the key bulk-minimizing strategies. The other is the colour. “It’s bright, but it blends into the garden,” says Lisa. “It’s loud and quiet at the same time.”
