Blog

We Flip Flapjacks, Not Houses

October 27, 2010 | Design, Real Estate, Renovation, Selling, Style Enhancement Staging

I'm all for renovators improving property for resale and putting a profit in their pockets, but sometimes they shoot themselves in the foot by making poor design choices that are too taste-specific or, as the case may be, devoid of taste at all. I recently showed a downtown dwelling that featured…
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Autumn Update From The Real Estate Trenches

October 25, 2010 | Real Estate

When it comes to real estate trenches, this Autumn I'm wearing a light-weight cream number that cuts a square shoulder, cinches at the waist and keeps me dry from all the rain we're having. Lol. Ok, this blog isn't about fashion. If it was, it would be posted by Vince who…
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A Neat Toronto Blog & Retailer

October 20, 2010 | Blogs, Retail

One of my recently discovered and newly favourite personal blogs is by Juli and John in Toronto called Kitka. They, like myself, are west enders who love design, travel, food and renovation! Although I've only met John briefly I feel like we're kindred spirits...we frequent the same places and share the same aesthetic. Their shop, mjolk,…
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Harbord Street’s Chabichou

October 19, 2010 | RestaurantBars

About ten years ago and longer Harbord Street, which runs parallel between Bloor and College Streets just west of the University of Toronto, was a somewhat bland arterial road housing a mish mash of services, a few tried and true cafes (The Boulevard Cafe which serves Peruvian Food just celebrated their 30th year here), the Harbord Bakery and some…
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A Sweet Confection Called Salt Point House

October 18, 2010 | Architecture

If you've been following my blog, you know my design programe at The Button Factory has included the marriage of wood, metal, glass and stone. My philosophy is that the use of natural materials in architecture keeps the built-form rooted in the landscape, so that no matter how extreme the design and configuration might be, the building exudes an…
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Union Restaurant And The Ossington

October 15, 2010 | RestaurantBars

Over the past few years Ossington Avenue, once the heart of 'Little Portugal' running north of Queen Street West just beyond Dundas West, has transitioned from the scary turf of feuding Vietnamese gangs into a fashionable feast of music, fashion, food and drink. In fact, it's blossomed into a such a popular mecca of fun the…
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In The Lounge Of Luxury

October 14, 2010 | Design, Furnishings, Renovation, Trades

Ten months ago I decided to finish my loft in The Button Factory and take it to 'the next level', meaning I was actually going to complete the space and make it more of what I'd always dreamed of rather than what I had settled for. It was an enormous…
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Applause For John Bentley Mays

October 12, 2010 | Architecture, Design, Real Estate

Every week I look forward to what the Globe and Mail's Architecture Columnist John Bentley Mays will have to say about our city's built form. This insightful gentleman offers a point of view cognizant of the many variables that influence the success or failure of space and place. He explores a structure's materials, scale…
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Happy Thanksgiving Part 2

October 11, 2010 | RestaurantBars

Funny, but when I headed out the door earlier today I just knew that, for all my choices, I was going to stroll along Dundas West from Bathurst over to Ossington. This section of Dundas, along with Ossington, has been undergoing a phenomenal transformation over the past couple of years. The short and…
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Happy Thanksgiving!

October 11, 2010 | Books & Magazines, EntertainmentLeisure

I have so much to be thankful for. I just spent a warm weekend hanging out with my best buds Mike and Vince, who have been anchors in my life for over twenty-five years. There's no better way to keep perspective than having your friends rally by your side when you're…
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