Portal House | SVIMA

A Toronto couple has opposite tastes: he is an enthusiast of tenebrous minimalism, and she a lover of bright French country kitchens. They wanted to renovate their home of ten years, to streamline and organize their books and belongings. The architect proposed a dual design with deep oak tones along the lower half of the rooms, and bright whites above, merging the two tastes to create denlike coziness.

The design hinges on ‘ribbons’ flowing through the space, guiding the motion through the rooms. The ribbons curve in areas where sharp corners would not fit, or would stop the flow of movement. In the kitchen, a tight space, all lower cabinet corners are softened with curved ends, allowing users to pass comfortably. The cabinetmaker made each curved cabinet door by hand, creating a special jig to kerf-bend the oak into a radius.

Two large brass portals sculpt open the wall between the kitchen and dining room. One is a doorway, and the other a countertop window, allowing light and sightlines to pass between the two rooms. It was an artful process for the contractor to lay the brass into the wall, as it had to fit into the curved drywall perfectly with no tolerance for error. The kitchen tiles are a contemporary take on Dutch “Delft” tile, festive in blue and white, complementing the brass. The brass tones will patina over the seasons as the family grows.

In the living room, a custom bookshelf and built-in sofa curve into the space. The custom sofa sweeps into the space to provide seating at precisely the right sideways angle for viewing the media unit, for lounge reading, and for gathering. The bookshelf bends to allow more light to enter from the window.

Each curve is carefully positioned to accommodate the needs of this family.

Lead Architects: Anamarija Korolj OAA, Leon Lai OAA

Project Team: Anamarija Korolj, Architect, OAA, M.Arch, Partner Leon Lai, Architect, OAA, M.Arch,

Partner: Eira Roberts, Junior Designer

Photography: Scott Norsworthy

Website: https://scottnorsworthy.com/

Builder: Ian Chung of Recon Design & Build