Tag Archives: yourhome
Reduce, recycle and rejoin
It was probably inevitable that someone would come up with the idea of turning E.J.Lennox’s Beaux Arts heap, or at least part of it, into a condo
Christopher Hume – Yourhome.ca
For a few precious blocks in the heart of the city around King and Yonge, Toronto looks, feels, smells and sounds like a metropolis. The buildings are tall and the streets narrow. Everywhere there’s a sense that space is too valuable to leave unused. Small patches of green are gobbled up by locals; sidewalks and even dead-end alleys serve as gathering spots, all of them used, if not loved. Then there are the layers of history; this is where Toronto started. The streets are lined with buildings erected by optimists long since vanished. Later decades also left their mark — the 1960s, ’70s and through to our time.
Indeed, King St. E. has been remade by developers; its most neglected corners now eagerly sought after as locations for condos. Our grandparents would have shaken their heads in disbelief, but it all makes sense. Here, Old Toronto and New Toronto meet, for the most part, happily. It’s hard to imagine now, but a landmark as important as St. Lawrence Hall was allowed to fall into disrepair before it was refurbished by the city as a Centennial project in 1967. It would be hard to imagine such a monument being ignored today, but after the civic election in October, anything will be possible.
That, too, is the beauty of the city; it outlives its builders and its inhabitants, first being changed by them then returning the favour.
Condo Critic – The King Edward Hotel, 37 King Street East
It was probably inevitable that someone would come up with the idea of turning E.J.Lennox’s Beaux Arts heap, or at least part of it, into a condo. Built by George Gooderham — he of Gooderham & Worts Distillery and one of the richest Torontonians in the 19th century — in an attempt to push the business centre east of Yonge, its traditional boundary, it has long been a landmark.
But the exuberance of Lennox’s architecture is deadened by the 1917 addition directly east, which lacks the detail and sheer pleasure of the original.
Though it was a social and business centre of Edwardian Toronto; for decades it never quite fitted in as anything more than the Grande Dame of King St. In the 21st century, that’s all changed. The gilded splendour of the old King Edward now shines brighter than ever. Who wouldn’t want to live there? If that isn’t an idea that occurred to anyone sooner, it is definitely one whose time has come.
GRADE: A
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Contact the Jeffrey Team for more information - 416-388-1960
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Top 5 ways to make your condo look more expensive
Use a limited palette to make your space feel more expensive
Lisa Canning – Yourhome.ca
When purchasing a condo, most buyers sink the majority of their funds into the space, leaving little left over for furniture and frivolity. Here are a few tips to make your space look and feel more expensive than it actually is.
NUMBER 1: WORK WITH WHITE
Using a limited colour palette is a tried and true stylist tip. Why will it make your space look more expensive? Limiting your colour choices to white significantly reduces your margin of error: no clashing colours, no questionable accent wall, or other such pitfalls that often contribute to a tacky looking space.
Moreover, a bonus of working with white is that it is fairly easy to find available products at every price point.
Lastly, limiting your colour palette forces your eye to focus on what is different, namely, textures. And I encourage you to use a variety of them. The mix of a fluffy rug with a lacquered coffee table against a suede sofa with a satin pillow (all in various shades of white) will invite people to sit, savour and suggest you paid a fortune for your decor — when really you didn’t.
NUMBER 2: MAKE LIKE A MAGPIE AND GO SHINY
Magpies are birds that like to pick up shiny objects and bring them home to their nests — and I enthusiastically support this behaviour. The same way I would accessorize an outfit with a lacquered bangle or luminous gemstone, a touch of sparkle or sheen in a room lends to a polished, finished look.
A high gloss ceramic vase, fantastic chandelier or mirrored sideboard will by its nature add a touch of luxury when paired with more subdued elements. But it is this pairing of glossy and matte surfaces that is essential — a room full of reflective surfaces can look gaudy rather than glam — so use restraint when inserting these pieces into your condo.
NUMBER 3: SAY NO TO THE SHOWROOM SET
When your entire condo looks like a big box store was teleported into your space, this is a problem. I am all for things coordinating — this is an important element of harmonious interior design — but when everything matches (i.e. your sideboard, dining table, bookshelf, and coffee table are all in an identical stain, with identical millwork details and cloned fixtures) insert synonyms for boring and blah.
While my personal taste is not averse to matching sofa and chair sets (although some designers have strong opinions on this matter) I do have a fervent objection to matching “hard goods”: armoires, dressers, sideboards, etc. In a small space like a condo, these large pieces take up a lot of room and take away from your ability to be original — and your ability to look expensive.
NUMBER 4: GO BIG ON ONE ITEM
When I worked on HGTV’s Marriage Under Construction (Season 1 had the extremely low budget of $30,000 to complete renovation and decor for an ENTIRE house) I learned an important trick: splurge on one item in each room.
Whatever your budget, allot a portion of it for a big-ticket item (which will have a different dollar value for everyone), or that special something you simply have been eyeing and coveting for your space. Compromise on other areas and/or save until you are ready.
NUMBER 5: REPRODUCTIONS CAN STRETCH YOUR BUDGET
There are iconic mid century modern furniture pieces that based on their scale (and gorgeous design!) work so well in condos. My favourites include Philippe Starck’s Ghost Chair, the Eames Plywood Chair, the Eames Eiffel Chair and Arne Jacobsen’s Swan Chair. You can purchase these pieces at retailers like Design Within Reach and their price tags reflect their quality of construction, material and design. Reproductions, made of lower grade materials and construction techniques, are available at many retailers, my favourites being most! and Morba in Toronto. And while they won’t have the same luxury feel, they do have the luxury look. Mix reproductions with the real deal as your budget allows.
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Contact the Jeffrey Team for more information - 416-388-1960
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Canadian new home prices up by 0.3% in May
Tony Wong – Yourhome.ca
Dennis Au-Yeung has heard the doomsday predictions of the housing market. In particular, that too many condominiums are being built in the city of Toronto.
Prepared for a less torrid market, the Chief Financial Officer of Concord Pacific Group Inc., the largest condo builders in Canada, did not expect line ups for his latest project, Tango at Concord Park Place in North York last month.
But within a day the 250 units he had put up for sale had sold out.
“I really didn’t get this kind of response, we had actually expected the market to soften a little,” said Au-Yeung.
Au-Yeung thinks the strong response is because some buyers have been priced out of the downtown market and there hasn’t been as much supply in areas outside the core. The average selling price was $440 per square foot compared with over $500 downtown.
“I think affordability is certainly an issue,” he said.
According to a Statistics Canada report Thursday, new home prices are up across Canada and particularly in Toronto where condominium sales have been strong.
Prices of new homes in Canada rose by 0.3% in May over April, according to the report.
This is the third month in a row of identical price increases, as new home builders continue to report strong market conditions.
Prices increased the most in Regina, followed by Toronto and Oshawa according to Statscan.
“Builders reported that they increased their prices as a result of higher material and labour costs as well as increased land development,” said Statscan.
The Toronto market, which accounts for a third of all new housing development reported a 0.7% increase, well above the national average.
Year over year, Toronto new home prices are up by 3.2%. Vancouver housing prices remain the market leader, with a 5.8% gain year over year.
“It is a little strange that the resale market seems to be softening, but we’re still going strong,” said Au-Yeung. “But we also haven’t had the big price increases.”
New home price increases have been restrained in comparison to the existing home market. Buyers trying to take advantage of low interest rates and not willing to wait for new product have bid up the prices on resale homes.
The average price for June transactions for existing homes was $435,034, or up 8% from June of 2009 according to figures released by the Toronto Real Estate Board this week. However, sales fell for the second straight month in a row.
The new condo market on the other hand, has been targeted by investors who are willing to wait several years for new product before renting or divesting of the asset. That could also be problematic as some analysts have said there are too many units under completion for the market to absorb.
“A cooling off of housing prices is likely to occur in June in response to the May jump in mortgage rates, a cooling off of global commodity prices, and the impact of the harmonized sales tax,” said Arlene Kish, senior economist of HISIHS Global Insight.
As a result, new home prices are also expected to ramp down in the third quarter.
“Canadian housing activity is moving into reverse,” said David Rosenberg, chief economist at Gluskin + Sheff and Associates in Toronto. “It looks like the impact of modestly higher interest rates and Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation’s incremental moves to tighten up its underwriting guidelines have taken the steam out of the real estate market.”
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Contact the Jeffrey Team for more information - 416−388−1960
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Related posts:
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