My Houzz: Mod Finds Create a Fashionable Air in Toronto
Iconic midcentury furniture mixes with original artwork to bring a couple's light-filled one-bedroom apartment to life
I'm a Houzz home tour contributor and I work for a Toronto-based architectural design firm, Roundabout Studio.
You can view some of my non-architectural photography at http://www.flickr.com/andrew_snow
Thanks for looking!
I'm a Houzz home tour contributor and I work for a Toronto-based architectural... More »
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What do you get when fashion literally marries design? Not surprisingly, a whole lot of hip style. That's what Lygia Navarro, a journalist, an interior designer and the owner of Lust Found Vintage, and her husband, Henry, an artist and a professor of fashion at Ryerson University, were aiming for with their Toronto rental apartment. And the results are gorgeous.
After relocating to Canada from Cincinnati, the couple set out to find a space to house their ever-expanding collection of vintage midcentury furniture. They found a sky-high unit with an open floor plan, blessed with floor-to-ceiling windows that frame the beautiful skyline and lush park below. "It's a floating experience above the city," Lygia says.
Houzz at a Glance
Who lives here: Lygia and Henry Navarro
Location: St. Lawrence Market neighborhood of Toronto
Size: 1,100 square feet; 1 bedroom, 2 bathrooms
After relocating to Canada from Cincinnati, the couple set out to find a space to house their ever-expanding collection of vintage midcentury furniture. They found a sky-high unit with an open floor plan, blessed with floor-to-ceiling windows that frame the beautiful skyline and lush park below. "It's a floating experience above the city," Lygia says.
Houzz at a Glance
Who lives here: Lygia and Henry Navarro
Location: St. Lawrence Market neighborhood of Toronto
Size: 1,100 square feet; 1 bedroom, 2 bathrooms
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| Since downtown views flank the living room, it's a great place for the couple to entertain guests. Anchoring the space is a triptych painted by Henry, who created most of the art in the home. Aptly titled “Centre of Energy,” it's the only original piece that Henry says he would never sell. Inspired by Japanese brush painting, it was designed to be modular and can be hung in any direction. Mid-1950s sectional sofa: Schnadig; wooden side table: Lane Furniture |
Located on the southwest corner of the building, the unit is sun drenched throughout the day. Both Lygia and Henry's favorite spot is the solarium, a small nook that feels both expansive and intimate. The floor-to-ceiling windows provide panoramic views of the downtown skyline: St. Lawrence Market in the east, Bay Street skyscrapers to the west and a large public park at their feet.
Lygia works mostly from home and enjoys taking in the sights and sounds of the city. “I watch the flocks of pigeons flying, people walking their dogs and the currents and ice on the lake. It feels like having a huge backyard,” she says.
Table: Goodwill; chairs: vintage, made by Liberty Ornamental Iron Ltd.
Lygia works mostly from home and enjoys taking in the sights and sounds of the city. “I watch the flocks of pigeons flying, people walking their dogs and the currents and ice on the lake. It feels like having a huge backyard,” she says.
Table: Goodwill; chairs: vintage, made by Liberty Ornamental Iron Ltd.
The couple's love of design comes from an appreciation of the complex patterns in nature. “I often have this feeling in nature, when I see a line of trees in silhouette or a flock of birds or the pattern of leaves, that the design of nature is just how things are supposed to be, that things are right in the world. And I feel that same sense of peace and rightness in looking at midcentury design," Lygia says.
Aluminum sculpture on coffee table: Don Drumm
Aluminum sculpture on coffee table: Don Drumm
The Navarros assembled most of their furniture collection piece by piece, knowing exactly what they had in mind and sometimes taking up to a year to find it. However, some finds were serendipitous. Henry’s favorite place to read is in a re-covered cantilevered armchair, which Lygia discovered on the street. "I like when you look at it from far away," Henry says. "It looks like it's floating. Then when you sit on it, it feels very substantial. It has the perfect proportions but has this bounciness because of the metal's shape."
This white sideboard used to function as a backdrop for photographing items for Lygia's vintage shop. The tiles above are an untitled 3-D piece by Henry, a re-creation of a large installation of hand-formed tiles he had made for a previous solo show.
A record holder finds new life as shelving for books and a resting place for a tall secondhand lamp.
A record holder finds new life as shelving for books and a resting place for a tall secondhand lamp.
This bookcase in Lygia’s office took her more than a year to track down and is one of her favorite pieces. The dynamic arrangement of solid and voids is home to a variety of objects, pieces of art and color-coordinated books.
Bookcase: auction piece, A.H. Wilkens; teak banker's desk: B.K. Johl; oil painting: Evelyn Levy Shaw
Bookcase: auction piece, A.H. Wilkens; teak banker's desk: B.K. Johl; oil painting: Evelyn Levy Shaw
The kitchen is partially open to the main living space. While the bathroom and kitchen aren't exactly the couple's style, they are happy that their rental unit is relatively easy to adapt to suit their furniture.
Bar stools: 1970s, designed by Bryan Leaman
Bar stools: 1970s, designed by Bryan Leaman
Hanging off-center in the hallway is another one of Henry's original paintings. It shares the space with a vintage white cabinet, an Eames La Fonda side chair and a portion of the couple’s extensive book collection.
Fan: vintage, Electrohome; teak side table: vintage, made by Deilcraft
Fan: vintage, Electrohome; teak side table: vintage, made by Deilcraft
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| The bedroom doubles as Henry’s office nook and reading space, including a lamp that took months of searching to find. The Eames DCM chair is another of Lygia’s favorites. "It's impossibly gorgeous,” she says. Desk: found on the street in Toronto; teak clock: Fair Judy's Antiques and Curiosities; brown chair: Krueger, from Duck Creek Antique Mall; white desk lamp: St. Lawrence Antique Market; table lamp: vintage, made by Lyskaer; small painting: Henry Navarro |
The couple views their bedroom as a quiet retreat. They kept the furnishings fairly minimal. Lygia uses the room to read and meditate, since two large north-facing windows pour in light. Even Henry’s artwork over the bed takes on a more structured, rational and calm nature here. This piece was the last one added to the apartment; it was a present he made for Lygia while she was away on a business trip.
Dress form: Craigslist; pillows: Ikea
Your turn: Share your colorful apartment with us
Dress form: Craigslist; pillows: Ikea
Your turn: Share your colorful apartment with us
Comments
susanintoronto Very nice and I wish I had found that desk on the street!
4 months ago · Like
niawag So glad the desk was rescued from the street! As I contemplate possibly shifting from renting to owning it's inspiring to see how the Navarros have made this rental apartment both highly functional and an expression of their style.
4 months ago · Like
niawag Sigh, I meant shifting from owning to renting, obviously...
4 months ago · Like
wantsideas Love most of the teak pieces here.
4 months ago · Like
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j0dy Nice view! Love the white table.
4 months ago · Like
Lida Moini very nice, I like the color of the bookstore
4 months ago · Like
CAROLE MEYER What an updated take on this MOD look......I really enjoyed looking at what has been done with pieces I did not like when they were new....but rather love now!
4 months ago · Like
sanchopanza love the living room all that's missing is don draper
4 months ago · Like
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Ideabook published on Feb. 22, 2013.
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