66 Portland St., Suite 706, Toronto
What: A customized loft in the 66 Portland mid-rise condominium building developed by Freed Developments. As featured in Canadian House & Home magazine's fall 2009 condo edition, suite 706 has two bedrooms and two bathrooms in 1,500 square feet of contemporary living space with views overlooking nearby King Street West.
Asking price: $1.049-million
Taxes: $4,780.36 (2009)
Agent: Harvey Kalles Real Estate Ltd. (Nick and Donna Thompson)
When Laura and Dan Keogh went looking to purchase their first house as a married couple, they instead chose a condo in downtown Toronto to avoid the upkeep associated with home ownership.
"We liked the idea of it being turnkey," Ms. Keogh says. "We didn't want a driveway to shovel."
She is a beauty editor at Fashion magazine and he is a sportswear distributor. They wanted a home that emphasized lifestyle while freeing both to pursue their busy careers.
Sixty-six Portland seemed like the perfect fit.
It was still in development when they first entered the sales office in the fall of 2003. Buying off the blueprints, they decided to purchase two units with the intention of merging them into one. A good idea, it turned out, because a year later the couple were expecting their first child. The condo meant for a couple would now have to become a family home.
"This seemed the best of both worlds," Ms. Keogh says. "We could have the spaciousness of a house but without worrying about eavestroughs."
The Keoghs hired the services of two interior design professionals whose work they had long admired: Arriz Hassam, a partner in 3rd Uncle Design and his (life) partner, decorator Suzanne Dimma.
Currently editor-in-chief of Canadian House & Home magazine, at that time Ms. Dimma was the home style editor at the defunct Wish magazine, where her elegant but eclectic interiors drew many fans. Ms. Keogh was one.
"For me, Suzanne was like a rock star," she says. "She has so much ability. I really wanted to work with her."
Ms. Dimma took charge of the home's decor, infusing it with a neutral palette judiciously filled with a mix of traditional and contemporary furnishings.
"I'm from New England," Ms. Keogh says. "I like beach houses while my husband, Dan, likes modern. Suzanne was able to create an interior that seamlessly blends both our tastes.
"There is exposed duct work, among other industrial touches like a concrete ceiling and cement columns, and to balance them out Edwardian chandeliers and brocade wallpaper in the bedroom."
To show off these stylish touches while still making the unit serve the everyday function of a growing family, Mr. Hassam created an open-concept design augmented by a 50-foot wall of floor-to-ceiling windows that make the apartment feel light, bright and airy.
His aim was to consider the needs of everyone living there, right down to the family pet, a queenly corpulent cat named Abbie.
In the front entranceway, he created built-ins that reach the height of the 10-foot ceilings, creating closet space for mittens and scarves and boots, everything neatly stored away and out of sight - including the cat box accessible through an artful cutout fronting a lower cupboard door.
Mr. Hassam's concern for storage extended into the eat-in kitchen where Shaker-style cabinetry makes room for a built-in pantry and a wall of slender cubbies that serve as an elongated wine rack.
"It was so big, it had to be pulleyed up from the street to get in through the balcony door," Ms. Keogh recalls.
"And it was delivered in the dead of night so no one could see. I remember that we had to worry whether lightning might strike, and the first night there was a storm and so we had to reschedule."
Telling the story, Ms. Keogh suddenly grows quiet.
"I've loved it here, loved every little detail that went into making this a home," she says.
The only reason she and her husband are now selling is for their daughter.
"Condo living is great but we want to her to have a backyard," Ms. Keogh says, leaning down to stroke the cat rubbing against her legs.
"It's killing me to leave."