Photo by Michael Graydon.

Now online: my piece on the home of Raymond Girard and Laird Kay. This is a short story about the interior that focuses on their objects and decor, which are full of wit and good taste.

But there is an interesting architecture angle here as well.

Their house was renovated by Building Arts Architects, but it began as a mediocre midcentury building  - the sort of squared brick-and-wood box that contractors and tradespeople put up downtown in the 1960s. Such houses (which Dave LeBlanc has labelled “Toronto Specials“) are not very well-built or well-designed; they tend to have choppy interiors, small windows and cheap finishes.  But they have potential: their relatively solid construction and simple forms make them perfect targets for modernist renovations. Some of them might, with smart designers and clients, look like this. Which would be good for the city, and great news for a few lucky people.