No Limits to the Sky
“Finding suitable property, relocating and designing a client’s new place is never an easy task especially when client has full trust in you both as a professional and as a family friend. The stakes were high, expectations even higher and the process was evolving with no design prenuptials,” according to the designers of Studio Pyramid Inc. from Toronto, Canada. They settled for the newly built elegant penthouse, midtown of the city. A unique space with south exposure and oversized terraces, two bedrooms and two bathrooms in a modern, open concept floor plan.
The interior look of the apartment was already established. The floors in the kitchen and bathrooms, and the sizes of the rooms were already in place. The designers of Studio Pyramid Inc. from Toronto, notably Elaine Tan and Alexander Sasha Josipovicz, put their efforts to defining the entrance space and making it more exquisite. They achieved this by using rich ceruse eucalyptus wood paneling on the walls alongside the arches. With help of Goran Tijanic from Line to Line, they opened up the kitchen wall towards the living and dinning space allowing unobstructed views on the wraparound terrace, light and views of downtown Toronto to fully interact with the space.
Dark oak floors are exposed throughout most of the space, with the living room rug, made from recycled silk saris, dictating the colours of the otherwise monochromatic Minotti selected furniture. A gold coined Turkish inspired chandelier rises above a round glass table, throwing light onto rich throw pillows. A marble bust, by artist Fraser Paterson sits atop an elegant rosewood pedestal, complimented by large canvases by Katie Pretti and Verona Sorensen. To complete the look, an antique Korean bronze rain drum offset by a stark Pasha papier-mâché black stool.
A contemporary-exotic feeling was created for the client, who is an avid world traveller, by bringing the owners favourite colour into the master bedroom through the Porter Teleo wallpaper. Julian Chichester boxy side tables, in faux shagreen, add texture, with an antique Klismos bench by Robsjohn-Gibbings, in warm cognac leather and rosewood, posed at the foot of the soft edged bed. A burnished brass light fixture, shaped as porcupine, may have been a tough sell but Sasha and Elaine prevailed. The views of Toronto skyline remained uncluttered with fog like sheers, while still providing the owner enough privacy at night.
The spacious terraces were equipped for lounging, and dinner parties with a fireplace, kitchen and a cabana all topped with panoramas where Lake Ontario meets the horizons. The penthouse pet, a fake white owl, is perched on top of the cabana providing guests with an entrance to remember.
Photography: Alaïa + Hans Fonk
