POST HOMES PH8 nationalpost.com FOOD FEST! TABLE D’OZ GET READY TO SALIVATE ON OSSINGTON WHEN A CONDO LOT TURNS INTO A PICNIC It was a common refrain echoed by many apartment dwellers, and one that left Kyle Schuneman feeling frustrated. “I would hear a lot of people say �It’s just a rental’ or �I’ll just be here for a year....’ And I just kind of felt like: �Why are you wasting this time?”’ the designer says in an interview. “We only have these spaces once and they’re your own, and you should be able to splash your personality around no matter what the regulations are. There are always solutions to creative constraints.” In The First Apartment Book (Clarkson Potter), Mr. Schuneman highlights various ways individuals can show their creative sides within small spaces, including repurposing existing pieces, craft projects and scoping out new and vintage finds. The colourful tome features real-life home facelifts where Mr. Schuneman helped apartment dwellers overcome design obstacles within their respective homes. The 27-year-old Chicago native has been designing since age 19, starting off art directing in Los Angeles and prop styling and working with commercial clients before taking on interior clients. His friends, peers and others would tell him they wanted what they’d see in his portfolio for their own homes — but couldn’t afford it. “I was living a bit in juxtaposition of �I’m young, I get living in small spaces in cities, not having lots of money,’ but at the same time, working with these very high-end people that you can let your creativity fly,” says Mr. Schuneman, founder of Live Well Designs. “For me, it was much more about showing people in their twenties and thirties that good design doesn’t have to be expensive.” For those unsure of where to start design-wise, Mr. Schuneman will ask questions about a store that represents their style, the type of landscapes they like, or even peek into their closets — all which can be tell-tale signs of their favoured aesthetic. Mr. Schuneman says it’s key for individuals to assess how they need their space to function and to keep scale in mind NATIONAL POST, SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 22, 2012 Believe the hype: Ossington really is packed with some of Toronto’s best restaurants. And today only (Sept. 22), from 2 p.m. to 8 p.m, the area’s top chefs will come together to transform the parking lot at 109 Ossington Ave., where a future condo is going up, into Table d’OZ. Sample tasty bites from newcomers such as The Saint and The Grove — just named the No. 1 new restaurant in Canada by Maclean’s magazine. The Painted Lady will be offering pulled pork sliders with a shot on the side and Yours Truly is doing salt cod inari. Other participants include: Amaya Express, Boehmer, BQM, Hawker Bar and Lakeview. Food and drink pairings will cost $2 to $8 with all proceeds to be matched in a charitable donation to The Stop, a food bank. And for an old-school serenade, the folks from Grasshopper Records will be spinning vinyl. National Post FIRST TIME’S THE CHARM Landlord says no to paint? Velcro the walls with fabric, author suggests By Lauren La Rose when working within smaller environs. So avoid placing an oversized sofa in a studio space. “You really want to work with proportions,” he says. “That doesn’t mean you have to lose comfort by any means — but you just have to be realistic.” Playing around with the placement of larger pieces is a great rule of thumb for small spaces, he notes. For a studio in Seattle, a bed was positioned horizontally while the desk was then placed perpendicular from MARKETING FEATURE the wall, creating a built-in effect. The desk also doubled as a nightstand. Various how-to craft projects incorporated within dwellings featured in The First Apartment Book can be replicated by readers by following step-by-step instructions. In addition to more conventional offerings such as pillows, shades and wall stencils, there are other inventive projects like a chicken wire pot rack, a record headboard and mirrored tennis racquets. “I didn’t want to create a craft project that I knew people wouldn’t do or wouldn’t want to do,” Mr. Schuneman says. “There isn’t sewing involved. There aren’t things that intimidate me, and I kind of worked with my gut in that regard. If it didn’t intimidate me, then I thought it won’t intimidate others.” In instances where renters face redesign restrictions, Mr. Schuneman offers creative alternatives. In a Boston apartment where the landlord wouldn’t allow use of paint, he created fabric-covered padded panels that would Velcro to the wall. For couples or others sharing accommodation, Mr. Schuneman says the aim should be to showcase the design tastes of both dwellers. Working with roommates in Boston, the streamlined sofa and colonial side table in the “living room” area suited the style of one, while the industrial reading lamp and colourful chevron carpet tiles reflected the tastes of the other. A common theme woven throughout the book and also embraced by Mr. Schuneman as part of his design philosophy is the emphasis on tailoring spaces to reflect how people truly live. Mr. Schuneman humorously refers to Cleveland-based client Holt as an “entryway stripper” for his tendency to take of his tie, belt and empty his pockets within moments of walking inside his place. He recalled finding ties and belts “stacked six-deep on the doorknobs” when he walked into Holt’s apartment. At a local flea market, Mr. Schuneman found small bowls for change, a vintage tie rack, a plaid magnet board for bills and a set of lamps for the entryway table — all for $50. The designer says his goal is to help individuals build confidence in honing their creative eye, notably in seeking out finds. Even if they still feel they’re lacking, they can always seek out a friend for a second opinion while on the hunt, he notes. “If you want to try something out, the worst that can happen is that it can not work out.” The Canadian Press Theeatery comeswith thecondo DINE Continued from Page PH1 Welcome Home Sweepstakes prizes include a $4-million showhome, a $1.2-million Muskoka lakefront cottage, a Collingwood townhome, a Toronto condo and more. Winahomefor$100 &aidcancerresearch PMHF SWEEPSTAKES The Princess Margaret Hospital Foundation (PMHF) launched the 2012 edition of The Welcome Home Sweepstakes earlier this month to implement Personalized Cancer Medicine at the Princess Margaret Cancer Centre. PMHF is offering Ontario’s most exclusive prize package, headlined by a $4-million Oakville showhome designed and decorated by Lynda Reeves and the House & Home design team. “Princess Margaret Lotteries are widely known for giving away the most incredible real estate prizes—and this fall’s lineup is our best yet!” says Paul Alofs, President & CEO of The Princess Margaret Hospital Foundation. “Net proceeds raised will be directed to our Personalized Cancer Medicine program, to deliver the right treatment to the right patient at the right time. This is the gold standard of cancer care and it’s happening right now at The Princess Margaret, one of the top five cancer research centres in the world”. “We loved working on this home to benefit the Princess Margaret Cancer Centre,” says Ms. Reeves. “The design is a contemporary take on the classic Ontario stone farmhouse. It’s full of surprises. I’m so proud of our entire design team, including architect Ray Murakami, landscape architect Ronald Holbrook and custom builder PCM.”. The showhome is open daily for viewing. Other prizes include a $1.2million lakefront cottage in Muskoka, a four-season recreational townhome in Collingwood, a stylish condo in Downtown Toronto, a Ferrari 458 Italia, the newly redesigned 2013 Porsche 911 Carrera — and more. Tickets are $100, threepacks for $250 or NEW best value five-packs for $375. Tickets are available online at HelpConquerCancer.ca and by calling 1-866-631-1234. “The client base is already catering to your business,” he says. “They understand who you are and what you do.” Nearby, a similar story is unfolding at the Thompson Residences at The Thompson Hotel on Bathurst, being built by Freed in partnership with the Thompson Hotel Group. The luxury condominiums will sit atop two of Toronto’s A-list restaurants: Scarpetta and Thompson Diner. “A restaurant brings an amenity to the building for the residents,” says Sandra Frasson, vice-president of sales and marketing for Freed. “They take advantage of the fact that it’s just downstairs.” She notes, given the pedestrian traffic on Bathurst, incorporating a restaurant into the plans was a no-brainer.” Ms. Frasson continues: “Restaurants used to cater to office workers, but there’s a whole new community of people who live downtown and work here.” It’s not just the west end that’s experiencing a boom in condo restaurants. Aura, by Canderel at the corner of Yonge and Gerrard streets, is set to fill its retail space with two big chain eateries, Canyon Creek and Alice Fazooli’s, outlets that aren’t readily available in the downtown core. “On our block alone, there are close to 4,000 people living there,” says Riz Dhanji, vicepresident of sales and marketing at Canderel Stoneridge Equity Group. “The density makes sense for various restaurants to be in the area.” For Mr. Dhanji, his company’s focus is all about creating incentives for tenants, and to ensure they fill their retail space with businesses that give back to the neighbourhood. “Condo retail used to be an afterthought: �We’re building a condo and we have some retail space, so let’s just put up a leasing sign and figure it out TYLER ANDERSON / NATIONAL POST Weslodge, a modern saloon, has ties to Victory Residences. afterward.’ ” But now that’s not the case. “There’s an interesting study on the Starbucks effect: When a Starbucks opens in a residential building, it increases the property value of those units,” Mr. Dhanji says. “We feel restaurants will do the same.” Mimi Ng, vice-president of sales and marketing at Menkes shares his sentiments. She and her company have been working closely with the Four Seasons Hotels to build Four Seasons Private Residences. The five-star dwelling, at the corner of Bay Street and Yorkville Avenue, will house the hotly anticipated Café Boulud and dbar, brought to the city by Michelin-starred chef Daniel Boulud, as well as the city’s second Buca location. Though the menus of each restaurant have yet to be finalized, tenants and guests can prepare to whet their appetites with fine and fresh French cuisine as well as hearty, homemade Italian dishes. It’s a unique mix that will add a little something special to the ecosystem of Yorkville, Ms. Ng believes. And while that’s important, she knows it’s not always possible for developers to build a restaurant in a retail space, especially if the plans are poorly thought out or rushed. “There are special design requirements to make sure the space is functional for a restaurant. It has to have the right infrastructure in terms of venting and air circulation,” Ms. Ng says. “Also, the timelines for a condo and retailer or a restaurateur are very different. Stores work on much shorter timelines. Their owners typically don’t get involved [in project management] or don’t realize there’s an opportunity to fill retail space until a building is under construction.” Still, Ms. Ng says, it’s worth it to look to restaurants to fill condominium business space. “It’s a quadruple-win, really. It’s a win for developers, a win for restaurateur, a win for the residents in the building and a win for the neighbourhood.” National Post
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