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Globe and Mail
a day ago
- Business
- Globe and Mail
A home of catwalks in Toronto's Annex evokes New York – but with more natural light
90 Madison, Ave., Toronto Asking price: $5,369,490 Lot size: 40 by 127 feet Property taxes: $26,916.32 (2025) Listing agent: Motria Dzulynsky, Re/Max Professionals Take a simple idea, such as wanting more light, and then keep pushing on what that can mean – what you're willing to spend to get it – and what you end up with can be something far from the same-old, same-old. That's what happened with 90 Madison Ave., which is a fusion of a classic Annex-style Toronto brick mansion – on a street filled with similarly large brick homes – with a huge addition built around a three-storey-tall atrium focused on maximizing the available light. 'Where I grew up in the East Village in New York, natural light was rare,' said owner Roxanne Chemych. 'The railroad apartments we lived in never allowed us to see sunshine or light.' (Railroad apartments are a type where the rooms connect one after the other like a series of train cars, from the front door to an exterior, or even interior light-well, window.) The renovated house on Madison was to have no shortage of windows. 'We'd often wear sunglasses in our living room, the afternoon sun just really streamed in. You felt like you were outdoors,' said Ms. Chemych. She compares the feeling to being in a ski chalet or a backcountry cottage, which the couple decided they didn't need to build: 'We had one every day in our urban home.' Before buying 90 Madison, they had lived across the street, in a heritage-style house that coupled dark wood with modest exterior windows and long hallways between rooms. Ms. Chemych would look at 90 Madison, with the creaky old garage sitting next to it, and imagine the possibilities. When they bought it in the early 2000s and took stock of the original interiors they came up with an idea: What if we kept some of these spaces and melded them with something entirely new? 'We felt there was potential,' she said. 'We always wanted to custom-build our home and once we had children it was time; we needed the extra space.' Today, the addition is actually taller than the original. And, while parts of the Victorian mansion are woven into the fabric of the new home, there are still two separate apartments in the original building. 'The primary home is 3,200 square feet, and the two other apartments if you added them you could make it into a 7,000-square-foot mansion,' Ms. Chemych said. It's either a nice income stream, or a potential for expansion. 'I'm from New York, I'm used to people in my apartment building,' she said. There are two entrances to the home, up the original Victorian staircase which shares a common lobby with the apartments, or through the back under the five-vehicle car port, which also provides access to the elevator at the rear of the building. 'That came about because my mother had a terrible accident, she lost her legs, and the plan was to have her stay half with me, half with her brother,' said Ms. Chemych. As it is, the elevator now provides an accessible connection to all three levels of the new addition (handy for hauling in groceries and suitcases too). The main floor of the addition is a massive interior volume; a three-level atrium with a window wall on the back of the house that climbs up to the roofline. There's also an office that faces the street. There's a lot of brushed steel, thanks to two suspended catwalks that connect the rear elevator to the rest of the home. The second-floor catwalk starts above the kitchen and extends at an angle to the rear; the third-floor catwalk is shorter and connects to the upstairs bedrooms. Both have perforated steel grates for floors, so light still filters through these spans. Stairs done in the same material connect levels, starting just off the kitchen and winding around a corner to a second-floor space that extends into the original Victorian home: a bedroom on the back (with ensuite bath) and a den/library space that's open to the atrium. The catwalk runs past this upper den, and then a section of it loops back to connect the den to the primary suite and also to the second set of stairs, clinging to the wall of the atrium as they climb to the third and final floor. The primary suite also makes use of the Victorian's second floor for its ensuite bath, which connects to the new structure via a short set of stairs. The bathrooms eschew the steel and glass and go for stone and water for whimsy. 'We spent a lot of time in Turks and Caicos Islands – so we took the bathrooms and put in beach stones and beach pebbles and waterfall faucets and rain head showers,' said Ms. Chemych. 'We couldn't reflect it everywhere – I'm not going to put palm trees in the house – but for us also the beach was really important.' The primary bedroom has a wall of glass doors under a sheltered balcony: All three levels have the same balcony across the front of the new structure. This bedroom is the same basic size as an almost identical one above, but it shares its bathroom with the second bedroom on that level that has large angled windows that look down into the atrium. This is an interesting adaptation of the railroad apartment: sure this room has no exterior windows, but the light flowing into the atrium is a good substitute for the open-air version. Having a network of walkways hanging in a huge open volume of space provided a lot of interesting entertainment options. 'The kids would have treasure hunts, laser battles on the catwalks,' said Ms. Chemych. They even turned the catwalk into a stage for bands to perform on, and also turned the atrium into an art gallery for special functions. The windows provided sunlight during the day, but at night they also provided an excellent backdrop for a bedtime story. 'We'd curl up on the couch – when the moon is full it's almost as if you're sitting outdoors. Those are wonderful memories I'm going through right now.' With the kids out of the house it's a lot of space for just two people, and it's time for a downsize, but she's also hoping to stay in the area. 'I feel the most comfortable in the Annex. I love the energy, the different people … you can walk out the door and steps away you have everything at your feet. I used to take a stroller for a walk in the middle of the night and I felt safe,' she said.
Forbes
21-05-2025
- General
- Forbes
Explore The Happiest Cities For Living And Travel, Per New Study
Berlin is one of the happiest cities in the world, as per the Happy City Index 2025 What makes a city truly happy? The world's happiest cities excel in creating environments where residents thrive and visitors are enchanted. A good city undoubtedly offers an affordable lifestyle for its residents, in terms of accessible housing and good jobs, but it's also a lot more. A city that makes its residents happy provides for its citizens in terms of its services and protects its people in environmental, economic, and social senses. A good city for a five-year-old with great playgrounds is different for a working adult who may want accessible and efficient public transport to get home from work and, yet again, for a retiree. The world's happiest cities can do all this and more. Plus, with excellent services and happy residents, they're great places to visit as travelers. The Institute for Quality of Life measures the world's happiest cities under a project organised by the Happy City Hub. The project researches various aspects of quality of life, centered around six major themes—citizens, governance, environment, economy, health, and mobility. Its tagline is from Plato, 'This City is what it is because our citizens are what they are.' Within these themes, the project studies many health indicators, such as nutrition and mental health. In the economy, it looks at factors such as unemployment, cost of living, earnings, GDP, and maternity and paternity leave allowances. It studies indicators such as pollution, recycling, and green spaces in the environment. In governance, data such as voting participation and accessibility of e-payments and e-services are analyzed. For mobility, it looks at public transport networks and road traffic accidents. And for citizens, it assesses educational factors, access to affordable housing, access to culture, and inclusive services such as support for older people or people with disabilities. Indeed, all the things about a city that, when combined, make its residents very happy. As the project says, "There is no single perfect place to live that guarantees happiness for all its residents," but there are factors that make a difference. The project has identified three different levels of cities globally. There are 31 gold standard cities, where cities track their progress against clear benchmarks. These cities have measurable indicators, and the figures allow meaningful comparisons with other places around the world, and the impact of their social policies is undeniably visible. Many of these 31 gold cities are some of the most visited cities in the world. Think Paris, Berlin, New York, Barcelona, Dublin, and London. These cities were recently featured as some of the smartest cities in the world on the IESE Cities in Motion Index 2025, and cities with the best work-life balance, like Dublin, Brussels, and Copenhagen. However, many of these 31 countries are in Northern Europe and regularly appear on indexes of countries with a high self-reported happiness level by their residents. The UN's World's Happiest Countries in 2025 appear on this list in some of its cities. Finland is first on that list, and Helsinki is in 14th place. Denmark is the second-highest happiest country, and Copenhagen topped the world's happiest cities. Aarhus in Denmark is in 4th place, Reykjavik in Iceland is in 27th place, Stockholm in Sweden is in 7th place, and Rotterdam in the Netherlands is in 10th place. These places feature in many of the best places to visit in 2024 or 2025. Zurich, the second happiest city on the list, is loved for its progressive culture, with a dynamic music and art scene and architectural landmarks by Le Corbusier and Santiago Calatrava. Antwerp, at number four, is rapidly becoming what industry insiders call a 'destination dupe' for Paris; places that travelers head to to avoid the overcrowding of summer crowds and because it offers many of Paris' charms—although Paris is also 13th on the list. France remains the most visited country in the world. Berlin, number 16 on the happiest cities in the world, was named by Time Out as one of the 50 Best Cities for its famed nightlife, plethora of positive liveability aspects, and thriving organic wine and restaurant scene. The world's happiest cities are more than just places to live—they're destinations that inspire and delight travelers. With their focus on well-being, sustainability, and inclusivity, these cities set the standard for urban happiness and make them unforgettable travel destinations. This is the 6th edition of the Happy City Index, with these cities ranked as the 200 happiest cities in the world:
CTV News
09-05-2025
- Lifestyle
- CTV News
How To Transform Your Balcony For Spring 2025
The Shopping Trends team is independent of the journalists at CTV News. We may earn a commission when you use our links to shop. Read about us. It's officially time to ring in patio season! If you live in an apartment or condo, your balcony is your outdoor space, and with the right products, it can become your little slice of paradise. Since balconies tend to be on the smaller side, some spring cleaning and a couple of new pieces will do the trick. We've found some of the best outdoor products and balcony-sized furniture that'll transform your space for spring, so you can get right to soaking up the sun. Here are a few products that'll transform your balcony for spring 2025: Disclaimer: The prices displayed are accurate at the time of publication. We'll do our best to keep them as up-to-date as possible, but you may see slight changes.
