Photo: Sotheby’s International Realty Canada
Sitting on a tree-lined street in Toronto’s Harbord Village is 66 Brunswick Avenue, a recently listed four-plus-one bedroom, five-bathroom fully renovated Victorian manor.
This home is the type of stylish and cunning that The Devil Wears Prada’s Miranda Priestly embodied. It would also probably scoff at your suggestion of florals for spring.
Asking $4.95 million, the rich interiors of this 3,185-square-foot residence have earned the home a spot as a contender for the National Kitchen and Bath Association’s (NKBA) 2020 Kitchen of The Year award, according to the listing. Gird your loins, this home is intensely dashing.
Coming off of a covered front porch, the front entryway greets you with chevron Bardiglio Carrara marble floors and the home’s fully-restored original staircase from 1887, which now sports a patterned wool runner. From the doorway, you get a great view of the main floor, all the way back to the kitchen.
Photo: Sotheby’s International Realty Canada
Hang a left, and you’re in the main living room. Dominating the space is a glossy Nero Marquina marble fireplace, which sits below a funky chandelier. Crown moulding and engineered white oak floors marry the old and new in this room.
Photo: Sotheby’s International Realty Canada
In the adjacent dining room, an equally shiny fireplace in a bay area is flanked by large windows. The space is large enough to comfortably fit a hefty six-person dining table and a sideboard. While the artwork is not included in the sale of the house, the painted canvas hung in this room adds a pop of colour against the neutral white walls.
Photo: Sotheby’s International Realty Canada
The kitchen is the heart of the home, especially in this residence, where the kitchen is truly the pièce de résistance. Natural quartzite countertops rest atop white custom cabinetry, while two acorn pendant lights hang above a centre island with a built-in breakfast bar. A giant six-burner oven is accompanied by a quartzite backsplash and open cubbies where cookbooks and small appliances are stored. The cabrinety hardware mixes matte black with gold metals, which is also seen on the faucet over the stainless steel sink.
Photo: Sotheby’s International Realty Canada
The sunny breakfast area features a built-in bench, additional storage cabinets and doors that open onto the patio and garden.
Photo: Sotheby’s International Realty Canada
Upstairs, the master bedroom has been renovated into a fashionista-worthy suite. A bay area with twin windows provides a cozy nook to place your bed.
Photo: Sotheby’s International Realty Canada
Through a set of double doors is the dressing room. With all of the wall-to-wall closets, there’s plenty of space to store a collector’s lifetime-worth of shoes. A centre console below a stately chandelier is the perfect place to store your finest accessories — cerulean belts included.
Photo: Sotheby’s International Realty Canada
The five-piece ensuite bathroom showcases a slick, custom his-and-hers vanity, bordered by a frameless glass shower and free-standing soaker tub. Catching up on your favourite re-runs of What Not To Wear is pretty easy in this room with the giant flatscreen TV mounted on the mirrors.
Photo: Sotheby’s International Realty Canada
The second floor is shared with another bedroom and a staircase that leads to two additional bedrooms and a bathroom on the third level. The sloped ceilings in certain rooms might be a challenge if you’re tall, so the extra bedroom and living space on the lower level might be more appealing.
Photo: Sotheby’s International Realty Canada
You don’t have to hike it to Yorkville to find million-dollar style, or take a trip to Cabbagetown for Victorian architecture revivals — at 66 Brunswick Avenue, there’s plenty of both to reckon with.
