What: A 3,800-square-foot, custom-built house in the Bayview and Eglinton area, with four bedrooms, four bathrooms, a family room and library. Its exterior is influenced by the art deco-style, while the interior takes a turn toward the modern.
Where: 167 Banff Rd.
Amenities: This newly built home, which blends in well with the older houses in the neighbourhood, has an interior finished mainly with maple hardwood floors, and ceilings that go as high as 10 feet. A floating, self-supporting stairway leads to the second floor.
The master bedroom features a fireplace, walk-in closet, private balcony and skylight. Two bay windows are set low enough to allow unobstructed views from the comfort of bed. It also has a five-piece en suite bathroom with air-jet Jacuzzi.
Two other bedrooms have en suites. All the bathrooms in the house have heated floor tiles.
The kitchen is furnished with high-end, stainless-steel appliances, including a wine cooler. Granite countertops and maple cabinets add to the sleek, modern look. The underside of the island has been hollowed out, providing additional storage space as well as a more spacious feel.
The property around the home has been fully landscaped. A cedar sun deck is equipped with a gas hookup for barbecuing. Trees create a natural arch over the stairs leading into the garden.
The finished basement has a recreation room, a fifth bedroom and bathroom, and a kitchenette. It also houses a laundry room and provides access to a one-car garage..
Asking Price: $1.58-million
Taxes: $3,500 (2005)
Agent: Sutton Group-Bayview Realty Inc. (Sima Azar)
The property: Iranian architect Shahriar Izadi hasn't lived in Canada five years, but he has built a house that is uniquely Toronto.
Mr. Izadi set out to design a home in the art-deco style -- which is ubiquitous in the downtown -- after studying the city's residential architecture. When it came to the interior, however, the architect, who has 25 years of experience, strayed far from convention.
"I designed and built this house with respect and deference to Toronto's architectural heritage," he says, "but also bearing in mind the functionality required for today's living."
Stepping into the home, it's evident that a good part of the nine-month construction time was taken up with the fine details of the home.
In the narrow foyer, for instance, there is a leaded, stained-glass window (inspired by Frank Lloyd Wright) that faces east, allowing sunlight to flood the space in the morning. A 3½-foot window along the top of the south wall ensures there will be natural light well into the evening. And there are the line-heavy porcelain tiles, slate and glass that echo the art-deco style.
"To discover things and experience architecture and walk into a human-scale sculpture -- this is how I look at buildings," says Mr. Izadi of his detail-oriented approach to the job.
The foyer leads to the open-concept living and dining areas, which are separated only by a double-sided fireplace.
At one point, the wall of the dining room gives way to a seven- by seven-foot wall of an entirely different sort -- a block of cultured stone in the space leading to the family room. The outlines of the stone add to the art-deco theme, but Mr. Izadi has done something else -- left a space between the top of the wall and the 10-foot-high ceiling.
In Toronto, lights in the north side of a house are often on, he explains. The gap at the top of the stone block allows sunlight from a skylight in an adjacent space to creep into the home's most northerly edges, and reduces electricity use.
The rest of the home gets plenty of natural light from four- by four-foot skylights -- nine in all -- and electric Venetian blinds can provide shade with a flick of a switch.
To facilitate natural ventilation, motorized dampers were installed in the roof. As wind sweeps over the roof's surface, a vacuum is created in the opening, and when activated, the dampers can pull hot air out of the house.
"If I want to copy [old designs] I am not doing anything in Toronto as an architect," says Mr. Izadi, who also prepared a space where solar panels can be installed.
"My responsibility is to be a few steps ahead of not only the times but also the contractor, the material. . . That's why I'm not a builder, I'm an architect."
Mr. Izadi's mental map of the home includes just about every detail, right down to what furnishings would be most ideal. Take the walk-in closet of the master bedroom -- it's perfect for wall-to-wall mirrors, he says.
Unsurprisingly, the sale of the home includes a free consultation with Mr. Izadi on interior design. "I just want to make sure [the owners]use the right furniture," he says.