merchants' wharf
"It’s an uncommon story for a couple to have a vacation home in the heart of downtown Toronto."
But that’s exactly what this pied-a-terre is for this empty-nester couple who now reside elsewhere. Originally both from the city and having met at the University of Toronto, their lives have taken them outside the country. And yet, their roots wanted them to have a place they could always return to at a moment’s notice and call their own.
Summer in Toronto is always a wonderful, yet very short period of time before the cold smacks us in the face again. This retired couple flipped the script by wanting their downtown waterfront condo to be a vacation home where they can spend time with their family, many of whom still live in the Greater Toronto Area.
LOCATION
Waterfront Toronto
Size
850 sq/f.
photography
Vinh Le
YEAR
2026
TESTIMONIAL
"We have worked with a number of very good and well-known builders and designers in Canada and the US, and Level Studio is absolutely outstanding... The best we have ever experienced."
Ramona A.
When we were first introduced to this project, there were two things that stood out right away.
The first was that the water’s edge is literally at their window. The positioning of this suite’s floor plan, in relation to the building itself, meant that there was an unobstructed view of Lake Ontario. This allowed you to see the entire lake, Billy Bishop Airport and the Toronto Islands from every room without any neighbouring buildings in your peripheral vision.
It is truly one of the most unique views out a window in downtown Toronto because there is not a single structure in sight, making this suite feel more like a cottage in the sky.
The second was the existing colour palette of the kitchen and flooring was not working. The dark flooring combined with the mix of dark oak and white lacquer cabinets made this unit feel cold and sterile.
It was the complete opposite feeling of a wonderful summer day in Toronto. Our client’s original thought was that this would be more of a furnishing only project with the existing dark finishes remaining, but we knew it had to be something more.
Rather than a complete gut, we suggested a new lighter engineered hardwood oak floor throughout the suite to start off on a brighter foreground and we pitched refacing the kitchen for a softer look since the layout was already working.
This suite being a vacation home meant that storage was already more than satisfactory so a facelift was more appropriate than rearranging the layout.
We didn’t want to go crazy with bold colours or patterns at the risk of competing with the view, so we sparingly took inspiration for the colour palette from the soulful spirit and sun-kissed charm of Sicily, Italy.
Our goal was to capture the essence of Sicily with a bright, airy feel, incorporating sunlit interiors and a waterfront view that extends the experience outdoors.
There is no formal foyer in this suite and upon entry you are greeted with several zones simultaneously without any visual buffer. So the balance between materials, forms, colours, textures and lighting was key.
In the summer, the windows beautifully frame the blue water of the lake and the lush greenery of the islands. We introduced oak, walnut, pale cream walls, rich textures and fabrics including sage green, ochre yellow and blush pink with a touch of gold accents.
The palette is vibrant enough in colour, but still relaxed with coastal elements to feel like a stylish escape from the city.
The first of several zones is the kitchen next to the windows which we refaced in a light sandy ash and soft pewter paired with a quartz stone having a subtle yet defiant vein.
The second zone is the living area with a sage green sofa in an elegant curved silhouette opposite two white dove swivel chairs anchored on a cream area rug. A Frame T.V hangs over the sofa so it is both practical in use and artful when turned off.
We deliberately chose many of the furniture pieces in this vacation home to be predominantly curved or have rounded edges so the contrast from the window’s straight lines becomes a visual anomaly. Our eyes naturally move toward what breaks the pattern, and in this case, it’s the framed view outside.
The third zone is a dining area that could accommodate at least 10 people for holidays and dinners. Because of the existing layout, a typical freestanding table with chairs surrounding it would have impeded the traffic route going to the main bath, laundry and guest bedroom.
To solve this, we designed a custom banquette in a rich ochre yellow to round out and soften the corner and prevent the rounded extendable dining table from encroaching too much into the hallway. It also allows for a fair amount of distance between the dining and kitchen zones making the suite feel even larger.
The second bedroom is perfect for guests and has a large desk, a pull-out sofa and a pop of burnt umber in the lounge chair.
The primary bedroom pulls in all the greens from the Toronto Islands with a custom sage green upholstered headboard, paired with a very subtle cream wallpaper to warm this room up with a little texture. The rounded curves in the furnishings are used again to soften the room and avoid sharp lines to contrast how the windows frame the view.
