A Strategic Renovation Makes This ’90s Toronto Loft Ultra-Flexible
A thoughtful intervention by SOCA carves out an additional bedroom and bathroom while keeping the budget in check.
A thoughtful intervention by SOCA carves out an additional bedroom and bathroom while keeping the budget in check.
Toronto’s budding firm, SOCA, took on the task of transforming a one-bedroom, one-bathroom loft in the city’s King West neighborhood, adding an additional bedroom and bathroom for a total of 1,175 square feet. The former perfume factory had been converted into apartments in the mid-’90s, the size of the unit owing to the much lower cost of living in that decade. SOCA took a pragmatic approach to cut down on materials, waste, and costs—keeping what worked and ditching what didn’t.
The structure of the stair was maintained, but the treads were replaced with new engineered wood flooring that got a coat of black paint.
Courtesy of Andrew Snow.
"It was a conversation of general ideas, and that’s often how I work—I’m bringing something to the table as well as the client," says Tura Cousins Wilson, co-founder of SOCA and the Black Architects and Interior Designers Association.
Omar, the homeowner, wanted to break up the two-story home while retaining its urban loft appeal.
"The lighting works because we have these black accents: black door handles, the black painting on the metal stairs," says Cousins Wilson.
Photo by Andrew Snow
"The design question became: How do you create two rooms out of one upstairs, while still keeping that openness? That was one of the things Omar approached me with in the beginning," reflects Cousins Wilson. "He loved the space and wanted it to respond to the cost of living—to create a second bedroom and second washroom, approaching it from both a real estate perspective as well as wanting to be able to grow into it."
A slatted screen at the entrance helps create a moment of arrival. A shoe cubby helps keep clutter out of sight.
Photo by Andrew Snow
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