Where to shop for the furniture and home accessories that make your wee condo feel like a palace (or at least as efficiently laid out as possible).
CASALIFE
171 East Liberty, 416-922-2785, casalife.com
This Liberty Village showroom opened just in time to catch Toronto’s condo boom and continues to fill units with multifunctional furniture. If the only thing that fits in your bedroom is a bed, try one with drawers built into its platform and a headboard that extends to include a pair of nightstands. If you’re living space doubles as your dining room, a table that folds away into a svelte console could help. And if the downsized den also has to sleep the occasional house guest, an upholstered daybed might do the trick.
David Hawe
DOMISON
35 Jarvis, 416-203-2687, domison.com
You might not have to live with a finite floor plan forever, and modular furniture allows you to add on to that tiny couch when you move on to a larger place. Domison’s new line includes chaise longues, armless sofas and corner and ottoman components that can mix and match and grow as your square footage expands. The Montreal-based design line also carries contemporary, scaled-down occasional chairs and stackable shelving units that work great for spaces big or small.
Michael Watier
LEON’S AT THE ROUNDHOUSE
255 Bremner, 416-642-0630, leons.ca
At 40,000 square feet, Leon’s downtown outlet is not a small space itself, but the lofty store does focus more attention on down-scaled buys than its suburban locations. In addition to furniture, its condo-friendly options include compact appliances and wall mountable electronics. And, of course, there are those no-money-down deals that may come in handy when you realize your small unit may not come with a small price tag.
Ethan Eisenberg
NEAT
628 Queen West, 416-368-6328, neatspace.ca
Smart organization is the key to living comfortably in a small space, and no Toronto store stocks more stuff to keep everything in order than Neat. From stackable shoe racks that let you build up storage for that ever-growing footwear collection to office trays and other desk accessories to keep your work area tidy, the Queen West shop has every cluttered base covered. To help overloaded kitchens, Neat also carries stemware holders, spice stands and drawer organizers. And for square-footage-starved powder rooms, there are toothbrush holders, cotton swab canisters and divided acrylic trays for makeup and other toiletries.
Michael Watier
ROOMY
232 King East, 416-203-6813, roomyinteriors.com
While Roomy carries lots of furniture and accessory options for DIY designers, the furniture district boutique also offers design consultation surfaces for shoppers stumped about how a whole life is supposed to fit in such a petite pad. Check out the shop’s online portfolio to see what they can do with 500 to 1,600 square feet. If the only solution is a custom one, Roomy will also create everything from upholstered headboards to shelving units that are a guaranteed good fit.
MORE CONDO-FRIENDLY RETAILERS
CB2 cb2.com
DESIGN REPUBLIC 639 Queen West, 416-603-0007, mydesignrepublic.com
DESIGN WITHIN REACH 435 King West, 416-977-4003, dwr.com
EQ3 222 King East, 416-815-2002, eq3.com
IKEA 1475 the Queensway, 866-416-4532, and other, ikea.com
MADE 867 Dundas West, 416-607-6384, madedesign.ca
MJOLK 2959 Dundas West, 416-551-9853, mjolk.ca
SHELTER 885 Caledonia, 416-783-3333, shelterfurniture.ca
STYLE GARAGE 938 Queen West, 416-534-4343, stylegarage.com
UPCOUNTRY 310 King East, 416-366-7477, upcountry.ca
VISITOR PARKING 254 King East, 416-350-7275, visitorparking.ca
WEST ELM 109 Atlantic, 416-537-0110, westelm.com
