Junction House

Junction House is a Victorian in Toronto's west end, renovated top to bottom and extended at the rear. The design is by Denegri Bessai Studio with Doty Design Studio; the build asked us to hold two standards at once — the tolerances of a new, exacting interior, inside the settled and rarely square fabric of a century-old house.

The centrepiece is a white oak staircase that runs the height of the house, including the basement flight. Stair millwork of this kind leaves nowhere to hide: every reveal is repeated dozens of times, and the eye finds the one that drifts. It was built slowly, checked constantly, and it reads the way it was drawn.

The rest of the scope was a complete interior rebuild — kitchen, ensuite and second bathroom, custom wardrobes and built-in storage — along with the rear extension and the outdoor living space that connects the house to its garden.