Condos
Visit A Glamorous Penthouse With Sweeping City Views
Published on March 16, 2020
Stepping inside this Katherine Newman-designed interior, a duplex penthouse on the 65th floor of Toronto’s tony Shangri-La Residences, is like entering the zero-gravity world of a brightly colored Kandinsky composition — all suspended orbs, triangles and crisscrossing linear elements. In keeping with art world naming conventions, let’s call this project Composition No. 4, since it’s the fourth time Katherine and her architect partner Peter Cebulak have collaborated with these clients. Their third project together was the couple’s main residence in Oakville, Ontario, whose Regency Moderne kitchen was featured in the September issue of H&H.
This 5,000-square-foot, three-bedroom, four-bathroom penthouse, purchased to serve as a weekend pied-à-terre for the owners and their Toronto-based kids, is a radical departure from that style. To create a feeling of geometric rigour throughout the penthouse, Katherine turned to color. There’s a gallery feel to the home, but it’s not a plain white box: “They were looking for a nod to minimalism tempered with a certain element of warmth and interest,” says Katherine. “Every job we take on is a departure; each project is its own expression.”
Scroll down to see inside this artful residence!
The front entry vestibule’s oversized mirror emphasizes the home’s lofty ceiling height.
The Iranian Pietra Grey and Tempest Viola marble fireplace is a striking element in the main living area. The owners’ impressive art collection includes works by Canadian artists Denis Juneau and Jean-Paul Jérôme, as well as Annie Morris, Kwangho Lee, Michel Salerno and others. A commissioned metal wall sculpture (above sofa) by Peter combines patinated steel and enamel.
A Zanotta sofa upholstered in mocha nubuck leather is combined with a leather sling chair and powder coated aluminum stools in blush pink and silver by Hervé Van der Straeten. The coffee table is cerused oak.
Katherine wanted the art on the fireplace to be whimsical but weighty. She chose two steel mirrors by Michel Salerno.
The owners’ collection of ceramics includes contemporary Danish works and mid-century modern stoneware.
Five pendants by Montreal firm Lambert & Fils illuminate the dining table. “For us, lighting is an architectural feature — it’s beyond just a light source,” says Katherine. The circa-1977 dining chairs by Mario Bellini are upholstered in ivory leather.
In the open-concept kitchen, Katherine hid some of the appliances inside flat-cut, ebonized white oak cabinets. Pendants by Vancouver designer Lukas Peet add a layer of geometry while the white quartz island and Iranian Pietra Grey marble flooring help define the cooking zone.
A multipiece sculpture by Peter, named Bubblemorphosa, is installed on a stone platform at the bottom of the stairs and consists of seven brass works in various shades of white, grey and gold enamel.
Katherine on the landing of the penthouse’s airy staircase, which she refinished with oak treads and a steel and Starphire glass banister.
Katherine created continuity between the principal bedroom (shown) and the two secondary bedrooms through repetition: each room has a feature wall, a screen-style headboard and a platform bed.
The principal bedroom’s neutral palette of smoke, taupe and grey is punctuated by a black Ipanema lounge chair by mid-century designer Jorge Zalszupin. The soaring view takes in the CN Tower and Lake Ontario.
Virginia Macdonald
House & Home December 2019
Katherine Newman