Looking downwards from the second floor, the void creates an invisible barrier between the family room and the living area. The reflection from the skylight exaggerates the idea of an even more depth within the house.

Light illuminates the back of the home at night. The Vicenza flamed basalt exterior and floor-to-ceiling windows are a bold counterpoint to the house's more traditional neighbors.

Karen White, David MacNaughtan, and their sons, Griffin and Finlay, hang out on the front deckof their narrow home in Toronto’s leafy Roncesvalles neighborhood. A narrow modernist composition of glass panes and purple brick, the house slips like a bookmark between two older buildings, a bright three-story abode on a lot narrower than most suburban driveways. Photo by Dean Kaufman. Read more about the small house here.

Creative Direction The arrowhead-shaped corner at the end of the living room evolved from the need to accommodate a standard sliding-glass-door module. “It would have been astronomically expensive to custom-build it,” says Chris Bardt. This architectural gesture— the arrow “points” toward the river—“enabled us to be very generous with the view area without having to extend the entire house.”

"We were tasked with extending the house in a sensitive way, respecting the existing building, and providing a modern kitchen /dining and laundry whilst reconfiguring the existing interiors to add another bedroom, " says Jaime Diaz-Berrio.

The transformed facade features dark gray stained-masonry.

At a wider shot, the long millwork is designed to be as long as the building length itself providing the owner with an immensely amount of storage.

The living room is five steps down from the kitchen and office space and features textured black slate tile from Olympia Tile, Voyage Immobile sofas with Farniente collection upholstery (a wedding present from Flanders’s mother) by Roche Bobois, and a rug from Turkmenistan the couple picked up in Jerusalem. The sliding glass doors are by Loewen and the glazing above is by Inline Fiberglass. Sawatzky relied on Wayne Arsenault for the custom millwork and carpentry.

“The walnut unit between the kitchen and dining room ties into the fumed oak floor,” Dubbeldam says. “The rest of the materials in the house—glass, marble, stone—were selected to offset the wood.”

“Sustainability is very important to us,” lead architect Heather Dubbeldam says. “It is easy to design with passive systems, to use passive sustainable principles to influence the design and layout of the house.” Her team reduced the need for air conditioning and artificial lighting through carefully positioned doors and windows that draw in natural light and breeze. New insulation, low-flow plumbing fixtures, and low-energy lighting also minimize the homeowners’ dependence on utilities.

Towards the end of the day, when dusk arrives, the glowing lights from the interior gives the feeling that each volume is floating in space.

Resident Ty Milford peruses a book by the George Nelson–inspired built-ins fabricated by Big Branch Woodworking

Visiting a Manhattan apartment designed by Tim Seggerman is like sitting inside one of Nakashima’s cabinets, a metaphor realized most fully in an ingenious "library"—really a glorified cubby with a banded maple ceiling, conjured from a free space adjacent to the loft bed.

With Control4 automation, everything from music to lighting can be managed with the tap of a touchscreen. The Casalis balanced their home’s high-tech features with rich materials including a marble backsplash by Ciot, a wood table from Kantelberg + Co., and quartz countertops by Caesarstone. The casual dining area features Kartell Masters chairs and an airy Triumph chandelier by Eurofase.

Wood is used throughout the home, as in a sculptural staircase designed by TACT.

Here's what you need to know before undergoing a building project with a contractor but no architect.

A Japanese hinoki bowl and stool from Mjölk sit next to a custom hinoki bathtub by Bartok Design in the tub room.

When not in use during winter, the tub is hidden from the home’s view. The entrance has a sheltered overhang for car parking.

The home abuts a river, where the residents enjoy kayaking and swimming in warmer months. This geographic blessing partially inspired the wave-like backsplash. Each tile was hand-cut and individually placed by artisans from New Ravenna.

The house’s Japanese inspiration manifests in many ways, including beams that extend outwards over the front door. Floor-to-ceiling windows around the entrance and continuous indoor-outdoor epoxy-pebble flooring blur the barrier between the interior and exterior.

A third-floor courtyard stands in for a backyard and gives Elodie, the couple’s two-year-old daughter, a place to play outdoors. A Hunting chair by Børge Mogensen shares the space with a child’s chair by Tomii Takashi and a vintage Danish coffee table.

The architects created the illusion of more space by opening up the floor plan, repositioning the staircase and introducing sight lines to the large windows on the south side. Recurring black accents—from the dining room’s Serge Mouille light fixture to its tall bookcases—contrast the brightness of the crisp white walls. Walnut floors and lighter wood furniture like the Klaus Willhelm table and Hans Wegner Wishbone chairs cozy up the home, while colorful objects animate it. “We strongly believe that people do not need more space, they just need better-designed space,” Dubbeldam says.

The majority of windows are on the south facade to optimize solar gain.

Strategic site planning and smart technology help the 3,200-square-foot Great Gulf Active House achieve hyper-efficiency. The Toronto-based architecture firm, superkül, used triple-glazed windows; a solar hot water system; zoned heating; a fully automated HVAC system, skylights, and roller shades; LED lights; and spray foam insulation, among other green strategies.

The kitchen features cabinets from Bulthaup’s B3 line and a hearth made of ironspot brick. Evans and his wife, Susan Wilson, bought the wall clock at Habitat in London.

“I love the master bedroom, with the geometry of the white-painted, angled roof lines and the varying shadows that this creates,” Dubbeldam says. The naturally lit space features built-in shelves and a floating desk that overlooks the street below through a tiny window. An aluminum Eames task chair and a Serge Mouille wall light adorn the space.

Architect Tamira Sawatzky and artist Elle Flanders get an awfully good view of their busy Toronto street from their office and dining room.

The view looking towards the South elevation in a linear manner starting from the kitchen countertop, dining area and heading towards the patio. All kitchen necessities perfectly lined with all surrounding details.

The table is by Made, the sneaker-inspired Shoe Toss pendants are by Jeremy Hatch of Ricochet Studio, and the laser-cut photo on the wall is by the couple’s collective art and design practice, Public Studio.

Active systems, in addition to thoughtful orientation and structural planning, help the structure become ultra efficient. The primary heating source throughout the house is radiant flooring connected to a geothermal system. Tedesco specified the Uponor Climate Control Network to operate the systems. "Every heating zone can be scheduled for setback," he says. "Then, through the communication and coordination of zone operation from main control panel that monitors the entire system, equipment and zones are cycled in harmony. The entire climate control system including the geothermal, ERV, A/C, and heat pumps is balanced to maintain optimal performance and occupant comfort. The Lutron Maestro lighting control, home entertainment, and security system can all be monitored and controlled remotely through a web-based program provided by the equipment supplier. The entire system has wireless access points throughout the house to ensure conductivity." The media room sofas are Ikea's Karlstad model, the rug is by Bev Hisey Textile Design, and the pendant is the Caprice by Viso.

Tedesco's father was a precision machinist and his uncles worked as welders and carpentry framers. As a tribute to his family's history, Tedesco made the blackened-steel-and-wood staircase a focal point—it can be seen from nearly every room in the house.

The Lais designed their house to be theirs forever. As such, they were able to make design moves that made sense for themselves but that wouldn't have high resale value, like the Japanese-style master bathroom in the middle of the second floor instead of off of the master bedroom. The traditional setup features bath stools from Muji for washing off.

Bright, white, and airy. This Toronto kitchen features a 13-foot Calacatta marble island, countertops, and a matching backsplash that pair perfectly with the custom white aluminum cabinets.

The team carried the concept of contrast through the exterior, juxtaposing the home’s 125-year-old red brick façade with vertical, black-stained cedar cladding at the back. “We wanted to celebrate the old alongside the new,” Dubbeldam says. Since the house is so well insulated, the extra heat that dark exteriors typically draw doesn’t penetrate beyond the boards’ surface.

Provenzano says the mullion-less glass corners were sited to be as close to the outside perimeter as possible to provide an crystal-clear viewing experience.

In the rear of the house, a new addition extends the living space and adds a roof terrace off the second-floor master bedroom. A garden is accessible through a wall of sliding glass doors with Sapele mahogany frames, set back to control solar gain.