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    Superette models playful cannabis dispensary on Italian deli

    Green and beige checkerboard flooring, deli props and tomato red hues feature in this marijuana dispensary in Toronto, designed by Superette’s in-house design team.

    Named The Annex after its location within the Annex neighbourhood of Toronto, the latest marijuana store by Superette is a 500-square-foot cannabis dispensary-cum-hangout space for local young adults.
    The exterior of The Annex cannabis dispensary has green and beige striped awningsIt sits a few blocks away from two college campuses, the University of Toronto’s St. George campus and George Brown College’s Casa Loma campus.
    For the new space, the company turned to the “convivial spirit” of the college canteen for inspiration, aiming to appeal to the student demographic walking through its doors.

    The same retro colour and pattern theme is continued inside”Taking design cues from the convivial spirit of the college canteen, The Annex offers a one of a kind experience where students aged 19 and above can conveniently purchase and consume cannabis, as well as work and socialize,” said the brand.
    “This highly nostalgic and immersive space is rooted in one of our favourite communities.”
    Marijuana paraphernalia and cool drinks are displayed on lime green shelvesFull of entertaining colours and quirky objects, The Annex’s floors are covered in green and white square tiles which match the awnings on the store’s exterior.
    Marijuana products are displayed on lime green walls and shelves while contrasting splashes of tomato red was used for the stools and hanging pendant lights.
    The designers drew on the nostalgic interiors of a classic Italian deliSuperette is French for mini supermarket and all of the brand’s shops take cues from retro-themed eateries like old school diners and bodegas.
    The Annex takes cues from an Italian deli.

    Superette cannabis dispensary in Toronto resembles a retro grocery store

    A deli counter at the back of the store contains an array of pre-rolled joints and different strains and strengths of cannabis, while stools designed to recall a canteen are positioned next to the windows.
    “All of our shops pay homage to similarly familiar and nostalgic retail environments from diners, bodegas, to flower shops, and subway newsstands,” said the brand.
    They hope that the jovial design attracts local studentsAlongside pre-rolled marijuana joints and cannabis, customers can purchase cannabis paraphernalia including bongs, ashtrays and lighters. They can also peruse a selection of other homeware items such as candles and mugs.
    A slew of dispensaries have cropped up in the city of Toronto following the legalisation of marijuana in Canada.
    Among these is a minimal store by architecture studio StudioAC that has sheets of industrial grating over the product displays and a dispensary with mirrored ceilings by Toronto-based designer Paolo Ferrari.
    The photography is courtesy of Superette.

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    La Firme reorganises centuries-old Montreal loft with contemporary finishes

    Montreal architecture studio La Firme has reorganised an apartment in a 1800s textile mill, using cabinetry to shape the new interior configuration.

    The Elmire Condo was completed for a young couple in Montreal’s Plateau Mont-Royal area.
    “This project took a space in a mid-19th century building that’s been a textile mill, a Campbell’s soup factory, and finally a condo complex,” said La Firme, a local studio whose name means simply The Firm.
    The apartment is located Montreal’s Plateau Mont-Royal areaLa Firme left much of the original structure exposed, including tall, rough-hewn timber beams and brick walls with structural arches as passages between rooms.
    According to the studio, these original elements serve as a “counterpoint” to their intervention, which consists of a series of white oak cabinets that delineate that redefine the rooms, while offering an abundance of storage for the owners.

    La Firme left structural arches and brickwork exposed”These contrasting elements organise the space into a rectangular area for the kitchen and salon, and an L-shaped loft for the master bedroom and bath, with a combination gallery, conservatory and meditative space,” said La Firme.
    The studio was able to include two bathrooms as part of the renovation: one for guests and the other within the primary bedroom. Plenty of stone is used throughout the apartment, reflecting the owner’s passion for geology.
    The apartment features a raised salonWithin the ensuite bathroom, a wall is finished in Calcatta marble that was bookmatched to create a subtle geometric pattern with the veins of the stone. “Natural light comes in from the gallery space through a band of glass blocks, in a wink to 1980s condo design,” La Firme explained.
    The long kitchen countertop sits partially at bar-height, then transitions to table height due to a step in the apartment floor. “The kitchen embodies [the client’s] love of minerals and culinary passion,” said La Firme.

    Talo Studios introduces Japandi elements to historic Montreal house

    “Quebec’s geological richness is brought inside with the island countertop, a slab of Labradorite granite that extends into a table on a raised platform,” they added.
    Beyond the kitchen is the salon, which is raised a few steps higher, and enjoys clear views of the city’s Mont Royal. Within these steps, the architects included a concealed pull-out bed for guests.
    Contemporary elements contrast with the centuries-old buildingOpposite the kitchen is a counter with drawers offering flexible storage or a place to work from home.
    Through the brick arches is the conservatory, a secondary living area separated from the combined living room and kitchen.
    Two bathrooms are included in the renovation”The gallery/conservatory is the loft area’s raison d’être,” La Firme explained. “Bright and open, it puts on display the clients’ other great loves: an impressive collection of contemporary art and a space for playing music.”
    Besides the white oak cabinets and occasional stone accents, the architects kept to a relatively limited palette for the intervention.
    Other apartment renovations in Montreal include a 1920s unit that Naturehumaine renovated with curved walls and pale green cabinetry, and a residential extension wrapped in galvanised metal.
    The photography is by Ulysse Lemerise Bouchard.

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    Toronto beach house by Odami resolves “contradictory” context between waterfront and city

    Canadian studio Odami has completed the interiors of a split-level home in Toronto, using light tones that nod to the nearby beaches of Lake Ontario.

    The Beaches House was completed for a client living near the city’s waterfront, which is lined with long stretches of sandy beaches.
    Odami’s design for the interiors drew inspiration from typical beach homes, while also offering a contemporary living environment in Canada’s largest city.
    The Beaches House takes cues from typical beach homes”Toronto’s Beaches neighbourhood presents a peculiar condition within the city,” said the studio, led by Aránzazu González Bernardo and Michael Norman Fohring.
    “To experience the area is to seamlessly transition between a natural and calm landscape, and an urban and lively atmosphere,” they added.

    The split-level home is located in TorontoOdami’s interior palette features typical beach-inspired finishes, such as textured wall panels of varying widths, sand-hued countertops, and plenty of tropical plants throughout the home.
    Throughout the living space, light wooden floors and creamy tones offer a tranquil environment.
    A skylight illuminates the steel-and-wood staircase”Responsible for the interior design, our goal was to create a home which would reflect this contradictory context: a house which would belong as much to the city as it would to a beach far removed from it,” Odami explained.
    At the centre of the house, a skylight illuminates the steel-and-wood staircase, helping to brighten the interiors and draw visitors upstairs as they move through the home.

    Oak staircase links split levels of Canadian house by Omar Gandhi

    “The central staircase, which winds its way up through the split levels of the house, was detailed with thin steel pickets and floating treads, continuing the rhythmic language of the paneling,” said the designers.
    This calmer palette contrasts some darker materials that were used in circulation spaces, such as a grey stone in the entrance hallway, and a bathroom where the walls and floors are lined with a dark terrazzo.
    Odami added dark terrazzo elements to the bathroom”In the bedrooms and bathrooms of the last floor, the sequence comes to rest, as light, repetitive elements give way to moments of stillness, calm, and dense materiality,” the studio explained.
    Odami was founded in 2017 in Toronto. Other projects from the Canadian studio include a collection of wooden furniture that was crafted from the same dying tree, and a restaurant where the walls are lined with roughly troweled plaster.
    The darker tones contrast with the home’s lighter elementsAlso in Toronto, the Winter Stations design competition recently unveiled the pavilions for its 2022 edition.
    The photography is by Doublespace Photography.

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    Vives St-Laurent creates tactile Montreal home

    Interior design studio Vives St-Laurent has remodelled a family house in Montreal, Canada, using a grey colour palette, quartzite stone and white-oak furniture to create an interior that highlights the building’s architectural elements. More