Out Of Baseball Factory to Homey Loft at Toronto

When Robert Van Every casually popped to a neighborhood open house one day in Toronto, he was not expecting the attic to blow him away. But the distance was just what he’d always wanted. Located inside a former Rawlings baseball glove factory constructed in 1902, the area needed an industrial shell which held contemporary finishes, 10-foot ceilings, original wood beams and exposed brick. “I immediately began imagining myself alive here; it was really meant to be,” he states.

He purchased the attic and got to work filling the area with standout classic furniture for a smart but dim look which permits the many expansive windows to play a constant loop of the West Toronto area. “This is my final dream house,” Van Every states. “It is what keeps me inspired.”

in a Glance
Who resides: Robert Van Each and his greyhound, Jason
Location: Roncesvalles area of Toronto
Size: 1,300 square feet; 1 bedroom, 2 bathrooms

Jenn Hannotte / Hannotte Interiors

Windows wrap the attic, flood the area with light from the north, south and west, while warm wood ceilings and floors soften the exposed brick.

Van Every maximized space with a large sectional, weighty bronze lighting and a coffee table he created with old crates and a classic marble top.

Sofa: Mirabel, Domison; rocking seat, Thonet, Worth Village; lighting: Bronze Copper Pendant, Tom Dixon; rug: Alvine Ruta, Ikea

Jenn Hannotte / Hannotte Interiors

The elevation and openness of this loft initially drew Van Every to the distance, which, he states, lends itself very nicely to entertaining.

The fireplace was not something he believed he’d ever desire, but he can not imagine living without it.

Jenn Hannotte / Hannotte Interiors

On the very first night in his new attic, a couple of days before Christmas, as he waited to get the paint to dry in his bedroom Van Every place his bed on the floor in front of the fireplace and curled up with a glass of wine. That moment may have been the impetus for the positioning of the greyhound’s bed nearby.

Jenn Hannotte / Hannotte Interiors

The kitchen had aged, although the attic had not been remodeled since the ’80s. Concrete flooring set the space apart from the wood-floor living room.

Green seat: Value Village; taxidermy, Smash!

Jenn Hannotte / Hannotte Interiors

The kitchen’s galley style helps keep the jumble of entertaining confined to the wide-open living spaces. A Persian-inspired rug, combined with a taxidermy deer head and also a midcentury armchair, adds eclectic flair.

Rug: Valby Ruta, Ikea

Jenn Hannotte / Hannotte Interiors

Van Each created this small seats nook off the kitchen ; he enjoys his morning coffee and news. “My decorating philosophy relies on expertise,” he states. “I imagine how I wish to use a space and then work out the best possible furniture positioning. Each area has a reason to be.”

Suitcases double as storage due to their favourite magazines.

Seat: Papa Bear, Hans J. Wegner

Jenn Hannotte / Hannotte Interiors

Van Every’s favorite recent purchase is a bright aqua Era seat he found on Craigslist.

Chair: Era, originally from Design Within Reach; dining table: Stornäs, Ikea

Jenn Hannotte / Hannotte Interiors

The sunken principal bedroom is an exercise in simplicity, with intricate empty frames and a simple hanging pendant lighting which illuminates the hot wood ceiling.

Bed: Svelvik, Ikea

Jenn Hannotte / Hannotte Interiors

The building allows Van Every, revealed here with dog Jason, to walk and bike to virtually everything in the Roncesvalles area of West Toronto, where he’s lived for the past five decades.

Your turn: Show us your attic!

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