A Custom Home in Toronto Begins with a Blank Slate
The word "custom" is used loosely in residential construction. Builders apply it to homes where the buyer chooses the countertops and picks a façade from a handful of options. A blank slate is something else entirely — no template, no pre-set floor plans, no catalogue of finishes. For our architectural practice, every project starts from there, and the result is a home that could only have been designed for one client, on one site.
It starts with the site, not a template
There is an important difference between a design that responds to a site and one that merely accommodates it. Every project we take on begins with a thorough analysis of the property — its orientation, topography, views, light, neighbouring context, and the character of the surrounding neighbourhood. In Toronto, the most desirable lots tend to come with the most character and the most constraints: established streetscapes, mature tree canopies, ravine and conservation boundaries, and neighbours close on either side.
The Russell Hill Road Residence is a clear example where the use on the façade of Indiana limestone and split-faced Ontario Algonquin stone are not arbitrary material choices, but to root the new home in the material vocabulary of Forest Hill while remaining unmistakably contemporary.
Spaces designed around how people actually live
Before we begin designing, we spend considerable time developing the client program — a detailed, room-by-room account of how they live, entertain, work, and move through the home. How many people typically sit down for dinner? Do they need a quiet retreat separate from the family spaces? Is there an art collection to live with, or a kitchen meant to be the centre of gravity for the whole house?
These conversations shape the architecture directly. For a client with a significant art collection, for instance, the placement of walls, the control of natural light, and the sightlines through the home all become part of the brief — the kind of thinking that drove our Gallery House. We model each project in three dimensions early on, so you can walk through the spaces and refine them with us long before anything is built.
Architecture and interiors, conceived as one
What sets our practice apart is the seamless integration of architecture and interiors under a single creative vision. The exterior and the interior aren't handed off to separate teams with separate agendas — they're developed together, by the same people, from the first sketch.
That continuity is why a custom home feels coherent rather than assembled. The millwork, lighting, staircases, and fireplaces are designed alongside the architecture, not added after the fact. Our award-winning Bay Street Condo shows how far that integrated approach can be taken even within an existing envelope.
The details that elevate a home
Luxury isn't a surface applied finish — it's the result of thousands of decisions made with consistency and care. It's the craft of the way a bronze post meets a leather-wrapped handrail, a staircase designed as an architectural centrepiece rather than just a circulation necessity; it's the proportion of a door frame, the depth of a reveal.
None of these moments happen by chance. Each is the product of an integrated process in which every detail is considered in relation to the whole.
Construction is part of the design
The custom process doesn't end when construction drawings are issued. We remain fully present throughout the build — attending site meetings, responding to contractor questions, reviewing shop drawings, monitoring material installations and mock-ups, and identifying deficiencies before they become permanent. For a project of quality, there is no substitute for continued involvement, and it is one of the reasons Michael Taylor stays personally engaged from the first conversation to long after construction is complete.
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About Michael Taylor Architecture + Design:
Michael Taylor Architecture + Design builds on the legacy of Taylor Smyth Architects and continues its commitment to client service, attention to detail and design excellence.
Since 2000, Michael and his team have developed an international reputation for creating elegant architecture and interiors in Canada and abroad. Each project is cultivated from the spirit of its location and the distinctive tastes and unique vision of our clients.
