Dear reader,

For this week’s Curb Appeal: two buddies upgrade a miserable Junction semi into a contemporary family home, a newly built Caledon mansion with a backyard the size of a soccer pitch, and a Batman-inpsired villa with a car elevator leading to a secret lair. 

In 2021, Gord Harrison purchased an old Junction semi with the goal of renovating it and eventually moving his family in. But, a year into the job, he and his friend Shawn Chua discovered a rat’s nest of problems: poor insulation, asbestos and a basement floor that required re-pouring. It would take a lot of work and creativity to turn the project around. Here’s how they did it.

An 8,200-square-foot home currently selling for $5.5 million. Nestled in the private community of Caledon Estates, it’s a short drive from Highway 9 and the Caledon Trailway. 

This $10-million Kleinburg home is something out of a Hollywood fantasy: 15,000 square feet, a cigar room, a movie theatre, a kitchen as long as a bowling alley and an underground garage that would make Batman blush. 

After two years of takeout and home cooking, Toronto diners are keen to splurge on caviar, seafood towers and prime cuts of beef. And this is all happening at a time when chicken breasts are going for $23 a kilogram and we’re price-matching at supermarkets like it’s a blood sport. The message, in short, is that if people choose to dine out, they’re going big. In our June issue, 20 restaurants where we’re more than happy to put our money where our mouths are. Still not receiving Toronto Life at home? Subscribe today.