Dear reader,

In this week’s edition of Curb Appeal: a 34-year-old and her Wheaten terrier happily trade their sprawling condo at Queen and Spadina for a tiny house in Leslieville, a gorgeous saltbox in the Blue Mountains selling for $3.9 million, and a converted condo in the Stockyards that used to be a tannery. Visit torontolife.com for all our real estate coverage.

At the outset of the pandemic, DIY enthusiast Georgia Nevison longed for a home with a backyard for her dog, Porter. So she traded her 1,000-square-foot downtown condo for a 600-square-foot bungalow in Leslieville and began her space-saving makeover—adding vintage pieces, relocating the staircase, and incorporating chic patterns and prints. 

This 5,800-square-foot home selling for $3.9 million has five bedrooms, five bathrooms and sits on five acres of land. It also comes with three living rooms, a hot tub and access to Beaver River.

Here’s a 900-square-foot unit going for $599,000, just steps from the Junction and the St. Clair streetcar. Located in a former tannery, the place has 11-foot ceilings, wall-to-wall storage and floors made from an old barn.

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.