Dear reader, 

In the latest edition of Curb Appeal: a family of four finds their forever home a few blocks over. Plus, a country house with a waterfall and a koi pond in its front yard and a former side-split turned modernist suburban standout in Princess-Rosethorn. Visit torontolife.com for all our real estate coverage.

Emile Studham and Andrea Esteves were living with their kids in a three-bedroom townhouse in Long Branch. They loved the neighbourhood, but their home wasn’t suited to a young family: it had too many stairs and lacked a backyard. So, in December 2022, they set a $1.3-million budget, hoping to score a move-in-ready two-storey detached with a yard and a rentable basement, ideally no more than a few blocks away. Here’s how it went.

How about a built-from-scratch $2.5-million, 4,800-square-foot bunker in the hamlet of Nottawa? It comes with an elevator, heated floors, two kitchens and multiple winter-proof patios.

Sleek on the inside and zen on the outside, this Etobicoke house is close to half a dozen parks and the coming (eventually) Eglinton Crosstown. It’s on the market for a cool $5 million.

Robert Konashewych was a police officer with expensive tastes, two girlfriends and a mountain of debt. Heinz Sommerfeld was recently deceased with a large unclaimed estate. In our October issue, read the story of a crooked cop, a dead man and an $800,000 estate fraud. Plus, the general contractor from hell, Toronto’s best farm-to-table chefs, a Q&A with new Raptors coach Darko Rajaković, and more. Still not receiving Toronto Life at home? Subscribe today.