Boyd Balogh must have impeccable taste. His North Toronto house, a deliberate mix of modern and traditional, manages to balance elegance with an inviting, friendly vibe. And he designed it all himself, from selecting the artwork and furniture to landscaping the lawn.
The living room boasts a fantastic view of his lush backyard and has an open feel with two light modern armchairs, the wide arc of a stainless lamp stand, and leafy green wallpaper. A working fireplace is flanked by shelves that hold a well-edited collection of treasures, including a childhood copy of The Water Babies, heirloom pottery from his Hungarian-Canadian parents, and a collection of bottles once buried beside the Don River. In the corner is a large rubber tree. “My grandmother grew that from a seedling,” Boyd says fondly.
The streamlined flow of the house draws you to its centre: a well-designed kitchen and sparkling white dining room.
The kitchen holds one of Boyd’s unique innovations: since the heart of any good party is the kitchen, he reinvented the breakfast nook as a lounge, complete with a white armless couch, spotlight lamp, and teak coffee table with a vase of white roses on top. Its cozy size is visually doubled by the antique mirrors on either side of the window.
“The house is fantastic for entertaining,” Boyd says, a fact that he wasted no time exploiting. Just two weeks after move-in day, he hosted a grand goodbye party for a fellow lawyer relocating to London.
Lounging on the couch with his dog Selma, Boyd admits he found the place completely by chance. A downtown guy by nature, the corporate and commercial litigator stumbled upon the open house while visiting friends, and a short timed walk to the subway and grocery store was all it took to convince him. “To be honest, I didn’t expect to feel so comfortable this far north,” he says, laughing. But he’s glad he made the move. “It’s good to be here,” he says, smiling broadly. “As soon as I leave downtown and I am out of sight of the towers, I just relax.”
Who: Boyd Balogh
Firm: Gowling Lafleur Henderson LLP
Area of Practice: Corporate and commercial litigation
Year of Call: 1998
Location: North Toronto
Building Profile: Four-bedroom, 1,800 sq. feet
Photography by May Truong