Totem Home By Rzlbd

Totem Home is positioned in Toronto, Canada, and was made by rzlbd.

The home’s exterior architecture differs significantly from these which surround it, making it stand out from its counterparts.

totem house Totem Home By Rzlbd interior design 2

Totem House by rzlbd:

“Robert and John are travellers. They gather sculptures by neighborhood artists and bring them home. They have a keen eye for modernism and minimal design and they don’t settle for ordinary. They adore cooking and they stay away from the unnecessary. In creating their residence, rzlbd respects their curiosity for style.

A totem is sculptures inside a sculpture. The totem in Totem House is a vertical gallery that exhibits John and Robert’s souvenirs from about the planet. Every piece has been carefully measured and placed in a designated niche inside the Tower. An open wooden staircase connecting the 3 stories of the property gently circulates around the totem enabling a single to observe the artworks from several various angles. Throughout the day the skylight above the staircase naturally illuminates the totem, and at nighttime committed LED lights installed inside the niches light every single piece. The totem naturally becomes the focal point in the home, as it is visible from each corner on all levels.

The evolution of design was a basic geometrical obsession with squares and grids. Starting with 10 10’ x 10’ squares carefully assembled on the linear web site, logical modules had been then committed to essential rooms in the home. The squares not only define the interior rooms, but they also formulate the boundaries of the backyard patio, the landscape, the parking region and the covered entry to the house. The totem sits on the central square dividing the living/dining area from the kitchen on the ground floor and the two bedrooms on the second floor.

Robert and John’s kitchen could not be a common urban kitchen, since they don’t have common cooking habits. They passionately care for taste and they are minimal and chic. A gas burner cook-top with no hood on leading was what they wanted to cook their meals on. Except for the appliances every thing is concealed behind the white cabinet doors that cover the wall from floor to ceiling.

On the second floor the master bedroom is yet one more manifesto of their style, with the ensuite and the bedroom totally merged together and washed with natural light, the challenge was to define the wet zones without disturbing them with dry-walls. Beautiful marble tiles separate the shower and the bathtub location from the rest of the hardwood floor. The freestanding bathtub installed in the corner of the area has a peaceful corner view to the courtyard.

The exterior of the house is a monolithic charcoal brick mass. Two tiny blocks on the north and south facade of this perfect mass have been extracted and cladded with wood. The tiny wooden corner creates an exciting deception exactly where one imagines the wood to be the core material of the brick mass, like a bitten apple exposing the color of its flesh. The harmonious contrast of the charcoal brick and the wood with the immediate neighbors is tied to the surroundings with a humble style for the landscape allowing the neighbors to perfectly frame the home.”