While there are lots of sweet details in this 157-square-metre, second-floor hard-loft conversion in a former confectionery building in Toronto’s West End, the most remarkable are the barrel-vaulted corridors. Illuminated by strips of warm LED lighting, these otherworldly portals leading to and from the main space buffer the loft’s open-concept living area from outside noise. The designers’ use of exposed raw materials enhances the main room’s serenity, a mood that’s in stark contrast to the urban hurly-burly outside. Overall, the Candy Loft is slick but not saccharine. The copper touches – the hardware on the closed storage throughout, the bathrooms’ plumbing fixtures – are decidedly wabi-sabi: They will stain and develop a patina over time.

Project Candy Loft Location Toronto, Canada Firm StudioAC, Canada Team Jennifer Kudlats and Andrew Hill Photo Jeremie Warshafsky