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Small is the new big with condo boom Pint-sized living means tiny furniture Alexandra Posadzki THE CANADIAN PRESS TORONTO — The pint-sized units inside the glass condo towers popping up all over urban centres aren’t the only things getting smaller. “Every major furniture retailer now has a line that is apartment or condo sized,” says Elaine Cecconi, co-owner of interior design consultant firm Cecconi Simone. “There’s so much product out there for small-space inhabitants that it’s become more of the mainstream, I would say, than a trend in the furniture industry.” Census figures for 2011 released in February show multi-unit dwellings — a category that includes condominiums — making up roughly half of all new housing stock, a category traditionally led by detached
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This Norwalk couch has been scaled back to fit smaller spaces, while the ottoman delivers an extra surface and some decorating versatility. homes. The numbers also indicate that Canadians are flocking to urban centres. Toronto’s population jumped more than 17 per cent over the previous census period in 2006. This condo boom, fuelled by lifestyle changes and efforts to curb urban sprawl, is in turn revolutionizing
the furniture retail business. As our cities become more dense and space becomes more limited, there’s a growing demand for compact, space efficient and multi-use furniture, Cecconi says. Storage units with foldout beds inside. Adjustable tables that drop down from dining room to coffee table
height. These modern, European-style furnishings are booming in popularity as designers and retailers respond to diminishing physical space. “It’s a way to multi-task within a limited square footage,” Cecconi says. “It’s really imperative that furniture be the right size for
these units. You don’t want oversized furniture that’s intended for a more conventional home in a small space unit because it overtakes the room that it sits in.” Re n t e r s l i ke M e a g a n Kashty are having to purge many of their belongings to squeeze into smaller living spaces. Kashty, 24, says she will be trading a room in her parents’ spacious Oakville home for a bachelor unit in downtown Toronto next month. “I have this gorgeous kitchen table with chairs but I can’t bring it with me,” Kashty says. “There’s no space for it. I’m going to basically be eating off of TV trays and coffee tables.” Jim Danahy, who runs retail consulting firm CustomerLAB, says the compact furniture trend first appeared in the U.S. in the early 2000s and surfaced in Toronto around 2005. It’s most prevalent in cities with a higher concentration of “micro condos,” like Toronto and Vancouver, Danahy says.
Compact furniture is also growing in popularity in Calgary, says Cecconi, thanks to the building boom that’s underway there. Winnipeg-based furniture company EQ3 says it’s opening a new store in downtown Toronto by the end of August to cater to growing demand for its small, European-style furnishings. “We are opening a new store right in the heart of the condo boom in Toronto, in Liberty Village, due to specifically these reasons,” says Thom Fougere, the company’s creative director. The furniture maker and retailer launched in 2001, and its offerings are aimed directly at those living in tight spaces, Fougere says. The company produces a lot of modular pieces, which allow consumers to shrink or expand an item to fit their home, Fougere adds. “The type of furniture we make is very common in Europe and even in Asia,” Fougere says. “I think it does appeal to a variety of audiences, but it especially appeals to people who dwell in smaller spaces.”
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