The Castlefield Design District is a furniture and interior design lover’s dream.
Set in an industrial area northwest of Dufferin Street and Eglinton Avenue, this series of intersections is home to a bevy of stores catering to industry professionals looking for pieces to jazz up Toronto homes.
Castlefield Design District is home to a large concentration of furniture and design stores.
What used to be the epicentre for construction workers and developers is now a neighbourhood shared by the types of professionals who hunt for live-edge wooden tables and carpets from India.
"When we arrived in the area this really wasn't known as a designer area," says Andrew Metrick of Elte, the century-old family-owned design empire.
Elte is the furniture and design mecca for industry professionals.
Landing in Castlefield around 30 years ago, Elte moved from its previous Cherry Street location to take over a 100,000 square-foot old warehouse on Ronald Avenue, marking one of the first luxury furniture stores in Castlefield.
"The reason why we sought out the area was we were looking to expand," says Metrick. "Quite simply, downtown wasn't the place for that."
Andrew Metrick and his brother Jamie opened Elte Market in Castlefield in 2014. Photo by Jesse Milns.
Removed from the core, Castlefield's predominantly manufacture-proofed buildings are cheaper and larger than available storefronts in more subway-friendly areas like King East or the Junction.
The warehouse-heavy area has allowed Elte to grow from a single-store operation to offshoots including Elte Market, Gingers (located in a former tea manufacturing warehouse), and an outlet store, all within a 15-minute walk of one another.
The cafe inside Elte offers a salads, daily baked muffins, and a place for designers to meet with clients.
Today the Castlefield Design District continues to grow. Metrick says he gets phone calls from other design stores inquiring about moving into the area, and suggests there are some "very big names" positioned to move in to the area in near future.
Moving from the Junction four years, vintage store Metropolis Living has also benefited from the spacial flexibility that Castlefield affords.
Once located across from Elte, the vintage furniture store moved to a spot on Milford Street better suited for custom furniture-making two years ago. Now the store has moved again: just one unit over at 37 Milford, to a high-ceilinged warehouse.
Formerly where ParkLinks manufactured its parking meters, the space is equipped with enough room for events and workshops which allow the 14-year old brand new opportunities for revenue.
Lowe's indoor lumbar yard provides materials to construction workers and developers in the area.
Metropolis Living spokesperson Melissa Hawkett compares Castlefield to New York's warehouse-heavy pockets: a little far-flung but unexpectedly abundant in high-end retailers.
"There's a cachet to it, so people think it's funky to go exploring in the area," she says.
The butcher shop Speducci offers paninis and boards of dry-aged prosciutto. Photo by Natta Summerky.
Over the years, Castlefield has evolved into a visitor-friendlier neighbourhood than before. Just down the street from Metropolis is Speducci Mercatto, an Italian butcher with a cafe seating area where customers can pick at salumi boards, lasagna, and panini.
On Hafis Road, Bellwoods Brewery is a bare-bones getaway that offers the same selection of craft beers available at its original Ossington location.
Joe Commisso, one third of the Commisso Brothers establishment on Kincort Street just off the main drag of Caledonia Road, says his establishment is now more frequented than ever.
The Italian bakery Commisso Bros. has been open since 1964.
“It’s been great because there’s lots more business now,” he says.
The Italian bakery and hot table, best known for its fresh bread and veal sandwiches, has been serving the Portuguese community and construction workers from the area since 1964.
Lately, says Commisso, he's noticed an increase in customers comprised of a different crowd — mostly designers and their clients after a day of weekend shopping at the neighbouring design stores.
Sescolite Lighting is one of the businesses that have long sat on a corner of Castlefield Avenue.
Just around the corner, longtime showrooms like Sescolite Lighting and Union Lighting display their inventory of light fixtures.
The giant contemporary furniture store Art Shoppe is also on Kincort, having moved from Yonge and Eglinton to its 70,000 square-foot showroom just a few years ago.
The Castlefield Design Centre acts as a mall housing several appliance and furnitures shops.
Further east toward the main intersection of Caledonia and Castlefield, the Castlefield Design Centre acts as a mall of sorts with stores that can be accessed from main doors or from a back channel that connects them all together.
Artemano specializes in furniture made of "exotic" wood from South East Asia.
After closing down and acquiring a new owner, Artemano has recently re-opened, selling furniture and centrepieces made of wood from South East Asia.
The other side of the Castefield Design Centre has its own parking lot.
At the centre’s western side (which has its own separate parking lot) sits Roots’ home design store. Next to it, outdoor patio store Jardin De Ville’s temporary summer showroom takes up a massive space.
Weavers Art has one of the largest selections of high-end rugs in the city.
Closest to the road sits Weavers Art, the purveyor of high-end rugs with one of the largest selections in the city.
At 885 Caledonia Road, the airy showroom of Shelter Furniture sells a wide variety of sofas, chairs and coffee tables and seems to always be having a sale.
The Starbucks situated in the same plaza as Lowe's is one of the few coffee shops in the area.
Head further east along the York Beltline Trail and you’ll see the Starbucks whose presence marked the beginning of a new commercialized era in the neighbourhood when it first opened.
A giant Lowe's offers a cheaper resource for home improvement tools and household appliances.
In that same plaza you’ll find lots of patio, flooring and furniture shops, but the largest store is the looming Lowe’s and the lumber yard beside it.
The Door Store is an antique shop focusing on reclaimed doors and vintage items. Photo by Jesse Milns.
Further along you’ll find the refreshingly unique Door Store, the eclectic shop of doors (obviously) and other pieces of antique hardware. Along Miranda Avenue is a strip of stores that sell anything from French antiques to leather to plumbing.
Travelling further west, the furniture stores will start to dot out and you’ll notice an increase in auto services to the south.
The cash-only California Sandwiches marks the end of the Castlefield Design District at Dufferin.
Marking the end of the area is the popular chain California Sandwiches, where you can grab some much-needed sustenance after a long day of furniture perusal.
The Delta Hotel property and the Toronto Congress Centre located across the street were brimming with fake Gokus, Survey Corps fighters, goth Lolis, and a surprising number of regularly-dressed people looking overwhelmed.
As expected, people of all ages and backgrounds crowded the grassy property to be seen, dressed to the nines in hand-made or store bought costumes for photo-ops before heading in to the main hall. 
Some costumes, while totally on point, were a little concerning considering how humid it was. The anime fandom goes hard. 
Pokemon-themed sweaters and giant toys of popular Japanese characters were on sale beneath tents, while bands on the Crunchyroll-sponsored stage played covers of anime theme songs. 
Upon arrival in Hall A, guests were handed the Anime North survival guide: a weighty booklet containing all the information and locations for performances, showcases, panels and awards shows.
Comic Market, or Artist's Alley, is the first and perhaps largest section of the convention, filled from wall to wall with vendors selling posters, paintings, and graphics of original characters and classic animes, plus comic books created by some seriously talented artists. 
At the back of the hall, a less thrilling performance of cosplay chess players was awkwardly anticlimactic – a hilarious demonstration filled with commentary consisting mostly of, "Let's fight," and dopey background music. 
Despite the fact that dressing up is taken seriously here, it's nice to see that not much else is: the mood at Anime North is pretty carefree. 
Many used this as an opportunity to take a break on the fold-up chairs. Noticeably, very few people were on their phones at Anime North – other than to take photos, of course – though poor reception and horrible Internet access probably had something to do with it. 
A strip of vendors along the ege of the hall offer photography services in what's referred to as Photo Alley, making big bucks documenting attendees' painstakingly assembled costumes. 
In the next hall, a sea of tables covered in cards fill the Gaming Corner where players put their decks to the test. The energy here is definitely more intense than other areas since the stakes (your dignity and pride) are higher. 
Yu-Gi-Oh! and Magic games run amok, with battle cries of loss and wins echoing through the spacious area. 
Dispersed around the hall, vendors put out their collections of cards on display, luring in fans with rarities and powerful decks.Attendees can also bring in cards to trade and swap, giving the hall a sort of marketplace vibe. 
Meanwhile in the North Ballroom – the epicentre of the cosplay shows – fashion shows like the Kimono Bijin runway showcased the incredible detail put into this three-day event. 
Numerous panels were happening simultaneously all over the place, with an event for every type of anime, manga, or culture fanatic.
The open concept main floor is accommodating and the clean crisp lines soothe my minimalist heart.
I love the factory windows and doors, they add a touch of character to what could be seen as a very plain interior.
The kitchen is modern and sleek, with new appliances, and a gorgeous centre island.
The kitchen backs onto the sunshine-drenched backyard terrace. There is absolutely no shade, so definitely wear that sunscreen when you’re out there. It’s also mostly concrete so not much gardening to do, but perfect for summertime barbecues. 
Upstairs are the bedrooms. The master bedroom has a huge factory window, allowing the room to be soaked in sunlight. It also has a walk-in closet and beautifully modern en suite bathroom.
On the third floor is another bedroom, a bathroom with a bathtub, and office space.
I really like the office space they’ve made up here. It’s super bright with the giant sliding door.
Also, the bathroom on the third floor has a spa-like bathtub just made for hours of soaking.
The basement (accessed through the secret door!) offers some more living space with a rec room and another bedroom for guests.
But the big selling point of this place is definitely the neighbourhood. Located in the heart of Little Portugal you’re close to everything fun and all the good restaurants.
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