Former Toronto rooming house transformed into $6 million showpiece

It's hard to imagine looking at 330 Palmerston Blvd. today, but this ultra-modern Toronto home was once a rooming house.

Now, after a massive renovation, addition and a whole lot of high-end design, the Palmerston-Little Italy property is back on the market, and it's pretty much unrecognizable.

The detached home last sold in April 2016 for $2,330,330 — more than $300,000 over its asking price after just three days on the market.

The foyer. 

Since then, the house has undergone a back-to-the-studs renovation and major structural addition led by Toronto design firm Studio Pyramid, transforming the property into a seriously striking contemporary home.

The living room. 

The finished product was even featured in Objekt magazine for its bold interiors.

The family room and kitchen that opens to the backyard. 

And there's a lot to look at.

The view from the front entrance. 

The home has more than 3,400 square feet of above-ground living space spread across four storeys, plus a finished lower level.

The dining room. 

Thankfully, if four floors' worth of stairs sounds exhausting, there's also a private elevator connecting them all.

But perhaps the most interesting thing about the home is just how much personality has been packed into it.

"Most houses have a monochromatic and consistent look in the city. This house is packed with panache," listing agent Paul Maranger told blogTO.

"It's a layered residence filled with ideas, art and objects from the homeowners' travels."

And they aren't kidding.

The living room with a wood-burning fireplace. 

Throughout the main living spaces you'll find double-smoked European oak engineered hardwood, designer wallcoverings, plenty of colour and even orange faucets in one of the bathrooms.

The family room and breakfast area. 

Between the hallway and dining room, for example, is a partition made from hand-blown Magiscope glass panels by Mexican artist Feliciano Béjar, commissioned specifically for the home.

The kitchen and breakfast table. 

"The sculptural main staircase is the statement piece of the house that speaks to its forward-thinking design," listing agent Christian Vermast said, noting that local and international artisans were enlisted to create many of the home's finishes.

And the kitchen is equally dramatic. The space has 14-foot ceilings, custom cabinetry, quartz countertops, stainless-steel appliances and a built-in walnut breakfast table.

The kitchen with a dramatic backsplash. 

But the real star might be the bright blue porcelain tile from Surrealejos in Lisbon, complete with oversized eyes staring back at you from the backsplash.

"No more sneaking cake or a second glass of wine in this gourmet kitchen," Maranger joked.

There's also a massive wall of glass between the kitchen and family room that completely collapses, essentially opening the interior of the home directly into the backyard.

"The indoors become outdoors," Vermast said.

The primary bedroom. 

The rest of the house isn't exactly playing it safe either.

The staircase. 

A sculptural curved staircase winds its way through the upper levels, where there are four bedrooms spread across the second and third floors.

The primary ensuite. 

Each gets its own ensuite bathroom.

The home office. 

One of those rooms is currently being used as a pretty dreamy home office, complete with its own balcony, but could easily be turned back into a bedroom.

The basement bedroom. 

Downstairs, there's even more space, including a dedicated wine-tasting room, another bedroom and full bathroom, an oversized laundry room and plenty of storage.

The backyard. 

Outside, the property has been landscaped by Premier Landscaping and includes multiple spaces for entertaining.

The outdoor kitchen. 

There's a seriously elaborate outdoor kitchen pavilion with granite counters, commercial-grade ventilation, a Big Green Egg and a Sedona gas barbecue.

In a nice nod to the home's past, original doors and panelling from the house were also incorporated into the outdoor structure, while old doorknobs became oversized cabinet knobs.

Even the pocket doors from the home's former dining room were repurposed as sliding doors separating the outdoor kitchen and hangout area from its walk-in pantry.

"The outdoor kitchen simply doesn't exist anywhere. It's the very essence of up-cycling," noted Maranger.

"It's like a man-cave, but out back," added Vermast. "And way cooler."

Another bedroom with a rooftop terrace. 

And if one outdoor entertaining space isn't enough, two private rooftop terraces boast impressive views overlooking the city.

The basement. 

The 33-by-127-foot property also comes with a detached two-car garage — a pretty coveted perk this close to downtown.

The fourth-floor landing. 

Of course, all that transformation has come with a rather dramatic transformation in price, too.

The primary bedroom and home office. 

The home first hit the market earlier this year asking $6.88 million.

Another bedroom. 

It has since returned to market with a substantially lower price tag of $5,995,000, shaving $885,000 off that earlier ask. 

The back of the house. 

That's still more than two-and-a-half times the $2.33 million the property sold for a decade ago, although obviously this is a very different and much more stylish house than the one buyers were bidding on back in 2016.