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The stockings will be hung by the chimney with care in festive contrast with the gleaming white of the fireplace surround.

Little Capri Penzo is snug in her crib in her pink and white bedroom with its comfy chair for story time and plenty of space for a queen-size bed when she’s ready.

And parents Olivia and Luca Penzo are enjoying their second-floor primary suite that’s described as a favourite retreat.

Wherever you look in the family’s bright, thoughtfully designed home in Toronto’s Riverdale neighbourhood, it’s clear the couple achieved their goal of “creating a beautiful, comfortable and safe space where our family can grow,” as Luca describes it.

And with the requirement that it also function as a great entertaining space, the 2-1/2-storey house is ready to receive both St. Nicholas and as many holiday guests as they can safely accommodate.

“My wife is an amazing hostess and big into planning and decorating,” says Luca. “We want to make it very festive and full of joy for our daughter this holiday season.”

The 18-month-old wasn’t even on Santa’s list when the Penzos bought the semi-detached in 2018. But from the first walkthrough, they could envision the ideal living space for their future family, Luca recalls, adding their inspiration was a New York brownstone.

With its “wacky layout” of two kitchens, stairs in two places and a low-ceilinged, unfinished basement, the century home took 10 months to gut and strip down to the brick walls, then rebuild from below-ground up.

As co-founder of Urban Blueprint with his sister Natasha Penzo-McIntosh, Luca was well-versed in home reno how-to’s. The Toronto full-service design and build firm specializes in architectural planning, construction project management and interior design.

Aside from having to remove asbestos wrap on the original duct work, the project “ran smoothly,” says Luca, a registered architectural technologist.

By underpinning the basement, they created a top-to-bottom fully functional residence totalling 2,500 square feet, including the finished basement where there’s an extra bedroom with ensuite.

While Luca did the space planning and architectural design, he and Olivia collaborated on the interior design, beginning in the front vestibule that Luca describes as “a nice, cosy enclosed space with glass walls and a beautiful mosaic floor tile.”

The main floor is open concept with the living room leading to the dining room which links to the kitchen at the back. As the heart of the home, it’s a favourite place that’s both dramatic and welcoming with onyx and white cabinetry, brass fixtures and a large island. Chevron-patterned white oak flooring throughout ties all three rooms together.

In the dining room, the original brickwork was preserved as a feature wall for “the charm and story it tells,” says Luca. “My framers had chalked some lines on the wall during construction as guides and we kept them there.”

While most areas are dressed in shades of white, the palette changes in the tile-floored mudroom — a “zone” created with black lab, Ace, in mind — which features hunter green custom millwork and built-ins.

Downstairs, the powder room is whimsically decorated with colourful wallpaper featuring monkeys and pomegranates (“Frutto Proibito” by Fornasetti for Cole and Son).

“Everyone comments on it. They love it,” says Luca. With hues of red and dark green, it too is ready for the holidays.

Size: 1,750 square feet + 750-sq.-ft. finished basement

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