The best furniture stores in Toronto are stellar showcases for local and international design (and, with a big enough budget, your home can be one, too). Though clean, contemporary style continues to dominate the city's design scene, these stores reinterpret current trends in myriad ways, from industrial-cool to sleek minimalism to statement-making drama. Here are the best furniture stores in Toronto. Let no one say Toronto doesn't love its own design talent; the city's top pick for furniture is the locally-built, locally-based Stylegarage. After based on West Queen West for years, they've moved to more spacious digs on Ossington, where you can shop for Canadiana-tinged pieces equally suited for the cottage and the condo. Do you dig all things minimalist, Scandinavian, and made out of pale birch / brass / unbleached linen? Then you've probably spent many hours and dollars at this Junction shop, devoted to simple, elegant, functional designs from Sweden and Denmark (with some equally-austere Japanese lines thrown in).

They've just been open a few short months, but the little brother of the Elte family has already made its mark in Toronto, thanks to owners/brothers Jamie and Andrew Metrick and their furniture-dynasty know-how, teamed with a youthful buying eye. home exterior color combinationsAt their massive Castlefield showroom, find rugs, furniture, and knick-knacks, all condo-ready and all at accessible prices.best interior design stores toronto This showroom, open on King East since the '60s, is packed with arty showstoppers - neon lights, sculptural furniture, a lamp shaped like a life-sized horse - from leading design companies around the world. best colors to paint a brick house

It's high-concept stuff (with a high price tag to match), and an undeniable must-visit for design lovers. Located in a heritage building in Riverside, this stunning, almost cathedral-like three-floor space features an immaculately-curated selection of contemporary pieces from around the world. A particular draw is their assortment of rugs, which features designs by high-fashion lines like Alexander McQueen, Vivienne Westwood and Marni. The somewhat ironically-named Kiosk is actually a vast three-floor showroom on King East, populated by high-end, often-iconic design items. If you're looking for classics from Ligne Roset and Poliform or cutting-edge FLOS and Foscarini lighting, this is your stop. This massive showroom in the Castlefield Design District has a huge range of options for just about everything - chairs, rugs, sofas, and more. Their aesthetic is overwhelmingly modern, with friendly pops of colour that keep things approachable. Suite 22 Interiors (Richmond)

The Markham contemporary furniture depot expanded last year to Richmond St., bringing a very downtown-ready blend of Italian lines scouted for the store by owner Roberto D'Ulisse. Pieces range from silly and statement-making to clean-lined and classic, with some surprises thrown in (like sleek entertainment units with built-in stereos from Spectral). This shop on Dupont doubles as a studio for the co-owners' interior design projects (you've seen their work around town at Terroni, among other spots). Their sharp, modern furniture and lighting fixtures, often made with reclaimed materials, carry a certain organic warmth that nods to their handmade, all-local origins. 2014 in Review: Toronto’s Best New Design Stores Ten hot design destinations that made their debut this year Photography by Naomi Finlay Elte Market retails rugs and furniture priced for first-time homeowners EM is a hip and (somewhat) budget-friendly addition to the Metrick family’s umbrella of uptown showrooms (see Gingers and Elte), attuned to young Torontonians who don’t have palatial spaces or budgets.

Conceived as a kind of furniture groceteria, it has an ever-changing selection of compact furnishings in on-trend finishes: at the moment, marble and metallic. The rug game here is as strong as you’d expect from a family that’s been in the carpet industry for 90 years, with colourful silk numbers available at a fraction of Elte’s prices.  RADForm specializes in contemporary furniture with whimsical flourishes Neon signs amp up this white, boxy space, but it’s the dining-room table at the front of the store that steals attention. Part classic, part contemporary, this Creazioni number is like two tables cut in half and harmoniously reconfigured. RADform celebrates European aesthetic mash-ups: there are traditional armchairs upholstered in comic book–print; and glossy purple side tables with ornate bowed legs and paw-shaped drawer handles. Suite 22 Interiors offers the latest and greatest from high-end Italian manufacturers While its Markham showroom has been one of the GTA’s top destinations for contemporary furniture for almost a decade, the store is now capturing the core’s condo crowd with its new 370-square-metre outpost off King East.

Tailored living, dining and bedroom vignettes boast something for the whole home with such heavy-hitting manufacturers as Bonaldo, Kristalia, Cattelan Italia and Arketipo holding court. 429 Richmond St E (Also: 160 Bullock Dr, Markham) suite22.ca Torp Inc. showcases innovative Scandinavian designs Dedicated to Scandinavian design pioneers – seven to be exact – Torp’s innovative offerings are evident curbside. The building housing the retailer is retrofitted with its number one (and exclusive) product: thin, elegant and energy-efficient custom doors and windows by Pro Tec. Inside Torp’s gleaming showroom is a slew of other equally impressive offerings, including Muuto’s Mondrian-inspired shelving system, Georg Jensen’s stainless steel and silver cutlery, and PP Møbler’s functional sculptures: expertly carved oak and ash chairs. I Have a Crush on You carries crush-worthy gifts and paper goods A diner-style menu board reads, “Holy crap!” Looking around at owner Amy Kwong’s selection, it’s easy to mouth the same sentiment.

Shelves showcase Kwong’s own Smitten Kitten line of cheeky greeting cards, airport-coded luggage tags and notebooks featuring old-time photos of the Canadian wilderness and landmarks like the Royal York. Other goodies: limited-edition dinner plates depicting Marvel’s Magneto and Professor X in a passionate embrace, and Russian nesting dolls that riff on tradition with faces painted like members of Kiss. 51 Jefferson Ave, Ste #201 ihaveacrushonyou.ca Muji brings its beautiful, understated Japanese designs to Canada While there’s no logo stamped on Muji’s office, bed and bathroom accessories, the retailer’s products share a distinctive, instantly recognizable aesthetic. Usually done in all white – think Apple’s early iPods – simple housewares like toothbrush stands are elevated beyond the mundane by the power of quietly beautiful Japanese design. Get organized with Muji’s exhaustive selection of storage accessories. Storage bins are available in hard pulp, tin, acrylic, and polypropylene finishes.

20 Dundas St muji.ca Centura Tile takes a high-fashion approach to flooring showrooms Founded in 1933, CT sets itself apart with a Saks Fifth Avenue-esque approach in its flagship store, designed by Kneider Architects. Street-facing two-storey windows soak the 929-square-metre showroom – and upscale European lines like Mirage, Atlas Concorde and Italgraniti – in natural light. Display boards line the perimeter like mannequins, flaunting the latest trends: large-format tiles that create seamless-looking floors and intricate mosaics of unconventional shapes (think Arabesque lanterns). 950 Lawrence Ave W centura.ca New Wall unrolls world-class wallpaper designs No, your GPS hasn’t led you astray. A boutique wallpaper showroom really does exist in an industrial park, and instead of the predictable shelves crammed with rolls of paper the bright interior’s walls are enveloped in 2-D coverings with startling 3-D quality. The stock reflects a refined spectrum: Marimekko’s playful, oversized graphics;

J&V Italian Design’s photorealistic imagery on textured substrates; and Calico’s hypnotic gilded and marbled paper, printed on Mylar and evoking a moonscape. VINTAGE & RECLAIMED FURNITURE Goodfolk delivers a hit of rustic charm in the big city Folksy furniture, vintage Canadiana and select newly handmade items fill Emilie Dolenc’s and Matt Hodgins’ shop. Desks, trunks and armoires from days of yore hold artful compositions of weathered bowling pins. In the corner, a lovingly worn Remington typewriter sits atop a metal filing cabinet. 253 Broadview Ave goodfolk.ca Pacific Junction restores super groovy stereo cabinets Just below the Junction’s main Dundas Street West drag, a sandwich board reading “Neat Stuff” points to a backyard garage. This offbeat RadioShack of sorts houses Mike Echlin’s extensive selection of restored ’60s stereo cabinets. Available in assorted lengths, each cabinet houses audio equipment with dials and displays that no doubt once seemed futuristic.