Riverdale reno for Toronto Star

For the Toronto Star, Canada's largest-circulation newspaper, we documented a home renovation in the city's leafy Riverdale district that took place during the COVID shutdown. Everything had to be ordered online from in-stock inventory at Wayfair, IKEA, Home Depot, Bath Depot and Amazon. Polished chrome was the default finish for metal fittings (towel and toilet-paper holders, heated towel rack, shower fittings, faucets and spouts, tub filler, shower door frame, lighting) because as the most-popular finish, it was the likeliest to be in stock. On the other hand, the material for the living-room mantel, second-floor bathroom and third-floor desktop, peachy caramel-coloured swirly Vintage Royal Crema marble with a mesmerizing illusion of three-dimensional depth, from Marble Trend, is unobtainium; the quarry, in Spain, has closed.