Rental of the Week: $200 a night for a renovated attic in Little Portugal

Rental of the Week: $200 a night for a renovated attic in Little Portugal

Address: Dundas and Dovercourt
Neighbourhood: Little Portugal
Price: $199 per night during the week, $249 per night on weekends

The place

A furnished one-bedroom apartment in an attic on the third floor of a Victorian house, currently for rent by the night on Airbnb.

There’s a small dining area with access to a deck:

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Here’s the kitchen:

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The bedroom:

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And the den:

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The bathroom:

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The history

The house was built in 1888. When its present owner, a 30-something realtor, bought the place in 2014, it had already been converted into five apartments, but they were in bad shape—particularly the attic, where there was a racoon’s nest in the ceiling and a dead squirrel underneath the crooked floors. He enlisted designer Dvira Ovadia to transform the third floor into a luxury apartment. They installed two windows (in surprising spots: inside the shower and above the door leading to the den), replaced the dated kitchen surfaces with brand-new Caesarstone, exposed the red brick hidden behind the plaster in the hallway and den, and even raised the ceiling in the living room. The owner initially marketed the unit as a conventional rental, but, after his first tenant left, he decided to turn it into an Airbnb.

Major perk

It’s an attic, but it’s not stuffy. There are plenty of windows, and they admit ample natural light.

Possible deal breaker

The washer and dryer are in the basement, which is only accessible from outside the house. Short-term guests may never need to bother making the trek, though.

By the numbers

• $199 per night
• 736 square feet
• 14-foot ceilings
• 1 bedroom
• 1 den
• 1 bathroom
• 1 private deck

The Hunt