Steel Beauty: a wonderfully mod metal box near Dupont and Shaw

By Lucy Dusko and Peter Saltsman | Photographs by Derek Shapton

The People: Steve Bugler, the 52-year-old owner of Radiant City Millwork, and Valentina Nedelcu, a 52-year-old engineer.

The Place: A mod, 1,300-square-foot house near Dupont and Shaw.

Bugler and Nedelcu bought their property from a semi-retired metalworker in 2008. They tore down the existing rental house and, with input from architect Michael LaFreniere, designed a steel-clad box. Bugler and his three-man crew did all of the framing and most of the finishing, including walls of custom windows (Bugler’s specialty) in the front and rear. But on the side of the house that hugs the laneway, he limited himself to a single, high window to showcase the rusted-steel exterior—and keep passersby from seeing inside.