Great Spaces: a starkly beautiful haven above a furniture shop in the Junction

John and Juli Baker, owners of the cultishly popular Mjölk, built a home that’s as starkly beautiful as their shop below

Matthew Hague | Photography by Derek Shapton

John and Juli Baker met by chance seven years ago at the Cloak and Dagger pub on College Street. She was studying art curation and photography at OCAD. He played guitar in a folk-rock band. They were both obsessed with modern design, and they sparked immediately. Their first collaboration was a blog where they gushed over graceful chairs, well-­proportioned teapots and other striking examples of Japanese and Scandinavian design. It proved so ­popular that, in 2009, they bought a Victorian storefront in the Junction and started selling the rarefied products they’d been blogging about. They ­married in the showroom a year later and set about gutting the two-storey living quarters above the shop. The couple’s ­minimal aesthetic—all white or wood, with no ornamentation—is the kind of thing that looks great in Dwell, but can seem impossible for people with pets, kids or both. And yet they’ve made the look work in a busy household that includes a two-year-old girl, a newborn baby boy and a cat (Elodie, Howell and Isha, respectively). Working with architects Peter Tan and Christine Ho Ping Kong of Studio Junction, the Bakers chose durable materials—copper, soapstone, white oak—and used them throughout the 2,000-square-foot space. The cohesive palette helps to maintain the streamlined effect. So does having really nice stuff: when the kids’ shaggy rocking sheep gets left out, it looks more like a sculptural statement than clutter.

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<strong>John and Juli Baker</strong> with their daughter, Elodie, in the apartment above <strong>Mjölk,</strong> their Junction area design store

(Image: Derek Shapton)

Great Spaces: Upstairs, Downstairs

Great Spaces: Upstairs, Downstairs

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(Image: Derek Shapton)

Great Spaces: Upstairs, Downstairs

Great Spaces: Upstairs, Downstairs

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This Spanish Chair by <strong>Børge Mogensen,</strong> one of the Bakers’ favourite Danish designers, is a classic mid-century modern piece

(Image: Derek Shapton)

Great Spaces: Upstairs, Downstairs

Great Spaces: Upstairs, Downstairs

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The bench was conceived by legendary Japanese-American designer <strong>George Nakashima</strong> in 1960. “This one’s new,” says John. “An early version would cost more than a car”

(Image: Derek Shapton)

Great Spaces: Upstairs, Downstairs

Great Spaces: Upstairs, Downstairs

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The oak frame and sliding wood-and-linen panels on the custom cabinet were inspired by Japanese shoji doors

(Image: Derek Shapton)

Great Spaces: Upstairs, Downstairs

Great Spaces: Upstairs, Downstairs

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(Image: Derek Shapton)

Great Spaces: Upstairs, Downstairs

Great Spaces: Upstairs, Downstairs

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The window nook is the couple’s favourite spot to read to Elodie. They don’t own a television

(Image: Derek Shapton)

Great Spaces: Upstairs, Downstairs

Great Spaces: Upstairs, Downstairs

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The wool blanket was designed by <strong>Pia  Wallen,</strong> whom the Bakers befriended on a trip to Sweden several years ago. It was made by a farming couple who raise and shear sheep

(Image: Derek Shapton)

Great Spaces: Upstairs, Downstairs

Great Spaces: Upstairs, Downstairs

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None of the wood—including the floors and the furniture—is finished with anything more than a soap rubbing, a natural alternative to polyurethane

(Image: Derek Shapton)

Great Spaces: Upstairs, Downstairs

Great Spaces: Upstairs, Downstairs

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With no backyard, the courtyard on the upper level is the kids’ outdoor play space. It’s surrounded by windows so the Bakers can easily supervise

(Image: Derek Shapton)

Great Spaces: Upstairs, Downstairs

Great Spaces: Upstairs, Downstairs

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The bathroom is set up in the Japanese style. The shower area is for scrubbing off before soaking in the cedar tub

(Image: Derek Shapton)

Great Spaces: Upstairs, Downstairs

Great Spaces: Upstairs, Downstairs

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