Zen Habitation: a salon don’s tranquil Rosedale retreat

After decades on the move, Ray Civello has finally settled down. The 57-year-old salon founder began his career bouncing between hairdressing jobs in New York, Toronto, Montreal and Paris before launching his eponymous parlour in Rosedale in 1989. (He’s since opened six more: three in the GTA and three in Chicago.) He spent the next two decades designing, building and flipping houses all over Rosedale and the Bridle Path, first as a bachelor and later with his partner of 15 years, Kelli McGushin. But when their son, Corrado, was born six years ago, the pair started thinking about pressing pause on their peripatetic lifestyle. In 2013, they bought a stately, somewhat dilapidated house overlooking the Rosedale ravine and, with the help of Alicia Garas of Melacor—the decorating force behind all of Civello’s salons and several of his homes—turned the dark, cramped rooms into a pristine white showpiece. They tore down walls to create a huge open kitchen and sitting area (where they spend most of their time) and added tons of personalized details: a golf simulator in the basement, a meditation room for Civello (who tries to practise every day) and a swimming pool for Corrado. “I think I might stay here for a while,” says Civello. “And that’s a crazy thing for me to say. But I just like it so much. We really live in this house.”