Inside Hibou: Living, Learned
Inside Hibou: Living, Learned
Inside Hibou: Living, Learned
Hibou House transforms a living space into a true reflection of its inhabitants, where design and lifestyle harmonize.
July 3, 2025
The art of hosting starts at home.
In Toronto’s Humber Valley Village, a 1950s two-story home, now affectionately known as Hibou House, underwent a transformation rooted not in aesthetics alone but in the rhythms of daily life. The homeowners, a couple with two teenage children, love to entertain. Yet their compartmentalized main floor wasn’t keeping up with their lifestyle.
They turned to architect Barbora Vokac Taylor, whose studio is known for designs that respond not just to function, but to behaviour.
“We don’t just ask how a space will be used,” says Vokac Taylor. “We observe how people move through it: what they gravitate toward, how they cook, how they connect. That’s where design starts.”
Behaviour as blueprint.
Forget “form follows function.” In this home, form follows behaviour. The entire 1,200-square-foot ground floor was redesigned around the kitchen: not just as a place to prepare meals, but as the social core of the home.
“Cooking is an act of connection for this family,” says Vokac Taylor, “so we made the space invite that. Open, warm, and intuitive.”
The result is a space that flows seamlessly from kitchen to dining to living, with sightlines and transitions that make it feel intimate yet expansive. Friends can linger, kids can snack and chat, and food prep becomes performance.
Designing for atmosphere, not just layout.
But beyond function and flow, Vokac Taylor’s process always includes an intangible goal: how a space feels.That emotional quality is then translated into materials, volumes, and light.
“It’s rarely the client who says it outright. But once we’ve spent time with them, it becomes clear what kind of energy the home should hold.” says Vokac Taylor
That emotional quality is then translated into materials, volumes, and light.
To explore those nuances without false expectations, the team uses minimalist 3D wireframes layered with textures and palette studies: never full photorealism.
“It keeps the dialogue open,” she says, “and focuses on essence over illusion.”
Material simplicity, emotional depth.
In Hibou House, the materials are restrained but tactile: unfinished steel, reeded walnut, and crisp white surfaces bring texture and clarity. And the flooring—Relative Space’s Sumo, in smoked oak with an oil finish—grounds it all.
“The floor is everything,” says Vokac Taylor. “It’s the largest surface in the space, and it sets the emotional tone.”
While Canadian homes often favour pale woods for light reflection, her clients preferred a darker, more neutral base.
“The smoked finish removed some of the red undertones, giving us a cool, calm canvas that let the warmth of the walnut sing.”
Choosing with your whole body.
One cornerstone of Vokac Taylor’s approach is experiencing materials in context.
“We always bring our clients to the showroom. There’s just no substitute for seeing and walking on larger sections. It’s only then that the texture, tone, and reflection reveal themselves.”
From house to hub.
Today, Hibou House is more than renovated: it’s lived in, loved, and lively. The couple regularly hosts friends and neighbours. Kids drop by with friends. The house breathes. It holds stories and laughter in its walls and underfoot.
To explore those nuances without false expectations, the team uses minimalist 3D wireframes layered with textures and palette studies: never full photorealism.
“This home isn’t precious,” says Vokac Taylor. “It’s personal. It’s expressive. And it invites people in.”
