A new year. Phew. Here’s hoping that 2021 brings us all a little levity. But while we wait for the vaccine to roll out, we must keep carrying on as “normally” as possible, looking after ourselves and others the best we can.

While speaking with retailers and designers, I’ve heard “I’m coping” and “I’m managing.” I’ve also spoken to those with suffering businesses, which is truly heartbreaking. Online, we’ve been spreading the word to back Toronto’s design community, and in these pages, you’ll find plenty of great products that can be had right here in our city. Sure, there may be extra steps involved to shop local, but they’re worth it. Let’s support our own.

On the flip side, there are also many stories of survival, pivoting and even thriving. For instance, check out our Where to Shop section to see just how many new shops and showrooms we’ve added. Also going gangbusters: interior designers and architects keeping up with the demand for renovations. If there’s one thing we’ve learned through this turmoil, it’s the value of home. And while improving our spaces is trending, it won’t fall out of fashion. After health and happiness, having a fit and functional environment is a top priority forever onward.

On the home front: in the pages that follow, you’ll get a glimpse of where things are headed design-wise. In our first-ever Case Study, we explore the last 30 years of laneway house–building through the lens of the pioneers in this space, and hint at where this typology is going. They might be compact homes, but there’s a lot to learn from them in terms of sustainability, space-saving and style as they gently densify our city.

And speaking of densification, this issue also salutes our Designer of the Year: Batay-Csorba. The small studio creates magnificent single-family dwellings, often with thrilling – but context-appropriate – facades and smartly oriented interiors, while also pursuing thoughtful experimentations meant to bridge Toronto’s missing middle. Both they and the designers featured in the Case Study are looking out not just for the few, but for the city at large. And this is the very attitude that will see us through the pandemic and toward a better life here for all. Trust that the outlook is good, my friends. Take care.

Tory Healy, editor-in-chief