Instead of Following Trends, the Designer of This Toronto Cottage Was Guided by One Question — "Is This an Artful Move?"

White living room with corner sofa, abstract graphic black and white cushions, wood coffee table and cobalt blue Wiggle side chairs.

"Blue is the invisible becoming visible," noted the artist Yves Klein of the ultramarine shade he created in 1960. It also turns out to be an apt metaphor for this Victorian worker’s cottage in downtown Toronto, where once run-of-the-mill schemes have been allowed to sing again in a now modern home updated by Sam Sacks Design.

Yes, that particular brand of International Klein Blue underscores the transformation, inspired by the vivid colors of Yves Saint Laurent’s Jardin Majorelle in Morocco, but a host of other details, from meticulous woodwork to statement rugs, also play their part.