In praise of street furniture

The weekly micro-decorating newsletter * Issue 11 of 13, SS25 *
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Adopting a room is something I've written about before – the idea that you can extend your home with an external space you claim and love as your own. While I'm in Toronto, it's the south end of the Manulife Centre that makes my studio apartment more expansive. In Montreal, it's an entire street – avenue du Mont-Royal – that's my unofficial living room. For 22 blocks, it's car-free for the entire summer, one of eight street closures for 2025, and it's an open-air, all-embracing château for everyone who shows up.

A big part of the welcome is street furniture everywhere. Some of it is fairly conventional, like this symmetrical bench setup:

Some of it evokes cottage life, like clusters of Muskoka chairs here and there:

But a lot of it takes unexpected forms, inviting creative ways of lounging:

And some of it defies definition, like this gigantic mist-emitting pipe that offers a cooling escape from the scorching heat:

Twisty benches are just as fun to look at as to sit on, casting Op Art shadows that change by the hour:

A pocket park has year-round pieces that are just as playful, like these recliners positioned so you can easily converse with a friend, whether it's one you arrived with or someone you just met:

Split picnic tables allow for a different social dynamic:

At first, I thought they were for shy people who prefer to stare into the distance rather than at another up-close human. Then, I pictured a couple who'd just had an argument and found the perfect format for having their lunch apart. Whatever the usage, these half-picnic structures made me smile.

Most of the street furniture is painted in minty greens, as if to counter the high intensity of sweltering afternoons. But in the final easternmost block, there's an explosion of yellow and orange, like fireworks at the end of a summer night. There are loungers wide enough for two or three, backed by structures resembling beach umbrellas:

On second glance, they reminded me of spider webs. Perhaps by sitting there, you'll tempt an attractive stranger into your arms.

My favourite piece of all, a one-off, is this tessellated, origami-like structure upholstered in yellow and orange astroturf. It's just as popular with adults as with children, and perfectly embodies the summer impulse to climb, to lounge, to daydream, to play:

If my living room were larger, I'd absolutely have furniture like this. But in a time of compact dwellings, I'll take what I can find in the wider world. Thank you, avenue du Mont-Royal, for making our homes bigger than we ever imagined they could be.

From the archives

Wondering how you can enlarge your home, wherever you happen to live? Read Breakfast at the Manulife Centre to get some inspiration.

Thank you for reading.