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The dining room of penthouse 2 at 318 King St. E.

Caught between Paris and an Icelandic volcano, a couple bought a King Street penthouse

THE LISTING 318 King St. E, Toronto

ASKING PRICE $2,150,000

TAXES $9,734.82 (2016)

MAINTENANCE FEES $1,196.62 (monthly)

AGENTS Karyn Filiatrault and Corrie Hain, PSR Brokerage

The back story

318 King St. E.

When the volcano at Eyjafjallajokull in Iceland blew in 2010, the cloud of black ash drifting across Europe led to travel chaos. Of all the unintended consequences that sprung from the temperamental volcano, one of the most quirky must be the purchase of a luxury Toronto penthouse by Doug and Michele Cummings.

The couple were living in Paris at the time. Mr. Cummings was visiting Toronto when the airspace over much of Europe was closed and planes were grounded. As long as he was stranded on this side of the Atlantic, the two figured, he might as well check out a condo project planned for the corner of Parliament and King Streets.

The outdoor terrace offers views of the CN Tower and Lake Ontario.

Mr. Cummings ended up purchasing the 1,958-square-foot penthouse with floor-to-ceiling windows facing south and west. He was sold when he saw the plans for the wraparound outdoor terrace that would offer views of Lake Ontario, the CN Tower and the Porsche dealership across the road.

The couple's Paris apartment had a balcony so tiny, Ms. Cummings says, that the couple could barely squeeze two chairs onto it.

"At least in Paris you could go to the park and have a glass of wine," she recalls with a laugh.

The couple figured they would end up back in Toronto eventually. They liked the development's location at the quiet end of King Street East in the up-and-coming Corktown neighbourhood.

"We decided it was pretty low-risk," Ms. Cummings says. "It was a hedge of having a place in Toronto if we did come back. This is pretty close to right in the city."

The sizable terrace was a crucial selling point.

During the two years the condo was under construction, the Cummings relocated to New York.

About the time they finished their stint there, around 2012, the penthouse was finished and the two were able to move in.

The building is considered a "soft loft" because it is not a true loft conversion. While the carriage factory that once stood on the site was razed, the units have the concrete pillars, high ceilings, open plan and industrial windows that provide the feeling of a loft.

The unit today

The unit is on the building’s 15th floor.

The two-bedroom penthouse has ceilings more than 11 feet high. Up on the 15th floor, the Cummings feel removed from the street without being too high.

"We never hear anything," Mr. Cummings says.

The elevator rises from the lobby straight to the entry door.

"Getting into the condo straight from the elevator is nice," Mr. Cummings says.

The main living area combines a dining room, living room and kitchen.

The living area combines a kitchen, lounge with gas fireplace and a dining area. Tucked behind the kitchen is a small home office with a wall of windows looking toward the lake.

Ms. Cummings had the kitchen redesigned before the unit was built. She had an induction cooktop installed after taking cooking classes in Paris, where induction was the technology favoured by her instructor.

There's also a built-in wall oven and a large island.

The kitchen features a built-in oven and induction cooktop.

The master suite includes a large bathroom with a walk-in shower. The plan for a bathtub was discarded so the walk-in closet could be enlarged. Ms. Cummings asked for lots of storage space throughout the unit.

There's also a second bedroom with a view toward the lake.

The master bedroom has floor-to-ceiling windows.

A marketing video designed to show the lifestyle that a future occupant might enjoy drew a blizzard of negative publicity when it was deemed degrading to women by some viewers. King(dom) in the Sky featured three men in suits being served drinks and dinner by one woman. The woman had several mishaps in the kitchen and kept running into different rooms to change her clothes after spilling liquids all over herself.

Ms. Filiatrault, who has a background in television production, has made such lifestyle films in the past as a way to reach young buyers addicted to social media. She hires actors and writes a script that aims to highlight the various features of the condo unit.

Plans for a tub in the master bathroom were discarded to allow for an enlarged walk-in closet.

"There's always a chance a video will go viral," she said.

In this case, the video and the "insatiable" coverage that went with it became too much.

But while the most recent video turned off many online commenters, it doesn't appear to have deterred the buyer. The unit sold a few days after it arrived on the market.

Favourite feature

The penthouse features 1,850 square feet of outdoor space.

Three sets of sliding doors lead to the terrace, which provides 1,850 square feet of outdoor living space. The landscaping includes Corten steel planters and built-in water and lighting systems. There are two gas lines for barbeques and a heat lamp. There's a putting green just outside the master bedroom, as well as a dining area that maximizes the view and a sheltered spot for lounging.

"When you're out there at night with the trees lit up, it's really super cozy," Ms. Cummings says.