The short answer: Ossington is now the better design-shopping strip, and it is not close. Ossington has held on to its independent furniture showrooms while Queen West has lost anchor after anchor since 2019. Plan Ossington for the browse and Queen West for one or two specific destinations, not the other way round.
This used to be a straight comparison. Two strips, twenty minutes apart on foot, both worth an afternoon. That is no longer an honest description of what you will find when you get there, so this guide has been rewritten around what is actually open in 2026.
Key takeaways
- Ossington’s design retail is thinner than most guides claim, but what is left is genuine: Stylegarage and Sundays are the two real furniture showrooms on the strip.
- V de V has not been on Ossington since March 2021. It trades from 797 Dundas Street West. Any guide still placing it on Ossington is five years out of date.
- Queen West has lost Club Monaco, Zara, H&M and Morba, and the vacancies are visible. It is now a destination strip, not a browsing one.
- Quasi Modo, the best modern furniture source on Queen West, is appointment only at 1079 Queen Street West. Do not turn up expecting to walk in.
- Toronto retail availability hit a record low in March 2026, so Queen West is underperforming the city rather than following it.
Why has Queen West lost so many stores?
The short version is rent, construction, and a shift in what the strip is for. Club Monaco closed its first-ever store on Queen West in December 2025 after roughly four decades. Zara left 341 Queen West in November 2024. H&M and Adidas went in the post-pandemic stretch. Foot Locker closed in April 2026. The Beer Store at 761 Queen West shut in June 2025. Morba, which was the strip’s best modern furniture shop for more than twenty years, closed at the end of November 2019 and went online only.
The context matters here: Toronto retail availability hit a record low in March 2026, meaning space across the city is being taken up, not given back. Queen West is not following a citywide trend. It is going the other way, with Ontario Line construction and high rents doing most of the damage.
What this means for a shopping trip is simple. Queen West still has good stores. It no longer has a good browse. Go for a specific address.
What is actually open on Ossington?
Ossington’s reputation as a design destination runs slightly ahead of its reality. The strip is mostly fashion, food and bars. Two genuine furniture and design showrooms anchor it, and they are both worth the trip.
Stylegarage
Stylegarage is the anchor. The business started around 2000 at Queen and Shaw and moved to a two-storey heritage warehouse on Ossington in the autumn of 2014, roughly 8,000 square feet across both floors. It carries its own made-to-order SG Originals line alongside Gus* Modern, Ferm Living and Ethnicraft, plus lighting, rugs and smaller homegoods.
The reason to start here is that it is the one shop on the strip where you can make an anchor decision. Sofa, dining table, bed. Get that right and the rest of the room follows. Call ahead if you are coming for something specific, because the made-to-order pieces are not all on the floor.
Sundays
Sundays at 113 Ossington Avenue is the Vancouver-founded modern brand, and it is the cleanest expression of the current Toronto look: neutral, low, softly modular. The modular sofa systems are the draw, along with solid-wood dining and storage beds.
Sundays and Stylegarage work well as a pair because they disagree just enough. Stylegarage leans warmer and more material-forward. Sundays is quieter and more resolved. Seeing both in an hour tells you which way your own taste actually runs.
What is not on Ossington any more
V de V is the correction most guides still need to make. The store was an Ossington fixture at 120 Ossington until it left on 21 March 2021. It now trades from 797 Dundas Street West, about a ten-minute walk north and west, and it is still very much worth visiting for vintage-inflected and industrial pieces. It is simply not an Ossington stop. Confusingly, VdeV’s own history page still describes the Toronto store as being on Ossington; the contact page, with live hours, is the one to trust.
The Dakota Tavern closed in March 2025 too. Not retail, but if you built your route around it, rebuild the route.
What is worth the trip on Queen West?
Quasi Modo
Quasi Modo at 1079 Queen Street West is the serious modern and mid-century source on the strip: furniture, lighting and ceramics, with real depth. Two things to know. It is appointment only, so book before you go. And its old address, 789 Queen Street West, still circulates in listings. The current address is 1079.
The chains
CB2 on Queen West is Ontario’s only branch of the Crate & Barrel modern line, and Urban Barn covers Canadian-owned contemporary furniture at accessible prices. Both are reliable rather than exciting, which is exactly what a chain should be. Check their store locators before travelling, because Queen West addresses have moved around in the past two years.
How should you plan the route?
Treat it as one anchor decision and one finishing move, in that order.
Start on Ossington with Stylegarage and Sundays. Make the big call there, or at least narrow it to two options. Then, if you have a specific Queen West destination and an appointment where you need one, walk south and finish the room with one contrasting piece. If you do not have a specific Queen West target, spend the time on Dundas West instead and catch V de V where it actually lives.
| Strip | What it is good for | Watch out for |
|---|---|---|
| Ossington | Anchor furniture decisions; two real showrooms close together | Thinner than its reputation; mostly food and fashion between the design stops |
| Queen West | One specific destination, especially Quasi Modo | Visible vacancies; Quasi Modo is appointment only; stale addresses in listings |
| Dundas West | Where V de V actually is now | Not on either strip; plan it as its own leg |
If you would rather shop by store than by street, our guide to Toronto furniture stores covers the full range, and the design districts guide maps every cluster in the city. For older pieces specifically, see our vintage and antique guide.
Frequently asked questions
Is V de V still on Ossington?
No. V de V left 120 Ossington Avenue on 21 March 2021 and now trades from 797 Dundas Street West in Toronto. Guides and travel sites still listing it on Ossington are out of date. The company’s own contact page confirms the Dundas West address.
What furniture stores are on Ossington Avenue?
Two genuine design showrooms: Stylegarage, in a two-storey heritage warehouse it has occupied since 2014, and Sundays at 113 Ossington Avenue. The rest of the strip is largely fashion, restaurants and bars, so a design trip to Ossington is a focused visit rather than a long browse.
Is Queen West still worth visiting for design shopping?
For a specific destination, yes. For browsing, no longer. Queen West has lost Morba, Club Monaco, Zara, H&M and Foot Locker among others since 2019, and the vacancies are visible. Quasi Modo at 1079 Queen Street West remains the strongest modern furniture source, but it is appointment only.
Do you need an appointment to shop Quasi Modo?
Yes. Quasi Modo Modern Furniture at 1079 Queen Street West operates by appointment. Book before travelling. Note that its former address, 789 Queen Street West, still appears in older listings.
