Support renovation of century-old Danforth home – The Globe and Mail Achi-News

Open this picture in the gallery:

As widely reported, a three-year global pandemic with a workforce suddenly anchored to houses and backyards created a boost for home renovation companies and landscapers. It also helped sell running shoes: as early as April, 2020, CNN reported that New York’s back roads were crowded with joggers, and, in June, 2021, worldathletics.org published a Nielsen study of 10 countries stating that 13 percent of all runners had taken part in the sport in the last year.

And all that running caused at least two Torontonians to give up their old house altogether.

“We, just like a million other people, started running,” says Barbora Malhotra. “So [my husband] and I, we had [two] small children who were stuck at home, so we would take a turn and we ran to this neighborhood, it’s about 2K, so a five kilometer run back and forth. … We looked at this house even before it came up for sale, we fell in love with it.”

Granted, the couple had been feeling the pinch of their small semi in Leslieville near Queen Street and Jones Avenue and had discussed moving. But to fix a house that is not on the market? Dangerous for sure, but this one, in Toronto’s Greektown, was like a siren The Odyssey: he called to them.

That’s because, unlike the rest of the neighborhood – which includes Craftsman-style houses built just after the Prince Edward Viaduct opened in 1918 – this house was quite different. Built about 10 years earlier, when much of the area was undeveloped, it was more formal, more Edwardian, and instead of the usual second floor window with a small dormer on the third head, this one had an asymmetrical full-length, turret-shaped bay (with a matching side bay) and an unusual, compact, enclosed porch. With a narrow, wide driveway leading to a garage – its clay tile roof is actually painted metal – he sang a song too sweet to ignore.

And in a sweet twist of serendipity, a conversation about that house in Ms. husband’s work revealed. Malhotra that someone knows the owner, and, even better, that the owner has decided to sell the property but has not yet listed the property.

“It was one degree of separation and we ended up having a coffee [with the owner] and came to look at the house,” said Ms Malhotra.

The fact that drawings had been made by an architect to replace the old – and strangely thin – addition to the back and replace it with something wider and much more contemporary was a further curiosity for the couple. Eventually, by November, 2020, everyone shook hands at a $2 million price tag. And since Heather Asquith had already put her architect’s thinking cap on for the place, she was asked if she would like to come back for another look. She said yes, but steered the couple to her previous clients to make sure they liked the work. They did, so Ms. Malhotra extended the invitation to meet at their “less than half the size” Leslieville place for a chat.

“You boys did a lot of work for him,” Ms Asquith tells Ms Malhotra. “So it was really nice, it gave me a good idea of ​​what style you were looking for.” By the time the couple took possession in March, 2021, the design was in place for the new addition and demolition could begin.

Stand in the backyard today, and it’s clear that there were no shrinking violets on this team. Ms. Asquith has grafted on a thoroughly modern, and strikingly beautiful addition, which reads like a separate dwelling because of its thick, exaggerated gable, bold balcony at the girdle and dark, dark first floor. “If these lanes become populated, these are no longer at the back of the house,” he said. “These are real facades.”

Walk around to the street and stand on the sidewalk and the addition completely disappears—just the right tact in a leafy, old neighborhood. Open the front door and it’s still not clear that Asquith Architecture has modernized everything. That’s because the front door is original (as is the lovely hardware) and the original front parlor has been retained to serve as a home office. And since there was probably a fireplace there back in the day, a little gas unit has been placed in the corner of the darkly painted room. Open to the hallway, the office has new pocket doors with reed glass to block it from the kitchen and dining area.

Once inside the kitchen, it’s all change. One might notice the custom cabinets by Nick Day Design and how they give a small nod to formality through a thin frame, raised around each door, or the eye might stop at the porcelain island rich and the backsplash. Audiophiles will surely turn their necks to the other side of the room to admire the audio listening station, complete with cubes and shelves suitable for vinyl.

Sprinting up the new stairs Ms. Asquith – the smallest guide and the picket are divine – and the sun worshiper will be drawn into the primary bedroom. Not only does it have a large, slide-open window, there is a small place to stand outside to sip your morning coffee. “This is always a bit of a debate, right, if we make a roof deck will anyone use it. … Will you feel exposed sitting out there in front of all your neighbors?” asks Ms. Asquith. “So the idea is that this is a bit more private but still gives you the feel inside and out.”

In the ensuite, a wall of rich, mottled, moss-coloured tiles and earthy-green concrete sinks by Mudd help welcome the outdoors inside on the coldest and darkest January day yet (and after morning ablutions on the that cold January day, there’s a cozy media room and gym in the fully renovated basement).

Cardio health, better sleep, endorphins: all the benefits of running. Now, we can add better real estate too.

Ad blocking test (Why?)

Source link

Related