Great Lake Studio: This new suburban Toronto home had a complex design agenda: create a contemporary home that doesn’t feel alien to its mild suburban surroundings; organize the elaborate lifestyle needs of a large, extended family within the small footprint of the bungalow it is replacing; and provide a calming environment with powerful outdoor connections.
A Nice Neighbor and Quiet Nonconformist, the home blends into the streetscape but stands out. It looks like its neighbors’ massing and pitched-roof vernacular, with handcrafted charred cedar veneer. While providing security and privacy from within, massively exaggerated roof eaves shade a number of intimate outdoor terraces as the home moves around the perimeter.
The family gathers on the ground floor, which is open and spacious with seamless movement from the front entry to the major living spaces and out into a lush back garden. While open, the living, dining, and kitchen areas feel cozy and separate thanks to long arms of handcrafted oak cabinetry. Like the remainder of the home, the ground floor living areas are carefully organized but seem generous, expanding horizontally outward through vast floor-to-ceiling openings into green garden areas beyond. A hidden live-in suite keeps elderly in-laws close to communal spaces without steps.
The upper level is vertically oriented toward the sky and extensively compartmentalized, with 4 Bedrooms, 3 Bathrooms, a separate Study, and Family Room in a tiny footprint. Skylights along the roof ridge and vaulted ceilings make small spaces feel large. Children’s bedrooms are long and linear (like train sleepers) but tall, wrapped around shared private bathrooms. They’re creative, utilitarian, and amusing.
This handcrafted Harvest Table is the home’s centerpiece, and all common living rooms revolve around it. Beautifully made from genuine walnut, the Harvest Table will last for generations.
“The home is working hard to be many things at once, and this is a complicated task”, says the architect. Making this seem effortless—to distill complexity into calm—is success.
