the ravine retreat

Who: Ahmet Demir, the 45-year-old founder of Demir Design Build; Amanda Yamada, a 45-year-old international cashmere wholesaler; and their sons, Seiya, 21, and Batu, 9 Where: Mount Pleasant and Rosedale Valley Ahmet and Amanda are a truly international couple. He came to Canada from Turkey in 2000, and she arrived from Tokyo around the same time. Now, Ahmet tends to his custom home company, while Amanda makes business trips to Inner Mongolia.

From the sidewalk, it’s not obvious that their home has changed much since it was built in 1957. When they bought the place in 2014, Ahmet decided to work around Rosedale’s heritage restrictions by demolishing and rebuilding the back of the structure while leaving the façade intact. He added 2,500 square feet of living space for a total of 7,815 square feet.

The first time he walked into the basement of the home, he envisioned a glassed-in swimming area with panoramic views of the Rosedale ravine, which abuts the one-acre property. Executing that vision proved challenging, because the pool needed to be built into the house’s foundation.

The construction process took four years from start to finish and cost just under $250,000. It’s everything Ahmet hoped for. Swimmers can watch movies on a television in the entertainment room, which is separated from the pool room by a wall of glass, and the ravinefacing windows provide a treetop view.

The pool room was originally an art studio. Ahmet had the walls torn down and replaced with floor-toceiling windows.On miserable winter days, the sauna is the perfect place to thaw out.Although Ahmet designed and built the space, the waterworks are by AquaDreams.There isn’t much space to hang out around the pool, so any lounging usually happens in the hot tub.