DESIGN FOR AN EMPTY NEST
Future-proofing for fun & family
By the time the last of t heir children had f l own the nest, the owners of this smartly updated uptown family home faced the inevitable choice: whether to downsize, or stay put and renovate to reflect the lives they lived now.
“With the kids grown, they weighed their options,” says Mary Ellen Lynch of Lynch + Comisso Architecture + Light, who masterminded the transformation. “They could downsize, but they love food and family gatherings — and they knew that before long, those family gatherings would enlarge with the addition of spouses and grandkids. So the decision was made to stay and update.”
After having been lived in it for 30 years, the circa-1920 Georgian Revival house was ready for an overhaul — not so much from a spatial standpoint, but to make its communal spaces more usable for extended family. Since they had ruled out a cottage, they wanted the home to serve as an escape for the couple, their family and friends. High on the wife’s wish list was a spiffy new kitchen; she operated a successful catering business, and for years had been getting by with the home’s tiny and thoroughly inefficient existing model.
The original plan was to install a one- and- a- half- storey addition on the back, landscape the garden and update features such as windows, but it soon became apparent that more elaborate thinking was in order. In the typical Georgian way, the house featured living and dining rooms on either side of a central staircase and hall. The staircase landing created a low-hanging ceiling smack in the centre of the house, and a side door to the drive further restricted traffic: in effect, the kitchen was stuck on the back corner of the home.
“Often, when you start a project like this, it seems fairly straightforward,” Lynch says with a smile. “But in discussion, it became apparent that getting rid of the entire stairway made more sense. We decided to move it over to one side and create a single U- shaped stairwell that goes all the way up to the top of the house.” That simple decision opened up the whole interior of the house, creating a perfect prelude to the bright new addition.
It was important to the clients, Lynch explains, to maintain at least an acknowledgment of the home’s era, even as they added thoroughly modern- day light and openness. The new space, while bright and expansive, features modified cove mouldings and coffers in the ceiling. “It’s a modern take on 1920s tradition, in elements such as the millwork and the design of the windows, but very clean and contemporary.”
The seating area references the geometric rhythm that marks Georgian architecture, by playing symmetry and asymmetry off one another. Tall, matching windows and bookshelves flank a balanced, but offcentre hearth, covered in grey tile in a subtle low- relief pattern. The TV is set back under a protruding mantel topped by a slim walnut shelf that cuts partway into the fireplace side. At shin level, a wide bench of walnut drawers runs the width of the room, providing storage without clutter.
On the other side, the new kitchen is as bright and airy as the old one was gloomy. “The general orientation is towards the windows overlooking the garden, rather than a more traditional symmetrical layout; the owner specifically wanted to avoid the wall-to-wall cabinetry look,” Lynch says. Simple shapes and white materials — lacquer cabinetry, Statuario marble and warm-grey composite counters, a pebbly mosaic tile backsplash that rises to the cove moulding at top — keep things simple, while a row of transom windows above the upper cabinets brightens the whole space.
Lynch points out that the upper cabinets, which open upwards at a touch, feature mechanical- assist arms and other ergonomic hardware. Most of the storage in the kitchen is set low, in cabinetry on both sides of the island and drawers that run along the main working area: elements that are not only beautiful, but easy to operate. “The couple plans to stay in their home for the coming years, so ease of use as they grow older was another consideration,” she says.
A pair of double French doors with sidelights and transoms overlooks the garden, another simplified take on postEdwardian elegance. Each is served by limestone steps leading to the patio and garden, designed in collaboration with Mark Hartley of Hartley Landscape Architect. “Because they decided against a cottage, they wanted the transition from indoor to outdoor to be as smooth as possible,” Lynch says.
Though it’s not large, the backyard is divided into several discrete areas: a seating and dining area by the barbecue, just off the French doors; areas of lawn inset with tidy rectangular pavers; a lap pool at the foot of the yard, fed by a trio of small fountains set into a low limestone wall at the back; and a sheltered seating area that serves as a nearly three- season lounge, equipped with fireplace and even a TV. Retractable screens keep bugs at bay on warm summer nights, while an overhead fan supplements cool breezes from the garden.
In the end, almost all the interior and exterior components of the home received updating: the master suite now has a small oasis of its own, with a sunroom reached up a few steps from the bedroom leading to a sunny, private upper deck. The original living room, made redundant by the addition, became the dining room, while the old dining room’s oak panelling was reconfigured a bit and now lines a cosy library. But one of the most anticipated changes was a new, second kitchen in the lower level, dedicated to the catering practice.
“It’s designed as a home kitchen, not a professional one, but it has some features that make it useful for a professional chef, including a big double fridge and stainless steel drawers,” Lynch says. “But it gives a nod to her Italian roots in the choice of tile: they’re a variation on traditional Italian and Spanish tiles, with their strong patterns, and the pattern gets even more exuberant around the range hood.” Carrara marble with a more pronounced grain than the Statuario used upstairs, warm walnut- look vinyl flooring, and a quartet of comfortable black stools saved from the old kitchen, add to the feeling of unpretentious comfort.
Apart from the creative challenge of altering to suit the changed needs of its owners — a challenge that developed over time, rather than all at once, Lynch recalls, as is often the case with older houses — it makes a strong argument in favour of preserving, rather than razing and replacing, older homes that no longer meet 21st- century needs.
“Our firm has a passion for preserving, but also bringing the existing fabric of Toronto homes into the present — allowing for the lengthening of a home’s life into the future. While so much of what we did was new and modern, it was still designed to be complementary to the existing structure: in scale, in details, in respect for the original house.”
WHILE SO MUCH OF WHAT WE DID WAS NEW AND MODERN, IT WAS STILL DESIGNED TO BE COMPLEMENTARY TO THE EXISTING STRUCTURE: IN SCALE, IN DETAILS, IN RESPECT FOR THE ORIGINAL HOUSE. — MARY ELLEN LYNCH, ARCHITECT