GETTING THE BALANCE RIGHT
Architect Vanessa Fong designed an Annex semi-detached home with the aim of making something ‘so old be so relevant’
One thing we try to prevent is this harsh contrast between the old Victorian facade and a shiny and new interior that feels weird and disconnected. — Vanessa Fong, VFA architecture + Design
Every so often an architectural interloper pops up on an established street in Toronto. With odd, jutting angles and roof lines that are incompatible with their neighbours, such houses feel as strange as spaceships.
The architect Vanessa Fong, principal of VFA Architecture + Design, prefers a gentler approach to the renovation and infill process.
“There is something intrinsically valuable in being able to keep that old-world Toronto facade,” says Fong. “One thing we try to prevent is this harsh contrast between the old Victorian facade and a shiny and new interior that feels weird and disconnected.”
Fong’s preservation prowess is apparent on a semi-detached brick house in the Annex, which as she describes it, “has an existing street facade that was really handsome and beautiful and classic Toronto.”
The gut renovation, in tandem with the contractor Collaborative Ventures Inc., entailed tuck-pointing the exterior, painting a third-floor dormer and pegging on an elegant limestone addition to the building’s rear to beef up space for the growing family.
The addition holds half the kitchen downstairs and one of the kids’ bedrooms upstairs.
Fong also had the roof replaced, as well as added clear glazing over the original stained-glass windows to keep out drafts. Other salvaged moments include rescuing the original wainscotting. It was removed, cleaned and reinstalled, and now lines the foyer.
“We kept that front-ofhouse and main living area really classic in terms of the proportions of the rooms,” says Fong. “We didn’t knock down all of the walls. It was an ode to the classical sense of proportions and spaces.”
Fong was involved from the very beginning. When the couple, expecting their second child at the time, were house hunting, they asked Fong to tag along; this was their first house, and they didn’t want to get stuck with a lemon.
The Annex home stood out because it’s long, wide and spacious, says Fong.
“They were looking at detached houses, but when you go into this one, it’s wide enough at 20 feet and the layout is such you don’t feel like you’re in a semi,” says Fong of the 3,000-squarefoot home. It was a total score. “Annex homes don’t come up often,” she notes.
While Fong may rhapsodize over old homes, she recognizes they don’t always jibe with the needs of a modern family with young children.
“We needed ample storage, places to put away the toys,” says Fong.
One hardworking area in the revamped home, which features a main floor demarcated by an arch to avoid a bowling-alley effect, is located underneath the staircase. Reading like a seamless wall, one door opens to reveal a backlit bar, complete with a sink and drawers for barware; to the left of it is another door, this one hiding a coat closet.
The hidden bar is ingeniously positioned at the end of the dining table, so when company’s over, the couple don’t have to go far to reach the gin.
Another knockout is the wooden staircase itself, with its folded form recalling origami.
“Being a semi-detached house, our design concern was how to make the staircase feel welcoming when it can’t be this grand spiral staircase that would be in a larger home,” says Fong. “So we unfolded it and had it curl around at the base. It’s more welcoming rather than a straight-run design.”
Move further into the home and you end up in the kitchen and breakfast area at the rear, where massive glass doors and windows connect to the backyard.
While wafer-thin kitchen islands are trending, Fong chose to play up the house’s history. She went with substantial cabinetry handles that impart old-school warmth and character, which is reinforced by the kitchen’s classic blue-white scheme.
“The island is quartzite,” says Fong. “We did a really chunky bullnose-edge profile. It’s a little bit ’80s-inspired.”
Getting the balance right was everything, but it has its challenges. “As an architect it can be more difficult to work within the constraints of an existing home and its structure,” says Fong. “However, to be able to rethink what a century-plus old home can do is part of what makes our profession so exciting — to make something that is so old be so relevant to today’s needs and lifestyle.
“At the end,” says Fong, “the final outcome can be so much richer and layered than if we were to just start from scratch.”