The Avondale
This single home in Westboro is exquisitely designed with a balance of traditional elements and modern clean lines. It was a 2021 GOHBA awards finalist for traditional custom urban homes over 3,000 square feet. It was designed concurrently with 'The Roosevelt' and built on the other half of the newly severed corner lot.
The exterior features were inspired by the housing in the Rosedale neighbourhood of Toronto, with bold rooflines, bowed windows and brick piers. The front door and window feature is two storeys, corresponding to the two storey foyer within, and uniting the interior and exterior design. There's a hint of Mondrian in the pattern of this main window, also echoed in the pattern on the underside of the entrance canopy. Through this window, the exterior brick can be seen wrapping inside the foyer. The elegant proportions of the exterior give it a stately grace, balancing brick, glass and the sharp black of window frames and trim.
The house is designed around it's bold entry feature and grand foyer with open stair. One enters the house by stepping into this soaring two storey space, full of light that plays on the brick wall to one side and the open risers of the stair on the other. Design attention to materials and details in this grand foyer make it much more than just the connection point between the spaces in this house, but ensure that residents enjoy the journey. The use of rich natural materials and the careful attention to detail is carried throughout the house. Bathrooms are serene with simple lines, and rich with contrasting wood grains and the natural vibrancy of stone tiled flooring. The simple form of a shelving wall separates the living room from the grand foyer, and is balanced by the bold stone tile surrounding the fireplace. Moving through this house, a visitor enjoys the delight of natural materials, finely crafted and detailed, shaping and enlivening spaces, and shifting in colour and tone in the changing light of the day.