The Roosevelt

The Roosevelt is the 2021 GOHBA award winner of traditional style custom urban homes less than 3,000 square feet. This single home in Westboro is exquisitely designed with a balance of traditional elements and modern clean lines.

 

The exterior features were inspired by the housing in the Rosedale neighbourhood of Toronto, with bold rooflines, bowed windows, brick piers and an angled chimney. 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 gentle grey tone of frames and trim. The corner side yard deck, sheltered by tall evergreens and wrapped by garden beds, is a fantastic spot for a casual summer gathering.

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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 space, full of light that plays on the brick wall to one side and the open risers of the stair on the other. 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 the natural vibrancy of stone tiled flooring. In the living room the bold suspended granite slab mantel over the fireplace is framed by French doors on each side, opening onto the deck. Moving through this house, one 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.