House with Two Bay Windows
Backing onto Riley Park, this home had been in the family for over 50 years. The owners wanted to create a family-oriented space complete with a suite for an elderly parent and onsite parking in a below-ground garage.
A perfect frame
The upper-floor window above the entryway pops out of the house, and its side edges form the basis for the proximate vertical lines of the concrete, planter, front door, awning and flashing. To perfect this alignment, we began with the planning and preparation for the window installation, and then sequenced and coordinated the construction of the other elements to match up.
It's all about the lines
We installed full, uncut tiles from the walls outwards to the edge of the bathtub and to the window sill and jam. Cutting the concrete floor back at the shower transition, we were able to finish the tile to floor transition with full tiles as well. The tile layout was central to determining the layout of the rest of the bathroom, so we planned this up front and altered typical construction sequencing, including installing the drywall after the tile.
The understated, low fireplace, which adds warmth to the room, required much thought and preplanning to get it perfectly and seamlessly situated. We placed the fireplace housing into a recessed pocket in the floor so the bottom of the fireplace is flush with the finished floor while its mechanical components drop out of sight six inches below.
We installed cold-rolled steel panels beside and below the fireplace, complete with a removable access control panel flush with the floor. For safety, we used non-combustible materials for the space around the TV.
Using wood from different sources for the kitchen island and the stair treads and getting them to match took some planning. We worked with the fabricators to select white oak with a similar grain and then sent all the wood to the staining shop to ensure the colour was consistent after installation.
To complement other floor-to-ceiling elements in the house, we scribed the kitchen island gables to the floor and recessed the door transition between the indoor and outdoor spaces.
While the client requested a wall-to-wall, floor-to-ceiling bookshelf in the study space, the budget didn’t allow for a millworker. We got creative and used Parallam structural lumber, which offered the strength, depth and dimension the shelves required.
We filled, sanded and painted them to complement rest of the room. The result is a robust, clean structure, sturdy enough to hold the weight of the books — at a fraction of the cost of custom cabinets.
Social Media
Error: No connected account.
Please go to the Instagram Feed settings page to connect an account.