By Susan Semenak
Photography by Mitch Fain
It would not be a stretch to imagine this Tudor-style house on a rolling estate in the English countryside. Instead, the expansive brick and plaster house, with its leaded windows, nestles within romantically landscaped gardens in leafy Rosedale, right in central Toronto. The house, currently listed for sale with Barry Cohen Homes, is a heritage building—one of Rosedale’s original houses—constructed in 1912 and completely updated in 2017. “It is bursting with Old World charm but with a contemporary twist that is bright and sunny,” says Barry Cohen, who oversees one of the largest inventories of high-end homes in Canada.
As one of the owners puts it: “This is now a thoroughly modern home that retains all the charm and character of yesteryear.” The owners were first attracted by the property’s large double lot that stretches more than 100 feet wide, but also by its generous expanses of window, thick walls, extraordinary millwork and multiple fireplaces. It’s a spacious house boasting 13,000 square feet of completely finished and usable space set over four levels. “It’s solid and quiet and you feel good just to be in it,” the other owner says. “The rooms all feel so spacious. You never feel enclosed. The house breathes.”
But when they first arrived a decade ago, the old house, gracious as it was, felt dark and disjointed. The owners opted to keep the spectacular original millwork but gave it a modern, light feel by painting everything white, which had a brightening and unifying effect. “Making things white really changed everything,” one owner notes. “The whole house is light and sunny now. It has southern exposure, so it is bright even on dark days.”
The layout of the house also contributes to its wide-open feel. All of the main floor rooms radiate from the central foyer. There are no small dark corridors. The owners say this layout lends itself well to entertaining large groups, noting that it is conducive to mingling. They’ve held functions at which a speaker giving a talk in one room can be heard in all the adjoining main-floor rooms.
The spaciousness continues in the kitchen, which boasts a long island counter, a mini wine cellar, a microwave steam oven and a butler’s pantry with a bar area. “This is a kitchen for many cooks,” the owner laughs. “There is so much space, no one ever gets in anyone’s way.” And with a family room located right off the kitchen, there’s space for younger children to be within eyesight, but not underfoot.
The owner says one of her favourite rooms is the large rear entrance area, which leads from the three-car heated garage to the kitchen. There’s an elevator here for going up and down, but also a powder room and an enlarged mudroom with a sink for washing the dog, all bathed with light from a large floor-to-ceiling window.
The home’s seven bedrooms, six of which have their own ensuite bathroom and large built-in closets, are set across three storeys, including a suite on the top floor complete with a sitting area and kitchenette. The master bedroom, which the owners call their retreat, features a fireplace, an ensuite bathroom, a sitting room and a full-sized dressing room. “It’s a calm and quiet place to prepare yourself for the day or the evening,” she says.
On the bright and airy lower level, there’s a games room, a temperature-controlled wine room and a fully-equipped gym, which features a pool, steam room, rowing machine, treadmill and space for Pilates machines.
“This is now a thoroughly modern home that retains all the charm and character of yesteryear.”
The home’s outdoor spaces are charming extensions of the interiors. The backyard features a resort-like pool with a hot tub, and an outdoor kitchen with fridge, gas barbecue and a Green Egg smoker. There’s a generous dining space but also a large lounge seating area around a fire pit, and on the other side of the garden is a more intimate space, perfect for quiet contemplation. Front to back, the property overflows with lush and romantic plantings in the style of a loose and carefree English garden. The owner says she planned the gardens to complement the house, with native wildflowers and winding walking paths. It couldn’t be too fussy, she adds; it had to fit in with the neighbourhood with its lovely old trees. She added hedges for privacy, all manner of shrubs for summer-long blooms and a winding path leading to the front door.
The owners say they sometimes feel as if they are in the country, though they are in Rosedale, with its top-notch access to transit, amenities, parks and schools. “Rosedale has a real feel of neighbourhood, of community. It’s a great quiet neighbourhood with very little traffic and many parks and shops within steps of home,” one of the owners says. “It’s the kind of place where people stop to talk to each other while walking their dogs.”