From this vantage point at the end of the backyard, the century-old house and its glassy modern extension look like an island in a sea of green. Still in need of landscaping, the inviting backyard provides opportunities for outdoor dining and play.
by Great Five Lakes
The rear extension's floor-to-ceiling windows create a glass cube that overlooks a huge wooded ravine lot. Sorbara confined her silk-upholstered living room furniture to a cream wool rug so that the set appears to float on the dark oak floors.
While there were many late nights renovating, working together on their own family home was an easy collaboration for this couple. “We both wanted it to be the best it could be; there was no room for ego or being right,” says Sorbara.
Furniture: Knoll
by Great Five Lakes
While there were many late nights renovating, working together on their own family home was an easy collaboration for this couple. “We both wanted it to be the best it could be; there was no room for ego or being right,” says Sorbara.
Furniture: Knoll
Graphic, scientific and fine arts objects occupy a low bench running along one side of the living room. Sunlight pours through the sails of a model sailboat.
by Great Five Lakes
The extension also features a modern fireplace and a custom crosscut Eramosa stone mantel. Sorbara designed the wall to protrude and to shelter the stone.
by Great Five Lakes
The kitchen flows down into the dining room, since the original house was above grade. Thoughtfully mismatched chairs surround the dining table.
by Great Five Lakes
In the kitchen, open shelves hold an array of treasured objects, including two lifesize felt rabbits on the top shelf. The kitchen and main floor hall cabinetry is made of rift-cut white oak. Sorbara's uncle and cousin — John and Dylan Barlow — did all of the millwork in the home.
by Great Five Lakes 
A multifunctional cutout on the left side of the kitchen offers sitting space, a perfect frame for flowers and art, and a peek at the home's original Arts and Crafts staircase.
The home opens to a wide, classic front hall, with the original pocket doors leading to the original drawing room on the right.
by Great Five Lakes
The home opens to a wide, classic front hall, with the original pocket doors leading to the original drawing room on the right.
Sorbara had the storied interior documented when the couple moved in. The images, taken by photographer Greg Pacek and Sorbara, were displayed at the Toronto’s Telephone Booth Gallery in an exhibit titled Call Home: Domestic Narratives. The photographs, combined with documentation of selected discarded objects from the previous homeowners, such as film stills and family snapshots, were published in a book that accompanied the exhibition.
Pacek's prerenovation photographs appear in each remodeled room. This particular image, capturing yellowing oil-painted walls and dark timber ceiling accents, is of the front room, which now serves as the kitchen.
by Abigail Pugh
Pacek's prerenovation photographs appear in each remodeled room. This particular image, capturing yellowing oil-painted walls and dark timber ceiling accents, is of the front room, which now serves as the kitchen.
The original stairwell — the spine of the house — unifies the three stories. Sorbara deliberately left the stairway as untouched as possible, letting its dark wood and hefty form contrast with the home's clean white walls.
by Great Five Lakes
These pale wood sliding doors outside the master bedroom offer a dramatic frame to the landing and staircase. The children's bedrooms, a bathroom and a guestroom are situated to the left and right of the half-story rise pictured here.
by Great Five Lakes
The two sons wanted to keep sharing a room when they moved into this new home. Their bedroom space is equipped with a bed big enough for both of them, so every night is a sleepover. The room has plenty of wall storage in stylish plywood cross sections.
by Great Five Lakes
Upstairs, Sorbara's open-layout office space features heat-treated oak floors and alternately serves as a hive of activity for the boys and her haven.
by Great Five Lakes
A long custom-built cupboard runs underneath one side of the peaked roof. Colorful Plasticine clay testifies to how much the two boys love playing up here.
by Great Five Lakes
Since the house is on a ravine, the couple's application to renovate was initially turned down. "We had a one-year opportunity to consider and reconsider the drawings," says Sorbara. This resulted in a lovely coincidence of timing: The permits came through 100 years to the day after the initial construction permits for the house were approved. Pictured here is the building permit the couple finally obtained for the renovation.
Photo courtesy of Ginger Sorbara
Photo Courtesy of Ginger Sorbara
Photo courtesy of Ginger Sorbara
The welcoming Edwardian exterior of the house is semitimbered in the Tudor revival style. The home sits on a magnificent 200- by 50-foot lot at the top of a small hill, surrounded by enormous sculptural old oak and maple trees.
by Great Five Lakes
Latest Ideabooks
People found the photos in this ideabook after searching for:
View over a million photos:
Find Local Pros by Category:
Architects & Designers · Carpet and Flooring · Closet & Home Storage Designers · Design-build Firms · Fireplaces · General Contractors · Home Media Design & Installation · Interior Designers & Decorators · Kitchen & Bath Designers · Landscape Architects & Designers · Landscape Contractors · Specialty Contractors · Tile, Stone & Countertops
Find Local Pros by Metro Area:
Atlanta · Austin · Baltimore · Boston · Chicago · Dallas · Dc Metro · Denver · Detroit · Hawaii · Houston · Las Vegas · Los Angeles · Miami · Minneapolis · Nashville · New Orleans · New York · Philadelphia · Phoenix · Portland · Salt Lake City · San Diego · San Francisco · Seattle · St Louis
The exterior back is awesome. It would be a shame not to open the house to those beautiful trees.
Horrors .. is there no railing around the opening for the stairwell, in that area that's her office space, and play space for the boys?! I can't imagine anything more dangerous than a gaping hole like that!
Anyone who knows Toronto knows that the city is filled with homes that have taken similar renovation approaches. A heritage home with a very modern addition is often done and in my opinion looks great when done right.
Yes, the loft may not exactly be to code, but maybe they're waiting for the perfect idea to strike. That's plasticine, not play doh...so I doubt the boys are toddlers :)