Sam Sacks Renovates a Toronto Townhouse From the Inside Out

"Rather than restructuring the floor plate, Sacks moved the existing opening into alignment with the living and dining rooms, then enlarged it. A set of custom steel and glass bifolding doors now spans the threshold - present when the house needs to function as two rooSam Sacks renovates a 4,600-square-foot Rosedale townhouse in Toronto, transforming a dated, contractor-grade interior into an architecturally considered homems."

"The decision to work with the existing architecture rather than against it governs the renovation's broader logic. The home's original construction was generic contractor work - drywall bulkheads, boxy proportions, and surfaces that carried no particular intention. Sacks corrected this through addition rather than demolition. High traditional baseboards and custom plaster crown molding in the living and dining rooms give the principal rooms presence."

"A low-profile beamed ceiling in the kitchen and family room pulls the spaces coherently together, while Versailles-pattern oak floors on the ground level ground the whole composition. The powder room on the main floor is where Sacks took her biggest risk. A pedestal sink in hammered brass sits against deep Venetian plaster walls - a pairing that works because both materials share a deliberate surface texture, one cast, one applied by hand."

"On the second floor, the primary ensuite moves through white Volakas marble, Venetian plaster, and zellige tile, materials that sit in tension between the coolness of the stone and the irregular surfaces of the ceramic. The third-floor ensuite finishes in lime green marble."

A Toronto townhouse renovation improves a dim ground floor by working with an inherited floor plate that includes a structural wall and separate front and rear zones. The existing opening is shifted into alignment with the living and dining rooms and then enlarged. Custom steel and glass bifolding doors span the threshold, allowing the house to function as two independent areas when needed. The broader approach avoids demolition and instead corrects generic contractor construction through additions. High baseboards, custom plaster crown molding, a low-profile beamed ceiling, and Versailles-pattern oak floors unify the ground level. A main-floor powder room pairs a hammered brass pedestal sink with deep Venetian plaster. Upstairs, the primary ensuite layers white Volakas marble, Venetian plaster, and zellige tile, with a third-floor ensuite finished in lime green marble.

Read at Design Milk