This brand new build in the Mulmur Hills wanted to look like it had been there since the turn of the century — but under the façade perform as well as any R2000 home.

The soffits and balustrade were rough-sawn, old-growth, vertical-grain Douglas Fir, the cladding was reclaimed exterior Pine barnboard from west or south faces (deeply faded gray and eroded), and the timberframe was reclaimed hemlock from an 1860 Ingersoll Ontario barn.

The only new wood is the Kebony decking, which has a 30-year warranty and an expected 60-year life cycle.

Selecting the right breathable membrane (Vaproshield WrapShield IT) was an important first step as the reclaimed 130-year pine barnboard is not like ANY other cladding. With its deeply rivuletted face, varying thickness, widths, and holes, it was a real challenge for the house wrap to perform as a rainscreen scrim as well.

The deep mortise pockets of the reclaimed Hemlock timbers that were used on the frontispiece had Engineering worried at times but passed with flying colours due to their massive size, the Austrian screws, and the small loads imposed on them.

My favourite feature is the custom Fir soffit vents. They are beautiful, discreet and also help to ventilate the space behind the barnboard so that if it gets well-saturated it is able to dry by stack effect.

Projects like this don’t come by too often and we made the most of it by putting love into every element — that is what makes this beautiful home in the hills ‘sing’.

A sandblasted tempered-glass roof provides protection from the elements while letting light through. Our custom live-edge teak and aluminum dining table and bench with suspended beaverstick chandelier encourage large gatherings.

We gave the backyard just enough of a kitchen to be self-sufficient on those days when you just don't want to be inside. It's a griller's dream with gas and wood fired systems. The cabinets are reclaimed wood cladding over Baltic birch and feature Blumotion quiet-close slides. Granite and barnboard complete the cooking centre.

Reclaimed barn rafters and Sunbrella overstuffed cushions make the 8' oversized chesterfields the perfect place to lounge between dips. Background: Outdoor shower.

In the background, a table tennis court sits atop synthetic turf that's perfectly level with the decking and natural cedar mulch surfaces. To the right sits the pavilion, whose mirror, reclaimed chalkboard slate and gray barnboard pull visual interest to its polished concrete enclosure. On its roof, a solar water heating array extends the season and keeps heating costs down. In the summer, no gas heat is required.

A toasty sauna for the winter and shoulder seasons. The walls and floor are reclaimed western red cedar, while the bench is clear eastern white cedar and wide enough to lie on comfortably. Reclaimed chalkboard slate provides a mountain motif. Lighting and temperature can be controlled from the comfort of the house. The ceiling is R60 insulated and the walls and underside of benches are R30.

The lavatory continues the theme with reclaimed slate and barnboard, standing dead hemlock plinth, in-wall cabinet for 6"-deep storage, and polished concrete maintenance-free floors.

The granite 'hard heads' or 'erratics' were chosen based on a model to allow one to ascend to the 'pride rock' at the top for trick moves into the 11-foot-deep organically shaped pool. The rocks house an integrated waterfall.

I will always develop an understanding of a client’s particular storage needs — every family is slightly different depending on things like hobbies — but then there are features that are universally appreciated, such as cedar closets and deeper storage for empty luggage. It’s amazing how a well-organized basement can reduce clutter throughout the house and make the upper floors look better. But what good is a basement for storage if you dread the thought of going down there! So we gave it beautiful Bellatrix-coated polished concrete floors, which are warmed in the wintertime and feel great underfoot.

An epic home theatre is more easily achieved than many people think. And with little-to-no natural light, the basement is the ideal location. To prevent sound from filtering through the rest of the home, we added two layers of Roxul “Safe & Sound” insulation to the walls and ceiling. To counter the acoustically bright drywall and concrete floors, we used 150-year-old pine barnboard as a sound attenuator. In this case, it’s reclaimed from an Ontario barn in Orillia. Reclaimed pine has a huge surface area due to its eroded face, making it ideal as a sound soak insulator. Of course it also looks fantastic!

In a basement there are often irregular space constraints, such as in the area where we put the washroom where we had what’s called a ‘bench footing’ — making it a bit of a challenge to find the right storage and floor solutions. As a result, one of these closets is 36”-deep for really large objects, such as empty luggage, and another at 24”-deep is for towels and linens. The toilet paper holder, recessed into the wall, is an example of a small touch that helps make the space work where it is tight at the W.C.

We created a tranquil space largely by considering the little things. We projected where the desks would be prior to installing the overhead lights. And we gave the windowsills a mirrored surface: Drywall windowsills tend to get dirty, and a mirror provides light-bounce, allowing sunlight deeper into the room. Using reclaimed Douglas Fir rough-sawn with a white wash helps as a sound soak and looks great around the perimeter. The pair of doors matching gray barnboard to the living area and Douglas Fir inside the office help keep business and family sounds from co-mingling.

Chris

Paul & Louise, Hillside Drive, Toronto

Duncan, Albany Avenue, Toronto

S Smith

Tina, Spruce Hill Road, Toronto

Barb, Sighthill Avenue, Toronto

Evelyne, Browning Avenue

Father Mark, St. Thomas's Church

Patrick, 1176 Yonge Street, Toronto

Chris, Dayvan Inc., a division of Richelieu