The story
Before any drawing, the studio walked the lot with the family
Nadia's parents had lived in the east end for 30 years and had no wish to leave it. Nadia and Sam's semi in Leslieville had a long garden that ran back to the lane.
Their first call to Atelier North was to ask whether the studio had room for a small project. The first meeting was on the lot itself: where the fence sat, where the sun fell in the afternoon, and what the lane would allow.
They talked about how her parents start the day: breakfast by a window, a bedroom with no stairs to climb, and the grandchildren close enough to wave to.
On a 20-foot lot, the house went up instead of out
A scoped proposal came before any design work. The lot left a narrow strip at the back for a second house, so the plan uses two storeys. The main bedroom is on the ground floor, and a second bedroom upstairs is for grandchildren who stay over.
Light comes in from above, through skylights over the stair and the upper bedroom, and the kitchen faces back across the garden to the main house.
The materials stayed plain: timber floors, white plaster, concrete left as it was poured. Once the scope was settled, the studio set out a timeline for this project alone.
Before anyone talked about the house, they talked about her parents' mornings.
Breakfast at the kitchen table in the new house.
Move-in day, 16 months after the first sketch
The studio stayed with the project through construction, from the first meeting to the last site visit. On move-in day, the grandchildren carried the lightest boxes across the lawn.
What her parents talk about now is the light: morning sun on the kitchen table, and the last of the evening light through the skylight over the stair.
