This $7 million Toronto house is the perfect mix of mid-century and minimalist
In neighbourhoods like Toronto's Bridle Path and Hogg's Hollow, there's a familiar formula: tear down the old house, flatten out the landscape and replace it with the biggest McMansion the lot can handle.
But 12 York Valley Cres. went in a very different direction.
Known as "Valley House," the home leans into its mid-century modern roots and the property's unusual landscape, embracing the surrounding nature rather than bulldozing it into submission.
The living room.
The result is a pretty spectacular piece of architecture that's now on the market for $7,298,000.
The back patio.
The house sits on what's known as a reverse ravine lot, meaning that rather than the property dropping away behind the home, the heavily forested landscape actually rises steeply behind it.
The primary bedroom.
That could have been a challenge, but when Toronto architecture studio Superkül was brought in to renovate and expand the house in 2014, they made the unusual topography one of the design's defining features.
The kitchen and dining area.
According to the architects, the house was originally a mid-century modern bungalow. Instead of wiping away that history, the project team set out to preserve it while creating a much stronger connection between the home and its surroundings.
A view into the family room.
The ground-floor expansion largely respects the original footprint, while most of the additional square footage was added through a partial second storey.
The front of the house.
Even that was deliberately set back from the front of the house so it wouldn't overwhelm the original bungalow's long, low profile.
The exterior of the house.
The existing white brick was also retained and paired with concrete block, cement board and marine-grade plywood stained a deep mahogany. And rather than replacing the home's original carport with some enormous multi-car garage, that survived too.
A little peek at nature from inside the home.
But it's at the back of the house where the relationship with the ravine really becomes apparent.
The kitchen.
The main living spaces were positioned to take advantage of the towering trees and greenery behind the property, with floor-to-ceiling glass making the landscape feel almost like part of the interiors.
The back of the house at night.
A massive ipe wood deck extends out into the backyard, wrapping around the landscaping and forming a three-sided open-air courtyard.
The balcony at night.
Basically, instead of having a backyard that happens to overlook a ravine, the house feels like it was designed to live inside it.
The front entrance.
Inside, things are equally warm and woodsy.
The staircase.
Walnut floors run throughout much of the home, complemented by teak and cherry millwork, while dark steel details add some contrast.
The family room with custom teak cabinetry.
The sunken family room is probably one of the best examples of that material palette, with custom teak cabinetry, dark grasscloth wallpaper and a cherry wood ceiling.
The family room.
It's moody, cozy and refreshingly different from the bright white interiors that seem to have become mandatory in multimillion-dollar Toronto homes.
The living room with a fireplace.
The principal living area is much brighter, thanks to huge expanses of glass overlooking the ravine, and is anchored by a dramatic double-sided wood-burning fireplace.
The modern, minimalist kitchen.
The kitchen continues the minimalist aesthetic with bespoke Bulthaup cabinetry, Gaggenau appliances and Caesarstone surfaces, along with direct access to the rear terrace.
Mature trees surround the property.
The architects also carried the indoor-outdoor concept through to the front of the property.
The front of the house.
A Corten steel-enclosed forecourt filled with shallow grasses creates a buffer between the street and front door, while the original covered carport projects beyond the main facade.
A workspace.
The house might be minimalist, but at this price point it's obviously not exactly roughing it.
The primary suite.
The primary suite has panoramic views of the surrounding greenery, custom dressing-room cabinetry, and a spa-like ensuite overlooking an open-air courtyard.
One of the upstairs bedrooms.
Upstairs, three more bedrooms feature walnut floors and custom closets, plus a private lounge and study with built-in banquette seating, a workspace, and its own terrace overlooking the ravine.
The basement.
There's even more space downstairs, where large above-grade windows keep the lower level from feeling particularly basement-like.
The media room.
That floor includes flexible media and fitness spaces, guest accommodations, plenty of custom millwork and the less glamorous utility spaces required to keep a house like this running.
An office.
And while the architecture is obviously impressive, what might be most remarkable about Valley House is how restrained it feels compared to many luxury homes in the neighbourhood.
The basement.
There's no cavernous marble foyer, grand staircase or gratuitous double-height room seemingly designed solely to remind you that you're standing inside an expensive house.
The primary bedroom ensuite.
Instead, Superkül used courtyards, windows and outdoor spaces to frame different parts of the property, making the trees, gardens and steep ravine wall the home's biggest design features.
The living room.
It's also an approach that appears to have aged remarkably well considering the renovation was completed more than a decade ago.
Another bathroom.
Valley House last sold for $6.7 million in 2017. Nine years later, it's back on the market for $7,298,000, or about $600,000 more than its previous sale price.
That's not exactly an enormous return considering what happened to Toronto real estate prices in the years immediately following that sale.
The back of the house.
But regardless of where the price ultimately lands, it's refreshing to see a multimillion-dollar Toronto home where the goal wasn't simply to build something bigger.
