Home design: A new build with an old soul

New builds can be “overbuilt, flashy and cold,” says Golara Ghasemi, who was brought in to design a Lawrence Park property from the ground up. She and her clients wanted to avoid that trap and instead aimed for “warmth and soul” in a house that would, in some ways, feel like it had always been there. 

At 4,500 square feet, the inviting new home manages to have a rambling feeling, with nooks and crannies and imaginative details that fill it with warmth and character. Ghasemi took her cues from elements of French country and Edwardian design, with an openness and ease of care that feels modern. 

The property itself had a number of assets that she was able to capitalize on. The site was an irregular shape, shaded by mature evergreens and angled so that it faced nearby neighbours only obliquely, allowing for big sunny windows on all four sides, and plenty of privacy. 

The homeowners are a young family with two children, including a toddler. “They wanted a thoughtful, functional design that would work for the whole family, including the kids at different stages of their lives,” explains Ghasemi. “They also have a large extended family; they often have guests visiting from the U.S. and overseas and sometimes host gatherings for up to 80 people.”  

They gave Ghasemi a free hand with the design, beyond just a few directives: that it be comfortable and relaxed for quieter moments by themselves, devoid of sharp corners, fussy furnishings and fashionable but extraneous details, and open enough to gracefully accommodate crowds as needed. 

Stepping through the oak front door reveals the first of several French country references, with its arched top and paned windows. Overhead, a barrel-vaulted ceiling lit by glass globe pendants gives the space a vintage air, while underfoot, the framed black-and-white marble checkerboard floor is a classic Parisian touch. 

“Because this is essentially a long, open hallway almost to the back of the house, the challenge was to not make people feel they were travelling straight down a corridor,” she says. The solution was to offer plenty of stops along the way. On one side, floor-to-ceiling built-ins surround a custom floating console with drawers for scarves and mittens, set in an opening with curved corners that rhyme with the front door. 

On the other side, orienting the hallway tiles on the diagonal guides the eye under a large archway into a sun-filled front sitting room. With its tall French windows, ceiling beams — another classic French country house detail — and simply framed marble mantel, it’s a perfect spot for sitting down for a quiet chat, set slightly apart from the main action of family life. 

The hallway ends at the formal dining room, where a shallow sideboard sporting another graceful arch stores serveware and linens. “We didn’t want anything too flashy in here,” Ghasemi observes. “Instead, we paid attention to details: it’s the idea that the more you look, the more you see.” 

Its central placement makes it ideal as a bar and serving area during parties; mesh-front upper cabinets hold glasses and bottles, lightening the look and keeping things tidy. A narrow pocket door just to the right conceals a well-appointed pantry and also provides a passageway to the kitchen beyond.  

“The kitchen is really my favourite room,” Ghasemi says, noting that despite its expanse, every inch has a purpose; it’s eminently practical in design. Under a high-beamed ceiling, there’s enough room for a pair of islands: one for meal prep, the other for casual meals and as a place to put out trays for parties, with open shelving on each side to hold cookbooks or extra bowls. 

The most striking feature is the range hood with ceiling-high cobblestone cladding that resembles an old-fashioned chimney hearth. “I’m very into bringing natural and organic features into my designs, especially in houses in the city,” she says. 

To balance its decorativeness, other elements in the room are low-key and functional: side-pocket doors conceal storage for spices and cooking equipment, while the subtly patterned porcelain backsplash and counters keep the overall look clean and understated. 

Step into the great room and the cobblestone cladding reappears in a massive archway leading from the kitchen. With its rough, heavy texture, it looks like it could have been salvaged from a century-old French chateau. 

One of the few specific items on the family’s wish list was a soaring ceiling for the great room. During the planning stages, a mezzanine was added to this part of the house, with enough space for a home office and other working spaces; the additional half-storey allowed for a full 28-foot rise to a timberframe-style vaulted ceiling. 

Ghasemi acknowledges that such a vast open room is unusual in an urban house, so she was careful to temper its grandeur with more human-scaled elements. Instead of glazing the entire garden wall, such as you might see in a grand Muskoka or Collingwood cottage, she went the other way with a trio of relatively modest sash windows under a half-moon-shaped clerestory. Combined with generous sliding glass doors leading out to the patio at ground level, the overall effect is bright but surprisingly cozy. 

The principal bedroom continues the balance between drama and understated practicality with its own vaulted timberframe ceiling, this time softened by white shiplap cladding. A near-monochrome palette of creams and light woods creates a modest, country-cottage mood, and the furnishings are all about softness: upholstered bed and headboard, linen draperies, deep pile carpeting. “This is a room little kids can safely climb all over,” she laughs. 

The ensuite, in its way, is as romantic as the great room and kitchen: it’s a perfect example of borrowing from a specific time period without going overboard and turning it into a stage set. Turn-of-the-twentieth-century-style fixtures – a solid-looking porcelain tub, basketweave tile flooring and even the style of the brass faucets, with their tiny “hot” and “cold” labels – would not have looked out of place when the neighbourhood was built. Yet with its roomy shower area and abundance of storage, it’s a room of this century, too. 

As Ghasemi points out, it’s all too easy to put in trendy features that will date over time. But borrowing from the past, when done right, can impart a sense of timelessness that won’t need to be updated any time soon.