Marlborough House

Toronto, Ontario

The many original interior partitions of this small house in Toronto were removed to create a remarkably welcoming and well-lit house characterized by its open relationship to the landscape out back. Ash wood millwork and a stone floor on the ground level tie the interior of the house to the crushed gravel courtyard outside, which features a small cedar garden pavilion. Dark-bronze anodized window frames provide a counter-point to the light interior palette and buff bricks on the street facade.

The tall windows on the three story void at the centre of the plan provide a generous light to the rooms around it, including the principal washroom, which is separated from the void by a translucent, stretched vinyl panel. Cast glass pendant lights hung at different heights in the void create an optical shift that playfully distorts the scale and height of the void.

photo: Tom Arban