HOME DESIGN: GOING BIG ON A BUNGALOW

According to its owners, their modest wartime bungalow with a head-bonking half basement located in Bloor West Village was in need of a glow-up. At 1,235 square feet, it felt restrictive for the couple, who planned to expand their family. They had one child when they started the project and now — post 10-month renovation — have two.  

As it was, the house had redeeming features: its treed corner lot meant light filtered into the rooms from various vantage points. The location and community were also excellent. In fact, the homeowners heard good things about the design firm Studio Cajole, helmed by co-principal designers Nicci Harrison and Meagan   Prôt, through a close-knit neighbourhood chat group.   

Harrison was chuffed when her clients contacted her: “I’ve done three houses on this street,” she says. 

Harrison, who completed the renovation with Ionia Fine Homes, was also pleased by the homeowners’ gumption. The couple wanted to embrace colour and eclecticism, which is emblematic of their home country of Peru, she says. 

“They wanted to do something different,” says Harrison. “They weren’t afraid to commit to colour in the hard finishes, which is refreshing.”   

Still, she adds, “it’s my job to push people a little bit. I wouldn’t be doing my job justice if I didn’t propose a wild card. Those tend to be people’s favourite parts of their homes.”  

By the time Harrison came onboard, an architect had drafted drawings for a two-storey house, but the homeowners weren’t entirely pleased. The initial plan had the staircase off to the side of the house, which gobbled up a chunk of the footprint; the house is narrow as is.  

“They weren’t able to get the room sizes they wanted,” says Harrison. A proposal to shift the staircase to the front of the house did the trick: it’s a space-saving switchback design. Meanwhile, stacked windows on the front of the house let in light.  

Now the main floor consists of a full-width living room flowing into the kitchen to the left and a dining area across it to the right. The rest of the floor includes a bathroom and a bedroom/office. 

There are lots of warm wood elements, including custom built-in shelves by the millworker Greystone on a staircase landing that otherwise would have been dead space. The exterior (also Harrison’s design) features an inviting blend of Fraser wood siding and stucco.  

The banquette has a smart design, too. “We popped out (the banquette bench), so it cantilevers off the existing foundation,” says Harrison. “That way there is more space and flow for the kitchen and dining area.” The bedrooms on the second floor, meanwhile, cantilever over the existing footprint, creating a canopy for the front and back entrances,” she says. 

For the kitchen, the clients reused their old cabinetry. It’s unusual, admits Harrison, given the scope of the project, where everything is new, but she applauds the clients for being budget-conscious and sparing the landfill. 

To punch up the quiet shaker cabinetry, she added a backsplash of square tiles that appear hammered and handmade, as well as a Caesarstone countertop. A hood vent — cheekily baby blue — draws the eye over the oven and riffs on the nearby beverage bar.  

“They are big coffee drinkers, so mugs and breakfast stuff is inside the two drawers, and there’s a microwave,” says Harrison. Blue- striped tile from Olympia Tile is fresh and youthful, while a shelf to display mugs gives the area the vibe of a cute coffee shop.  

“We had a lot of fun with colour here,” notes Harrison, who styled the shelf with striped orange mugs. “I’m obsessed with (pairing) powdered blue with saturated colours,” she says. “Blue goes with everything in my opinion.” 

The principal bathroom ensuite is equally joyful. “I originally proposed a caramelly coloured tile, and the husband wanted to go bolder, so I went pink and they both loved it,” she says. 

Drama continues in the basement, with its deep navy blues. The basement was dug out to make it functional, while pocket doors close off the space; it includes a rec room, a bar, a gym, laundry, storage and a bathroom.  

  “The rest of the house is so open, and it helps with noise. If they’re watching a movie in the evenings or having friends over, they can retreat downstairs,” says Harrison, noting, “we leaned into the dark, so it’s nice and cozy. Before, their heads were brushing the ceilings and there were bulkheads.”  

Talk about glow-ups: the house is now 2,222 square feet of function and style. It’s so good the neighbours are getting in on the action. 

 “That’s number four,” says Harrison. “My lucky street!”   

2025-01-27T14:59:36Z