House of the Week: $3.3 million for an homage to Frank Lloyd Wright’s Fallingwater
ADDRESS: 80 North Drive
NEIGHBOURHOOD: Edenbridge-Humber Valley
AGENT: Richard Sherman, broker; Barbara Kaplan and Edith Weiss, salespersons, Slavens and Associates Real Estate Inc. Brokerage.
PRICE: $3,295,000
THE PLACE: Nestled in a greenbelt and sitting atop a riverbank, the 6,600-square-foot house comprises four split levels cascading down a verdant hillside toward nearby Silver Creek. Skylights littered throughout and an outdoor courtyard dividing one side of the home from the other blend the surrounding environs with the interior space, which features South American Cumaru (also known as Brazilian teak) floors, granite walls in the bathroom and exposed, accented structural elements.
BRAGGING RIGHTS: Built in 1973 and designed by Blake Millar, the architect responsible for Upper Canada College’s residence at Norval, the house is an homage to Frank Lloyd Wright’s iconic Fallingwater home and Millar’s first attempt at a cantilevered structure.
BIG SELLING POINT: Serenity now. In every room, the design pulls your eyes through the floor-to-ceiling glass walls and out toward the forest and garden courtyard. Two rock-bed streams feed a backyard pond producing the constant, soothing sound of trickling water, and the surrounding greenbelt provides complete privacy.
POSSIBLE DEAL BREAKER: The glass windows throughout provide a beautiful panorama view, but they also might make you feel isolated and alone during Toronto’s dark, cold winter nights.
BY THE NUMBERS: • $3,295,000 • $14,851 in property taxes • 4 bedrooms • 4 bathrooms • 3 multi-level granite decks • 2 rock-bed streams • 1 pond • 1 built-in library • 1 fireplace in an open-concept office
