Extreme Makeover: a Baby Point house loses walls and gains an airy main floor
Extreme Makeover: a Baby Point house loses walls and gains an airy main floor
By Meaghan Binstock | February 25, 2013
By Meaghan Binstock | 02/25/2013
By Meaghan Binstock | Photography by Steve Tsai
Situated on a 250-foot lot overlooking a ravine and the Humber River, Tom and Jenni Kapler’s 3,200-square-foot house in Baby Point had all the space in the world. But the 1940s home (where Tom grew up) just didn’t function for a family of five. It had an awkward layout: a collection of isolated, bizarrely proportioned rooms that felt confining, and small windows that diminished the ravine view. Architect Paul Raff started by updating the master bedroom and adding a large ensuite. Then he blew out the walls on the main floor to create a family-centric Bulthaup kitchen that’s three times the size of the original. Now, new glass doors lead out to the backyard. Raff also reimagined the living room as a modern entertainment space with a limestone fireplace and built-in shelving (joined to a picture rail) that covers up the old radiators. During the lengthy construction, the Kaplers practically cohabitated with the contractors and constantly moved around to avoid the cordoned-off areas. For a stretch, they set up a cooking area in the laundry room. “The kids totally adapted,” says Tom. “It was kind of like camping.”
192665 <strong>Before:</strong> The master bedroom in this Baby Point house felt dark and out of date. As a whole, the home had an awkward and cramped layout Extreme Makeover: Baby Point Extreme Makeover: Baby Point https://torontolife.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/02/extreme-makeover-expansion-plan-city-home-2012-01-96x96.jpg https://torontolife.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/02/extreme-makeover-expansion-plan-city-home-2012-01.jpg https://torontolife.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/02/extreme-makeover-expansion-plan-city-home-2012-01.jpg 624 416 [] https://torontolife.com/style/renovation-expansion-plan/slide/extreme-makeover-expansion-plan-city-home-2012-01/ extreme-makeover-expansion-plan-city-home-2012-01 0 0
192666 <strong>After:</strong> Lily, Ben and Holly Kapler in their parents’ new, sleeker space, designed by architect Paul Raff (Photography by Steve Tsai) Extreme Makeover: Baby Point Extreme Makeover: Baby Point https://torontolife.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/02/extreme-makeover-expansion-plan-city-home-2012-02-96x96.jpg https://torontolife.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/02/extreme-makeover-expansion-plan-city-home-2012-02.jpg https://torontolife.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/02/extreme-makeover-expansion-plan-city-home-2012-02.jpg 624 416 [] https://torontolife.com/style/renovation-expansion-plan/slide/extreme-makeover-expansion-plan-city-home-2012-02/ extreme-makeover-expansion-plan-city-home-2012-02 0 0
(Photography by Steve Tsai)
192667 <strong>Before:</strong> The living room looked like a 1980s relic. It was dominated by a brick wall and imposing dark beams on the ceiling Extreme Makeover: Baby Point Extreme Makeover: Baby Point https://torontolife.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/02/extreme-makeover-expansion-plan-city-home-2012-03-96x96.jpg https://torontolife.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/02/extreme-makeover-expansion-plan-city-home-2012-03.jpg https://torontolife.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/02/extreme-makeover-expansion-plan-city-home-2012-03.jpg 624 416 [] https://torontolife.com/style/renovation-expansion-plan/slide/extreme-makeover-expansion-plan-city-home-2012-03/ extreme-makeover-expansion-plan-city-home-2012-03 0 0
192668 <strong>After:</strong> The new living room has a lighter feel (Photography by Steve Tsai) Extreme Makeover: Baby Point Extreme Makeover: Baby Point https://torontolife.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/02/extreme-makeover-expansion-plan-city-home-2012-04-96x96.jpg https://torontolife.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/02/extreme-makeover-expansion-plan-city-home-2012-04.jpg https://torontolife.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/02/extreme-makeover-expansion-plan-city-home-2012-04.jpg 624 416 [] https://torontolife.com/style/renovation-expansion-plan/slide/extreme-makeover-expansion-plan-city-home-2012-04/ extreme-makeover-expansion-plan-city-home-2012-04 0 0
(Photography by Steve Tsai)
192669 <strong>Before:</strong> The old kitchen was unusually tiny for a 3,200-square-foot house and had no real view of the lush ravine outside Extreme Makeover: Baby Point Extreme Makeover: Baby Point https://torontolife.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/02/extreme-makeover-expansion-plan-city-home-2012-05-96x96.jpg https://torontolife.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/02/extreme-makeover-expansion-plan-city-home-2012-05.jpg https://torontolife.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/02/extreme-makeover-expansion-plan-city-home-2012-05.jpg 416 624 [] https://torontolife.com/style/renovation-expansion-plan/slide/extreme-makeover-expansion-plan-city-home-2012-05/ extreme-makeover-expansion-plan-city-home-2012-05 0 0
192670 <strong>After:</strong> The new Bulthaup family kitchen (Photography by Steve Tsai) Extreme Makeover: Baby Point Extreme Makeover: Baby Point https://torontolife.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/02/extreme-makeover-expansion-plan-city-home-2012-06-96x96.jpg https://torontolife.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/02/extreme-makeover-expansion-plan-city-home-2012-06.jpg https://torontolife.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/02/extreme-makeover-expansion-plan-city-home-2012-06.jpg 624 416 [] https://torontolife.com/style/renovation-expansion-plan/slide/extreme-makeover-expansion-plan-city-home-2012-06/ extreme-makeover-expansion-plan-city-home-2012-06 0 0
(Photography by Steve Tsai)
192671 The yard (Photography by Steve Tsai) Extreme Makeover: Baby Point Extreme Makeover: Baby Point https://torontolife.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/02/extreme-makeover-expansion-plan-city-home-2012-07-96x96.jpg https://torontolife.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/02/extreme-makeover-expansion-plan-city-home-2012-07.jpg https://torontolife.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/02/extreme-makeover-expansion-plan-city-home-2012-07.jpg 624 416 [] https://torontolife.com/style/renovation-expansion-plan/slide/extreme-makeover-expansion-plan-city-home-2012-07/ extreme-makeover-expansion-plan-city-home-2012-07 0 0
(Photography by Steve Tsai)