House of the Week: $2.5 million for a restored century-old home in Dufferin Grove

Address: 84 Rusholme Road
Neighbourhood: Dufferin Grove
Agent: Alex Brott, Sage Real Estate Limited
Price: $2,450,000
Previously sold for: $1,171,000, in 2016, prior to renovations
Last renovated in: 2019

The place

A 3,600-square-foot home near College and Dovercourt. This five-bedroom, five-bathroom semi has an Edwardian brick façade and original wood interiors. 

The history

This house was built in 1910. In 2016, a couple with four kids bought the place for just under $1.2 million and began a major restoration. They wanted to preserve the early-20th century charm but create a contemporary family home with an open-concept living space. A previous owner had converted the house into three self-contained apartments. The sellers redid the kitchen and bathroom, restored the original oak floors throughout and converted a backyard workshop into a small studio.

The tour

The original oak floors in the foyer were “professionally silenced” by the SqueakKnights, meaning they no longer creak when you walk on them:

There’s a wood-burning fireplace in the living room:

Here’s the kitchen, which has a lightsabre chandelier and nine-foot ceilings:

During renovations, the sellers converted the former kitchen into a porcelain-tiled pantry:

The dining room door leads to a set of stairs, which connect to the basement and backyard:

On the second level, there are painted oak floors in the master suite:

And another wood-burning fireplace. The sellers restored the original mantel and painted the metal cover:

There are duelling closets between the sitting area and the master bathroom:

The shower has marble walls and porcelain floors:

There’s an 85-square-foot family room on the second floor:

It connects to a 120-square-foot office, which overlooks the backyard:

There’s another bathroom on the second floor, with black-concrete tile floors:

Here’s the third floor, which was designed as a treehouse-style retreat:

This 250-square-foot bedroom overlooks Rusholme Road:

The sellers built a “sleeping nook” in the other bedroom:

There are porcelain tiles in the third-floor bathroom:

The basement apartment has vinyl floors and a kitchenette:

Here’s one of the basement bedrooms:

And here’s the other:

A look at the backyard, which has a 220-square-foot studio:

The sellers used the studio as an extra bedroom:

It has a bathroom with heated floors:

Big selling point

The money-making potential. Both the basement and backyard studio are listed on Airbnb, and together can bring in up to $8,000 a month.

Possible deal breaker

This place has no garage and only one parking spot.

By the numbers

• $2,450,000
• $5,969 in property taxes
• 3,590 square feet
• 5 bedrooms
• 5 bathrooms
• 1 parking space
• 2 fireplaces